The decisive win by Georges St. Pierre was not the only highlight of the evening, but there’s something to be said for a fight that creates that amount of hype. Still, as a result of St. Pierre’s win (which I’m as happy about as anybody), we are almost garunteed a fight between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra and, in the vent that Serra wins, a rubber match between the New Yorker and the Canadian.
As far as Joe Silva’s options for a title contender, the welterweight division is not seriously promising, but I think that we are more or less garunteed a fight between St. Pierre and Jon Fitch. While this fight isn’t particularly interesting to me, I do think that it will give Fitch some credibility to see him step in with a big name like Georges. Those are my simplified thoughts on the future of the welterweight division with its new, expected champion.
Mac Danzig is quickly establishing himself as a force in the division. He was one of the rare anomalies on TUF not to win because of a decision or freak injury (I throw that last part in to take out Nate Diaz, because I have a hard time calling that win legitimate). I like Danzig, and I’ve followed his small circuit career a little bit (mostly because I wanted to scout him when he was signed by Pride).
He’s not quite ready for a title shot, but I think that he should be expecting a matchup against one of the 155 pound divisions more substantial fighters. Honestly, I’d like to see him fight Kurt Pellegrino, or have a TUF winner matchup with Nate Diaz. (though I am a bit unsure of that matchup, because I did pick up Diaz for my UFC/WEC fantasy team, and I don’t think he’d come out of a fight with Danzig that well)
The late finish by Danzig may not get him a whole lot of attention, but I see that caution about pushing him as unnecessary. While I’m aware that his strength is submission fighting, and that the UFC has a hard time putting together a highlight reel without big strikes and slams, Danzig is the kind of guy who deserves the attention and, because of his reality show background, may just get it.
Rich Clementi may have actually set himself back on the ladder, by not managing to finish Sam Stout (an opponent who has been showing some improvement in the submissions department, but who Clementi should dominate). Even with Clementi’s win over Melvin Guillard, he is not going to look that great if he can’t get all three judges to agree on how to score his fights.
The Franklin vs. Lutter fight was more exciting than I think most people expected it to be (as it was pretty much signed over by most people as a classic, Rich Franklin starching), but Lutter managed to stay alive until late round two. Unfortunately, he seems to be having trouble with his cardio.
Jason MacDonald’s stopping of Joe Doeksen was good, and may keep MacDonald in the big show, not necessarily by making him a contender (because he’s out of that at least for a little while), but by making him an exciting gatekeeper and middle of the pack guy at 185.
Overall, I found the event interesting, and more exciting than I would normally have expected. Still, I’m keeping my eyes ahead, focused on UFC 84, where we’re going to have some seriously fun matchups, and not the favorite-heavy card we saw at UFC 83.
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I do still love MMA and have...
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hey Josh, Liked your over view. Who do you think they bring to replace Chuck in the main card? or are they going to promote Vera as the main event? Too bad to see Lutter gas, he looks like he has the tools. Look forward to reading your next article. jay
April 25th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I think that they’ll bring in James Irvin to replace Chuck, honestly. But we’ll see. They could bring in Thiago Silva, too. Either way, I think that fight will still be interesting.
They will push Vera as a main event, because they think that he’s got the youth and charisma required to be a real force in the sport. I think he’s a bit of a dick, but he’s a talented fighter.
Thanks, man, appreciate the support.
April 25th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
A Note: The Irvin fight was just finalized.