Quick “spoiler alert” for those that still haven’t seen the fights or read the results or looked at the updated rankings…
Cain Velasquez
There’s a ton to say here, but I’ll try to keep it brief (let’s be honest, we all know I’m going to fail).
First and foremost, grats to him. Nog had a huge experience edge and Cain seemed very relaxed. On the topic of experience, do people realize just how far Cain has climbed and how fast? His first fight was less than 3 and a half years ago. He now sits within the top 50.
Looking at it deeper you realize after two quick fights at the end of 2006 he didn’t have another fight until April of 2008. One more fight in 2008, three in 2009 (a reasonable number) and here he is as one of the (I’d hope) undisputed top heavyweights currently in the sport.
Speaking of undisputed, can anyone logically explain to me how some still have Brock ranked higher than Cain? Here’s the breakdown…
Brock Lesnar Vs Cain Velasquez
Strength of Schedule is very close and Cain has simply fought more, won more, finished more fights, etc. Despite fighting more Cain has fewer losses. I know some will claim Brock has the belt, but there is so much wrong with that “logic” that I will dedicate an entire rant to shooting such a silly statement down if anyone even entertains the thought of posting such nonsense.
I’m not a huge Cain fan, but I think he’s shown how quickly someone can climb the ranks when they get decent matchmaking and win their fights.
Nog
When I think about how things went and where they stand I honestly think many fans have no idea where Nog has been. He’s the “warrior”, he’s got the “heart” and I’m not quite sure how anyone could dislike him.
Having said that, some people seem surprised he’s lost more frequently of late. Let’s be honest here, Nog wasn’t some offensive juggernaut that overwhelmed his opponents for quick first round finishes. Many of his fights saw later rounds, and he absorbed a *TON* of punishment. Several of his “wins” could have easily been stopped. When I first saw the Sapp fight I honestly thought he was dead at one point.
Nog is a great fighter and I wish him the best, but his decline didn’t come out of no where. This has been happening for awhile and some people chose to ignore it because refs didn’t stop fights and Nog somehow found a way to pull out the “W”.
The HW Division
What a fucking mess. Seriously, just wow.
This has been going on for awhile and although I hope it cleans itself up soon, it’s pretty bad. Cain moves to three, which seems reasonable, but Nog seems “too high”.
Why is Nog “too high”? Because other people aren’t winning. Overall the HW ratings are quite low. Nog is #2, but in other weight classes he’d be:
LHW – 6th
MW – 6th
WW – 7th
LW – 6th
Those to me seem more like where he should be. The problem? No one else at HW has much of a streak going. We’ve got some bad matchmaking, some “upcoming fights”, some inactive fighters, and the whole thing just adds up to one big mess.
Lots of fighters are in action soon though, so I’m hopefully with title holders getting back into action, and a few more events things will get fixed right up.
Wandy Vs Bisping
First…I checked when someone asked and Wandy is the only fighter I have currently listed who has “axe” anywhere in their nickname.
Second…I think Bisping has done a *LOT* right lately from a PR perspective. His last post fight was mostly spot on and leading into the Wandy fight he said a lot right.
With that said, I just don’t like how “close” this fight was. This fight is just one example, but it just happened, so I’m going to use it.
The way the fight played out you had Wandy almost finish the fight at the end of the second…possibly on his way to finishing it in the third and the fight was 29-28. Before you say “but Wandy won”, understand that some sites had some people score the fight for Bisping. Sadly, with where the rules currently stand, I understand how that could happen.
Nothing against Bisping, but without a time limit and judges I’m not sure what his “plan for victory” was. Wandy had striking attempts to end the fight, he even had a possible submission to end the fight. Did anyone see any sign that Wandy couldn’t have gone 5 or 7 or 9 or however many rounds it took for him to finally finish Bisping.
Doesn’t it seem a bit off that in a fight where one guy didn’t do hardly anything to “win” (finish) the fight and another came close multiple times that the fight was “close”? The fact that a fight like this is close is why some bad decisions happen.
Lytle Vs Foster
As a point of contrast to the last fight…
The important thing to note here is that this was *NOT* some technique-less slobberknocker. Sometimes people think “action” means two fighters standing near each other and arm punching for 2 minutes.
This fight had a variety of striking (and some grappling!). Both fighters looked willing to engage and it seemed very unlikely this fight would go to decision. Not only did fans see action, but they also saw some technique and I really wish more fights played out this way.
Tags: ufc