UFC 136 Thoughts/Rate it

This show was a very mixed bag...but in the end, highly memorable if just for one fight...once again Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard. The show gets an 8.

Fight of the Night: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Knockout of the Night: Frankie Edgar
Submission of the Night: Chael Sonnen

Franke Edgar vs. Gray Maynard - Iron will breaks the bully. Frankie Edgar is unreal. No, i do not believe he's unreal in a "Who will ever beat this guy" sort of way...but what he has managed to do twice against Maynard, suriviving the onslaught that renders most stiff and twitching is pure magic. To come back from an easy 10-8 twice...even if he did not get the knock out, he was on his way to taking the lead on any respectable score card. This is how you end a triology. Absolutely amazing.

Gray Maynard looked the best he ever looked in round 1. He was incredibly patient and on target. I just knew it was not going to play out like it did last time. He had Frankie pegged...then he completely disappeared. He was not gassed physically, although he very well could have been mentally having once again failing to put Edgar away with what had to be his best. Gray Maynard once again fell into headhunter mode which hurt him in the last fight. He became very predictable against a guy who relies on timing and a rythm. Edgar took over the fight. Edgar took over the fight so much that in rounds 3 and 4, even though there was bout 2 minutes left i was already preparing the overall score in the chatbox as if the round was already over. Maynard pulled sort of a mental sokoudjou. He went from on his game and unstoppable to nothing after round 1..i just do not understand how by round 4 he did not realize his predictability and headhunter approach was costing him the fight...Maynard is too good all around to do himself like that. He shot for one fuckin takedown the entire fight. Edgar started going at him like Maynard didnt even have a takedown in his aresenal. Frankie mixed it up..and he eventually got Maynard off balance enough to land the big one.

This is not the last of Gray obviously, but he fell in love with the uppercut tonight and did not seem to have the immediate mental capacity to switch things up when Edgar figured out his timing. Anyway, classic fight. Pretty sure we'll get a 4th one someday...but it's Frankie/Gil next!


Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian - My biggest fear after this fight is how people will act like Aldo is not that great because it was not a fantastic, light em up, domination performance...but i don't feel the fact that Kenny was successful at attempting takedowns should reflect poorly on Aldo..what should come out of this is how impressive it was that Aldo stuffed every single one of the billion takedowns Kenny attempted. Florian successfully dragged the fight which was his goal and obviously he wanted to get the fight on the mat so i wont be too hard on him, but Aldo TDD was a highlight..the fact that he spent the whole fight stuffing takedowns should be more of a minus for Florian then one for Aldo. Florian just never gave up the strategy even though it was not working.

You can count the leg kicks on two hands, yet they had a noticable effect on Florian. All the big punches landed were landed by Aldo. I feel Aldo could have done a little more when he was on top of Florian...i think this was simply being too conservative there much he was with Hominick. I also think Aldo could have succesfully worked takedowns if he tried.

I feel Florian sold his striking game a bit short. I think he should have tried to get after it more. I feel if Kenny was more agressive striking with Aldo, then he would have had a better chance at successfully converting a takedown..but Kenny was predictable and never once deviated from the game plan even though it clearly was not working. The eventually decided that maybe if we keep going for takedowns, we'll get points for it. Glad the judges didnt see that outside of the first round, which fairly went to Kenny. The better fighter won, simple as that. Not a horrible fight by Kenny...just once again, not enough. I don't know whats next for him. Aldo...i guess Mendes. Decent fight. Aldo-Hominick was superior.

Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann - The performance you expected. It was an awful matchup for Stann. He literally offered nothing to Chael Sonnen. This fight was made knowing that Stann offered nothing to Chael Sonnen..it's not because Sonnen is the super shredder...Sonnen does this same thing 5 years ago to a fighter like Stann. Not much to talk about. Impressed by Sonnen's aggressiveness for the finish. He didnt go out there looking for takedown, some gnp and decision...he went out there to make a statement. It's not on level with his wins over Nate or Okami...but it was an incredibly dominating performance over a guy that was riding a pretty big wave heading into the fight. Sonnen gets his rematch and i can't wait for that fight. Brian Stann...Demian Maia?

