I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the night. Griffin/Edgar definitely stole the show. Those guys were awesome, and very complete as the seamlessly transitioned from striking to grappling to striking. Too bad Griffin seemed to be gassing in the 3rd. I think Edgar clearly one, but both were impressive. I think Griffin' could have taken it when he had that kneebar in the closing minute. He had it tight at first, but you could see that Edgar was able to push him down. Once Griffin's hips slid above the knee, moving down toward the shin, the pressure was off. Griffin was in a perfect position to transition to a toe hold. Toe hold's are pretty freaky. I don't doubt that it would have prompted the tap, even with just 30 seconds left. Great fight, nonetheless.
Huerta fight? The knee definitely looked illegal live, but in replay looked ok. My buddy said he thought Huerta's inside knee caught Halverson, not the one that hit the shoulder. I have to see it again.
Cote looked much improved. Training at Sityodtong in Boston has definitely improved his game a lot. His only issue is that for the first time in the UFC he was overly cautious. I look forward to the next fight...so I can boo him again. Just kidding, the crowd was obnoxious.
Rampage vs Eastman was a good fight. I don't know why the crowd was booing. They have zero patience. I don't remember much downtime. #1 thing Page needs to work on in the UFC is an awareness of elbows. Eastman caught him with a few nice standing elbow strikes that Rampage just did not expect. I thought Eastman was pretty impressive, and has great combos with elbows, though I do question his chin. Rampage hits hard, so maybe there is no question there. Regardless, I think Eastman has the potential to do some damage at 205. I'd like to see him fight Rashad, Jardine, Forrest, etc. He is big, strong, and he was aggressive last night. The UFC would be wise to keep him on the roster.
Crocop's debut was impressive, but definitely tarnished by having to chase Eddie in circles. If that fight were in a ring, Eddie would have had nowhere to go, but in the cage it turned into a game of tag. Looked like the LHK just barely skimmed Eddie. Probably didn't matter, b/c Sanchez looked rocked from the first time he got hit.
Silva vs Lutter was important b/c it showed Silva's range. I somewhat wonder if he wasn't content to go to the ground knowing he had a good game there. Anyone who has seen Silva's DQ vs Okami knows that the man can do some damage from his back. That upkick was brutal prior to setting up the triangle. Did anyone notice how unphased Anderson was when he was mounted and taking shots to the face? He did the same thing when he fought Rivera in Cage Rage. He held Rivera's head, ate the shots w/o flinching, and then went on to be the agressor.
I'm leaning toward thinking this was a good fight for Silva considering it really showed the depth of his skills. Subbing a BJJ black belt who was supposed to sub you if it went to the ground is definitely a good way to silence critics. The only real challenges I see for him are from wrestlers.
Huerta fight? The knee definitely looked illegal live, but in replay looked ok. My buddy said he thought Huerta's inside knee caught Halverson, not the one that hit the shoulder. I have to see it again.
Cote looked much improved. Training at Sityodtong in Boston has definitely improved his game a lot. His only issue is that for the first time in the UFC he was overly cautious. I look forward to the next fight...so I can boo him again. Just kidding, the crowd was obnoxious.
Rampage vs Eastman was a good fight. I don't know why the crowd was booing. They have zero patience. I don't remember much downtime. #1 thing Page needs to work on in the UFC is an awareness of elbows. Eastman caught him with a few nice standing elbow strikes that Rampage just did not expect. I thought Eastman was pretty impressive, and has great combos with elbows, though I do question his chin. Rampage hits hard, so maybe there is no question there. Regardless, I think Eastman has the potential to do some damage at 205. I'd like to see him fight Rashad, Jardine, Forrest, etc. He is big, strong, and he was aggressive last night. The UFC would be wise to keep him on the roster.
Crocop's debut was impressive, but definitely tarnished by having to chase Eddie in circles. If that fight were in a ring, Eddie would have had nowhere to go, but in the cage it turned into a game of tag. Looked like the LHK just barely skimmed Eddie. Probably didn't matter, b/c Sanchez looked rocked from the first time he got hit.
Silva vs Lutter was important b/c it showed Silva's range. I somewhat wonder if he wasn't content to go to the ground knowing he had a good game there. Anyone who has seen Silva's DQ vs Okami knows that the man can do some damage from his back. That upkick was brutal prior to setting up the triangle. Did anyone notice how unphased Anderson was when he was mounted and taking shots to the face? He did the same thing when he fought Rivera in Cage Rage. He held Rivera's head, ate the shots w/o flinching, and then went on to be the agressor.
I'm leaning toward thinking this was a good fight for Silva considering it really showed the depth of his skills. Subbing a BJJ black belt who was supposed to sub you if it went to the ground is definitely a good way to silence critics. The only real challenges I see for him are from wrestlers.