Post-UFC80 Analysis

To start off the weekend, Dorsia picked me up from the railway station on Friday afternoon and after a tasty Chinese buffet at Lau's on Stowell Street, we went along for the weigh-ins. We got there early to get good seats but the wait was worth it as our anticipation of seeing the fighters in the flesh for the first time grew. The build-up was great as UFC Countdown was broadcast on the big screens around the arena. Then when it came to the weigh-ins themselves they seemed to be over in a flash. It was a good taste of what was to come – though not being part of the UFC fan club meant that we weren’t right up next to the action. As we were waiting we’d see some of the fan club members posing for photos with faces familiar to us – Bruce Buffer, Mike Goldberg, Mario Yamazaki. It was hard to be believe that they and the UFC were actually in Newcastle!

Fastforward to Saturday night and the card kicked off at 6pm. It was an amazing night of action as there were spectacular results across the board – 7 of the fights were stoppages, with 5 of those being ko/tkos in the first round.

To kick things off, Sam Stout kept the fight where he wanted it in his bout against Octagon debutant Per Eklund. Each landed some solid blows in the first half of the opening round but from there on it was “Hands of Steel” all the way. Stout successfully stuffed the majority of Eklund’s takedown attempts, usually following up with some solid strikes to the head for Eklund’s trouble. As the fight wore on, Eklund started to tire and was roundly booed by the crowd as his attempts to draw Stout into his guard were thwarted. A unanimous decision against Eklund was clear.

The second bout of the undercard saw a return to form for Alessio Sakara against the night's second Octagon newcomer, James Lee. The first of the night’s first round stoppages, Lee went for the takedown only for Sakara for keep himself upright and land some solid punches to the side of Lee’s head. Deemed to be failing to defend himself, the bout was stopped early in the second minute, with Sakara the winner by TKO. I was a little surprised to see the fight stopped so soon but the ref seemed to make the right call as Lee looked to have been nailed with one too many shots and wasn't intelligently defending himself.

Brits Paul Taylor and Paul Kelly engaged in a brawl which saw Kelly emerge as the only debutant winner of the night. Taylor had shown good standup skills in his two previous UFC bouts but it was on the ground where his weaknesses remain, a facet that Kelly exploited ably as he ground and pound his way to a points victory. Aside from a furious standup pace in the first couple of minutes of the opening stanza, Kelly showed excellent top control and use of elbows as Taylor found no way off his back and on the couple of occasions where Taylor secured the takedown, Kelly was able to quickly reverse. Kelly, from the Wolfslair stable from which Michael Bisping also originates, looked good value for the win but could face a stronger test against someone with a better guard as he left plenty of arms free during his assault. The competitiveness of the bout made this an early Fight of the Night candidate (which it went on to become).

After the British brawl, Northern Irishman Colin Robinson got a huge welcome for his bout against Dutchman Antoni Hardonk. I’ve felt that Hardonk has good potential in the heavyweight division, despite his losses, and am hoping that he'll rebound in a similar way to how Andre Arlovski did after his initial Octagon losses. In this bout it took only 17 seconds for Hardonk to emerge victorious as he followed some crippling low leg kicks with a couple of flush left jabs that left Robinson out. The partisan crowd initially booed the decision but the replays showed just how well Hardonk had connected with Big C’s chin and then were was appreciative applause for his skills by the time the announcement was made. It’s also worth noting that K-1 legend Ernesto Hoost was in Hardonk’s corner - as his trainer - and it was the highlight of my brother’s weekend to see him in the flesh.

Moving onto the main card and the pace of the action didn’t slacken - if anything it got even more wild.

After his knockout loss to Patrick Cote at UFC74 it was expected that Kendall Grove would get back on the winning track against Jorge Rivera. Rivera however had other ideas, showing relentless controlled aggression as he pressed Grove against the cage and pounded away until Grove's legs went from under him. Another first round TKO. A stunning success for Rivera who could find himself moved into contender status in the thin middleweight division, with a bout against Chris Leben having the potential for fireworks.

Jason Lambert had controlled the first round of his bout against Wilson Gouveia but was the victim of a brutal left hook during the second that earned Gouveia the knockout of the night bonus. As he pressed the action towards the cage, Lambert missed with his strikes, leaving himself wide open to the counter. He'll be frustrated with himself as the winner of this one was moving into a contender position. As it is it's Gouveia that's undefeated since his points loss to Keith Jardine on his Octagon debut. Although he showed little in this fight until the unanswered left hook, Gouveia will be primed for a top-ranked opponent. While a bout against Lyoto Machida wouldn't be box office, it's a possible future bout for June.

Before his fight with Jess Liaudin, Marcus Davis had warned his opponent that he was going to "punch a hole in his face" and he delivered on that promise early in the first round. Eating a series of leg kicks from Liaudin as the bout began, Davis looked calm and seemed to be waiting to begin his assault on his foe. Unexpectedly, this began with him showing off a new weapon in his arsenal - his kicking - before a looping left caught Liaudin on the side of the head and to the canvas. Davis followed up with some strikes to his downed opponent before the fight was stopped. With it Davis stretches his current tear through the lower ranks of the UFC welterweight division to six victories. Personally I'd like to see him fight Diego Sanchez although I don't think that's necessarily a good matchup from the UFC's perspective as it could lead to a third straight loss for Sanchez or bring Davis' unbeaten run to an end just prior to a higher profile matchup.

In my mind the heavyweight clash between Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabrizio Werdum was intriguing principally due to Werdum's new association with Chute Boxe. Werdum's famed for his BJJ but in his previous fights he's looked less than impressive in the striking department. What then could training with the famous muay thai practitioners do for his striking? We were to find out in significant fashion in the second round of this bout as Werdum used the thai clinch to repeatedly drill Gonzaga with knees to the body and chin. Watching the bout, I felt the fight go out of Gonzaga as he crumpled up against the cage and there are now question marks about his mental preparation for fights. Before Werdum's clinchwork, Gonzaga had been the aggressor and had delivered some crippling low leg kicks that left Werdum in trouble in the first. But where I had expected Gonzaga to bully Werdum against the cage and on the ground, he didn't deliver. So it's with great surprise that Werdum is now in line for a title shot against the winner of Sylvia-Nogueira.

He was expected to join Randy Couture in the elite ranks of those fighters who have held UFC championships in more than one weight division and at his third attempt at gaining the UFC lightweight championship, BJ Penn didn't disappoint. While Joe Stevenson showed plenty of heart, Penn dominated this bout from the uppercut that sent Stevenson to the canvas seconds into the bout, to the fight-ending rear naked choke near the end of the second round. Stevenson was outworked and it's disappointing that an elbow to his forehead opened up a deep cut from which blood was constantly pouring from midway through the first round. But the crowd - which might have all been granted Hawaiian citizenship given the welcome they afforded Penn - loved the dominating show that BJ was providing and went crazy as he won the bout. Afterwards, he didn't really look that keen about getting called back into the cage to face Sean Sherk, after having called him out, but that's the next fight for both of them. For Stevenson, I hope he heals up and gets back in the cage again soon. I think with time he could develop into a very good fighter and I think he'll force himself to another title shot again in a couple of years.