UFC 144 Results: Random Ramblings on an "Event of the Year" Contender

Last night, the UFC returned to Japan for the first time in over a decade.

With so much hype leading into it, it was interesting to see that UFC President Dana White was true to his word: this was the same old UFC we’re all used to seeing, except in Japan. Thankfully, the UFC turned in another stellar card built solely around the strength of its fighters. Here's what I thought of UFC 144.

The night certainly started out with a bang, Issei Tamura’s KO win was one of the most vicious stoppages of the night. Things took a nosedive from there, though, when Takeya Mizugaki was robbed of a win over Chris Cariaso.

Luckily, the prelims would pick back up and get even better starting with Vaughan Lee’s submission win over Norifumi Yamamoto. The finale of the prelims was one of the night’s best fights in my opinion. No matter where you think he stands in the division, it never gets old seeing Takanori Gomi dig deep and find a way to win one more time. At least to me.

The main Pay-Per-View card was all kinds of awesome, plain and simple. I’m very, very glad that Anthony Pettis has finally begun finding his stride in the UFC, I know he has what it takes to be a champion one day.

Hatsu Hioki, meanwhile, more than redeemed himself in my eyes. I’ll still hold the win against George Roop against him (he didn’t deserve it), but I won’t make any special effort to continue to bring it up. Hioki put on a slick performance and thoroughly beat one of my “dark horse favorites.” I think I’m ready to start believing that he may be one of the few that escapes the “foreign fighter’s curse.”

I felt gutted when Yushin Okami lost to Tim Boetsch. This isn’t a joke: Seconds before Boetsch knocked Okami out, I was about to tell a friend: “This is simply a case of a guy in the Top 5 taking on a guy in the Top 20.” I was then forced to eat my words without ever having said them. I think on any other night, Okami would’ve finished the third round as dominantly as he did the first two, but as we’re constantly reminded, this is MMA and anything can happen.

To be honest, I think Yoshihrio Akiyama should’ve won against Jake Shields. I’m not going to make a big issue out of it, though, since I’m a fan of Shields and I do think the fight was reasonably close. Still, Akiyama impressed me. Unfortunately this is another in a string of losses for him, and I think the UFC is going to officially release Akiyama in the days to come.

I never thought I would say this a few years ago, but Mark Hunt deserves a top opponent. I originally wanted to say “top-10 opponent,” but Kongo has been a top-10 guy for a while now, at least in my opinion. Sure, he bounces up and down that list like nobody else in the division, but I’d still consider him Top 10.

So what’s next for Hunt? I never thought I’d say this either, but Mark Hunt needs to be put in a “contender eliminator” fight. Maybe against Fabricio Werdum. Regardless of what the future holds for him, I truly think Hunt’s run in the UFC has been one of the most spectacular comebacks I’ve ever seen. I have nothing but respect for him and his ability to break such an epic losing streak in such an epic way.

By the end of the first round, I knew something was wrong with Quinton Jackson. I guessed that he was sick, but recently it’s been revealed that he came into the fight with a knee injury. I won’t take anything away from Bader or his gameplan, which was perfect, I just think that if Jackson’s knee wasn’t hurt, he would’ve been able to defend the takedown enough times to land a hook and put Bader down.

And in the main event, Benson Henderson won the UFC Lightweight Championship. And although I’m a massive Frank Edgar fan, to me it’s obvious that Henderson won that fight.

Henderson was continuously the closest to finishing the fight, and while Edgar landed a lot of strikes, Henderson’s shots did the most damage. Benson was also almost always the aggressor in that fight.

I’m not saying Henderson won all the rounds, but I definitely think he won that fight. Sorry, Edgar fans, you can only have a “Rocky Balboa” comeback so many times. Eventually you’re going to meet a Clubber Lang. As a fan of his, I’m just glad that the UFC’s Lightweight Clubber Lang ended up being Benson Henderson.

All in all, this event has got to be an early contender for “Event of the Year.” Some of the fights that went to a decision were a bit uninspiring, but overall this card lived up to most of its potential. Hopefully the UFC comes back to Japan sooner rather than later.

Results in full:

Benson Henderson defeats Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision.

Ryan Bader defeats Quinton Jackson by unanimous decision.

Mark Hunt defeats Cheick Kongo by TKO at 2:11 of Round 1.

Jake Shields defeats Yoshihiro Akiyama by unanimous decision.

Tim Boetsch defeats Yushin Okami by TKO at :54 of Round 3.

Hatsu Hioki defeats Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision.

Anthony Pettis defeats Joe Lauzon by KO at 1:21 of Round 1.

Takanori Gomi defeats Eiji Mitsuoka by TKO at 2:21 of Round 2.

Vaughan Lee defeats Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by submission (arm bar) at 4:29 of Round 1.

Riki Fukuda defeats Steve Cantwell by unanimous decision.

Chris Cariaso defeats Takeya Mizugaki by unanimous decision.

Issei Tamura defeats Tiequan Zhang by KO at :32 of Round 2.

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.