UFC 121 Parting Shots

Okay, let’s draw a line in the sand, here. We’re all a little Cain-ed out. Nobody is sad by now that Brocktober came to an abrupt end, either. Nearly all of the post-UFC talk has been about the heavyweight title bout, which makes sense, but that doesn’t keep it from getting a bit tiresome. So, I’m going to do my best to make this a Cain-and-Brock-free look back at UFC 121.

The more things change…

Most of the time, fights are interesting, even if they aren’t particularly entertaining, because they either answer some questions we have about certain fighters, settle a debate or a rankings issue, or give us a new perspective on one or both competitors. Sometimes, though, you have a fight where nothing new is learned, and both parties perform just as they always have, and just as they were expected to.

Such was the case with the fight between Tito Ortiz and Matt Hamill.

Through three rounds, Ortiz did his best to translate his meat-and-potatoes boxing attack to success. Straight punches, a little head movement, and all with an unnaturally-stiff look to it. Nothing new there. Meanwhile, Hamill left his hands down, threw an ugly-but-effective jab and plenty of looping punches, along with a few effective takedowns and some good ground and pound. Nothing new there, either.

Before the fight, most people assumed that Ortiz was essentially done, if not as a participant in the sport, at least as a relevant participant. Also, Hamill was seen as a talented enough fighter, but not someone that we would expect to include in the light heavyweight top ten or to see in a title bout at any point in the future.

Again, nothing changed on either count.

Then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. At least, it’s not so bad if you’re trying to predict these damn fights. With all of the upsets, surprises and disappointments that are just part of the expected proceedings of an MMA event by now, a fight that goes just as expected is actually an unexpected thing.

It’s also a good lesson for someone such as myself, who constantly expects fighters to overcome their more recent shortcomings to reach their former level of performance or their perceived potential (see: Ortiz, Gabriel Gonzaga).

Sometimes, what you see is what you get, and I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.

Ortiz may get another fight in the UFC, or he may not. I’m not sure that it matters. If he gets anyone who is even in the neighborhood of the top ten, he’s going to have an uphill battle and will probably just end up with another loss. It’s doubtful that Dana White will give Ortiz an easy fight to get back on track, since there doesn’t appear to be any long-term benefit in doing so. He’ll end up in Strikeforce or elsewhere, and he’ll trade wins and losses and provide some entertainment, and that’s alright. His place in MMA history is already secured.

Go, Diego, go!

Speaking of believing that fighters will reach their old levels of performance, the first round of Diego Sanchez’s fight with Paulo Thiago was pretty scary for anyone who had money on Sanchez, for sure. Although I’m convinced of Sanchez’s talent and determination, he has shown to be a bit of a front runner in that when someone really puts it on him early in a fight, he doesn’t bring the same intensity level (though he’s a game opponent, either way).

Therefore, it was impressive to see Sanchez come back from dropping the first round clearly in the eyes of just about everyone but judge Luis Cobian to steamroll Thiago in the last two rounds. Sanchez certainly still has the skills to be a top five welterweight, and the move back to Greg Jackson’s camp was a good decision on his part. Who knows? Maybe he could be a future champ after all, and he needed those losses to get his head together.

As for Thiago, he is a very good fighter, but looks to be one that will remain just outside of the elite in the division. He can occasionally beat a top welterweight (like Koscheck), but will usually lose to legit top ten guys (Fitch, Sanchez). That said, he’ll be a mainstay in the division for years to come, if used correctly.

What’s wrong with Gonzaga?

It’s the same old story with Gabriel Gonzaga. The guy could be a monster, but he gets in there and doesn’t look like he even knows if he wants to fight. Through three rounds with Brendan Schaub, Gonzaga generally stood as still as a statue, absorbing shots from his more mobile opponent while offering little in his own defense.

This is nothing new with Gonzaga, either. Remember his first fight in the UFC against Kevin Jordan? If you don’t, it’s for good reason…the two danced around one another for three full rounds in one of the most boring fights of 2005, before Gonzaga improbably launched a Superman punch in the closing seconds of the fight that knocked Jordan out cold. It was essentially Mir-Cro Cop with even less activity.

Five years later, it is obviously too late to expect Gonzaga to ever meet his potential. While watching his corner calmly speak to him between rounds, I had to wonder whether some urgency on somebody, anybody’s part should have been shown. Maybe a change of scenery or even some talk with a sports psychologist is in order…or maybe Gonzaga just doesn’t want to be in there.

Quick Shots

–Dana White couldn’t have been pleased with Jake Shields’ performance against Martin Kampmann. He obviously didn’t want to put Jon Fitch in for a title shot with GSP, but Shields’ showing didn’t exactly build demand for GSP-Shields, either. Meanwhile, a Fitch-Shields fight risks backfiring if Fitch is able to win, and even more likely, could result in another underwhelming Shields performance that won’t help sell a title fight.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Diego Sanchez, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jake Shields, Martin Kampmann, Matt Hamill, Paulo Thiago, Tito Ortiz, UFC, UFC 121