So let's get this started today! UFC 209 is in the books and we have some major new to talk about today. Overall this fight card I would give it a C+. Not saying it was a bad card but, there is room for improvement. Lately though I feel the UFC is holding certain fighters back, and not giving the people what they want. I get that Thompson and Woodley made sense to have a second bout, but does anyone remember the video where Bisping and Woodley verbally agreed on a catchweight fight? If not here is a link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q75OV00jHNs
Now if you are not excited for this fight, then there is something wrong with your pulse. These are two fighters who are openly and willing to fight each other for no reason but pride. That is what the UFC is missing right now, if a fighter is calling out another fighter let them fight. Thompson said he wanted to run it back after a Unanimous Draw back in November. Sure it made sense to have Thompson and Woodley see who was clearly a better fighter, but I kind of feel like we got robbed of an awesome fight between Bisping and Woodley.
Now let's not take away from the awesome news that was announced today, last week I discussed how important it was to give a tune-up fight to GSP. Instead the UFC gave us Bisping VS GSP...The Count VS Rush. They had a great back in forth in the press conference, however Bisping was late to it and Dana White let him know it. Bisping even let GSP know that he is out of his class and needs to move back to Canada, that GSP is a great athlete but Bisping is a great fighter. GSP and Bisping had some more words, with GSP letting Bisping know he is out of shape. Bisping responded by saying he is always out of shape before the fight but will have no problem in the ring. GSP looked like a man who was willing to fight on Saturday if he wanted to. Here was a photo of the two of them together:
It was not all sunshine and before we get to the fight we have to discuss one thing. Making weight, sure fighters are always trying to get he advantage, but how far does one push themselves to making that weight. We have seen two fighters recently be taken to the hospital because they can Khabib Nurmagoedov was set to fight Tony Ferguson, he was looking good all the way up until fight week. He has missed weight at lightweight (155 pounds), after falling ill. Normally a fighter will weigh 20 to 30 pounds above their weight class and cut. If you can not make the weight class go up and stay healthy. I feel if you miss a weight class in the UFC you should be forced to go up a weight class for your next fight.
But, I digress now on to the fight card.
I usually do not talk about all the fights but I wanted to go with four of the five fights:
Alistar Overeem vs Mark Hunt:
Hunt has been very vocal about fighting fighters on steroids or PEDs. To be honest four of the last seven fights Mark Hunt has been in, those fighters have been accused or tested positive for a banned substance (Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, and Alistar Overeem), That still did not save Hunt in the fight. Overeem was able to keep Hunt on the outside, and kept pushing the fight. Hunt was kicked in the shin by Overeem (which actually fractured Hunt's Tibia). As the fight went on Hunt was able to land a few shots on Overeem but at the end of the night, it was a Knee to the head that put Hunt to sleep.
Cynthia Calvillo vs Amanda Cooper
This was a short fight but, it was a great debut by Calvillo. It was mentioned during UFC 209 that Calvillo trains at Team Alpha Male, you can tell she has been training on her wrestling and transitions. She was able to lock in a Darce Choke, from a front headlock in a attempted take down by Cooper. Calvillo was able to transition from the Darce to take Cooper's back and then moved into a rear naked choke. Calvillo has a bright future in the UFC, with Paige VanZant in her corner and Cody Garbrandt the ceiling is high.
There is not too much to talk about here, Evans needs to consider hanging up the gloves. The former UFC Ultimate Fighter winner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion made his debut at 185 last night. It did not go as well as he had hoped. Dan Kelly came into the fight ready, Evans looked ready for the fight physically but you have to wonder how he was mentally walking into this fight. Evans does not looked as hyped as he use to be in his fights, When I met Evans in 2008, he has a history of getting too relaxed in his fight, which almost cost him three fights. Now it seems that he does not properly train for the fights coming up and he did not use a nutritionist during his weight cut to 185. He can make the weight cut, and that is great I felt Evans should have been at 185, his whole career but he needs to do it properly. Kelly on the other hand looked like he was ready to roll on Evans. Fighting Southpaw was the advantage against Evans, Evans has only fought two southpaw fighters and had difficulty with both of them. Kelly was ready for anything against Evans had to throw at him. Even with a heavily wrapped knee (which at the time of writing this is still unknown) Kelly was able to overcome Evans.
Tyron Woodley vs Stephen Thompson
Let's be honest, this was a boring fight to watch for most. These were two elite fighters who knew what the other was capable of doing, however both fighters were not willing to engage. There were some key moments in the fight that stood out: First was the defense from Thompson, he understood the power and speed Woodley had and wanted to stay out of his range. However oblique kicks could have kept Woodley at bay, Thompson was worried about the single leg and refused to commit. Though Woodley would commit to one take down, he managed to get him down to the ground and do damage. Secondly, Woodley would lead in significant strikes (54 to 53, according to UFC.com), the volume at which Thompson was throwing at would not make a difference. In the fifth round Woodley would connect two different times to try and end the fight. Again we saw Thompson go limp for a half a second, but not enough for the ref to stop the fight. Two of the three judges saw the fight going for the champ and one draw.
Overall I thought the fight card was okay at best. The UFC is going to take a break for a little bit before they return. Hopefully the UFC fight makers can be ready to make some great fights to get UFC followers hyped up. It is crazy to think that so many people are starting to fall off due to poor fights. The UFC needs to get moving and get the hype train back in full force.
What was your thoughts, hit me up here or follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also do not forget to follow the newest blog Your Sports Therapy. There is going to be a few new articles written this week so stay tuned to that.
References:
All photos are property of UFC
UFC 209: Woodley vs Thompson 2." UFC. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2017
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