UFC 114 in Review: The Day of the Underdog

UFC 114 – The Day of the Underdog

Going into UFC 114, there were several things everyone knew beyond all doubt. 
1. Todd Duffee would absolutely destroy Mike Russow .
2. Antônio Rogério Nogueira would easily handle Jason Brilz .
3. Diego Sanchez was going to beat John Hathaway .
4. Luiz Arthur Cane would get back to his winning ways with an easy win over Cyrille Diabante .
5. In the opinion of many but not this writer, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was sure to knock out "Sugar" Rashad Evans —probably in the very first round—and claim the title shot and the rematch against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The story of UFC 114 was this: Things just didn’t go like we thought they would. 


The first upset of the evening

Luiz Arthur Cane started things off with some surprisingly good striking, dropping Cyrille Diabante early on.  The grappling specialist then went for the submission, but Cyrille shook it off and got back to his feet.  Cyrille dropped Cane with a solid right.  The referee stoppage may have been premature, but Cyrille Diabante came away with the victory. 

Prior to Saturday, many people still held out high hopes for Luiz Cane eventually contending for the title.  Prior to Saturday, very few people knew who Cyrille Diabante was.

Upset No. 2

In the very first round, Diego Sanchez shot in for a takedown and took a vicious knee to the head.  The biggest surprise of the fight was that Diego survived it and was able to survive the one-sided beating from John Hathaway for all three rounds.

It's a testament to Diego's toughness.  But there is no question that Hathaway completely dominated the fight, out boxing the UFC veteran, and stuffing takedown after takedown. 

For those who knew about Hathaway before this fight, it wasn’t exactly a huge upset.  But this was the biggest name and the sternest test in Hathaway’s MMA career. 

Still unbeaten with a record of 13–0, Hathaway has been proven once again: You can never underestimate the undefeated fighter.  This fight truly puts John Hathaway on everyone's radar in a very big way.


Upset No. 3

When Joe Silva called Jason Brilz to see if he would substitute for an injured Forrest Griffin and fight Antônio Rogério Nogueira , it was the opportunity of a lifetime.  Jason Brilz seized that opportunity and clearly outfought his legendary opponent for the first two rounds. 

Granted the fight was not the same level of highway robbery by judges that we've seen before.  Nogueira came to fight.  But as many times as  I watch the fight, I can't see how any judge would give any either of the first two rounds to Little Nog.  The third round was certainly dominated by Nogueira, but was it enough to overcome losing the first two rounds?   

Win or lose, Brilz truly put his name on the map.  Everyone was expecting Little Nog to make short work of Brilz.  Instead, Brilz almost won the fight.  The winner was who we thought it would be, but nobody figured Brilz would do nearly as well as he did.


Upset No. 4

Todd Duffee truly burst onto the UFC in specatcular fashion.  It took just seven seconds for Todd to drop Tim Hague in Duffee's UFC debut, locking up the record for fastest knockout in UFC history. 

Early on, this fight seemed to be shaping up the same way.  Duffee rocked Russow in the first round, and was picking him apart on the feet.   

It was the opinion of many, myself included, that Russow's only chance of victory was to get the fight to the ground and outwrestle Duffee.  As Todd Duffee stuffed takedown after takedown, the outcome of the fight became more and more obvious. 

Surprisingly, no matter how hard and how often Duffee hit him, Mike Russow just wouldn't drop.  But clearly Todd had a judges decision all locked up. 

Unexpected things kept happening Saturday night, but nobody expected what came next.  Midway through the third round, Mike Russow connected flush to Duffee's temple and the lights went out for Todd Duffee . 

That may have been only punch that truly connected flush for Russow all night, but as many strikers have long realized, sometimes it just takes one well placed strike to win the fight.

Clearly, the UFC's DVD, "Ultimate Comebacks" certainly has a new addition ready for submission.


Upset No. 5

The main event was billed by many as the fight where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would put a definitive end to the war of words between himself and "Sugar" Rashad Evans . 

The vast majority of UFC fans and experts felt that Jackson would score a thrilling knockout victory.  With that, Jackson would shut up this pesky upstart fighter, leaving him unconscious on the octagon floor. 

Once again, the fight didn’t go as most people expected.  Rashad stunned Rampage in the first round and dove directly into his game plan: The clinch.  Rampage has proved himself weak in the clinch time and time again, and Rashad Evans jumped all over this hole in Quinton's game. 

Much of the fight saw Rashad Evans pressing Rampage up against the cage, landing a few strikes but mostly working for takedowns from the clinch.  When the clinch was broken by the referee, Rashad's quick feet and elusiveness kept Rampage from landing any powerful shots, while Rashad repeatedly landed strikes from a distance.

In the third round, Rashad's gameplan came flying off the rails for a time, when Rampage dropped Evans. 

At a glance, it looked like Rampage had landed a power shot.  Ironically, the replay showed it was Rashad who stunned himself by smacking his head into Rampage’s knee while reaching for a double leg takedown.  Clearly, Rampage wasn’t looking for the knee to the head, but Rashad rocked himself. 

Down went Rashad, and Rampage began raining down strikes.  The crowd went crazy and it looked like the fight was close to being stopped.

It was at this point that Rashad Evans once again demonstrated who he is.  Evans shook off the cobwebs and worked his way out of danger and back to his feet.  Then he turned the tide of the round, taking Rampage down, and finishing the round with his own ground and pound assault. 

The fight went exactly as this writer said it would, with Rashad Evans thoroughly outscoring Jackson and handing Rampage his first decisive loss in his UFC career.

This was definitely a day for the underdogs.  On the main card, only the Michael Bisping vs Dan Miller fight went as most people expected it to.