UFC 99 More Questions Than Answers

UFC fans may have been disappointed after watching UFC 99 this past Saturday. Unlike the previous weekends televised MMA events, which were filled with stunning knockouts and slick submissions, this main card saw many very close wars go to a decision. On paper the card looked like it was tailor made for exciting finishes and cheesy tag lines like “don’t blink during this one.” So was not the case, but I was in no way disappointed. Rarely do I watch an event that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I love a good fight! However, while the fights were exciting, I walked away feeling that I had more questions then I did before I started watching. Let’s start at the beginning…

(pictures from sherdog)

The first fight of the night was between Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy and Marcus ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ Davis. Let me tell you the shit talking between these two leading up to the fight was priceless. Hardy did everything he could to get under Davis’ skin. The verbal wars lead to a great fight in the cage, but I’m not sure who really won or that’s over. I would hate to have been a judge on this one. ‘The Outlaw’ bloodied up the ‘Hand Grenade’ with a nasty elbow from the top, which may have been the reason he got the split decision victory. Davis was furious with the decision and stormed out of the cage. It was such a close fight that we need to see these two go at it again. Maybe, just maybe, we can get a clear-cut winner.

Later on in the card, two big heavyweights, Cheick Kongo and Velasquez went to battle. Kongo has won his last few fights in devastating fashion and with a win; his name may have been thrown in for title contention. Velasquez walked in with a perfect 5-0 record and wanted to prove he was the real deal. used his amazing wrestling to take Kongo down at will and impose pressure to get the unanimous decision win. However, watching the fight, I saw holes in each fighters game that left me wondering…are these guys really contenders? Put Kongo, who has great stand up and heavy hands, on his back and he is done. may be a great wrestler but his ground & pound looks a bit weak. His stand up is also nowhere up to par with the rest of the heavyweight division. How would either of these guys do against the top tier of the weight class? I am not quite sure?