UFC 160 Recap

Mark Hunt proved he is for real in a losing effort to JDS.

UFC 160 was a night capped off by two hugely important heavyweight fights, but the card featured much more than that.  A lightweight top contender was named, as well as another lightweight star established.  Also, a light heavyweight cemented his position in the top 5 of the division.  I had been red hot on my picks entering UFC 160, but thanks to stupid Facebook I slipped a little bit.

As always the night began on Facebook:

• Payan showed off his blood, and that's about it.  Stephens destroyed him in his featherweight debut to keep his job.
• Brian Bowles looked amazing in the first round of his much anticipated comeback.  He had Roop rocked but could not finish him.  In the second, Roop rocked, and finished Bowles for a HUGE win.
• Thompson beat Burrell in a fight I did not see via decision.

On to FX where I started to get picks right:

• Khabib Nurmagomedov is no longer just an up and coming undefeated lightweight with an awesome name.  He tossed Trujillo around like a rag doll with suplex after suplex to secure a dominant decision win.  So long as making weight is not a problem in his future, he looks to be a force in the division.  Welcome to the top 10 Khabib.
• I admit, when I picked Robert Whittaker to catch Colton Smith with a shot and finish him, I did not even believe that it would happen.  It did.  I picked Whittaker out of principal because Smith was a boring fighter on a boring season of TUF.  I really thought his wrestling would win him a decision in this fight but I picked Whittaker anyway.  Throw in the fact that Smith is a tough ass kid and there is no way I would actually expect him to be stopped.  Whittaker stopped him with his excellent striking. Huge statement for Whittaker and this fight helps Smith too.  Smith gets experience in striking and humbled.  He also dumped his reputation as a snoozer of a fighter, as this was one of the better fights all night.
• The best fight of the year thus far was between Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice.  Bermudez did not top his last fight, but he definitely was exciting again.  He edged out Holloway to earn a split decision.  This is the second exciting split decision for Bermudez in a row.  He is getting lucky but I cannot even hate on this guy because he puts on a show.
• Story and Pyle made it no easier for the judges in the final FX fight.  Pyle edged out Story in a split decision fight that was weird and quite frankly hard to score.  I was half paying attention because my steak had arrived at this point of the night, but I scored it in favor of Story.  I would have to watch it again to judge it better but meh, who cares about this fight anyway?

On to the PPV where the action did not stop:

• Donald Cowboy Cerrone dominated Noons in an exciting striking exchange.  He actually mixed in takedowns and ground and pound to make his game more well rounded.  He is anticipating Josh Thompson to be his next opponent.  Love both of those guys and would be torn on who to pick and root for, but I still want this fight to happen.  Winner would be on a fast track to a title shot.
• Speaking of the lightweight title, Gray Maynard only had TJ Grant in his way to secure a title shot against Benson Henderson.  Only TJ Grant had another thing planned.  Maynard looked really really good early landing some heavy shots.  A few uppercuts, hooks, jabs, and a lot of them tagged Grant early.  I was thinking to myself, "Wow Maynard is a lot better striker than I thought!"  I saw TJ's last fight live in Chicago and he put on a striking expo that night.  Then Maynard was smoking him in the first minute.  In that Chicago fight against Matt Wiman, it was his elusiveness that impressed me most.  Although he was less elusive against Maynard, he showcased his iron chin.  He ate hard shots from a very powerful Gray Maynard and kept walking forward.  After a minute of Maynard dominating, it only took Grant a minute to show Maynard a thing or two.  He rocked Gray and sent him back to the cage rattled, very similar to the way Frankie Edgar  finished him at UFC 136.  Grant stayed patient, picked his shots and knocked Maynard out to make a HUGE statement.  His fight in Chicago turned a lot of heads as his best performance yet.  He put that performance to shame at UFC 160.  Grant is for real and has the chin and striking to be a champion in the lightweight division.  On a side note: I said if Maynard is smart and wrestles Grant instead of exchanging with him he would win.  He chose to stand with him and look what happened.  I should be in his corner next fight eh?  Probably not.

My exact quote on what Maynard should do:   "If Gray is smart, he will take this fight to the ground with that Michigan State wrestling.  He does have tremendous confidence in his hands, due to his incredible power.  I believe Grant is the better striker and arrogance could cost Maynard if he does not take Grant's striking seriously."

