UFC 97: Redemption - Quick Review

So UFC 97 is in the books. I'm not going to do a play by play as you can read that anywhere. This is just a quick blurb and my humble ( or not so humble since I feel the need to put it up for the world to see lol) opinion.

All in all not bad. It was far from the greatest and I think I did expect a little more but some pretty good fights.
The Stout vs. Wiman fight was a great all out lightweight brawl. Good back and forth action, The lightweights really are fun to watch. There is almost always non stop action with these guys.

Cane vs. Cantwell Ehhh, ok fight but I actually started to dose off a little. not out cold but doing the nod. Some good striking but just didn't get me going.

Cheik Kongo Started out a bit slow but by the second round started pounding the crap out of Hardonk. Funny, no interview for Kongo this time. Slow start but good fight.

Soszynski put on a good show as he tapped Stan with a kamura He pretty much owned the short fight.

Liddell vs. Rua was hard to watch. I really thought Liddell was ready to come back strong but he just looked off from the opening bell. After the fight he even said he just didn't feel right. Rua on the other hand finally looked like he fighter he is supposed to be. Very tight strikes and just on the money. Hate to see Chuck go out this way and maybe he will be back but I don't know if he has anything left, only time will tell.

The main event was probably the biggest reason people will criticize this event. It started off very slow and never really picked up Silva dominated all 5 rounds to win the decision but nothing really exciting. I probably didn't hate the fight as much as a lot of people will but I still saw Silva trying to put on a show. Leites was OK in the beginning but really got lame at the end with the laying down crap. I get that you want Silva to go to the ground but he was not going to do it and falling down every 20 seconds after a while is just a bitch move. Once or twice here and there OK but that was just pitiful in the end. Silva busted out some new tricks so all was not lost.

So bottom line, OK, nothing to go crazy for but hey not a bad night of fights.

I personally can't wait for Serra vs. Hughes. I am a really big fan of Serra, especially after watching him both as a competitor and a coach on the Ultimate Fighter. The guy not only busted his ass but helped everyone else however and whenever he could. Hughes as a coach, some say hard nosed but just in a cocky, dicky way. You want to be an evil bastard when training people but you can do it without being a dick. again just my opinion

UFC 97: Redemption - Preview

UFC 97 Redemption is this Saturday April 18 2009

StrikeForce Premiers On Showtime

Last Saturday (April 11 2009) was the debut of Strikeforce on Showtime network. With EliteXC going under Strikeforce picked up the ball and ran with it.Last night was a pretty good card with some great action.

First fight was a battle of the 0's in the heavyweight division. Brett Rogers defeated Abongo Humphrey with a knockout in the second round. The first round started off a bit rough. Abongo Kept complaining Rogers was grabbing his hair but, in my opinion a lot of it was unintentional. The guy has a lot of hair and was giving up the Thai clinch way too easily. His hair just seemed to get caught in Rogers hands more then anything. Needless to say Rogers actually lost a point in the first round because if it. Second round, none of that mattered. Rogers pounded Humphrey with a ridiculous number of knees which basically ended the fight.

Next was the girls with Chris "cyborg" Santos taking on Hitomi Akano. Santos came in 7 lbs overweight with the excuse" I had women problems". Sorry but if your gonna fight professionally that's a bunch of crap in my opinion. Anyway, she was so much stronger then Akano anyway it really didn't matter all that much. Santos was literally tossing around Akano like a rag doll while pounding her unmercifully for a little over 2 rounds. 35 seconds in to the 3rd round the ref mercifully stopped the fight.

Third fight and , arguably the fight of the night had Scott Smith Take on Benji Radach in the middle weight division. All I can really say about that fight is Holy S#%t what a brawl. This was one of those fights that could have gone either way at any time. Just when one guy was looking out on his feet, Bam they throw a heavy punch that knocks the other loopy. Great action from start to finish. These guys banged it out for almost 3 rounds. Smith looked, and admittedly felt, like he was done after the second round. He still came out in the third round and connected a monster right hook that knocked Radach out. This was one of those fights where you just say its a shame someone gets a loss. Great fight, period.

Next was the fight for the interim Lightweight title. Former champ Gilbert Melendez got a second round KO over Rodrigo Damm. Melendez basically owned that fight from start to finish right up until the knockout a little over 2 minutes into the second round. Damm had no idea where he was, knocked out with his eyes wide open. He was still fighting the ref and doctors when they woke him p. Very impressive KO.

Finally the main event. Frank Shamrock VS. Nick Diaz. Diaz was basically in control from the opening bell. Shamrock just didn't seem to have an answer to Diaz's reach combined with excellent boxing. When the fight went to the ground Diaz again showed dominance as he put on a clinic. The fight ended with a ref stoppage almost 4 minutes into the second round.

All in all a pretty good fight card and a decent show. Hopefully Strikeforce can continue to put together great cards on Showtime.