UFC 75 is in the books and overall the fight card was a decent one. Some good fights, a LOT of commercials, and some questionable decisions all equal another UFC event.
- Quinton Jackson vs Dan Henderson - This fight was everything it should have been as a fight between two champions. If you are a fan of high-level MMA fighters matching skill against skill then you enjoyed watching the chess match between Jackson and Henderson. I probably would have scored the fight 48-47 for Jackson instead of 49-46, but either way I think its clear that Rampage won. Jackson looks very dialed in and tough to beat right now.
- Michael Bisping vs Matt Hamill - In my opinion, the decision in this fight was highway robbery. From where I was watching, Hamill easily won the first two rounds and then gassed in the third round giving Bisping the slight advantage. Hamill was more aggressive, controlled the fight, had better ground game and better striking early on than Bisping did. I’m very disappointed with the outcome in this fight and wonder if there wasn’t a slight “hometown advantage” given to Bisping.
- Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic vs Cheick Kongo - Kongo controlled the smaller Cro Cop throughout much of this fight and was able to neutralize Cro Cop’s strikes and kicks. By utilizing a sort of stall tactic in the clinch game against the fence, Kongo was able to score some points with his knees and then was able to use his reach and height advantage to score with strikes and body kicks from the outside. Very disappointing performance from Cro Cop. I still don’t think Kongo is anywhere near a top level heavyweight. Put Kongo up against Gabriel Gonzaga or Nogueria and the fight will end in the first round by submission.
- Houston Alexander vs Alessio Sakara - Alexander has a ferocity and intensity to his fighting style that will make him a tough opponent for most fighters. Until he gets caught and knocked out, Alexander will continue to bring his frenetic pace and striking style to his opponents and will be tough to defend against.
- The UFC really needs to figure out their scoring of fights before this gets any more out of hand. I guess I am now even more confused how the judges scorecard decisions actually work now. If the Bisping-Hamill fight was scored 29-28, 27-30, and 29-28 then according to my calculator that would give Bisping 85 and Hamill 86. Last time I checked 86 was higher than 85 and Hamill should have won. Hamill should have won anyways, but if we are going by points, then what gives? Why even use points at all? Why not just have the judges pick their winner for the whole fight and just have 2 judges pick Bisping and 1 judge pick Hamill. That is really what happened anyways - why use points at all when they really don’t mean anything?
- I ended last night with mixed feelings regarding Mirko Cro Cop. In my opinion, Cro Cop really should retire now and still keep some of his legacy in tact. The more Cro Cop fights and gets handled the way he has been, the more his sparkle and shine wears off in the minds of MMA fans. Mirko really looks like he is completely out of the fight mentally and just doesn’t seem like he has that determination or fire that he once had. If he really does have the desire to continue fighting, perhaps he should consider dropping to Light Heavyweight. I only think Cro Cop should retire if he can’t seem to get his head into the game. I am not getting off the “Mirko bandwagon”; I still know that Mirko is one of the top heavyweights int he world - he just isn’t fighting like it right now. He can’t handle the clinch against the cage; he still isn’t comfortable with elbows. If he is weighing in at 220 lbs, a cut to 205lbs doesn’t seem all that unreasonable. If he doesn’t call it quits, I hope he figures out whatever his problem is real soon. If Cro Cop were to lose to someone like Fabiano Scherner or Christian Wellisch in his next fight I would have to move Cro Cop into “Frank Mir Status”.
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Tags: UFC, MMA, UFC 75, Quinton Jackson, Dan Henderson, Matt Hamill, Michael Bisping, Cro Cop