• Enough of me talking about how brilliant I am for now.  When it comes to light heavyweight sluggers Glover Teixeira and James Te-Huna, only a brilliant human being like myself would pick Teixeira.  Just playing, most people picked Glover, and rightfully so.  Glover is on a tear and is a monster in the cage.  When the fight is over he is like a child on Christmas morning.  Especially after submitting James in the first round and hanging out with his idol, Mike Tyson.  Glover is on his way to the top and is becoming beloved by fans across the world on his way.  Look for him to take on UFC 161's main event winner in his next fight.  A win over Rashad or Hendo will pretty much guarantee him a title shot.  Te-Huna still has promise, he just needs a refined submission game if he wants to hang with guys like Glover, Jones, Davis, or even Gustafsson.  I wouldn't mind seeing him take on Ryan Bader or Vinny Magalhaes in his next fight.  Those are brilliant matchups if you ask me.
• I don't want to quote myself again, so just click here to see my brilliant take on the JDS/Hunt fight.  I basically said the winner of this fight gets Cain next and the Fight of the Night honors will likely be handed out to these two fellas.  I also threw something in there about Hunt having a stupid chin and elite striking.  If there is ever a fight that has two winners it is this one.  Junior tagged Hunt early with the same overhand right that finished Velasquez.  Hunt fell only to bounce right back up.  Any human being not named Mark Hunt or Roy Nelson go to sleep after getting hit with that shot by JDS.  Hunt ate a few jabs and that same overhand right a few more time.  JDS landed his signature uppercut that knocked out Werdum for good measure.  Hunt stood tall nonetheless.  Hunt landed his signature left hook and clipped Junior a few times himself.  Let us not forget the ridiculous chin that JDS showed off by not being finished by Cain in their second fight.  Junior has a chin to be respected too. They engaged in wild and crazy exchanges but JDS had the edge after 2 rounds.  Round 1 he won with the shot that dropped Hunt.  Round 2 was won with the takedown and the last minute of that round being spent on Hunt's back.  JDS could have jabbed his way to a decision like he did to the former interim champ Shane Carwin.  He was having none of that though.  He threw a spilling back kick similar to Vitor Belfort's knockout over Luke Rockhold.  After that Hunt was down and only one more punch was necessary before the ref pulled Junior off the unconscious Mark Hunt.  Hunt tried to get back up only to stumble his way into the cage in a funny display of just how hurt he was by JDS.  Hunt was game, and he is for real.  JDS is just better, and that is why he is getting the rubber match with Cain in his next fight.  Junior had KO of the Night locked up by Dana and Lorenzo, but Mike Tyson begged to differ and so TJ Grant was the recipient of that award.  Dana should have just pulled out the checkbook and given them both a bonus, but oh well.
• Cain dismantled Bigfoot for the second time.  Not too much to say about this one.  This time he did it standing up instead of with a takedown and elbows.  Bigfoot may have landed a net total of 1 strike in the two fights.  Bigfoot is still awesome and I cannot wait to see him in the cage again, but he is not up to the top level of Cain or Junior.  The stoppage was also a big premature, but there is still no doubt in anybody's mind that Velasquez is the better man.  I would like to see Bigfoot take on Mark Hunt next to be honest with you.  It could be an interesting match that could send one of these guys right back into the heap of things at the top of the FINALLY (THANK THE LORD!) talented heavyweight division.  Mir and Couture ran things for a long time, along with Big Nog, Brock Lesnar, and Tim Sylvia.  Come on, those are subpar fighters.  People like Nelson, Hunt, Browne, Bigfoot, Cormier, Werdum, and of course JDS and Cain are truly elite fighters that this division deserved to have a long time ago.  I guess Overeem is ok too, although I still hate him.

At UFC 160 I went 0-3 on Facebook, 3-1 on FX, and 4-1 on PPV for a net total of 7/12.  Over .500 works for me.  Entering total was at 69/118.

Predictions post 160: 76/130=58.5%

UFC bonuses:

Fight of the Night: JDS/Hunt

KO of the Night: JDS TJ Grant

Submission of the Night: Glover Teixeira

My new awards to be given out at every event starting now:

Beatdown of the Night: Jeremy Stephens

Sketchiest Decision of the Night: Holloway/Bermudez split decision

Upset of the Night: George Roop (Grant is a close second)

Another segment that will be new due to the vast array of cuts in the UFC:

The cut list: (Payan can stay because of his heart in not being finished)

• Nah-Shon Burrell
• KJ Noons

Three Stars: (as if there aren't enough awards)

1. TJ Grant
2. George Roop
3. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Honorable mentions to JDS, Hunt, and Whittaker.