UFC 109 Analysis and What's Next: Chael Patrick Sonnen's Big Night

Saturday's UFC 109 event couldn't really be described as "sexy," but maybe "gritty" or "bloody" would be more proper as we saw grizzled veterans go to work and Chael Sonnen drip like a bad faucet on his way to the biggest victory of his career.

UFC 109 also marked what should be the end of the road for Mark Coleman and Frank Trigg, while Mike Swick and Nate Marquardt now face a big ol' fork in their road. For all the recap, analysis and looking ahead to what's next following UFC 109, keep on reading because here...we...go!

Randy Couture def. Mark Coleman by second round submission (1:09)

The first thing that came to mind when this started was how old Coleman looked. Sadly at the end of the fight, I still thought the same thing and then some. It's clearly over for Coleman, and there's no shame in that. He's had a career full of accomplishments that have taken him around the world for decades.

But to say that he's still a force in 2010 is foolish, and from a post-fight chat UFC Prez Dana White had, it sounds like he's entered the cage for the final time.

And there's Couture, who is getting a huge amount of credit for the victory. There's no doubt he looked great, but consider the opponent. If you went into this thinking that Coleman was a major test and a Top 10 205'er in the world, then it's a big win. I didn't think either was the case, but freely admit this was a big victory but rather for his continued marketability as a title contender.

White is hell-bent on pushing Couture as a top 6 205'er in the world. Would you put him in the same mix as Machida, Rampage, Evans, Mousasi, Rua and even Anderson Silva? If that's the case, let's end the 185 madness after the Abu Dhabi show, put Silva at 205 for the remainder of his UFC days and have him vs. Couture for a shot at the gold. If White is willing to do that, I'll buy what he's selling.

Couture is a marvel and as important a figure as there has ever been in MMA, but it's clear what's happening here and why the six-fight deal with Couture was signed last year. Build the Couture brand up again by having him fight average light heavyweights and sell the victories as big accomplishments, therefore justifying one last title shot and another large PPV rake for the promotion.

I don't want to see Couture (or Chuck Liddell for that matter) ever put in the same position Coleman was last night: sad and old. 

Chael Sonnen def. Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision
Fight Of The Night Bonus: $60k each

This was a great fight and officially marked the arrival of Sonnen to the middleweight division for something other than his mouth. There's no other way to describe Sonnen's effort other than dominant.

He mauled Marquardt on the ground and battled through a nasty cut on his forehead to earn a shot at the Middleweight championship later this summer.

On Sunday, it was funny to hear people chastise others for not giving Sonnen a chance, but I certainly didn't hear many voices sticking up for him last week. His interviews were fantastic, but I was baffled at why he seemed to be looking ahead to a fight with Anderson Silva rather than squarely focus on Marquardt. I guess it was a good game plan after all.

While vocal, Sonnen is also likable—a guy that got screwed out of a title in the WEC thanks to a mentally weak opponent and someone that has tried to take advantage of every opportunity he's ever got and seize the moment. Now, Sonnen gets the biggest shot of his career against either one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world or a vicious striker. In either case, I can't wait to see it. Sonnen has arrived.

Marquardt now has to figure out where everything went wrong. Did he see the Sonnen fight as a letdown after perhaps thinking he earned a shot against Silva? How will he get back to the title picture? What now? Between Marquardt and Mike Swick (more on him in a few sentences), we saw two guys that were ready to take the next step up, but instead took major steps backward.

Paulo Thiago def. Mike Swick by second round submission (1:54)
Submission Of The Night: $60k to Thiago

Mike Swick couldn't be further away from a Welterweight title shot after dropping his second straight thanks to a return to dominance from Thiago who found his inner demon and made Swick tap with a nasty d'arce choke. He now moves into that holding area for a shot at the gold, but probably needs one more convincing win to get it with Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck duking it out for the next opportunity.

While Swick physically looked good, it's clear that 170 is not the place for him. I would assume and hope that White and AKA would advise him to go back up to 185 where he can start the climb up the ladder again. The shine is now off Swick, who has been pushed pretty hard since graduating from TUF . Something has to change, and while a change of camp is unlikely, that might be what Swick needs to revive his career.

In the Five Bullet Point preview , I noted how I wished the Thiago we saw crush Koscheck would come back. Last night was a great start in getting back there after boring fights with Jon Fitch and Jacob Volkmann. The Thiago we saw Saturday was a guy that people can get behind as a real threat to Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre—something the division desperately needs if they hope to keep the Canadian at 170.

Demian Maia def. Dan Miller by unanimous decision

This one didn't do much for me, as it was mostly an average stand-up exchange instead of two submission masters doing battle on the ground. If styles do make fights, they clashed in this one. Maia did what he had to do and earned the victory, getting back on the winning track after the Marquardt destruction. I'm not sure what happens from here with Maia as he won, but wasn't impressive.

Poor Dan Miller. I'm a big admirer of the work he and his brother have done to get to where they're at, but this is his second straight loss after four straight wins. He's now in must-win territory when he's next on the schedule—a difficult place to be. 

Matt Serra def. Frank Trigg via first round KO (2:23)
Knockout Of The Night: $60k to Serra

This was Trigg's last shot, and I think it's safe to say he'll retire after his second straight horrendous defeat. Matt Serra—a guy that hasn't fought in close to a year—looked stellar in picking him apart, picking up his first victory by KO or TKO since April 2007 in the GSP victory.

Trigg complained post-fight about an early stoppage, but when you go flat like he did with your arms out, you're done.

I'm not sure if we know what level Serra is at, but I hope they get him back in there sooner than later so we can find out. He didn't get much of a workout here, but you never know what could happen if he gets on a roll in 2010. GSP/Serra III anyone?


Quick Hit Undercard Notes

Melvin Guillard def. Ronnys Torres via unanimous decision

Good entertaining fight that really turned on in the second half as Guillard started opening up with knee strikes and just seemed to really get into it. I've heard that some people gave Torres the third round, but I had Guillard who may have stole it following that late reversal and punches. This was his first fight since joining Greg Jackson so how he performs in fight two and then fight three under Jackson will tell a lot about what we have with this 155'er.

Mac Danzig def. Justin Buchholz via unanimous decision

I thought this was another fun battle between two guys that didn't want to get cut with a loss. Buchholz fought his heart out, but Danzig looked revived in every aspect of the game. People love to say "He's back!" which is a bit premature, but I really liked what I saw from Danzig Saturday night especially the double punches on the ground. Tremendous!

Phil Davis def. Brian Stann via unanimous decision

Davis worked Stann on the ground for 15 minutes in this easy win. I'm shocked that Stann looked this overmatched, but this was his third fight in five months—all going the distance. That's a lot for anyone as most guys will do three matches in a 12 month period, not less than half a year. This was Davis' UFC debut and he now sits as an interesting prospect at light heavyweight at 5-0.

Joey Beltran def. Rolles Gracie via second round TKO (1:31)

Beltran was an emergency replacement for Mostapha Al-Turk who couldn't get into the US due to visa issues, but Gracie made him look like BJ Penn here. I didn't expect as horrible a performance by a Gracie in the Octagon, but I guess anything's possible. Beltran handled him and took advantage of some bad Gracie conditioning.

Josh Nason has published MMA blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to FIGHT! Magazine and appears regularly on The Fight Show and Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter .