Was it really the Ultimate 2008?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(”Sugar” Rashad Evans always comes ready for a fight)
The card looked stacked on paper. But I don’t know if it lived up to the hype. UFC 92 had all the makings of an all-time classic. It didn’t quite reach it, though.
It was good, make no mistake about it. But it could have been better. Then again, that’s the beauty of MMA. You never know when someone is going to get knocked into the middle of next week.
And that’s what Quinton “Rampage” Jackson did to “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva. One left hook, and that was all she wrote. Jackson had lost to Silva in their previous two outings as Silva’s knees had taken out Jackson. This time, not even close.
Jackson is a much better striker now and Silva has more mileage on his body than most. Now that wasn’t the only reason why it went down the way it did, but it definitely had something to do with it.
The same can be said for Nogueira and Frank Mir. Was Mir about as fit as possible and as confident as possible? Yes. But Nogueira has never just stood there and absorbed the punishment like that.
Mir ended up finishing Nogueira in the second round. Mir knocked him down twice and just pummeled his fellow Ultimate Fighter coach. Nogueira is known for taking a beatin’ and coming back but not this night.
And then in the main event, Rashad Evans knocked out Forrest Griffin in the third round. Griffin won the first two rounds with ease and continues to surprise his opponents with his leg kicks. No one sees it coming.
Evans put Griffin down, and then much to my surprise, Griffin’s ground game wasn’t up to snuff. Evans calmly went about his business before finishing the job and winning the light heavyweight championship.
But I tend to agree with other MMA fans that a one-punch KO doesn’t necessarily solve anything. All it proves is that on any given night, someone can get caught. KOs don’t mean you’ve seen the best card of the year.
Jackson/Silva was kinda nothing for it was until the big left hook. Nogueira just stood there and took everything Mir dished it out.
And Evans/Griffin was on pace to become fight of the night when Evans ended it. Griffin won the first two rounds, but they were nothing to write home about. There wasn’t that great back-and-forth classic, which you felt could have happened with this card. But that’s a minor complaint as it was a solid card.
Evans has arrived, Rampage is back, and we’re set for Mir vs. Brock Lesnar II for the heavyweight title. See, there are some things to be excited about.
So that concludes the MMA year in 2008. It definitely had its moments, so this week is all about MMA on the blog with awards week. Kick it off Tuesday with Fight of the Year (and this is a tough one).
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