Leonard Garcia-Nam Pham- Since most people would love this i'll say it was a good fight. Everybody knows my stance on Garcia fights. Yeah, they were fun...the first billion times but it eventually gets old. This fight was no exception. Great action, if i this was not the billionth time Garcia had a fight where he just flings aimless punches while taking a high volume...this would be a legit FOTN for me, but no chance in hell. Edgar-Maynard is what a FOTN looks like. I don't consider Garcia a huge win for Pham and it's not like Pham has a good chance at being a factor at 145, so a third fight between them would not really be counter productive..just keep it off the main card of PPV's.

Joe Lauzon vs. Mevin Guillard- Cool fight. I was anti-Guillard is contender material silliness but i was also the one who constantly used the name Schmo Lauzon and felt, even though Guillard is no in high regard on my list..Joe would be equivelent to the chained goat in Jurassic Park. So i can't gloat that much. Pretty much, Lauzon clipped him and hurt him, and the finished him with superior BJJ. The fight didnt leave much to pick apart except Guillard is Guillard...he did not morph into somebody he was not in his first gajillion fights. The guy has been around awhile and he's a power puncher...it's no surprise that he went on a nice streak of landing punches and knocking guys out. It's who he is, but he never faced a top fighter and he still has not..his streak ended against a guy pretty much level with the guys he's been knocking out left and right. They'll probably meet again in the future. Huge win for Lauzon...he beats a guy riding a pretty big hype train coming in. This means Joe is likely to get a pretty big fight next.

Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago - Crap fight. I picked Santiago because i thought he would win the stand up and be able to keep the fight standing long enough. Didnt expect Maia to get TD's so easy. Maia's improved striking is greatly exaggerated although it's effective in helping him get takedowns. Maia is simply more agressive, a really skilled striker..which Munoz really isnt and Jorge never got off..a skilled striker is going to hurt Maia the way he comes in so recklessley and without protection. Santiago was too passive in the stand up once it was established he could not stop Maia's takedowns. After that, Santiago BJJ is good enough to Maia's to avoid it being a total clinic so it was just Maia in a position and thats it. Upon thinking about it, Maia had a solid performance but just could not establish an significant top position to make the fight....what do they say..watchable?

Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens- Solid fight. Hoping for a bit more fireworks looking at it on paper but Stephens threw a curveball forcing the hugging game early. Stephens stole the fitst round...but Pettis is just superior. Stephens invited the grappling game but Pettis was the only one able to establish significant position or do damage. Anytime Stephens got a takedown he was immediatly blocking sweeps or sub attempts..thats not offense and it should not be scored as such(looking at you, judge who scored the fight for Stephens). Pettis was able to get Stephens back, land GnP, transition. Good rebound win for Pettis. I would say he should fight Maynard, but i think Guida has that fight since Melendez is likely getting the crack at Frankie.

Facebook prelims sucked. I'll keep it breif.

Cantwell started well. Got whooped the next two rounds. Likely gone.

The Mongolian Wolf looked hapless out there. One trick pony. Knows the guillotine like nothing, but can't grapple otherwise. He'll likely stick around since he's the only Chinese representation in the UFC.

Simpson

Stiopic looked good but did not leave a huge impression on me. His CroCop shorts are the most memorable thing about the fight.

cantwell is no more

pettis trying to get a bit more well rounded. still not enough for the elite of the division. good thing he is young. a fight between him and gil should be good for the next contender after guida/henderson

santiago once again gets exposed for the asian mma hype he and many other fighers are.good job defending but even grove and others have gave maia a better fight

lol at guillard for ducking kenny earlier this year and chosing easy fight and lol for it backfiring against him. good job to joe. dont think highly of him but he set up his fight perfectly.

nam/garcia. expected fight. everyone enjoys. reminds me of old pride fights. great for entertainment....not for competition. great scrap

sonnen was great. looked the same he did over a year ago. hasnt missed a step. great technical fight and cant wait to see the rematch

aldo/kenny was not so entertaining. good job to kenny but this once again shows how weak the fw division is and has always been. i so see tyson getting a title fight within a year. heck if frankie wanted to he could go down and claim 2 belts at the same time in 2 different divisions

frankie. great heart ..skill ... and fighter describes this kid. bj has passed down the torch to the right one. it was like watching their last fight the first round but dude just came back and out worked gray. great win. good job the the jersey shore kid. tonight ronny...pauly and his other buds will be partying him telling others they are tight with frankie. now gray is still a beast and would favor him over many other lws. bendo/gil/guida/ and others would so give him problems but i would favor him.dont think he would have much trouble with others like alvarez/pettis/siver and others. good event

Frankie vs Aldo would be a super fight. Florian did as well in that fight as he does against top LWs. Just enough to lose every round competitively.

