UFC 112 Thoughts
I know I’m a bit late to the party on my UFC 112 post-fight thoughts, but I needed a little time to digest what I saw. It was definitely an interesting day/night of MMA.
Frankie Edgar was masterful in his performance against B.J. Penn. It’s unfortunate that the events of the main event will take a little away from Edgar’s victory. No, I really don’t think he won the fight, and yes, I think something wasn’t quite right with Penn. However, he got the decision and the record books will show he defeated the number one lightweight fighter of all time, and he is now the UFC lightweight champion.
What’s next for Edgar? Good question. I think Kenny Florian (who is currently battling a case of Staph infection) is the likely next challenger for the belt. He looked very impressive in wins over Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi since losing to Penn at UFC 101, and he’s marketable too. Gray Maynard is pushing for the fight, but I think Florian is the most likely choice. Some also think Penn should get an immediate rematch (much like “Shogun” Rua got after the close decision loss to Lyoto Machida), but I think a Penn/Maynard #1 contender’s match makes sense. I imagine Edgar would be the underdog no matter who he faces next, but being the underdog didn’t seem to affect him on Saturday.
The Hughes/Gracie fight didn’t do much for me. Hughes didn’t look himself either. Maybe it was something to do with jet lag or something, but Hughes and Penn both looked out of it. Hughes probably lost the first round against Renzo, but repeated leg kicks and fatigue finally did Gracie in late in the 3rd round. It’s tough to imagine Gracie fighting again in the UFC, but he said after the fight that he intended to do so. The fight certainly didn’t do much for Hughes either. I don’t know who the next fight for him would be. Perhaps a rematch with Serra? There really aren’t many compelling matchups for Hughes right now.
Mark Munoz weathered an early storm fromKendall Grove to get the 2nd round TKO victory. Grove was impressive in firing off multiple submission attempts in the first round, but was unable to finish. Munoz looked energized heading into the 2nd round, and once he had Grove on his back against the cage, was able to finish the fight. The fight won “Fight of the Night” honors, so both guys at least left Abu Dhabi with their wallets being a little more full.
Now, onto the main event. Anderson Silva somehow managed to look unbeatable, spectacular, asinine, and childish all in the course of 25 minutes. It was evident early on that Demian Maia posed little to no threat to the reigning middleweight champ, and Silva obviously knew that too. Starting in the 2nd round, Silva began to mock and berate the challenger, trying to get Maia to enter into exchanges. Maia was unwilling to do so, so much of the action for the next three rounds involved Silva pounding on the canvas or signaling for Maia to come forward. The fans in attendance were not pleased with Silva, and with Maia showing toughness and some late life in the 5th round with a still unwilling to engage Silva, the crowd turned in Maia’s favor. UFC president Dana White was quite upset with Silva and the fight in general, and left after the fourth round, not even sticking around to place the belt around the champ’s waist after the decision was read.
It’s quite obvious that Silva is bored with the challengers he’s getting at the middleweight division, so it’s up to Dana White to find him some challenging opponents. I’d be all for Silva making the permanent move up to light heavyweight where there are many interesting matchups, but with Silva and current champion Lyoto Machida unwilling to fight each other, there doesn’t seem to be much of a point to do that either. It seems that Silva will probably face opponents from each division, though it seems unlikely and nearly impossible for him to headline a card, unless it’s a fight against Georges St. Pierre or Brock Lesnar. Chael Sonnen or Vitor Belfort will likely face him next from the middleweight group, and though both would likely offer better challenges than Maia did, neither is a serious threat to take the title from Silva in my opinion. Since Silva has already beaten a former light heavyweight champion in Forrest Griffin, and the fact that the UFC probably doesn’t want to take away a serious championship contender by feeding him to Silva, a matchup with a heavyweight may very well be next for Silva. Fights with Frank Mir or Cain Velasquez would offer a serious challenge, and Iwould expect Silva to be excited for those matchups. However, with Velasquez likely to face the winner of the Shane Carwin/Brock Lesnar fight, Mir may be the logical matchup.
*Photo courtesy Yahoo Sports*
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Filed Under: Recaps
