UFC 137 Thoughts/Rate it

Ordered this one. The card started off very slow. This card was heading to UFC 135 land real quick but the HW of all divisions did what the lighter divisions failed to do to start the card and that was entertain and Penn-Diaz did it's job as a main event. I give the card a 7. Very emotional night as a huge fan of both BJ Penn and Mirko CroCop.

Fight of the Night: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Knockout of the Night:Bart Palaszewski
Submission of the Night: Donald Cerrone

Penn-Diaz: This was a wildly entertaining fight and It was an affirming fight for Nick Diaz. Nobody has done that to BJ Penn. Nobody has left Penn's face like that. Everybody pointed at Diaz competition in Strikeforce and said that is why he is not legit. However, what was so impressive about Nick Diaz in Strikeforce was that he was beating everybody at their game. Diaz could have easily rested on his BJJ and tapped out everybody in round 1 in Strikeforce but brought his guns everytime, and even outgunned a guy who had bever been outgunned in Paul Daley. Nobody had done what Diaz did to Paul Daley and nobody has busted up BJ like Nick did tonight. You know what Nick did in Strikeforce was legit when he fights somebody like Penn and does pretty much the same exact thing..Diaz lost rounds in Strikeforce as well but eventually he overwhelmed Daley, Cyborg, Zaromskis, Noons, and now Penn.

Penn was amazing in the first round. Great head movement, very crisp, won the BJJ exchange although not by a significant amount. You would figure Penn did not blow much energy fighting a stand up fight but for some reason, he came out in round 2 flat and you can't become a standing target with Nick. I'm not sure what to attribute it to. You never seen Penn blow out in a fight that was mainly stand up but then again, Penn has never fought a stand up fight at the pace Nick Diaz brings...so it's not as easy to say Penn came in out of shape. Diaz wore him down like he has worn down his past several opponents. Penn deserves credit for making it a fight again in the 3rd round, we have seen Penn show no heart after he gasses so many times but that didnt happen tonight..he fought to the very end and Nick never got him down. Also, if people want to bust a nut everytime Brock Lesnar, Chael Sonnen or Josh Barnett cuts a promo after a fight...you gotta give it up for Diaz as well. That is how you properly call somebody out.

Now on to the biggest moment of the night was Penn announcing his retirement. I'm surprised that there was not much discussion of this..or reflection on one of the best pure talents to ever be in MMA. I hope BJ was just bummed and did not really mean what he said because Penn can still very much fight at a high level but perhaps his committment to training, while always low, is just not there anymore. It would be refreshing to see a guy walk away when he still has a lot left in the tank. If this is it, i want to thank BJ Penn for some of my greatest memories as a fan.

Matt Mitrione vs. Chieck Kongo...what did i tell ya what did i tell ya what did i tell ya? Kongo could have done much more in the fight. He gave Mitrione much more respect than Mitrione has earned. Kongo could have done what he did in round 3 at any point in the fight but even while Kongo was fighting stiff and overly cautious...he was still winning the stand up and rather clearly. I could have maybe seen round 2 going the way of Mitrione as he landing a couple clean shots and not much went on in the round but i was on the money about Mitrione. He is not on the level of somebody like Kongo. Does that mean i think Kongo is this amazing elite fighter..no, but Mitrione did next to nothing in this fight despite Joe Rogan and fuckin Goldberg doing their best to make it seem like "Meathead" was doing anything in this fight. Kongo gave a lackluster performance and still clearly won. Back to recycle yard to crush cans for Mitrione.

CroCop-Nelson- This was a very good fight. Excellent pace and for the most part, i thought CroCop looked good but the whole time he looked like he was about to get knocked out any second. Nelson looked in much improved shape and his grappling chops wore down Mirko in round 2 and the overhand right started finding a home. A win over CroCop does not hold as much weight as it did in the past but this is likely the biggest win of Roy Nelson's career. CroCop was very game in this fight while he was un-game vs. Schuab. Very nice win for Nelson. Definitely not in line for a title shot though. I actually think Nelson vs. Kongo is the logical next fight.

Also, although not as shocking as Penn and much more due than Penn. CroCop said that is it and once again, as a huge fan, i would like to thank CroCop for providing probably the most highlights and memorable moments out of any fighter in MMA history. You'll always be the decapitation machine to me. You could have lost 10 in a row and that would not change.

Jorgensen-Curran- Didnt think it was a great fight. It was a pretty typical Curran loss. Spends too much time on his back working and not completing. I am a huge defender of the guard being scored better but in my opinion, Curran was working and failing for sweeps and not threatening with subs enough to earn favor with even educated judges. Boring fight for me, as is the trend with Jeff Curran.

