UFC 112 Recap & thoughts

I got 8 of 10 picks correctly (Paul Taylor pulled out of his fight with John Gunderson).

I had a lot of trouble finding a place to watch this in New York. I found a sports bar that had a sign that read 'WE PLAY ALL SPORTS', & when I asked if they were showing UFC 112, the gentleman behind the bar replied, 'What's that?'.

I did read the play-by-play online and talked to a MoCCA attendee that also happened to be a Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu student, and he kinda filled me in on what went down.

Back home in Toronto I watched it and here's my thoughts,

Results & Thoughts :

•Anderson Silva def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision – retains UFC middleweight title - This fight was not as bad as I had heard. Anderson acted ridiculous. He clearly couldve taken out Maia whether he was engaging or counter striking and it is very frustrating as a fan to watch him have little fits because Maia not straight boxing with him. I cant wait to see Anderson vs Chael Sonnen. Sonnen doesn't fuck around.

•Frankie Edgar def. B.J. Penn via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 49-46) – becomes new lightweight champion - Right away something was up. Penn had his knee bandage, he didn't look as lean and muscular as he did in his last 2 performances, and he certainly looked uninspired. Leading me to believe that because of his knee he had trouble with his cardio. I thought, great, if BJ loses he is gonna make excuses. Even though this was a sluggish BJ, who was lacking that killer instinct and was not getting in and out of exchanges as quickly as we know he can, I still thought he got the better of the exchanges for the first 4 rounds. Edgar was more active but wasn't landing like Penn was. I scored the fight 49-46 for Penn. I could wouldnt argue if you said Frankie won the last 2 rounds but he did not win that fight. Judge Doug Crosby scored the fight 50-45 for Edgar. Everyone is talking about how Anderson is a joke now, but the biggest joke is Crosby's scorecard. Crosby is a joke with a terrible track record and should never judge again. I am not a BJ Penn fan. I dont like that everytime BJ loses he has a lame excuse. Since Penn's loss to St. Pierre he has seemed more humble & I am very surprised he hasn't made any excuses. The UFC is now talking about an immediate rematch and I think we'll see the real Penn show up and get his belt back. Like him or not, BJ is still the best 155'er in the world.

•Matt Hughes def. Renzo Gracie via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 4:40 - Hughes does look like a shell of his former self. I thought there was still a lot of fight left in him but I was incorrect. Renzo was clearly over matched and Hughes stuck to a very conservative gameplan. It worked but I dont feel like I need to see him in the octagon anymore.

•Rafael dos Anjos def. Terry Etim via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 4:40 - dos Anjos is a badass. He showed great patience and experience in the first round, getting out of a guillotine choke. His kimura transition to armbar finish of Etim was beautiful. dos Anjos has been getting better and better each time out.
•Mark Munoz def. Kendall Grove via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:50 - Munoz still showed tha he has a ton of holes in his game. The only reason he won this fight is because of Grove's glass chin. I was not impressed at all with Munoz.

•Phil Davis def. Alexander Gustafsson via submission (anaconda choke) - Round 1, 4:55 - There is nothing better in the world than watching a perfectly executed anaconda choke. I can't stop rewatching this. I can't wait to see the ever-improving Phil Davis back in the Octagon.
•Rick Story def. Nick Osipczak via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

•DaMarques Johnson def. Brad Blackburn via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:08

•Paul Kelly def. Matt Veach via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 3:41

•Jon Madsen def. Mostapha Al-Turk via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

UFC 112 - Invincible

UFC 112 - Invincible, April 10, 2010 Ferrari World Concert Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Matchups:

UFC Middleweight Championship Anderson Silva (No. 1 MW, No. 1 PFP) vs. Demian Maia (No. 5 MW) - I think it would pretty amazing if Maia got Silva down and tapped him, but I don't think it happens. More than likely, this will look similar to the Marquardt/Maia fight, where Maia was hit so hard he did backflip. I'm not convinced that this gonna be a repeat of the Silva/Leites fight from last year in Montreal. Maia will not be content to just keep trying to pull guard, he will come forward and try for takedowns. Silva by TKO, rd. 1.


UFC Lightweight Championship B.J. Penn (No. 1 LW, No. 5 PFP) vs. Frankie Edgar (No. 7 LW) - I don't see a way that Edgar could beat BJ. Penn is a better boxer than Edgar and light years ahead of him on the ground. I imagine it will look similar to the Penn/Sanchez & Penn/Florian fights with Edgar trying for single legs and getting beat up pretty bad. It's pretty hard to not see BJ hurting Edgar on the feet and doing what he does best, take the back for a rear-naked choke. Penn by submission, rd. 3.

Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie - I don't believe that Hughes is as washed up as everyone seems to be saying these days. Last May at UFC 98, Hughes showed us that he is still the same Hughes who was a dominant welterweight champion. It has more to do with the competition being that much better. I think Hughes still beats the majority of the welterweights out there, but he is gonna fall to the Thiago Alves' & the Jon Fitch's of the world. There is also a lot of talk about Hughes not training seriously for this fight but knowing what kind of guy Hughes is, I don't believe it. Matt is the kind of guy that will always give everything his all. Hughes by decision.

Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz - I feel like its been too long since we've seen Kendall Grove's weak ass chin & Munoz is gonna remind us. Mark Munoz has improved since his

head-kick knock out loss to Matt Hammill & I don't think he's gonna forget about that anytime soon. I see Munoz getting Grove to the ground and hitting him hard and exploiting Grove's chin. Munoz KO, rd. 1.

Terry Etim vs. Rafael dos Anjos - dos Anjos by decision.

John Gunderson vs. Paul Taylor - Gunderson by sbmission, rd 1.

Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson - Phil Davis may be my new favorite fighter. He's terribly charming and funny. Phil claims that he was not happy with his dominant 3 round decision victory over Brian Stann because he did not finish his opponent. He claims that the guy who beat Stann was 'Phil' and that this time he's going to let the fans see 'Dave', who is apparently better at finishing fights. I'm gonna buy into Davis' intentions to finish his opponents and say, Davis by TKO, rd. 2.

Rick Story vs. Nick Osipczak - Story is getting better from fight to fight, & he should take Osipczak to a dominatant decision win.

Brad Blackburn vs. DaMarques Johnson - Johnson should beat up the inconsistent 'Bad' Brad. I feel like Blackburn will last all 3 rounds, so I'll take Johnson by decision.

Paul Kelly vs. Matt Veach - I like Veach in this fight by decision. Both guys are really tough & Veach seems to constantly be getting better while Kelly will remain a midlevel fighter. Veach by decision.

Jon Madsen vs. Mostapha Al-Turk - I'm not really too interested in this match up but I'll take Madsen because, from what little I'l seen of both these heavyweights, he's impressed me more. Madsen by TKO, rd. 2.