Quick Thoughts on UFC 97

UFC 97 was like most recent UFC events in that it provided quite a bit to talk about in its aftermath. Whether it was the head-scratching performance of Anderson Silva (which I discussed in an earlier column today), or the probable retirement of sure-fire Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, there is a lot to ponder and debate over now that the dust has cleared. Here are some quick thoughts on what took place Saturday night:

–At first, I thought that the Liddell-Shogun Rua fight was too quick to really see whether or not Shogun can make a return to his previous form. After watching it again, I realize that I was wrong. His lunge into the left hook that sent Liddell to the mat was extremely quick, and reminded me of the explosive, aggressive Shogun that we used to see. Shogun didn’t get to back up his assertion that he’s worked on his cardio, however. That will still be a question mark when Shogun fights someone who can take him into the third round.

–I always feel good when a couple of hard-working undercard guys get a nice bonus for putting on a great fight, and the case of Matt Wiman and Sam Stout getting “Fight of the Night” honors is no exception. It’s great to see a couple of tough lightweights get a hefty $70,000 bonus that far exceeds what they would normally make for a fight.

–There has been talk from Anderson Silva’s manager about fans overlooking the fact that Silva has nine UFC wins in a row, or that he proved that he could go five rounds in his victory over Thales Leites. Nine wins in a row is incredible, but it’s a little anticlimactic, since we all knew as soon as Silva-Leites was announced that he would achieve his ninth straight win. Judging from the manner in which he fought, Silva knew already, too. As far as respecting the fact that he went five rounds, Silva has always looked to be in phenomenal shape. Also, does it really mean much if you “go the distance” while not engaging and most of the time either dancing around the octagon or waiting for your timid opponent to get back to his feet? It’s not as if Silva went 25 minutes in a war where he was taking shots and on the ground having to expend a lot of energy.

–Dana White confirmed after the fights that Cheick Kongo is “in the mix” for a title shot. Personally, I’d like to see him against someone with a good ground game to really test what he can do, and how much he’s improved. There’s no use throwing him in there against a great wrestler like Brock Lesnar or a submission expert like Frank Mir, if he’s not going to have a chance to last. He may have “earned” a title shot with his win streak, but fans won’t take him seriously as a threat to either of those guys until he’s proven that he can beat someone who can take him down and/or submit him.

–It’s really too bad that David “The Crow” Loiseau was nullified like he was in his bout against Ed Herman. You have to wonder why the UFC would bring him back with such a matchup. Perhaps they were just looking to get Herman back in the “W” column, while giving the Canadian fans a thrill by having one of their own return to the big show. It’s hard to envision this fight going any differently than it did.

–What’s next for WEC veterans Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell, who are a combined 1-2 in the UFC? How about a rematch against one another? Maybe it’s a little soon, as they fought last August, but they’ve each won one fight thus far, and this way, one of them is guaranteed to get some momentum going in the UFC. Plus, their fight will be sure to bring plenty of fireworks.

 by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Dana White, Frank Mir, UFC, WEC