UFC Fight Night 20 Musings

Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn

Really excited about this fight. I like Amir and how technical and sharp his game plans are, but I'm iffy about his raw skill itself. And I don't necessarily like Brad Blackburn, but I have had my eye on him since he took out Giboo.

Round One was very exciting. Blackburn was striking very straight on. His footwork was really one-dimensional, just back and forth, which is why Amir's unorthodox straight head kick was so effective.

He rocked him and made the poor choice of going to the ground. I think he felt with the time left he wasn't gonna get the finish.

10-9 Sadollah, for sure

Round Two was really good for Sadollah. His game plan is really smart and well planned. It looks like he hit the weight room like I asked of him after UFC 106 or maybe he's learning to cut weight better.

10-9 Sadollah

Round Three was the best round Sadollah has had yet tonight. In the middle of Round Two, it looked like he was getting tired but clearly not the case. Brad is just getting outclassed. He rocked him again and chose the takedown.

In my opinion, it was a bad choice, but I think he came into this fight with the game plan of a decision victory, so I'm not too surprised. He definitely needs some work with his ground transitioning.

No way Blackburn should have been able to keep catching him. His pass to mount were horrendous. Not much to say about Blackburn. He just plain got played.

Almost 10-8 Sadollah, but in the end I say 10-9 Sadollah

Good win for Sadollah, he needs to keep up the hard work and maybe get some jujitsu to tag along with his ever-growing Muay Thai. Those transitions were really ugly.

Blackburn needs to mix up his striking; I believe that footwork really was his downfall.

Amir is on a good path to greatness, and I hope this road continues with no lower or too much higher opponents. Truthfully, I'd love to see him go against a non-one-dimensional fighter but still not fully complete. Martin Kampmann or the winner of Marcus Davis and Johnathon Goulet.

Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor

Round One: HOLY SHIT!!!!! Tom Lawlor is the real deal! He looks phenomenal. His hands were superior over the TKO-stoppage talented Aaron Simpson.

10-8 Lawlor in my opinion, but that's arguable

Round Two: Simpson is back in it. Lawlor coming out and striking proficiently in the first probably caught Simpson off guard, but he seems adjusted now. Close round, but I give it to Simpson 10-9. Interested to see if Lawlor gasses.

Round Three: Lawlor gave it all in the first and had nothing left in the third. Simpson's got heart. The W will probably go to Simpson. But I score it a draw, but this round could be scored 10-8 Simpson. But Simpson got hurt right at the end which makes me score it 10-9.

28-28 draw in my book

Split decision for Aaron. Not a shitty call at all, just not my score. This will probably take fight of the night. Very impressed by both guys. Winner or not, Lawlor is gonna be something in MMA.

Simpson needs to get famous quick. Time is not on his side. No opponents on mind for these two yet too decisive to know. Lawlor needs a little more cardio, but I think he didn't come in with a game plan and that's what cost him.

You can't really bash a guy's cardio who never stopped fighting for five minutes straight. He didn't pace himself and it cost him.

No real critique for Simpson, except maybe work some head work for his next fight.

Great Fight Overall!

Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham

Wow, first round was all Efrain's, but he was unable to secure anything permanently. Efrain is good at everything but neither his jujitsu, striking, or wrestling is crisp. He needs to go tighten up one side of his game.

Round Two Dunham really comes into his own. By this round, I knew Dunham was gonna win. He gained momentum and found his own on the striking game. And his jujitsu was much more developed.

Third round and my thoughts were proven. Dunham is the real deal man. He's officially a threat at lightweight and now has the attention of the lightweight division.

Escudero has got some heart, man. Too bad it cost him his arm. Oddly enough, this break to heal his arm may prove to be good. Gives him time to train lightly and focus more on technique and less on strength and intensity when he's able to train.

I really hope Dunham gets competition like Escudero. Maybe Cole Miller or the loser of tonight's main event. Kurt Pellegrino is fighting in New Jersey and though I think his opponent is gonna be Frankie Edgar; if Gray Maynerd wins I think Batman and Dunham would be a great fight.

Main Event: Gray Maynerd vs. Nate Diaz

Wow, what a train wreck. That fight shows what happens when you are unable to blend emotions and aggression with technical fighting and a well-developed game plan. Both parties should be embarrassed.

Nate does what Nate always does—replaces a good game plan with immense amounts of aggression anger and ruthless hatred—and for it, he produced a well-deserved loss.

I'm really hoping Couture rips into Gray's ass for his antics in the cage. If Diaz had any punching power, it would've cost Maynerd the fight.

Maynerd is in line for the next shot, and after a match like this, I would say, "Hell no, he didn't earn it." If he performs like this, BJ Penn will hand him his ass.

But the other contenders are Edgar, who lost to Gray. Florian who lost to Penn. Sherk who lost to Penn and Edgar and Griffin, who lost to Sherk and Edgar. So the options are limited.

So, Gray, congrats. The title shot is yours most likely. Better control your shit, because if Penn saw this he's gonna know he can fuck with your head.

Things I Wanna See After UFN 20

Amir to fight someone who's not one-dimensional, but still in his fighting level. Jonathan Goulet, Marcus Davis, Martin Kampmann, Chris Lytle, maybe even Dong Hyun Kim, but that's up there for Amir in my opinion.

Aaron Simpson vs. someone higher up. If they wanna market him as a contender, they gotta do it quick, but he's got work on some kind of way to give his iron jaw a break. Head movement and footwork is my suggestion. I like Alan Belcher, Akiyama, loser of Bisping and Wanderlei Silva. If he can pick up another win from now, that means something and is on the main card.

Tom Lawlor to not fall to far down on the rankings. He looked good; he just missed the forest for the trees. I like Wilson Gouveia or Alessio Sakara as opponents.

Efrain to take the time he'll have to pay for his foolish pride to tighten up his game. It was all there, just sloppy.

Evan Dunham to not be considered an underdog upset that would never happen again. He's for real guys. Pellegrino or Edgar would be great. Or Nate Diaz—he needs a make-or-break situation.

Nate to stop being retarded, but people in hell want ice water and they're sure as hell not getting it. Send him to the prelims.

Gray to get his head together. Realize that he blew it big time tonight.