Holy smokes, what a night! Pettis puts Henderson way in the first round, Lim knocks out Krauss with a flying knee, and, well, everyone else does just about what we expected them to do.
Highlights include the Warmaster’s crushing knee to the face of Frank Mir, the devastating striking display by Chad Mendes, and Dustin Poirier’s three round war with the Erik Koch.
I’m not really stoked to see the Warmaster back in the UFC, but that knee to the head of Frank Mir was effin’ massive. While referee Rob Hinds certainly could have let Barnett land a couple of punches to the dome of the unconscious Mir, just to make it official, and while there is the very slight chance that Mir would have been able to scramble, avoid the death blow, and keep the fight going, I for one have no particular problem with the stoppage. Frank Mir was clearly knocked unconscious by the blow, his hands hanging limp over and behind his head. Hinds prevented Barnett from landing additional blows to the undefended head of the unconscious Mir, as is his job.
Moving on, Chad Mendes is an absolute effin’ beast. Top 5 in the Featherweight division for sure, possibly #1 contender. If Aldo vacates the belt to fight Pettis at 155, Chad is on the very short list to replace him.
Personally, I’d like to see Aldo fight Pettis at 150 for both belts. Now that’s a superfight. After that, the winner would defend one belt at a time, at one weight class at a time, a minimum of twice annually in each weight class. Just think of the hype it'll generate!
Pettis is looking better and better with every fight, and is the one to challenge Aldo right now. Do you know why he beat Smooth Ben again? It wasn’t just the work put in at the gym, it wasn’t just the top-tier team around him and it wasn’t even that sweet-ass 5-kick combo straight outta Street Fighter (just keep hitting B!). It was the mental game. Pettis is sharp, focused, and one of the quickest thinkers in the octagon. His unique combination of power, skill, and instinct make him one of the most dangerous fighters at any weight class, and from any position, as Hendo found out on Saturday. Anthony Pettis is still on the rise, and I look forward to seeing just how high his skills can climb.
We also got to see a great display of sportsmanship that night with the verbal tap. Releasing on a verbal tap before the referee gets involved is a very risky game. If the ref doesn’t hear it, the other guy can just deny that a tap took place and just carry on fighting. Pettis, however, heard Henderson and released, and Hendo, to his credit, did not try to recant the tap. He knew that he had been beaten before anyone else in that arena did. Even watching at home, I did not think that Pettis had the armbar locked in until I went back to the replays and realized just how far Bendo’s arm was torqued across his body. Pettis saw his opportunity and he hit it.
Good fight by two great fighters. I would not be surprised if we saw Hendo get the belt back someday, but not anytime soon. Now it’s time for Pettis to string a few wins together and build a name for himself as champion.
Other than that, Ryan Couture performed as expected; could not handle the hands of a second-tier Lightweight, fought hard, but got completely thrashed. I would say that he should stick to grappling, but the guy was showing off some sweet kicks on Saturday, so maybe he should just drop down to the minors for a few fights. What was the name of that promotion who are trying to market themselves as a UFC farm league?
Worst walkout music of the night was a tie between Brendan Vera and Big Ben Rothwell for their choices of Awolnation and Muse.
On a final note, the Heavyweight division really needs to develop some greater depth, or at the very least institute some sort of a cardio test. Soa Palelei and Russian Al Capone were hurting more from their own fatigue than from each other’s attacks! One of them should have used the Homer Simpson strategy, and just let the other guy tire himself out wailing on them. It would have been more effective than what we saw on Saturday night. By the by, what do you think of the shirtless with a fedora look for the weigh-in? Think it'll catch on? I think it'll catch on.
Seriously, DW, you’ve got to be able to find at least a few more fighters over 205 who can go for more than 180 seconds at a time.
Overall, a great fight card. The poker cards could have been kinder that night, but these things come and go. I’ll be looking to recoup my losses at UFC 166 in October, when we’ll get to see some top-tier heavyweight action as current champ Cain Velasquez takes on Junior Dos Santos in the pair’s much-anticipated rubber match for the belt. Also on the card are Gilbert Melendez, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Sarah Kaufman, making her long-awaited UFC debut against Jessica “Evil” Eye.
Hands up, protect yourselves at all times, and keep an eye out for the next Rabbit Punch!
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