Last Saturday night was a big one, folks, with UFC Fight Night 26 headlining the launch of the new Fox Sports 1 Channel. The stacked card exceeded ratings expectations with 1.7 million viewers, and while we can’t expect number like that out of every Fight Night, the hope is that a good portion of those new or casual viewers will transition to more regular fans. Like I’ve said, I’m always happy when the sport grows, and I hope that this works out for the UFC.
There was some last-minute drama over who would and would not be carrying the rebranded Fuel channel, and while Fox did not get their desired rate hike from $0.23 to $0.80 per viewer, they did get their channel on nearly every TV in America, allowing them to win the time slot with UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs Sonnen.
For reference, ESPN commands $5.50.
Fox Sports 1 hopes to challenge that Goliath of the sports broadcast world, and truth be told, they are going to attract viewers when they broadcast live games. Outside of this, however, I don’t see many people switching over to them from ESPN for their news and analysis.
On the other hand, ESPN certainly has it’s vulnerabilities, and while the “worldwide leaders in sport” should be able to adapt and hold on to their market share, we’ve seen the Fox empire go up against the entrenched players and change the game in the past, for the better or for the worse.
Now, on to the fights! As a reminder, here were my (hypothetical) plays for the night:
OPS/Cody Donovan under 1.5 rounds for $110
John Howard over Uriah Hall for $100
Sonnen/Shogun over 2.5 rounds for $180
McGregor over Holloway for $150
Lauzon over Johnson for $125
So let’s start at the top, the main card.
Chael Sonnen defeats Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua via Submission (guillotine choke) at 4:47 of Round 1
While I lost my hefty play on this one (I thought it would go at least halfway), I did predict the outcome. Rua couldn’t keep Sonnen from taking him down, and Sonnen just dominated on the ground. In fact, Rua did Sonnen’s work for him, and opted for clinchwork as opposed to standing and striking at range. Sonnen quickly took the advantage in that situation and used it to finish Rua.
I suppose Shogun came to the same conclusion I did, and decided that there was no point in dragging the thing out. Or maybe he really thought he could out clinch Sonnen. Either way, people are saying that they did not expect Sonnen to win by submission, but I think that’s ridiculous. Wrestlers love the choke.
So what’s next for Sonnen? No, not a title run! He wants Wanderlei next, so I say they keep giving him superfights against the dwindling coterie of PrideFC refugees whenever a free card or a weak PPV needs just a little more draw.
(Dudes, how cool was PrideFC in it’s glory days?)
Travis Browne defeats Alistair Overeem via KO (front kick and punches) at 4:08 of Round 1
Not much to this one. Overeem started strong, almost put Browne away, got cocky, got kicked in the face by Travis Browne.
Browne is a flexible, athletic fighter for a man of his stature (6’7’’). He landed a sweet flying knee early in the round that wasn’t all that effective, but was cool as shit. When he started laying in with those front kicks, Overeem did not seem to take them seriously, and Browne was finally able to land one right on his chin. Not even all that hard, but hard enough to knock Overeem to the mat for long enough for Browne to finish him off with a couple of coffin nails.
I’d like to see both these guys stay on with the UFC. While they both have serious holes in their game, they also have significant strengths. Let’s give them the chance the show us that they can tighten up.
Urijah Faber defeats Iuri Alcantara via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
We all know how good Faber is, and that he has consistently lost his many title shots, so what are they going to do with him? I don’t really care, actually. I’ve never gotten all that excited about Urijah Faber, but the fact that Iuri Alcantara was able to put him in danger in round 1 shows how dynamic and unpredictable the sport can be.
Matt Brown defeats Mike Pyle via KO (punches) at 0:29 of Round 1
Yeah, quick impressive win, but did you see Matt Brown calling out GSP? Mike Pyle is certainly not better than GSP, and neither is Matt Brown. Good move, though. Shit like that gets you noticed in the UFC.
John Howard defeats Uriah Hall via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Speaking of unpredictable. . .
This play saved my night. There was absolutely no reason why Uriah Hall should have been favored so highly by the betting line.
Hall is overhyped, anyway. I’m more interested in seeing what Howard does from here. He better tighten his game before he moves on.
Michael Johnson def. Joe Lauzon Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
Lauzon was supposed to be my safety that night, but he just laid down in there against Mike Johnson. I picked him because he was fired up to be in front of a hometown crowd, and because he really should have been able to dictate this fight and dominate Johnson with his ground game. Instead, he stood and exchanged with Johnson, who was clearly the superior striker. And he got his ass kicked.
I’ve heard it said that Mike Johnson often gets overlooked because he has a bland, forgettable name. Well, everyone’s saying his name now, aren’t they?
And what about that scorecard? 30-25, now that hurts! I do like the fact that judges are less reluctant to score a round 10-8 these days. Heck, I even like 10-7 if someone’s really getting thrashed, and just barely hanging on.
I actually did not catch any of the TV prelims this time around, with the exception of the McGregor and Siler fights. Both great striking displays. Thanks to some last-minute coaching by Manny Gamburyan, Steven Siler was able to set up Mike Brown with a beautiful uppercut that ended the fight just 50 seconds into the first round. Gotta protect that jaw.
