The fights Saturday night came and went...big names like Keith Jardine, Sokoudjou, Brandon Vera, Michael Bisping, and Chris Leben were featured. Many of us couldn't wait for the stand up war surely to come between The Cat Smasher and The Count. Jardine and Vera was believed to be a good match up...not to mention everyone was expecting Sokoudjou to roll over Cane. We were wrong...which is what's great about this sport.
The true fights of the night were Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor and Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly. The slugfest we all expected out of Leben and Bisping took place between Lytle and Taylor. Lytle hit Daly with everything but the kitchen sink while Daly kept coming, plastering Chris with his own shots. Chris' heart proved game in his win because he ran out of gas in Round 2.
Speaking of gassing, Sokoudjou needs patience (and Light Force). I believe 90 days with Couture and Sokoudjou would be unstoppable. He tries to put everything he has into every shot...but pays for it around the first minute of Round 2. Luis Cane is a bad mo...for sure. Luis weathered some serious shots and just kept coming. LC has no quit and is in it for the long haul...any fighter drawing this Brazilian should tread carefully.
Onto the disappointments...Brandon Vera has a mental block. We haven't seen the same Brandon Vera that decimated Frank Mir or Justin Eilers. Its like he's holding something back or something in his life has altered his instincts. The win for Jardine was Jardine-like...plodding, hard-nosed, and calculated. Keith is a helluva fighter and I take nothing away from him...he's probably one of the most game fighters in the sport today. Its just that this fight did not live up to its billing...just another decision.
The fight between Bisping and Leben generated the same feeling we all experienced during final hour in high school, knowing the two school bullies were going to fight for supremacy in the parking lot...kind of like Ortiz vs. Liddell I. What transpired was a slightly more entertaining fight than the Marquardt vs. Salaverry bout...a technical matchup with one fighter having slightly better footwork and conventional boxing. At no time did these guys ever stand in the middle of the cage and trade blows like Lytle and Paul Taylor...although this is what we expected. The decision went to Bisping just as it should have...because Chris didn't do enough damage to win. However, the fight did not deliver the type of action Joe Silva, Dana White, or the rest of us expected.
Which brings me to my final point...MMA cannot be planned. The best fights of the night took place in the beginning of the card...the boring fights were saved for co-main events. I love this about MMA, though. Its all about the underdog and the guys with everything to prove. Its very rare that the main event delivers the fight of the night (save for Liddell/Silva or Hughes/Penn II).
Nonetheless, it was a free event and in today's economy...free is the right price. Short of sounding like a little girl searching for my balls in my wife's jewelry box...UFC 89 was a good watch and a pretty good night of fights. Click here for MMAWeekly.com coverage.
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