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UFC 111 and UFC Fight Night - 5 Things We Learned

With the UFC holding 2 events so close together, i thought it would be alright if i grouped them together for the most recent "5 things we learned".


Last time, I felt as though my article was rushed, so I hope I can make it up with his one! Ladies and gents, 5 things we learned!


1 - We might just have a new archetype for the Heavyweight division. I said it as soon as Lesnar signed, and Carwin just raised the stock on such an idea. No one can deny that Frank Mir has a killer skill set, but what happens when you’re muscled to the fence or to the ground, where your opponent is just too damn big and strong?


Your hips won’t save you if they can’t roll on the mat, and with Carwin and Lesnar's success, we might see more behemoths surface. What can stop a speedy, strong, huge train like our current champs? Blazing fast hands and really good footwork. Good thing Velasquez and Dos Santos are around.


2 - St.Pierre vs. Hardy. People are trashing St Pierre because he didn’t finish what should have been an easy victory and Hardy was obliterated. This fight was a lose-lose for not just the fighters, but for us as spectators. We didn’t get the finish that should have come, and, while dominant, the performance of GSP was monotonous and slow. What did i learn from this fight?


Welterweight is probably the class that needs the most change. Fitch isn’t going to bring anything new to rematch with GSP, and St.Pierre is going to continue doing what he does best; Takedown, peck, repeat.


3 - Referee consistency is needed. Dan Mirgliotta has been catching a lot of heat for continuously standing fighters up when the action seems sub-par. What some people don’t understand is that this is a different sport and the knockout is not always the way someone will want to win. Standing up a BJJ black belt completely hinders his shot winning a bout.


I say there should be a set amount of time in which inactivity is allowed. If there is no punches thrown or if someone is not advancing their position for, say, a whole minute, then yes, stand them up. But just because someone takes 15 seconds in half-guard to work position to a mount does not give anyone the right to completely erase the effort and energy taken to get there.


4 - No man's land. This is a space that is held by a no. 2 fighter in which he is better than the rest but just cannot jump the hurdle that is the current champion. At this moment, we have two fighters in said territory. Jon Fitch and Kenny Florian. There are only two things you can do with men like this: you can give them another shot at the belt, or you can just feed them contenders until one proves worthy.


I'm not ok with the ladder. Florian and Fitch are too good to keep at the gate the rest of their career. Both have proven they can win on their own accord. I don’t care how much one has grown as a fighter, if they are number two, give them a shot.

5 - Takanori Gomi. I wrote an article about what i thought would be a dismantling of the once great Lightweight. I expressed a concern for Kenny’s jab and jiu-jitsu, which dictated the fight on Florian's behalf. But, the biggest factor here was Gomi himself.


We didn’t see The Fireball Kid that destroyed Pulver and Sakarai. We didn't see the brash, confident and infectious Gomi that robbed me of all my interest. I didn't know who was fighting Florian, but it wasn't my hero. What i learned in this fight is that the fire someone has to fight is everything. The heart of a fighter is determined by that fire, that drive, that image of something they want.


I think Gomi feels there is nothing to prove at this point. I still think he could be the best, but as of his last performance, I think that a Gomi void of motivation is a Gomi that needs to reprioritize.

So, for UFC 111 I only gone one prediction wrong, and that was Carwin-Mir. Not bad for some good match-ups, right? I hope Mir can work on that clinch! Till next time, Peace!  

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