*****SPOILER ALERT***** This thread contains results of UFC 104 *****
So I thought I'd make my own threads based off of UFC ppv's on my opinion on the happenings and results of the fights. I will go over all of the televised fights and go over them to the best of my memory since I will be posting these the following morning. Forgive me if every detail isn't exact. Feel free to comment on your thoughts as well.
UFC 104 overall was a very good night of fights. A lot of the fights went the way I thought they would and there were a couple of surprises.
Fight 1: Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida - This fight was a little bit of a heart break for me but I pretty much knew what was going to happen. I was rooting for Yoshida due to the fact he's a 4th degree blackbelt in Judo, and having trained in Judo myself, I have a soft spot for fighters with that background. Unfortunately, Yoshida had no chance in utilizing Judo skills because Johnson's hands came quick and hard. Johnson caught him a few times in an exchange and a big right hand put down Yoshida in 0:21 of the first round (TKO).
Commentator note: Despite the fact this was the first televised fight Mike "I don't know sh*t" Goldberg nominated that for Knockout of the Night. I laughed promptly.
Fight 2: Joe "Daddy" Stevenson vs. "The King" Spencer Fisher - This was a fight I was looking forward to. I really like both of these fighters, but I went with Stevenson since his ability on the ground is better than Fisher's. In the first round Stevenson gave Fisher a nice cut above the eye of Fisher that hampered his fighting ability. The rest of round one Fisher did the best he could, despite blood getting into his eye.
During the round break, the cutman was able to close up the cut, though Fisher stated he was having trouble seeing. The ref asked Fisher if he was ok to fight, he nodded and round 2 commenced. Stevenson wisely made that cut a target, peppering it with jabs whenever he could and eventually re-opened it. Fisher put up a good fight, but when Stevenson got Fisher to the ground and began hammering Fisher on and around that cut, the ref stopped the fight at 4:03 in the second round, apparently due to a tapout Fisher did with his foot, though that wasn't really caught on camera. Either way, it would have been acceptable if the ref stopped the fight himself, Fisher was in a really bad spot.
Fisher was very graceful in defeat, raising Joe Stevenson's hand after the bout.
Fight 3: Yushin "Thunder" Okami vs Chael Sonnen - This was a preliminary bout that we got to see since the first two fights ended early. This bout I thought Okami was going to get Sonnen. I haven't seen too much of Sonnen, but what I did see, wasn't impressive. That changed for this fight.
Sonnen proved to be a cardio machine in the way he pushed the pace for the entire 3 round fight. From bell to bell in all 3 rounds Sonnen was fairly relentless. It wasn't all out non-stop fighting, it was very smart, well timed strikes and takedowns and control. In the first round Sonnen shut out Okami's ability to control people on the ground when he overpowered Okami and easily took him down several times. Okami was able to muscle his way back to his feet, but after 3 or 4 takedowns, it seemed that Okami wanted nothing to do with going to the ground with Sonnen and Okami apparently had no backup plan.
Rounds 2 and 3 were great for Sonnen who kept pressure on Okami, throwing lots of 2-3 strike combos pausing for a moment and doing it again, and again...and again. Okami really had no answer for Sonnen's striking since he obviously felt his wrestling wasn't good enough to go toe to toe with Sonnen.
Sonnen outclassed Okami in all three rounds and won a very easy, unanimous desicion in the 3rd round. Sonnen won me over on that fight.
Commentator Note: It was about after this fight that they showed Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore in the crowd. Ashton smiled into the camera and got Demi's attention, she smiled and waved into the camera as Joe "Bonehead" Rogan states "I can't believe Demi is sucking Ashton's blood every night!" Classy, Joe!
Fight 4: Gleison Tibau vs. Josh "The Dentist" Neer - I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen either of these guys fight before so since my Father-in-law went with Neer, I decided to go Tibau. It was the classic striker vs grappler bout that always intrigues. Will Neer KO Tibau or will Tibau get him down and submit him?