Ill just comment on the Flo Aldo fight at the moment.


totally agree with Kings, the fight was not scintillating simply because of Flo. I will disagree on Flo selling himself short in the standup, like the Penn fight, he tasted Aldo's power, wanted none of it, goes for the takedown, cant get it, so instead is satisfied to stay in clinch against the cage mode.

I will give Flo credit for a very active bottom game, don't think Aldo had much to work with there.


I saw Ninja say that this was evidence of Aldo being the most beatable champ, and like Kings I don't think that is fair at all. He did pretty much what Penn did to Flo for 4 rnds. Maybe he wasn't able to find that space to cause damage and end the fight the way Penn did, but for the most part, this was very much Penn vs Flo.

Though as a reversed extension of that, Aldo should not contemplate 155 anytime soon, nor should anyone place him above Jones on the p4p list.







And a little bit on Stann, he actually stuffed a couple takedowns, and maybe clipped chael there in the 2nd, but Sonnen is just so committed to smothering his opponent, nobody sticks to a gameplan the way he does.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Frankie vs Aldo would be a super fight. Florian did as well in that fight as he does against top LWs. Just enough to lose every round competitively.

Agree. somewhere down the line that will be a sweet fight, though it might be after Edgar loses his belt. I don't see Aldo losing his.

Aldo has power but a lot of technical deficiencies in his standup. He is beatable. I don't like Jones too too high on the p4p because of the fact he is the largest LHW in UFC history. He brings a size advantage with him that hurts his p4p prospects. Aldo beat a much larger guy and a top fighter from another weight class.

Other than LW, all the weight classes are looking weak.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Aldo has power but a lot of technical deficiencies in his standup. He is beatable. I don't like Jones too too high on the p4p because of the fact he is the largest LHW in UFC history. He brings a size advantage with him that hurts his p4p prospects. Aldo beat a much larger guy and a top fighter from another weight class.

Other than LW, all the weight classes are looking weak.

I don't think he's any heavier then many light heavies, he's taller, but unlike most tall thin guys, he is also a top notch wrestler, and thus negates the weakness that many of his ilk must overcome.

I'll gave it an 8

Glad that we got a definitive ending, but it still ranks behind the January fight for me because of the fact that Gray fought even more tentatively than he did after the first round of that fight. I said even after the big first round that he was clearly just sitting and loading up on one punch at a time and that if Frankie avoided he could easily just outpoint him the rest of the way. The finish was pretty shocking though. Didn't see that coming at all. It was awesome though

Florian-Aldo was whatever. Kenny trying to negate the obvious speed and athleticism advantages he just doesn't have the explosiveness or wrestling to get it to the ground. Even his super well-timed shots early where he would duck under and get a hold of Aldo were easily stopped. Jose Aldo is a beast. Monster TDD and obvious killer, next-level standup. The only disappointment I have is back to back fights in which he really hasn't shown anything on the ground for someone that's supposed to be such a killer there. Agree with Kings and Captain. Anyone trying to move him down or shit on him for last night is stupid. He won't drop in my rankings at all

Sonnen was masterful. Just ran shop on Brian Stann. Takedowns, guard passes at will, an awful standup which turns into a huge slam like 15 seconds later followed by the arm triangle. Fantastic performance even against a guy I expected him to be able to wrestle up without any problems. He's just suffocating and simply doesn't give guys room on the feet to do anything. Win or lose, can't wait for the rematch

Lauzon-Guillard was whatever. Disappointed because I wanted to see Melvin in bigger, exciting fights with guys like Gil or Frankie. He clearly thought he was out of Lauzon's league. Everything he was throwing was just blazing last night, but he's had his hands down at his side like 4 fights in a row now and paid the price last night at the expense of a jab that happened to hit the perfect spot. He blasts Lauzon 9/10 times. Maybe now he'll fight with his hands up every once in a while. Dude could certainly still beat pretty much anyone in the division