Hioki-Roop: Decent fight. I thought Hioki won 29-28. Roop is a solid win and Roop did much better in the standup while Hioki did next to nothing there, but Hioki pretty much held mount for a full round and i thought he won what looked like to kids fighting over a toy in the first round. Once it's a mount its up to the guy on the bottom to do something, however Hioki fought like he didnt understand that he can throw elbows. His pointy elbows would have cut Roop up. He seemed to just want to hold the position and wait for Roop to do something stupid.

I don't think Hioki, even with his prior resume, showed fans who never saw him fight before that he should be next in line for a shot which i'm sure they were hoping to give him in Japan..but Hioki style is compatible for the cage and US style and the change looked to effect him, but most Japan guys come out of that first acclimation fight with a loss and hole to dig out of. He came out with a win, an unimpressive win, but a win all the same.

<------was wrong about the WEC LW's

Cowboy vs. German
Flawless performance by Cerrone. Siver is a beast in the standup, especially early in a fight and Cerrone made him look like some guy off the street. Man, he might move to 145 and that would be cool..but if he sticks around, LW is getting very sexy.

Tyson Griffin vs. parrot
Griffin might be done. Overweight and had an embarrasing fight typically means pink slip. i don't know what happened with Griffin but this guy used to be legit. He used to be able to give anybody a real fight and beat some excellent fighters...but for the past year and half or so...he has just been shabby. He looked incredibly out of shape for this fight, even for a guy who missed weight by 3 pounds. Griffin 2 years ago kills this guy...actually, Griffin 2 years ago would not have needed to move from 155 because he would be doing just fine. At some point in time, thi guy slipped or just simply stopped improving. Not much to say about Bart..nice win but he's been around long enough, we know he's a middle of the pack guy to stay while i think most of us thought Griffin could and would make some noise at FW.

Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marhsall. Might have to watch it again. I though Marshall won the fight...though im not 100% confident calling it a robbery. I am 100% confident in saying Brandon Vera looked like complete ass and that the second chance has not marked an improvement. Vera is a guy with all the tools but no key to the toolbox. I picked him to win, but i was expecting a big performance and i thought he lost. Thiago Silva would destroy him again in a rematch. Vera is who he is.

Missed the other fights

a strong 7. Good card

Cowboy said at the presser he is staying at 155, but still wants to fight Phan..

Also Marshall got robbed...

Ninja wrote:

Cowboy said at the presser he is staying at 155, but still wants to fight Phan..

Also Marshall got robbed...

LOL..Cowboy is really shooting for the stars wanting a fight with Nam Phan..he would need atleast 2 wins at FW to earn a fight of such magnitude.

I can't say I blame him for wanting to go after Phan. If someone insults one of your fellow camp fighters/friends then leave them to their business. If someone insults one or all of your coaches then something needs to be done about it. Cerrone has a legitimate reason to want to target Nam for a comment that disrespects Garcias coaches, which are also Cerrones coaches.

You may be right. I just thought Phan turned down the idea of fighting Garcia for a third fight, considering the only reason they had a second fight was because Phan was robbed in a decision the first time...but if he went and disrespected Garcia's coaches then i could understand Cerrone wanted to crack him in the head to teach him a lesson, but Phan is nowhere near worth the time of Donald Cerrone.

I am gonna say 5. I loved the final bout, I loved the Cerrone fight, I was OK with the NElson/Cro-cop fight. But the Hioki and Kongo fights sucked out loud.

Ludo, that is an awesome Sig!

6.5, disappointing card that was salvaged by the main event and Nelson vs. Cro Cop.

I liked the card as a whole. The Kongo and Meathead fight i thought was OK. I thought cro Cop vs Big Country was sweet and of course Penn vs Diaz was very good. Overall I think it was a 7.

I saw the Spike fights. Cerrone looked golden as expected. Greg Jackson should be slapped for the way he say Cerrone. Griffin ..... wow, I forgot about old bart pralewaski, he could have some entertaining fights at FW. I thought Vera lost, 10-9-10 for Marshal.

I saw the Mittrione vs Kongo fight.... not great. Matt was gun shy it seemed. He is young and this is the first fight he didn't look better in, he'll be back though. Nick Diaz won how I thought he could, capitalizing on reach and size to implement his boxing. Props for his fighting, he did it well. If only he had character that could even halfway match his MMA game.

No score, but maybe around a 7 so far.