Any question of if Tibau could take him down was answered fast and often. Tibau's first takedown was a slam and it came fast and hard. Neer was able to get right up though. Then Tibau came out and did a spear right out off WWE, Rhyno style Gore! Neer, quickly got up again. And thats how most of the first round went. Tibau took Neer down at will, but wasn't able to control him at all. Unfortunately for Neer, he couldn't get in any big punches. Although he actually was doing really well striking from his back when Tibau would get him down. Neer worked in some leg kicks early on and continued throughout the round, but when the bell rang at the end of round one, he stopped reached down and touched his shin and grimaced. He was apparently in a lot of pain.
Round 2 went much like round 1. Tibau was still taking Neer down, though with each successful takedown, you could see Tibau slowing down. He had to be getting frustrated at the fact that every time he would take Neer down, Neer was hurting him with strikes and able to get right back up. Toward the end of round 2 Tibau went for an armbar, but wasn't able to lock it in. Neer escaped the armbar and lasted another round.
Tibau came out at the beginning of round 3 clearly gassed. This was Neer's chance to do what he does. Tibau attempted a couple of takedowns and for the first time of the fight, Neer was able to successfully defend the takedowns. This should have been when Neer came out like a warrior and worked Tibau, but his leg injury proved to be too much. Out of routine or desperation, Neer tried a couple of more leg kicks, and grimaced with each strike. It seemed he wasn't able to explode with punching power since his crippled leg didn't allow him to spring off of it for the punches. As a result he worked combos as best he could while Tibau threw very slow, weak punches in an attempt to just work the 3rd round. Neer (in my opinion) won the 3rd round but it wasn't enough.
Tibau won a unanimous and rightful decision in the third round. It was well fought, but I wonder how different it would have been had Neer's leg not been hurt.
Fight 5: Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell - Here's where my opinion may cause a stir. At the beginning of this fight, i was wanting Ben Rothwell to win. Cain Velasquez is good, he's great, but the kid needs to get taken down a notch. In his pre-fight statements he said when he fights, he can get anybody down, and they will stay there. Then the gears started turning in my head. I'd love Cain Valesquez to continue this undefeated streak. I'd love for him to build this big head of steam and make it to (hopefully still) Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. And I'd love to see this guy try to control Brock. Because, despite how good this guy is, he can't beat Brock. He's strong, Brock's stronger. He's fast, Brock's (arguably!) as fast or faster. In Cain Valesquez's fight against Cheick Kongo, Kongo rocked Velasquez at the beginning of rounds 1 and 2, his chin is suspect, and Brock will expose that. I'm a big mark for Brock Lesnar, he's huge, he fast, explosive and just fun to watch. That said...
The beginning of the fight was pretty exciting. Rothwell and Velasquez had some good exchanges, Rothwell came into the fight the much more experienced fighter with 30 more fights than Velasquez, but the IFL isn't UFC in terms of talent and it showed. Velasquez controlled the first round from the first takedown he did. He got Rothwell down, pummeled him, Rothwell got up, got in a shot or two on Velasquez but Velasquez answered back with faster, more precise punches, took him down again and hurt him some more. He beat on Rothwell for the remainder of the round, it nearly ended 2 or 3 different occasions but Rothwell was able to get his bearings quickly and recouperate. Rothwell was saved by the bell at the end of round 1.
As round 2 started, Rothwell already looked defeated. His confidence was gone, he looked tired and beat up. The ref gave him some kind of warning before started the round. Velasquez wasted no time in proving his dominance again in round 2. He punished Rothwell early and often and got him down. While down, Velasquez hammered him with his fists, rocking Rothwell with some uppercuts that went under Rothwell's chest and up into this face while he was on all fours. Rothwell began working his way up and Velasquez had him pressed up against the cage, trying to work in another take down. One of Rothwell's hands were tied up with Velasquez, the other was pressed against the cage trying to sustain his balance, while this happened Velasquez nailed Rothwell with 6 big unanswered, undefended punches to the face, the referee stopped the fight at 0:58 in the second round as a result. Rothwell was just begnining to stand up as the ref stopped the fight and he was quite angry with the stoppage. The fans were also upset, booing.
Joe Rogan took the time to insult all the people who paid ridiculous amounts of money to attend the event by calling them "L.A. Douchebags" while still commentating. My take on the finish is this, the ref stopped the fight because Rothwell gave the ref no proof that he was going to put up a better fight. He gave Rothwell a couple of freebies in the first round where he probably could've called it and it would have looked more justified but the fact is, Rothwell wasn't working and if his strategy was to let Velasquez punch him in the face a lot, he excuted his plan perfectly. The ref made the right call in my decision. I don't see Rothwell doing anything signifigant past that point of the fight.
