UFC 106: Recap, Bonuses, Analysis and What's Next

Even I was a bit impressed last night at the drawing power of Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin in my little part of the world here in Manchester, NH.

The bar we go to for all UFC ppvs (the awesome MMA-friendly Murphy's Taproom ) was packed last night for UFC 106 and into almost every fight of the night with the exception of Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann.

From Amir Sadollah's Muay Thai clinch clinic on Phil Baroni to the slow motion of Josh Koscheck's finger going in Anthony Johnson's eye, they were transfixed.

And then there was the main event. People cheered for Tito Ortiz and loved Forrest Griffin. They were into this fight like it was five years ago when Ortiz was near the top of his game and when it was all over, most were surprised at the split decision victory for Griffin. 30-27 score? What?

The reason I tell this story is that when I looked around the room, it became apparent that no matter how much guys like myself may complain about the amount of shows and the lack of stars right now on these events due to injury and an overload of cards to fill, it doesn't matter.

UFC is king and the people Saturday night didn't care that Ortiz had been an afterthought in MMA for almost two years. He was a star from the past and they were into it. If that happened here in small New Hampshire, I'm betting it was pretty representative around the country as well.


Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz by split decision

I need to watch the fight again, but at first blush, I thought Ortiz had won 29-28. I was surprised, but not floored by the decision which just seemed to fit given what happened in their first fight. (Of course, they need a 3rd one, right? Almost too good to be true.) Griffin looked good in the win which helped soothe the embarrassment of his loss to Anderson Silva in August and put a positive end to his 2009.

Ortiz is still an interesting draw, but I thought the complaining at the end about his neck and "cracked skull" just came off as desperate and excuse-driven. In the post-game press conference, Ortiz held court and said multiple times that he was robbed.

Surprisingly, he was very emotional and said his career was in Dana White's hands. He's a welcome addition to the star-starved light heavyweight division, but the jury is still out as whether he'll ultimately be relevant in this latest go-round.

And the suggestion from the post-game presser about Ortiz and Griffin being coaches for the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter? That sounds great to me, but I think the impending GSP vs. Dan Hardy fight could use it a bit more. Ortiz vs. Griffin III will sell just fine, but people need a reason to believe Hardy has a chance...any reason at all.


Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson by second round submission

What a weird fight. Between the phantom knee/eye poke on Kosheck to Johnson ironically getting eye gouged twice, this fight was just two rounds but felt like it took about 45 minutes.

Koscheck did exactly what I expected in taking the young Johnson to the ground and making him think about something other than his fists. Good win by Koscheck who earned both Submission Of The Night and Fight Of The Night honors (good for an extra $140k) and has become the UFC's most reliable ironman this fall.

But has Koscheck earned a title shot? Ehhhh, I'm not so sure. Johnson's not a top contender yet and Koscheck can't seem to put a long win streak together. I love the fact he called out Hardy which sets up a fun fight between them down the road, but I need to see Koscheck really beat down a top 10 fighter before I would say he's next in line for GSP.

For Johnson, he's got plenty of time to get better. This was a big jump in competition, so his next fight is going to be important. There was a lot of pressure here, but I like "Rumble" a lot. He's a flashy and fun fighter to watch, so I hope he continues to progress. Losses matter, but this isn't a career killer by any stretch.


Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Luiz Cane by first-round TKO

Lil' Nog looked great and hopefully will be a shot in the arm in the 205 division. Cane looked overmatched and overwhelmed against Nogueira, who has transitioned as of late into a TKO machine despite having great submission skills. Cane is far from a top 205'er, but I liked what I saw Saturday out of Lil' Nog and am really interested to see who's next in line for him.

He also earned $70k for Knockout Of The Night.


Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision

Volkmann looked terrified at the start of the fight as this was his first shot in the big time. Of the televised event, this was the fight that got over the least with the crowd I watched with, even with an entertaining third round. Thiago got back on the winning side of the ledger after suffering his first career loss at UFC 100, but he's not a contender for the 170-pound title just yet.


Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni by unanimous decision

Just a pure battering of Baroni, who physically looked great but was absolutely gassed after the first round. I'm not sure why the UFC decided Baroni was worth bringing back, but Sadollah took advantage of the situation. He's still quite inexperienced, but looked the part in devastating Baroni in the clinch with knees that had the crowd cringing with each hard connection.

Maybe Baroni has one more fight left in him, but there is a pattern in him not having the cardio to excel in 15 minutes of action. Gotta give it to him though...he was swinging for the fences until the end.


Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis via first round KO

I'm becoming a big Saunders fan as his height and wingspan give him a huge advantage in the division. UFC has a great prospect here and need to be smart with his opponents so they don't burn out the candle. Sadly, I'm also a Davis fan and he got decimated. He's lost two straight and this was his first loss by KO in his career. At 36 years old, you have to wonder if one more loss will be enough for the UFC to call it good.


Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt via first round submission

This could have earned Submission Of The Night as well. It's hard to figure out Grove who has gone into the 'win a few, lose a few' mode the past two years. This is a bad loss for Rosholt who tapped out really quickly after being caught in the triangle from the ground.

Did you know he beat Chris Leben in August? That seems like a very long time ago now. The UFC is a lot different than the WEC and Rosholt is getting a crash course in just how much.


Brian Foster def. Brock Larson via second round submission 

This was another weird fight with Larson losing two points in the first round due to a kick to a grounded opponent (both were separated and Larson kicked him in the face as he attempted to get up) and a knee while Foster had three points on the ground (how was Larson supposed to see Foster's hand touching the mat?). Foster poured it on in the second and looked good in doing so. Larson's lost two in a row...not good.


George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent via second round submission

Sotiropoulos looked good in working over Dent, who also made a nice showing here. He's not very TV friendly in terms of what some look for in a fighter, but he's also a good opponent for guys on the way up. If he can put some wins together, who knows?


Caol Uno and Fabricio Camoes drew

The only fight that didn't make TV. What a surprise. I didn't see this, but I can only imagine the excitement.


Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio . Follow him on Twitter.