Maia-Santiago...yawn. Jorge gets taken down and just plays defense and rides out a decision loss. Maia's standup didn't look as good as it did against Munoz, it was just more wild. I hope they don't make a fight with him and Vitor. It would just be another easy KO within 2 minutes for Belfort

Pettis-Stephens. Obviously not as exciting as I was hoping for, but Pettis did what he had to do. If he wasn't the one getting and working for the takedowns, he was gonna be the one fighting them off and risking losing a decision. He better get used to it though, because no one wants a piece of this dude in the standup

I haven't watched Santiago/Maia or Garcia/Phan and right now I'm thinking 7.

Miocic needs to work on his cardio and I would like to see him fight a guy like Schuab, Meathead, or Struve next. Overall he looks like a good talent for HW in the future but I thought he would KO Mexicutioner pretty quick. I was wrong there.

Melvin proved that he was overhyped. The guy has speed and power in his hands but I never thought he was LW championship material. I feel the same about Clay also. Both great fighters, but not champions. Joe looked like Joe. He kept his composure and showed why he is a game opponent for anyone ranked 5-20 in the LW division.

Chael looked great and his mouth once again made his fight even more memorable after the fight with Rogan, and every interview since then I have seen. I can't wait for the rematch. WAR CHAEL!

Kenny Florian is a great analyst. That fight sucked and I hope he retires or is kept around as a gatekeeper for young undefeated guys. I'm not buying into him any longer. He isn't just a guy that chokes in big fights like DW wants us to believe. He just isn't good enough!

Frankie vs Maynard was a war like I thought it would be. I didn't think Frankie would get a TKO that late in the fight and that just further proves how badass Edgar is. Gil vs Frankie should be an great fight. I can't wait for it. I only hope we aren't forced to watch Clay vs Frankie for a title fight. Guida is another guy I am not buying into. He has great cardio and great wrestling. Other then that he isn't a champion like we are being sold right now. I feel the same way about him as I do Melvin and Siver. They weren't 5 years ago, and they aren't now.

Pettis looked alot better last night and I am glad he showed improvement in his wrestling game. I don't think he is a champion either, but the guy is still a highlight reel waiting to happen. I can always watch him fight. Pettis vs Melvin should happen next! Lauzon won't keep it standing imo if they fight, but I would be excited for that one also.

I'm gonna watch the rest of the fights tonight. I would imagine this card will be an 8 after I watch the rest of the fights. Overall it's been a great card so far.

The main event brings this card up to a six, otherwise, extremely underwhelming.

If it wasn't for Aldo vs. Florian being slightly disappointing the card would be a 10.

i enjoyed that card more than most, i gave it an 8. florian/aldo was a stinker but i enjoyed the rest of the card.

i thought that leonard garcia should have been stopped in the second to be honest as he was taking a career shortening beating in a horrendous mismatch, not sure i want to see that one again despite his lucky left hook in the 3rd that nearly turned it around. i scored the second a 10-8 but it was closer to a 10-7 than a 10-9. it was quite funny garcia trying to hype up a re-match by lisping through a smashed up, swollen face

i suppose maynard and edgar will have to go again, which would be no bad thing.

chael sonnen should be cut from the UFC for his WWF style speech, that shit doesn't do MMA's credibility any favours imo.

a dan hardy esque performance from brian stann. i believed the hype to an extent and it will be interesting to see if he gets the same shit that hardy does for being so easily dominated by a wrestler

Quote :

chael sonnen should be cut from the UFC for his WWF style speech, that shit doesn't do MMA's credibility any favours imo.

Let's think about this statement. What hurts the UFC more ; A real challenge and the only real challenge Anderson Silva ever had calling him out dramatically vs the UFC releasing the only challenge for Silva due to some relatively tame post fight posturing and promoting?

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Quote :

chael sonnen should be cut from the UFC for his WWF style speech, that shit doesn't do MMA's credibility any favours imo.

Let's think about this statement. What hurts the UFC more ; A real challenge and the only real challenge Anderson Silva ever had calling him out dramatically vs the UFC releasing the only challenge for Silva due to some relatively tame post fight posturing and promoting?

i wasn't 100% serious about sonnen being cut but you have to admit, he sounded like a cocksucker.