Conor McGregor was not fighting for a belt on Saturday, but you wouldn’t have known it from watching. That’s probably the first time I’ve seen them bring down the lights for a prelim fight. I know that the UFC was playing up the Irish angle for the Boston crowd, but all that pomp and hype was ridiculous, and it really backfired on McGregor. He fought a dominant fight against a skilled, adaptable striker in Max Holloway, but still received somewhat of a backlash from fans for not finishing in dramatic fashion.
McGregor shows a great sense of timing and range. His shots are fast, accurate, and naturally powerful. I hope that they are patient with this kid and let the hype die down a bit, but don’t keep feeding him chum. I wanna see what he can really do, both in the short-term and in the long-term.
After all, t’ree people died making that watch.
Anyway, on to the internet prelims.
Vick over Nijem- one-trick wrestler defeated, no big shock there. Caught in a guillotine after a yet another failed shoot.
OSP over Donovan- All I really recall about this fight is the end. Donovan went for a takedown from the clinch, OSP rolled him over and finished it from Donovan’s guard.
Donovan was completely inactive and did not use his guard to control OSP. He threw a weak looping shot from his back, and OSP was all over him. If Donovan had responded quicker or more intelligently, breaking St. Pierre’s posture and disrupting his striking, he could have kept the fight going.
Congrats to OSP on a strong win.
Manny v Miller- Manvel the Anvi Gamburyan defeated Cole Miller in three rounds by unanimous decision. There is some controversy surrounding this fight, concerning a possibly illegal elbow, an extended round break, and the fight doctor.
At the end of the first round, Miller landed a buzzer-beating elbow strike to Manny Gamburyan’s head. Gamburyan went to his knees, clutching the back of his head. At this point, Manny’s corner entered the ring, with what sounded like Gamburyan cornerwoman Ronda Rousey asking Lavigne “what the f*ck happened?”
Lavigne did not call an illegal strike.
The fight doctor also entered the ring and checked Gamburyan, who by this point had been assisted back to his corner, clearing him to continue the fight.
The whole thing lasted just over two minutes.
The problem being that if it was a legal blow that hurt Gamburyan, and he did not answer the bell after the 60 second round break, then Yves Levigne is supposed to call the fight by TKO. Instead, he allowed the fight doctor to finish checking and clearing Gamburyan, starting the round over a minute late.
I’ve heard a lot of people talking shit and saying that Gamburyan was acting at the end of round 1, but I’ve also heard people who are more likely to know what they’re talking about say that Gamburyan is not the type to fake and spam. To me, the strike looked illegal, so I’m actually glad that we got to see the rest of the fight. It was an interesting match between two fighters of vastly different body type. Looking at the two, it’s hard to imagine that they are in the same weight class. Seeing how Gamburyan, a smooth, polished striker, attempted to overcome Miller’s reach advantage made it a fun fight to watch. While Manny landed less punches than Miller, he was the busier of the two, and the shots he landed did more damage. Manny also was able to dominate Miller on the ground, leading to his unanimous decision by the judges.
Not to take anything away from Miller, who's athleticism and percision striking were also on display that night. He hit Gamburyan with a beautiful knee strike to the face later in the round, which further demonstrated the Anvil's remarkable chin.
Miller may have been robbed on the extended round break, but it looked to me as if Manny was robbed on that illegal elbow. Miller’s camp is asking the UFC to vacate the win and rule the match a ‘no contest,’ but seriously, if you have 7 inches on a guy and you can’t put him away, that’s on you.
So, in the end, this is what I (hypothetically) came away with:
OPS/Cody Donovan under 1.5 rounds for $110 (win $100)
John Howard over Uriah Hall for $100 (win $355)
Sonnen/Shogun over 2.5 rounds for $180 (lose $180)
McGregor over Holloway for $150 (win $90)
Lauzon over Johnson for $125 (lose $125)
Total: Win $240 (36% return)
Could be worse, but I think I can do better next time.
Also on that night were the Legends Football League playoffs, which saw the Philly Passion top the Atlanta Steam 28-20, mostly on the efforts of runningback Marirose Roach. The Passion will now take on your very on Baltimore Charm tomorrow night, August 24th, for a spot in the Legends Cup.
The Charm’s defense shows it’s holes from time to time, but is very good at stopping the run when it really counts. We edged out the Passion by 1 earlier this season, and if our offense continues it’s current hot streak, the gals of the Charm look like good picks for the Legends Cup this year.
Let’s do this, Baltimore!
The Washington Redskins were also back in action on Saturday, beating Pittsburg, the latest mile marker on our highway to an undefeated (pre)season, baby!
I don’t really know what this game says about the season to come. We have at least some talent 3 lines deep at QB, but two of those lines are already hurt. Still, I like to see RGIII resting. I really wouldn’t be upset if he took the whole season. Let our other guys get some more experience out there, shore up the offensive linemen, and I promise you RGIII will still be RGIII year.
RGIII is a competitor, and I’m sure that he wants to play as soon as possible, but that’s because it’s his job to want to play. It’s the team doctor’s job to keep him healthy.
That’s it for tonight, friends. More posts upcoming on Bellator, odds and ends from the world of MMA, and maybe some more news and politics.
Until then, hands up and protect yourselves at all times, this has been the Rabbit Punch.
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