Maddox Insight – UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida

 


 

Before I begin delving into tonight’s insight, I would like to apologize and offer an explanation for my near three week absence.  I’ve been terribly busy with school.  I’m still trying to figure out why I thought taking a Chinese course was a great idea.  It’s taking up a large portion of my free time.  Along with that, I also didn’t feel that UFC 122:  Okami vs. Marquardt presented anything monumental enough to jot down some opinions on.

Thankfully, tonight’s UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida provided the minty-freshness to clean out the terrible aftertaste that UFC 122 left me with.  A lot of fight fans had their own expectations for tonight’s main event, but I doubt any of us expected the headline bout between Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida to end as controversially as it did.

Whether you believe Quinton Jackson genuinely earned tonight’s decision or thought Lyoto Machida was robbed.  Let’s all at least agree that tonight produced some pretty exciting bouts.  I walked away from tonight’s broadcast feeling completely satisfied with my $45 purchase.  With that said, it’s time for us to move ahead to the bread and butter of this column.  Show me the bullet-points!

-Without starting off with the finer points in tonight’s UFC broadcast, I’d like to dedicate my first bullet-point to Giorgio Petrosyan.  As of 3:00 AM Friday morning, Petrosyan took home the 2010 K-1 MAX World Grand Prix Championship.  Those with an elephant memory will also remember that he also took home the 2009 Championship.  I don’t know if you readers follow kickboxing at all, but Petrosyan is one scary guy.  Last night’s win has to put him on the same level as a Manny Pacquiao or Anderson Silva in the kickboxing world.  If you haven’t seen him fight, please go check some of his stuff out.

-The second bullet-point gets dedicated to Karo Parisyan.  I was super stoked to read of his return to the UFC.  Parisyan has always been one of my favorites, so it comes as to no surprise that I was completely dismayed by his performance tonight.  Never would I have thought that Dennis Hallman was capable of stopping Parisyan via TKO.  Here’s hoping Parisyan gets to stay around for at least another bout.

-The Spike TV card was better than expected.  While I knew “A-Train” Aaron Simpson and Mark Munoz would have a solid affair that would test their wrestling and durability, I didn’t expect Matt Brown and Brian Foster to be as active as it was on the ground.  It’s a shame that Aaron Simpson has lost his second fight in a row, as some MMA insiders saw him as a Middleweight prospect.  I’m not saying he no longer isn’t, but it’s going to be a lot harder selling a guy who’s coming off of back to back losses.  I also wouldn’t be surprised if Matt Brown was to receive his walking papers sometime in the next few days.

-I remember it being around this time last year when George Sotiropoulos caught my eye by submitting Jason Dent at UFC 106:  Ortiz vs. Griffin II .  I was entirely impressed with his grappling prowess and while I felt it a little early to give an accurate prediction on how far he get, I definitely saw a star in the making for UFC’s 155lb division.  Sure enough, a little over a year later, Sotiropoulos is sitting high on a seven-fight win streak in the UFC.  I’d say he’s just one or two fights away from earning himself a title match.

-I’d also like to point out that, in my opinion, Sotiropoulos has been a victim of some very weird booking.  Upon reading the announcement of Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos at , I knew it would be one hell of a fight.  You’d think that they’d match him up with someone of higher stock, though.  I’m still wondering why they just didn’t decide to go with Evan Dunham vs. George Sotiropoulos as a title eliminator instead of having Dunham fight Sean Sherk.  That could have been a very intense match.

-Phil Davis is another prospect who’s being overlooked just because he belongs in the same division as Ryan Bader and Jon Jones.  He may possess the flashy style like Jon Jones or the victories over names like Keith Jardine and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira like Ryan Bader, but between Davis, Bader, and Jones I feel that Davis has the better all-around game.  His wrestling is top-notched and has led to him grinding out several opponents.  His knowledge of the submission game continues to increase with recent submission victories over Alexander Gustafsson and tonight’s Tim Boetsch.  If Davis could work on his footwork just a bit more, he could be a legitimate threat for anyone in the 205lb division.  And how can you not have respect for a man who fights in pink?

-While one prospect soars on the main card, another looked a little lackluster.  No idea what happened in Gerald Harris’ bout with UFC newcomer Maiquel Falcao, but Harris didn’t seem to have any answers for Falcao tonight.  Also, was I the only one who thought of Vitor Belfort when Falcao’s threw strikes?  The speed at which he threw his punches seemed to completely throw Harris off of his game.  I’m also of the opinion that Harris tapped in the first round.  Why else would he have looked so dejected when the referee pulled Falcao off of him?  He thought he lost the fight.  It was certainly a great showing for Maiquel Falcao and shows that anything can happen in the sport of MMA.

-I’m still baffled as to why so many people wrote B.J. Penn off in his rubber match with Matt Hughes.  If anything, I guess this match is a perfect example of how fickle some MMA fans can be.  Just because Penn lost twice to Frankie Edgar doesn’t mean that B.J. Penn is done in MMA.  The fact of the matter is Matt Hughes is pushing up there in age, he’s always had subpar striking, and he doesn’t have the speed to match B.J. Penn.  Deciding to stand up with B.J. Penn is a sure recipe for disaster and Matt Hughes found that out just twenty-one seconds into the fight.  I don’t think it’s quite time to lobby for another B.J. title shot, but it will be interesting to see what Penn decides to do after this win.  A name I suggested, if he decides to stay at Welterweight, was Carlos Condit, but it seems Condit is already tied up with Chris Lytle sometime next year.

-So many things I could say about the main event of UFC 123.  Let’s begin with my scorecard, which had the fight set as a draw.  The first round I scored 10-all.  The second round I scored 10-9 – Jackson.  The third round I scored 10-9 – Machida.  I’m not saying that’s how it should have been scored, but I do think this is another fight that just screams for judges to score more draw rounds in MMA.  I don’t know why we don’t see close rounds receive draw scores, but after watching three hours of kickboxing, MMA seems to be the only combat sport that is so openly opposed to using 10-all rounds.  I want to see that changed in the years to come.

-Another thing I’d like to point out is the underlying poetic justice in tonight’s fight.  I’m not wanting to instigate or fighter bash, but does anyone else find it interesting that a man who was on the winning side of one of the most controversial decisions of 2009 is now on the losing side of one of the most controversial decisions of 2010?  I just find it oddly fascinating how storybook it all seems.  With that aside, I’m certainly in favor of an immediate rematch.  The fight just wasn’t decisive enough to really determine who’s moving where in the 205lb division.

That’s all for tonight.  Please leave comments, criticism, and feedback.  Thank you!

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