Chris Townsend

In a sports world overflowing with hyperbole, propaganda and events that fall far short of their promoted promises, imagine my euphoria when UFC 100 not only lived up to but surpassed all expectations.  Two championship belts were on the line, as well as the debut of Yoshiro Akiyama (known by his faithful followers as “Sexyama” due to his Japanese modeling career) the world’s sexy-weight champion. If that weren’t enough, included was the match-up between the most recent coaches on the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show, a fight that could have easily headlined any other Pay Per View.  It even had a fight with a UFC fighter who first debuted in UFC 10… that’s right, a 44 year old man who first fought in the octagon 90 events ago is still fighting, and won!

There is little doubt who the baddest man on the block is in the UFC Heavyweight division is after Brock Lesners’ devastation of one time champion of Frank Mir (pronounced Meer). I am by no means a fan of WWE (at least not since I was 10) and do not think this legitimizes the contrived display of athleticism that is “pro wrestling”, what it does prove is there is now a legitimate avenue for college wrestlers to continue their love of competition, discipline, and ass-whooping.  Brock didn’t want to become a lead character in a pre-adolescent boys soap opera (WWE), he just didn’t have any other career choice that took advantage of his unbelievable size, athleticism, charisma, and his incredible 106-5 record as a collegiate wrestler….106-5!!!!! I once played a blind kid at Checkers 111 times and I lost 12 games, but to be fair, he was really good.  In all likelihood, Brock took a pay-cut when he made the transition from pretend fighting to take a shot at the most grueling, physically demanding sport on the planet; and that is why he has my respect.  He is not only the champion after a mere (mir?) 5 MMA fights, but he single handedly revolutionized the division.  If you didn’t already know, there is a weight maximum for heavy weights (265lbs) and Brock has to cut weight to be eligible and fights closer to 290lbs than the 265lb maximum.  No longer will we see the hybrid heavyweight who fights at 215 pounds as he dances between light-heavy and heavyweight.  Even Mir, a former champion himself, fought on Saturday at a larger size than he has before. If you are not at least 240lbs Brocks message is clear…Get out of my division!  I feel it will be a long time before anyone takes the belt from the massive man with the smothering frame and truck fenders attached to his wrists (he wears custom made XXXXL MMA gloves). The Brock Lesner era has officially begun, and I couldn’t be happier.

The Heavyweight belt wasn’t the only one on the line, Georges St-Pierre (heretofore referred to as GSP) put his Welterweight (170 lbs) title up for grabs.  There was little concern that he would lose his belt to challenger Thiago Alves after the first few minutes of round 1 when it was clear GSP was the faster fighter and could take Thiago to the ground at will.  It was a surgical display of timing, technique and endurance as he dismantled the dangerous challenger in a 5 round decision, despite injuring his groin in round three.  I can think of several things I would rather do with a pulled groin other than fight 2 rounds of MMA against one of the most dangerous strikers in the game. Actually, I would rather do anything with pulled groin than fight 2 rounds against Alves.  His victory raised the question, would he have to move up a weight division to find a worthy opponent; a move which would only enhance his reputation as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world.

In the match-up of the most recent coaches of The Ultimate Fighter (the UFC based reality show) former Olympian Dan Henderson took on former The Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Bisping (advantage Olympian).  Bisping did all the talking before the fight which was fine with Dan, the epitome of the strong silent type, because Dan did all the fighting.  It didn’t take long into round 2 before Dan connected with a HUGE right hand that Bisping, despite watching replays, still has never seen.  While I still think Bisping is a talented fighter who has a promising future in the UFC, he is not in Dan’s class as a potential champion.  Henderson, the only fighter to win a round against current Middleweight champion Anderson Silva (the top fighter in the world today, bar none), re-affirmed his stake as the only guy who might, possibly, maybe, perhaps be able to defeat Anderson Silva at 185lbs.  Then again, he more likely confirmed he is the unquestioned second best fighter at that weight, but in the fight game second best is a lonely place.

The main card was rounded out by an impressive victory by Jon Fitch at welterweight, and a split decision win by Yoshiro “Sexyama” at middleweight.  Fitch’s victory sets up a rematch between himself and GSP, and a chance to avenge Jon’s only loss is his last 15 fights.  While Sexyamas’ debut in the UFC as Japans best import since the Honda didn’t quite go as well as he had hoped he did get the win and that is all that matters.  I just hope he channels his inner Ted DiBiasi and creates his own championship belt as he reigns supreme as the worlds Sexy-weight champ.

Even the under-card was stacked with fights I couldn’t wait to see (when was the last time that was said about boxing?).  Jon “Bones” Jones improved his record to 8-0 with a guillotine choke in the second round. The man with the longest reach in UFC history (84.5 inches or 7 feet for the mathematically challenged) showed the world he is more that just an athletic phenomenon coasting on his physical gifts and is an exiting addition to the already stacked light-heavyweight division (205lbs).  My only concern is that his combination of freakish athletic ability and his relative low-name status will relegate him to the ducked man in the division.  I certainly hope not.  Marc Coleman, who first appeared in UFC 10, defeated Stephan Bonner in a unanimous decision.  Great news for Marc; bad news for Stephan, I’m not sure where you go after losing a fight to a 44 year old who has been around for 90 UFC events. Mac Danzig continues his disappointing run after looking so dominant in The Ultimate Fighter, and CB Dollaway once again put his remarkable ability to get submitted on display for all to see. I’m not sure what to make of their underwhelming performances in the octagon after both fighters seemed to have all the tools during their respective runs on The Ultimate Fighter, I just hope they lose their knack for losing before Dana White loses his patience with them.