UFC 139 Parting Shots

UFC 139 may have been the best card of the year top to bottom, with highlight reel finishes to spare as well as a contender for fight of the year in the main event. I’ve already questioned the judging in the Shogun-Henderson fight, so aside from that well-worn point, here are my thoughts on UFC 139.

Wanderlei Silva sends Cung Le back to the movies

I can’t read minds, but as Cung Le was shown on the pay-per-view broadcast in the dressing room, looking over his face and shaking his head, I thought I knew what he was thinking: “What am I doing here?”

Le, who clearly does not have the burning desire to compete that he once did and whose love of making Hollywood films and eating cookies is well documented, was administered a nasty beatdown by a full-time fighter on Saturday night.

Please don’t misunderstand me; making movies and eating cookies are not bad things. They are splendid activities that I would almost surely enjoy more than fighting in the Octagon, as well. However, it can’t be denied that Le simply doesn’t need to be fighting at this point in his life, and his bout with the bloodthirsty Wanderlei Silva only served to bolden and underline that point.

For Le, it was a reminder that you can’t be half-in and half-out at this level of MMA. For Silva and his fans, it was a rejuvenating moment that provided, at the very least, another vintage “Axe Murderer” highlight. For me, it was a humbling reminder that I have no idea what I’m talking about.

I’m happy to eat crow, though, if said crow happens to be watching Wanderlei Silva knee dudes’ heads off like it’s 2003. What else can be said about Silva at this point? Sure, he’s got a glass ceiling at this point in his career, but the champion is Anderson Silva- who at 185 doesn’t have a glass ceiling? The best thing that I can say about Silva’s performance is that he had friends of mine who have seen dozens of UFC events both cringing and unable to look away in the waning moments of the bout. That’s vintage Wanderlei Silva right there.

Welcome to the UFC, Urijah Faber

Speaking of vintage performances, we finally got Urijah Faber’s first truly dominating effort in the UFC on Saturday night, and it’s been a long time coming. Though the bantamweight and featherweight classes have provided some great fights already since the WEC folded into the UFC, many of the best performers in each weight class- Faber, Miguel Torres, Mike Brown, even Jose Aldo- had yet to show non-WEC fans what they’re all about. Now, you can cross Faber off that list.

This is the kind of performance against a quality opponent that can get Faber in line for another crack at Dominick Cruz. Sure, Cruz handled Faber last time, but if Faber can keep fighting like the WEC version of himself, fans will be clamoring for another Faber-Cruz fight in no time.

Quick Shots

–Welcome back, Ryan Bader.

–One of the best ways to sum up Stephan Bonnar is like this: no matter who his opponent is, if they don’t come ready to fight, they’re going to have a tough go at it. Also, that decision loss to Jon Jones isn’t looking so bad, is it? Jones has fought Jake O’Brien, Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ryan Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson since fighting Bonnar, and who’s the last one to go the distance with Jones? Bonnar.

–I was a bit disappointed with Joe Rogan on Saturday night, who I usually think does a great job, especially when it comes to holding officials accountable. However, he was quiet as can be regarding the lack of a 10-8 fifth round in the Shogun-Henderson fight, not calling it into question afterward or directly bringing it up in the post-fight interviews. Yet, he managed to question the perfectly rational Silva-Le stoppage, saying right away that it was a bad stoppage even though replays showed that Le had lost his grip on Silva’s legs and was no longer “going for a takedown”, as Rogan put it, when the fight was stopped. It was a good stoppage, and I think Rogan would have seen that had he not rushed to judgement.

Say What?!?

I’m sorry! I’m sorry!- Stephan Bonnar, apologizing to the “fans” afterward because he wasn’t able to do what none of them could do: finish Kyle Kingsbury.

There are no words to indicate how much I hate seeing fighters apologize to ADD-riddled, drunken, booing fans after a fight that wasn’t even that dull to begin with. My position on the matter is well documented, but here’s the Cliff Notes version: the booing idiots in the stands aren’t going to chip in and pay Bonnar his win bonus if he gets knocked out while trying to have an exciting fight rather than just getting the win.

I get it- the prelims were ridiculous, with finish after finish, and then Bonnar-Kingsbury was fought at a much more measured pace. However, haven’t we gotten to the point where we don’t boo and whine like children when a fight isn’t an instant classic? And furthermore, Bonnar should know better than to encourage that kind of stupidity. Kudos to referee Dan Stell, though, for not succumbing to the pressure from the fans and unnecessarily standing up the fight when the boos started to fill the air. Many referees would have made that mistake, but Stell didn’t.

The Sound of Violence Award

“Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy is an inspired choice for Kyle Kingsbury. Sure, it’s not going to get you pumped up to scrap, and yeah, most of the people in the crowd will think you’ve gone nuts, but at least a couple of 80′s music lovers somewhere in Iowa will be impressed with the choice.

Beautiful Loser Award

This clearly goes to Shogun, although perhaps it shouldn’t since that fight was just as clearly a draw. But hey, history is sometimes written by the incompetent, and Shogun won the last two rounds of that five-round bout by a score of 20-17. He showed tremendous heart after being hurt multiple times and nearly stopped once, and even though Dan Henderson’s cardio isn’t exactly legendary, I was surprised that Shogun outlasted him in that regard.

Movin’ On Up Award

This is a tie for the two uber-prospects whose talents were on display on the prelims Saturday night, Michael McDonald and Chris Weidman. McDonald’s finish was more explosive, but Weidman was in there with a crafty veteran in Tom Lawlor, and showed great technical skill in finishing Lawlor with a nicely executed brabo choke. These two are certainly future top ten fighters, and possibly even future champions.

Holy $#!% Award

This rather obviously goes to Shogun and Hendo for their otherworldly efforts in the main event, though there were plenty of other deserving moments. Though Shogun outlasted Henderson, Hendo found Shogun with his lethal right hand many times and even overcame adversity by recovering when he was hurt a couple of times and surviving a grueling round five, much of which saw him underneath the stifling mount of Shogun. And though Shogun somehow lost the decision, to win the last two rounds clearly after nearly being finished in the third (and moreover, to win the last minute and a half of a round where you were a hair away from being stopped) shows great determination and heart.

That being said, I don’t think either of these guys have anything for Jon Jones.

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Tags: Chris Weidman, Cung Le, Dan Henderson, Kyle Kingsbury, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Michael McDonald, Ryan Bader, Stephan Bonnar, UFC, UFC 139, Urijah Faber, Wanderlei Silva