Spotty Judging and Shredded Knees: A Shaken Man's Thoughts on UFC 89 And 90

        Fresh off of my recent debacles that I thinly disguised as UFC previews, I felt like some of my thoughts needed to be shared with you, my dear reader. It's just that after that bloody plane crash of a fight that was Leben vs. Bisping, I needed a week to recover my senses and rationale. And now, nine full days later, I think I'm starting to get it back. Then again, maybe not. I don't care. You know you'll read it anyway.

      Since I am still not what you would call "mentally stable", this article will be presented in the form of scattered, incoherent blurbs. Just know that going in.

-- OK, in the interest of my psyche, let start with something positive. Paul Taylor and Chris Lytle put on an outstanding fight for the British fans. It couldn't have been more exciting. It was also a very interesting stand up exchange because Taylor threw short inside punches that caught Chris repeatedly, but Lytle would just move a step back and crack him from the outside. It was a dirty boxing fans dream that went on for fifteen solid minutes. From an MMA fan, thanks, Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor!

-- I've only done two previews, but this pick is already the runaway favorite for "Worst Pick of the Year": Junior dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum. Had I taken the ten seconds to look up who dos Santos trains with, I would have learned that he rolls with Rodrigo Nogueira (who dropped Fabricio twice when they fought) and spars with Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. Throw in the spooky Jardine-Alexander "I should be fighting someone better" parallels and we really learned something here: I'm a moron. You deserved better than that.

-- Ando vs. Cote was a strange affair to say the least. It didn't even seem real; I felt like I was watching a movie. Rogan agreed with me. When Ando bowed to Cote after the first round, he quipped "this guy is from a movie". It was like watching the most exciting dance recital of all time. Although Cote was surely losing the fight when his knee pulled a Greg Oden on him, his confidence never wavered, as he landed a few nice kicks and took some hellacious shots. That fight seemed more one sided than it really was because Ando decided to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. I hope Pat makes a speedy recovery ... I'd love to see him fight Marquardt next. And if you think I'm grasping for straws because I picked Pat ... well, you're half-right. He was dominated, but at the same time, I thought Ando was playing with fire. 

-- Boy, GSP might have his hands full with Thiago Alves. Let's just say that for now.

-- After Sokoudjou folded like a card table against Banha, he pretty much HAS to fight Houston Alexander now, right? How can the UFC not make this happen? Isn't it destiny?

-- Heres' where it gets grisly: the judging. Since there were so many examples of spotty judging over the past two shows, I actually had to make a list. Here it is.

a) Chris Lytle def. Paul Taylor by unanimous decision

I thought they nailed this one, but you could make an argument for a split decision. Either way, Lytle won. Although neither fighter deserved to lose. Great fight. How about Paul Taylor netting THREE Fight of the Night bonuses and losing all three of the fights? When are the Buffalo Bills signing him?

b) Dan Hardy def. Akihiro Gono by split decision

I'm torn on this one. On one hand, Hardy was the aggressor throughout the contest, throwing a myriad of strikes and backing Gono up. Throw in the two illegal knees to the face that Gono landed (even though a point was not deducted), and I can see how the judges would score the fight for Hardy. On the other hand, Gono had Hardy swinging and missing more than Adam Dunn. Aki stuck to throwing single shots, but they landed with more power and frequency. If I were a judge, I'd have given it to Aki. Barely.

c) Keith Jardine def. Brandon Vera by split decision

I agreed with this one whole-heartedly. Jardine pushed forward and tried his darndest to make the fight exciting, but when Brandon Vera is involved, that obviously can't happen. It's in his contract. Anyway, I thought Jardine's mini-flurry at the end of the first round stole him the fight.

d) Sean Sherk def. Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision

It was unanimous for Sherk? For real? This was one of those fights that desperately needed another round. Sure, Sean got two takedowns and stuffed every attempt from Tyson, but he did nothing with those takedowns, even getting his nose bloodied by Griffin with some solid punches from the bottom. Standing up, the fight was even if you watched it in real time. But if you slowed it down, you'd see that Tyson landed the crisper and more powerful shots, whereas Sean's strikes tended to graze rather than find a home on Griffin's jaw. This should have at least been a split decision.

e) Michael Bisping def. Chris Leben by unanimous decision

WHAT?!? Huh?!? You're kidding me. Get out of here. You aren't serious. I don't believe you.

*takes a deep breath*

*exhales*

OK, what exactly did Michael Bisping do to win that fight? He freaking ran away like Carl Lewis for three rounds. I heard people comparing his performance to Machida's style, which is just blasphemy. Yes, Lyoto moves around and is extremely tough to hit (which Bisping isn't), but he is always on the balls of his feet, and when he commits to a strike, more often than not, it is a HARD strike. Throw in the fact that Lyoto has dropped his opponent in each of his 5 UFC bouts, and this might be the worst comparison since Harold Miner was labeled "Baby Jordan"  in the mid-90's.

Meanwhile, Leben hurt (not dazed, HURT) Bisping with every punch he landed, and threw various kicks that found their target. He stalked Bisping, dropped his hands and did everything short of getting on his knees and begging Mike to fight him. Bisping landed one clean punch that I can remember; he reminded me of Kalib Starnes. Naturally, he won by unanimous decision. Oh wait, he was fighting in England. That's right. Somewhere, Matt Hamill was shaking his head.

     I needed to get that off my chest. I promise my next article will be more enjoyable and less "rant-y". Also, the next time I preview a UFC, I guarantee at least 8 correct picks or your money back, even though this is a free web site.