My thoughts on UFC 94

Its rare these days to watch a MMA event and see 8 out of 10 bouts end in decision. It’s even more rare to find that half of those decisions were (as they always are) controversial split decisions where both sides are plagued with the realization that many fans aren’t completely convinced that one side won while the other side lost. But, it was bound to happen and it happened on a night that many UFC fans were looking for a night of knockout and submission action on a card that was filled with upcoming prospects and well-known MMA legends.

Clay Guida vs. Nate Diaz was the opening bout on the main card and it was no surprise that the UFC, once again, chose to lead things off with the little guys. I have never been a huge fan of Nate Diaz. Maybe its because of his thuggish attitude in the cage or the fact that he’s beaten semi-local guys who I personally enjoy watching (like Kurt Pellegrino). Either way, I was hoping one of my favorite lightweight favorites, Clay Guida, would hand Diaz his first loss since his October 2006 fight with Hermes Franca. The fight was typical, at least to me. I expect Diaz to use his reach and I was looking for Guida to slam Diaz to the ground. Thanks to his relentless non-stop takedown attack, Guida was once again victorious via decision.

Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim showcased just enough judo from Parisyan to keep the fans happy while really focusing on the up and coming skills of Kim. Firstly I was surprised that Parisyan made it to the fight tonight as he’s been making it a habit to come up with excuses before his fights. Secondly, I was hoping that Kim would win, but I was realistically thinking that Parisyan’s experience in the UFC cage would really help him win. And it did. I hope to see Kim in the octagon again as I think he has some potential to build up his skills in the Welterweight division. Both of these guys have a long way to go before they ever think about a title shot, but so do many other 170 pounders.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones really gave us a good look at who this young and athletic Jon Jones guy is. Did you catch that spinning elbow? Granted, it was an illegal blow (unintentionally, of course), but there was so much more to Jones than just a couple of flashes punches to the hit. His throws kept Bonnar on the ground while he utilized his wrestling to punish Bonnar over and over. I thought Bonnar was taking this fight, but Jones proved himself last night to be a legitimate up and coming light heavyweight. The big problem for Jones is his inability to finish fights in the UFC, but he’ll keep getting a chance if he continues to dominate well-known UFC guys like Stephan Bonnar.

Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva proved to be the only fight of the night that was decisively ended, but just barely. It’s very ironic that only fight on the card that was destined to go to a decision was ended in the final seconds of the (very) first round. Machida started off by dodging most of whatever Thiago Silva was throwing, but then once he was able to engage, he dropped Silva a couple times before coming away with his first TKO win since 2003 (his fight in 2006 doesn’t count as a true TKO due to the doctor stoppage). Did Machida gain any fans from this win? Probably. But can he also be considered ‘elusive’; a term that many of his fans use when describing one of reasons why they like Machida in the first place? We’ll see.

BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre was the exact opposite of what BJ Penn wanted last night. Penn lost this fight to St. Pierre the same way he won against Sherk back in May. St. Pierre utlized his reach and strength to quickly hurt Penn with jabs and takedowns throughout rounds two, three, and four. BJ talked a lot of smack before this fight and St. Pierre only wasted a few minutes before punishing BJ with a relentless takedown and ground and pound action. Some judges scored the fight 10-8 for St. Pierre, most likely in the later rounds, as he dominated Penn with multiple guard passes to throw elbows and fists into Penn’s extremely bruised and battered head. I expected St. Pierre to finish Penn at the end of the fourth round, but it was Penn and his cornermen who ended the fight before the final round could begin. As always, St. Pierre was gracious in defeat and was looking ahead to his fight with Thiago Alves.

Overall, the action was there, but the finishes were not. I can only imagine how restless the crowd was getting towards the beginning of the Machida fight as they expected the 9th decision in a row. Luckily, the fans were given a TKO just before the war between Hawaii and Montreal. And will there be a GSP vs. Penn III? Not likely.