UFC on Versus 1 Commentary

Some quick thoughts on today's UFC event, which for the first time was on the Versus channel for free, and had the best card for a free event that I've seen. I was hoping for some quick knockouts in the first three main card matches so that we could perhaps catch some good undercard matchups in Guida/Gugerty, Howard/Roberts, and Schaub/Gormley. Unfortunately, they only had time to show the Howard/Roberts fight. So here are my comments on the televised matches, in the order they were aired.

Middleweight bout - Alessio Sakara def. James Irvin via TKO (punch), Round 1, 3:01

An excellent matchup on paper between two struggling knockout artists. Most of us were expecting fireworks, but instead the fight ended anticlimactically when Irvin was unable to continue after receiving a punch to the eye. Irvin seemed hesitant the whole fight, and it seems to me that his tremendous weight cut affected his performance and his will to continue. Irvin has fought mainly at heavyweight and light heavyweight, and he looked like a mummy at the weigh-ins cutting down to 185. He should definitely move back up to 205 for his next fight, whether or not it's with the UFC.

Heavyweight bout - Cheick Kongo def. Paul Buentello via submission (strikes), Round 3, 1:16

Another bout that on paper spelled knockout. Like just about everybody, I was hoping the fighters would keep the fight on the feet. Unfortunately for the viewers, Kongo played it smart by exploiting Buentello's weak ground game, grinding out a 2 1/2 round victory on the ground and in the clinch. Kongo will continue to get main card fights, but until he improves his incredibly poor wrestling and bottom game, he has nothing on any of the heavyweight contenders.

Heavyweight bout - Junior dos Santos def. Gabriel Gonzaga via KO (punches), Round 1, 3:53

This was in my opinion the best fight on the televised card, and it had a lot of us in analysis mode before the fight. While Junior dos Santos has been on a tear, we haven't really seen his ground game, and his style is fairly one-dimensional. Gonzaga is the bigger more complete fighter, but is thought to not have exactly the best mental game. Gonzaga was on the right track here in going for leg kicks and takedowns instead of trying to box with his opponent, but dos Santos was able to escape the takedown in impressive fashion, and eventually countered a Gonzaga leg kick with a huge left hook that left Gonzaga seeing stars. This win solidifies dos Santos as an elite heavyweight, and his next fight will almost definitely have a title shot at stake and will be against either Cain Velasquez or the Mir/Carwin winner - whichever one is not facing Brock Lesnar next.

Welterweight bout - John Howard def. Daniel Roberts via KO (punch), Round 1, 2:01

Ughhh... John Howard has got to be one of the most over-hyped, over-rated fighters in the UFC, and I was really hoping he'd get handed by the undefeated Daniel Roberts. Well, actually Roberts was outplaying Howard for the whole fight before letting his guard down while on the ground and getting sent to the moon by a falling punch to the face, much like Machida vs. Thiago Silva. Roberts was impressive enough overall to keep in the UFC as a prospect, while Howard will likely get a long-awaited fight against Anthony Johnson, where he will likely and hopefully get pummeled.

Light Heavyweight bout - Jon Jones def. Brandon Vera via TKO (strikes), Round 1, 3:19

Rising star Jon Jones gets a great matchup with the enigmatic former rising star Brandon Vera, and what an impressive fight. Jones was dictating the fight from beginning to end, getting takedowns easily. He had a good game plan and stuck to it, bringing Vera to the ground and pounding him out, eventually injuring Vera with a huge elbow strike. Unlike most of the ground and pound I've seen, which uses mostly up-to-down striking motions (straight punches, hammer fists), Jones was throwing hooks from guard and eventually injured Vera with a lateral elbow. I wonder why he was doing this - perhaps because his arms are unnaturally long? Anyway, this really impressive win sets up tons of exciting possibilities for Jones's next fight in what is a really deep light heavyweight division. It all depends on how deep into the pool they want to throw the phenom. A conservative choice would be someone like Thiago Silva, while other more difficult tests would be Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (assuming he beats Forrest Griffin), the loser of Machida/Rua or Jackson/Evans (assuming Rampage stays with the UFC). I don't see the UFC putting Jones up against the likes of Randy Couture (who might now be permanently in the senior circuit), Forrest Griffin (if he loses to Nog, you can pencil in his 4th loss in five fights to Jones), or Anderson Silva (too much on the line for both fighters). Anyway, since Jones hardly got hit, he might get his next fight relatively soon. Can't wait to hear who he's against next!