Underrated and Overrated Preformances of UFC 109

Another UFC event has come and gone, and while it certainly was not one of the all time great cards, it was a very entertaining night of fights.

The question is now, as always, who took steps forward, who took steps back and who are people talking about.

Overrated: Chael Sonnen

Lets get this one out of the way now, let me start out by saying he won that fight. Sonnen dominated the match in terms of position and certainly won 2 out of the 3 rounds.

That said, there is now buzz about how Sonnen could beat Anderson Silva and become the Middleweight Champion, which is laughable. 

For all of Sonnen's talk about he would fight three matches in one night if that what it took to get a title shot, he barely had the fitness to complete three rounds last night.

Sonnen gassed badly and had basically nothing for the third round after getting the takedown. Sonnen was not prepared to go five rounds last night; he was barely able to survive the third where Nate made a serious run at winning the fight.

And for all of Sonnen's positional dominance, he did very little damage. He did a good job of controlling Marquardt and stacking him to rob him of air, but Sonnen showed a total inability to pass the guard.

Being on the bottom in a grappling situation is a tiring position and the guard is no exception.

Many refer to the guard as a 'working man's position' because it takes so much energy to keep a skilled opponent in your guard, yet Marquardt seemed to be the fresher fighter.

This because Sonnen didn't really make attempts to pass the guard and rather threw pitter-patter punches and settled for some lay-and-pray.

If Sonnen fights Silva, which I doubt will happen, even if he gets the fight to the ground, Sonnen's long standing difficulty with getting submitted will be his undoing.

Just laying in Silva's guard the way Sonnen laid in Marquardt's guard is an invitation for Silva to lock those long legs in a triangle.

Sonnen is a top UFC middleweight, as last night showed up, but it also showed us he is not yet championship material. 

Underrated: Demian Maia

It wasn't sexy, flashy or really watchable but Demian Maia's match served an important purpose in the long run of his career. Maia's last loss shined such a bright light on his lack of standing ability that he had to respond in some way.

While it would have been easier, the worst thing Maia could have done was come out, shoot for a takedown and get a submission.

Maia had to prove he can, in fact, stand and fight to an extent to both the UFC and himself. Maia got three quality rounds of standing experience under his belt, and in the process proved that he can win matches against UFC Middleweights without taking guys to the ground.

Maia moved well, was circling off his jab well and his right hand was glued to his chin the whole fight. He basically just threw a 1-2 the entire fight, but it worked well enough this time out. His power is... well... he isn't going to knock anyone out anytime soon.

I also don't expect Maia to pull a Matt Serra and say 'Forget this Jiu Jitsu stuff, I love throwing hooks!' but its a good sign that Maia is working hard at his trade.

I fully expect to see go into his next fight and circle throwing jabs for a minute or so and then drop down for a single leg and choke a guy out like the Maia of old.

Maia made it clear that he can't be out struck by any joe with gloves and a Muay Thai coach and that just makes his Jiu Jitsu that much more dangerous.

Overrated: Randy Couture

Do I really need to point this one out? Couture's beating up and choking out of Coleman is possibly his least impressive win since Mike Van Arsdale.

Coleman is a legend, but the game of MMA passed him years ago, and like all the Hammerhouse fighters, Coleman has refused to expand his game.

The result: getting choked out by Randy Couture...Coleman joins a very un-legendary list of the aforementioned Van Arsdale and the 0-4 Tony Halme as the only men to ever had Couture slap a choke on them.

There is no way this matchup can justify a title match for Couture, it be would a joke otherwise. Expect Couture to get the loser of Shogun-Machida II rather than the winner, as Evans/Rampage will produce a No. 1 contender.

Underrated: Phil Davis

You have to love the UFC, because when prospects make their debut Dana White and Joe Silva like to see hat they have.

Phil Davis is a super talent with just amazing wrestling and for his debut he is given the very hungry, former WEC Light Heavyweight champion Brain Stann.

Stann while not a contender in the UFC by any stretch, he is also certainly not a Bobby Lashley cupcake. Stann brought solid boxing with the power to knock Davis' head into the third row and a wealth of cage time also and Davis just dominated him.

Davis moved, struck and shot for take-downs with amazing easy and when on the ground showed amazing technique. Davis also showed an inventive approach to ground-and-pound dropping huge knees into Stann's liver from a cradle position.

Davis is a 205 prospect on the level of Mo Lawal, but it is very clear the UFC is already being smarter about his development.