Verbal Submission: UFC 119 Review

Music to listen to: Mountain Song by Jane’s Addiction

So UFC 119 has come and gone but what do we make of it? None of the contests had title implications and the fights were lackluster at best. However, there were some observations that I made from the event:

-It may be time for Cro Cop to retire: Its hard to find a mixed martial arts fan who doesn’t like Cro Cop. He was a great fighter with highlight knockouts with his kicks, has an awesome back story and has an iconic image. Plus, he has been an excellent ambassador for the sport. However, Cro Cop has seen better days. He looked sluggish during the entire fight against Mir and showed none of the attributes that made him a great fighter. The best Cro Cop can do now is be a gatekeeper for the division because he is a big name, especially if the UFC does an event in Europe, where his popularity is massive.

-Mir still has a way to go to regain the heavyweight title. The knockout by knee was nice but he still is the fourth-best heavyweight in the division, at best. He has become a more glorified gatekeeper because he’s not going to beat Brock Lesnar, Cain Valasquez, Shane Carwin or Junior Dos Santos. If anybody wants to be considered a contender has to get past Mir.

-Ryan Bader is good but still needs work. Nice win over Little Nog but Bader didn’t show anything different than we already knew. We have already seen the wrestling and heavy hands but we need to see some improvement in his ground work and cardio. It seems like he is going to face Jon Jones in his next fight but he will be the decided underdog in that fight.

-Evan Dunham deserved the win. The problem with MMA officiating is that the 10-point system that the sport uses is for another sport, boxing, that only contains one element of the sport. Do you give the advantage to Fighter A in a round who was able to take their opponent down but was controlled by Fighter B once the fight went to the ground. Do you give the advantage to Fighter A who attempts to get submissions on the ground and is aggressive or do you give the nod to fighter B who defends the submissions but doesn’t go for his own?

Until judges are given strict guidelines on what to look for, you will continue to see decisions like the Dunham/Sean Sherk fight. You have to remember that many of the judges gained their experience in boxing matches and aren’t as knowledgeable in MMA. I think that seminars and even some training sessions should be mandatory for judges to attend before they judge MMA contests.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?