The way Jackson said that was hilarious and then was promptly ruined by Goldberg who felt the need to repeat it as if we couldn't hear it

I gave it an 8, I'll be rewatching a couple of the fights

mixed reviews

somebody even gave it the dreaded UFC 135 score.

I thought it would at least get one 10

Have only seen:

Diaz vs Penn: Sweet fight. Not the totally epic battle that I hoped. Maybe my expectations were just too high. But it was still great. Those that hated on Nick with "who has he beaten?" are straight blind. Cause this was Nick doing what nick does. As if KO'ing an old Hughes was ultra impressive. Props to Penn for taking a beating in that 2nd rnd, and then actually making the 3rd competitive.

GSP prob still outwrestles him, but NO WAY does GSP stand with Nick.

And I love Nick's theatrics. Cause they are real. Dude is nuts. Not Chael Sonnen "just say it to get attention" bs. Nick actually believes this craziness.

Meat vs Kongo was a bore. Not sure why Meat was so tentative. But I do not see this as Meat being exposed. Maybe he got in the game a little late, but he is not a chump. Kongo with 2 complete bore's sandwiched around a classic KO. Strikers do not age as well as wrestlers. I wonder if he is near the end.

Cro Cop vs Nelson. A couple lhw's doing battle above the limit. I dunno, I wasn't enthralled. The Nelson crucifix is not entertaining, but it was effective, and Cro Cop was done b4 the 3rd started.

Seriously, Cro Cop vs Kimbo, right now, would be a sweet fight.

Anyone who thinks GSP won't stand with Nick is a crackhead. Stop smoking that shit Captain right this second please! Oh, and what do you mean GSP "prob still outwrestles him"??? Of course GSP will outwrestle Nick Diaz. This isn't a BJ Penn who didn't train and gassed after one round. GSP is wil twice what BJ was in every round of a fight with Nick Diaz. Nick has zero shot against GSP.....ZERO!!!

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

Anyone who thinks GSP won't stand with Nick is a crackhead. Stop smoking that shit Captain right this second please! Oh, and what do you mean GSP "prob still outwrestles him"??? Of course GSP will outwrestle Nick Diaz. This isn't a BJ Penn who didn't train and gassed after one round. GSP is wil twice what BJ was in every round of a fight with Nick Diaz. Nick has zero shot against GSP.....ZERO!!!

Oh now Penn didn't train? This was standard BJ Penn. Prob trained harder for this fight then he did for the 2nd fight with georgie.


And no St. Pierre will not stand with Diaz. That is not the way St Pierre operates. And if he did. If he comitted to a standup affair with Diaz. He gets KO'd.

i gave it a 5......... 6 overall but if i'd paid $50 for it i'd have been annoyed at wasting my money and given it a 4, so i went with the average.

the nelson/cro cop & diaz/penn fights were alright without being great and cerrone put on another impressive performance. the rest of the televised card was pretty boring though in fairness.

captain organic wrote:

bigbeastcardinal12 wrote:

Anyone who thinks GSP won't stand with Nick is a crackhead. Stop smoking that shit Captain right this second please! Oh, and what do you mean GSP "prob still outwrestles him"??? Of course GSP will outwrestle Nick Diaz. This isn't a BJ Penn who didn't train and gassed after one round. GSP is wil twice what BJ was in every round of a fight with Nick Diaz. Nick has zero shot against GSP.....ZERO!!!

Oh now Penn didn't train? This was standard BJ Penn. Prob trained harder for this fight then he did for the 2nd fight with georgie.


And no St. Pierre will not stand with Diaz. That is not the way St Pierre operates. And if he did. If he comitted to a standup affair with Diaz. He gets KO'd.

Whatchu mean "now"

He didn't train hard enough because he was gassed after 1 round, after fighting Frankie for 10 rounds. He was in way better shape in those fights and you know it. How can you say he was in better shape, seriously? You Nick Diaz fans have a rude awakening coming your way when he starts fighting wrestlers. I'm not drinking the kool aid until he fights a top guy. I think Nick deserves a shot at the title but he is the 5th best WW out there right now.

Ass Whoopin

OU wrote:

Ass Whoopin

OK was that really needed OU? lol

BBC seemed like he needed a reminder. Show some respect.

Atleast put this pic up and say asswhoopin

That pic atleast shows how much of a fucking man BJ is, him and Nick are still cool, Both Nick and BJ are the shit

OU wrote:

BBC seemed like he needed a reminder. Show some respect.

I'm no big GSP fan but I like the guy. I think it will be funny when GSP makes Nick's whole face look like that. It will even be better when Mayhem calls him out and he finally gets that fight.

[youtube]