UFC 114 Wrap Party: Rampage/Rashad Unfolds As Expected, The Mike Russow Effect

Heading into the main event of UFC 114 , a little voice in the back of my head alerted me of a potential disappointment. What we saw Saturday kept the voice quiet, but it would have been tough for Rampage vs. Rashad to live up to the hype, unless the bout was punctuated by a big KO.

Much like people expected, Evans went to the gameplan we have seen from him recently, one that Rashad's trainer Greg Jackson said should elicit boos if executed properly.

He grinds, he works for takedowns, he strikes when he needs to. And at the end of the day, he wins. Should we have expected anything else?

Compare this fight with Rashad's January win over Thiago Silva. They are nearly identical, complete with a near third-round collapse by Evans.

Overall, the fight was good, not great. We sometimes forget that MMA fights are different kinds of beasts than your normal type of throwdown. Jackson and Evans weren't going to swing schoolyard-style, even with the Primetime hype that had some thinking otherwise.

Even when two heated rivals get in there, there are still rules to be followed. Those rules kind of negate a full-on blood letting, which some thought we might get. In the third, Rampage almost got his full revenge with those right hands, but it wasn't to be.

Depending on what happens with Randy Couture and James Toney, I'd love to see Shogun Rua vs. Rashad Evans headline the Boston UFC debut in late-August. Both guys are relatively healthy and would have three solid months to prepare.

After too many injuries, the 205-lb. division needs to keep regular title fights and battles between top contenders rolling. No rest for the wicked, light heavyweights. Just keep plugging away.

Blob 1, Hulk 0

For two guys that each weighed in at 253, there couldn't have been two more different physiques than Todd Duffee and Mike Russow's. For two rounds, the look held up. Then, the third round changed things.

Duffee warned people he was getting too much hype, but that didn't stop the media from pushing him as the next hot heavyweight prospect. In reality, Duffee is still very green in the sport and the third spot on a major PPV event might have been too much too soon.

He had several opportunities to close Russow out, but the guy who makes Roy Nelson look trim held on, tagging Duffee hard in the third and his out-of-nowhere "WTF" KO had people buzzing.

The problem for the UFC is two-fold. Duffee now has a black mark on his record with a loss, one that he certainly can come back from but it's still there. His prospect status shouldn't fade, but now there's even more pressure on him to come back strong in his next performance.

The other issue is the guy that took him out is exactly what UFC doesn't like. Russow is a flabby, out of shape looking fighter. He looks more like a bar-brawling toughman than a mixed martial artist.

Nelson is helping fans overcome this visual stigma, but it's still a bit disarming to see a guy jiggling around in there.

Upon seeing Russow, people immediately don't take him seriously. That's not good for the sport. It's a difficult situation to fix, but it's a reality. He shut some people up with the Duffee KO, but in a TV-friendly sport like the UFC, having "the look" is important.

Side note: I'm confused about Russow. Why isn't he in better shape? With how hard MMA training is, it seems nearly impossible that he's overweight to that extent. Seriously, go to a MMA cardio class. You'll nearly die. Imagine doing that everyday. You'd be ripped up and in great shape.

I'm confused how genetics have betrayed Russow.

Quick Hits

- I was really, really impressed with John Hathaway in his dominant performance over Diego Sanchez. Sanchez just didn't look like himself, which is puzzling. Dana White thinks Diego should be fighting at 155, not 170. We'll see how that plays out.

Hathaway, a young, well-spoken 170-pound prospect, is a man to watch through the rest of this year.

- I thought Michael Bisping/Dan Miller was more Fight Of The Night worthy than Nogueira/Brilz. It was a fun, hard-hitting fight that Bisping controlled, but Miller was game to stand with.

- Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin is in two weeks. That seems awful quick. I didn't even know any other fights on the UFC 115 card until I saw the ad Saturday night. Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry as your co-main event? Yikes. Too bad this wasn't a Spike TV special event instead.

-  Remember when White said he was going to make it up to the fans for Anderson Silva's awful performance at the Abu Dhabi show? When is that going to happen?

- Jason Brilz got screwed over in his decision loss to Lil Nog. But as was noted on various Twitter threads last night, he made a name for himself. People know him now, which is almost just as good. It would have been great to see him get the win, but the $65k for Fight Of The Night isn't too bad either.

- I am also officially tired of hearing "Don't let it go to the judges." At some point, fights are going to go the distance. Accountability and training for judges is what's important. Of course we want to see finishes. But let's be realistic. 

- Finally, here's a video from Dave Meltzer and his Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly site with Dana White. A nice 12-minute piece with tons of little tidbits about the future, and White's thoughts on Saturday night.

Josh Nason is a freelance MMA journalist that has published Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to FIGHT! Magazine, Apollo Magazine and Bleacher Report, appearing regularly on The Fight Show and Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.