The Main Event: Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - I was really looking forward to this fight. I despise Rashad Evans with a passion and was thrilled to see him dismantled by Machida. I was really looking forward to see him do the same to Rua. Unfortunately for Machida, Rua had a great strategy and worked it like a pro. Rua was patient and precise.
This fight was not a fast paced slugfest by any means. It was like a chess match, each guy took their time and then struck. Rua smartly slowed his normal pace down and played an intelligent game working Machida's body and legs throughout the entire 5 round fight. Round 1 I had going to Rua do to being not only more aggressive, but more damaging. Lyoto would match Rua's strikes but Rua's were always first and harder. Round 2 went much the same. Rua took his time, picked his shots and was taking out Machida's core.
The third round I had pegged as Machida's round, he was more aggressive, had more offense and looked pretty good. It was a lot like rounds 1 and 2 but with Lyoto getting the better of the exchanges.
Round's 4 and 5 were hard to watch. Machida was obviously hurting with every connected leg and body kick. He was no longer bouncing in his footwork, he was flat-footed and breathing out of his mouth. He was hurt, he was tired, but he never quit. Every time Shogun struck, Lyoto countered with lightening quick precision, but Shogun almost always hit harder. All in all, Rua played a near-perfect 5 round fight that systematcially took out Machida's ability. When the bell rang at the end of the 5th round, Rua raised his hands victoriously, Machida raised his hands hopefully.
Bruce Buffer read out the score cards and the judges voted unanimously for Machida in all but 1 round. Rua looked confused and heartbroken, Machida looked relieved and slightly confused. I honestly don't see how you could pick even 3 out of 5 rounds in favor of Machida, let alone 4. I had Machida winning 1 to Rua's 4 and I thought that my 1 round could have easily gone the other way for a judge who may have seen Rua winning it to give Rua a perfect 5-0 fight.
I wanted Machida to win, but not like that. He didn't win, I just don't see it. Joe Rogan immediately tried running some political work by asking Lyoto if he would accept a rematch, which Machida agreed he would. Then after interviewing a very classy Rua, he mentioned again he would love to see a rematch.
Overall it was a great PPV but it was another botched main event that you felt screwed over by the judges. That fight was a prime example to Dana's creed. Don't ever let it fall in the hands of the judges. You never know what will happen.
omg wall of text
che3zeman: omg wall of text
For people unable to read
I thought Shogun was robbed.
yankees7448: I thought Shogun was robbed.
Totally. It was a shame, I'd really like to know how the judges scored all those rounds.
just a minor correction they gave machida the nod in 3 rounds to 2 rounds I think.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-104-results-and-live-play-by-play-20487
For the record i think shogun won, but as shown by sherdogs people its possible that some people may have seen the first 3 rounds going to Machida, I'd give him round 3, possibly round 1 since he had the big flurry of knees, a couple unanswered strikes, was matching shogun despite getting the worst of the exchanges, and he stopped the takedown. Round 2 IMO is what it comes down to whether that was a machida round or a shogun round.
Either way the decision was garbage based on seeing it once through... its possible that perhaps we missed something that will later be seen... There was one point where Joe Rogan kept saying nice leg kick and Machida checked a few of them. Like the Andrei Arlovski - Fedor fight, everyone thought Fedor got lucky and that Arlovski was beating him up in the standup till the KO, but people examined the video and noted that very few of the punches actually hit Fedor.
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Phrozenspite:There was one point where Joe Rogan kept saying nice leg kick and Machida checked a few of them.
I noticed that as well. I was busy trying to keep an eye on Machida's hands and he'd go in for a strike at the same time Rua would do a kick, I almost always missed Rua's kicks because I was trying to watch Machida's hands. I'd see Machida land a punch and be like "yeah!" and then Rogan would say that was a nice leg kick by Rua and I was like...but, Machida hit, didn't he?
Those two guys are great fighters, it was nice to see a well balanced war like that. I guess I'd have to go back and watch round 1 and see if I'd give it to Machida. Last night I gave it to Rua, but like you said, things can be missed especially with how quick these guys are.
