Monday, March 17, 2014

UFC 171 Recap

This kick ended Condit's night, and right knee.
UFC 171 crowned a new champ and also had a devastating leg injury for the 2nd time in just 4 PPV main/co-main events.  Luckily for us, the main event was not stopped ridiculously early by Herb Dean.  Instead, it was one of the best fights in welterweight history between two bangers.  Here is how I saw it go down.

Prelims I couldn't watch....blah blah blah:

  • Whiteford decisions Pineda
  • Strickland RNC Bubba "cut from UFC" McDaniels
  • Scoggins 30-27 Campuzano
  • Trevino ugly decision over Forte
  • Garcia split decision over Spencer
  • Bermudez ass whooping TKO over Hettes
  • Andrade split decision over Rocky Pennington
  • Gastelum split decision over Rick Story
Pay-per view:
  • OSP with a Von Flue choke over Nikita Krylov.  Hey that's kinda cool.
  • Hector Lombard decision win over Jake Shields.  Lombard looks outstanding in the first round then coasted as he often does due to his light gas tank.  Many criticize this performance due to this coasting and boring approach he took however I say this is the 2nd most impressive win of his career.  Outside of this fight and his most impressive win over Alexander Shlemenko back in Bellator he has no real big wins.  I need to see more from him but I was impressed with his performance despite the criticism.  That said, he almost got choked out and has so much more work to do if he wants to even think about a title shot.  As for Shields, he will likely be cut.  I think Dana usually is very complimentary to people who take an ass beating when they gut it out and are tough enough to see the end of the fight but instead Dana called Shields boring again and criticized the match.  He hates Shields who is expensive and will likely beat his prospects so Jake will probably be in WSOF before we know it.  I personally would like to see Shields fight prospects like maybe Thatch.  As for Lombard, he should take on Dong Hyun Kim in his next fight.  I think they are both just inside the top 10 so it makes sense.
  • Myles Jury whooped Diego Sanchez's ass.  Nothing shocking here other than the fans did not like Jury in his post fight interview with Rogan.  Get over it people, Jury is legit.
  • Tyron Woodley looked outstanding against Carlos Condit but unfortunately for both fighters, Condit blew out his knee on a takedown and eventually collapsed after a violent leg kick.  Condit will be out for some time but will likely be the 3rd ranked welterweight despite being 1-3 in his last 4.  He has a TON of work to do in my books when he gets back if he wants another shot at UFC gold.  As for Woodley, I think he should fight Rory MacDonald next.  The winner very well could be the next title contender at 170.
  • Johny Hendricks won rounds 1, 2, and 5 very clearly in my book so I don't understand the controversy behind the fight.  Unreal performance from Lawler but he only won the 3rd and 4th rounds which isn't enough.  God only knows how he didn't finish Hendricks in the 3rd round.  It was a great fight and Lawler is still in the picture for another shot at the title in late 2014/ early 2015.
The question is, if I have Woodley facing MacDonald and Lombard facing Kim, who is next for a title shot?  The answer is simpler than most people would think, the winner of Ellenberger vs Saffiedine.  Tarec Saffiedine is the last Strikeforce champ at 170 and has the skills to be a champion in the UFC.  Ellenberger was in line for a title shot before he lost to Kampmann only to get back in line before losing to Rory MacDonald.  However, he has a history of impressing the hell out of us when he wins.  Should he KO Saffiedine, he will make a great case for a title shot.  As for Lawler, I would love to see him face the winner of Erick Silva and Matt Brown.  Brown is on a sick winning streak and needs that signature win if he wants to get that title shot.  He earned at least a top contender fight at this point.  I would also be ok with Lawler/Woodley and Brown (or Silva)/MacDonald.  Those 2 fights should produce a top contender when Hendricks is done with the Ellenberger/Saffiedine winner.  Comment your thoughts on my proposed scenarios!

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