UFC 104: A Retrospect
You know, honestly I did pretty good as far as my predictions, and even I was surprised by many elements of this event. Dana White is included in this group, so here is predictions vs. reality for each fight.
Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida:
I said KO in the second, but AJ made a punk out of me. KO in the first few seconds for this up-and-comer from Dublin. Nice showing for his first pay-per-view. I’m a little disappointed he didn’t make weight, and for that reason lost KO of the Night, but he still made an impression for Joe Silva and the other match-makers. Go Dublin, Georgia! You have a new hero. (Just not sure who he replaced as Dublin’s original hero…)
Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher:
Joe by decision is what I had, but it’s obvious that Joe Daddy has some help in the Jackson camp. Elbow submissions in the second is the official call, but TKO is what it will be for everyone else.
Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer:
Predicted a close decision win for Neer, and what happened was a decision for Tibau that was the first unanimous decision robbery of the night. Just because a wrestler takes down a fighter at will does not mean anything! Nothing was ever accomplished while Neer was down, and the crowd knew it. I call beer goggles on the judges for this fight.
Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell:
Predicted TKO in the second for Velasquez, and that’s what he got! I do think the ref stopped it a bit early, but Steve Mazzagatti should get a thank you card from Rothwell. He was loosing that hardily. But I do agree with Dana on Steve.
Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua:
TKO in the 3rd? Not a chance. This was the decision hear ’round the world. After five rounds, Rua was absolutely screwed by the judges’ unanimous decision for Rua. Now we are at an interesting place for the fans: the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and lightweight champions are not the people’s choice. Lesnar is just a disgusting personality, Machida is a false champion, and BJ Penn is just a whinny little man (see Grease Gate.) The only other champions are dominating their division (Silva and St. Piere) so crowds are getting restless. I hope things shake out soon, for the fan’s sake.