Feb 27, 2012 - UFC 144 brought us some exciting finishes and set a new standard for translator style, but now that it’s all over and the smoke has cleared it’s time to sort through the mess for the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Ben Henderson
Usually when a fighter brags to his trainer about how many more rounds he could go at the end of the fight, it’s either a) an obvious lie, or b) meant to distract us from how poorly he did in the rounds he already fought. With Henderson it was neither. He really could have gone 15 more minutes, and would probably have only solidified his lead on the scorecards. There’s room to argue the decision, but you can’t look at Edgar’s face and call it a robbery. Henderson took it to the champ and never seemed starstruck by the scope of the moment or the opportunity. In short, he looked like a champion in there, and now he is one. His history with Pettis makes a WEC-themed rematch seem like an attractive option, and Bendo has said that he wants that fight eventually. For now, maybe we should let him get used to being champion. Like Tito Ortiz, he might want to spend a few weeks sleeping with the belt before putting it on the line.
Biggest Loser: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
He didn’t look terrible in his decision loss to Ryan Bader. But if that’s the nicest thing you can say about the former champ’s performance, it’s probably not a good sign. The question with Jackson is how badly he really wants to keep doing this, and for how long. If he has no realistic hope of reclaiming a title, and if he doesn’t especially enjoy the day-to-day aspects of the fighter’s life (and he doesn’t), then why keep putting himself through the meat-grinder for a few superfluous paychecks? Not that we should expect it to be an easy decision. He’s not getting knocked out over and over again like Chuck Liddell, but he also doesn’t seem to have the same passion for the sport that Liddell did. If he’s going to show up overweight and get out-worked by younger, hungrier fighters, what’s the point? Hopefully, that’s the question Jackson is asking himself this week. No one wants to watch a former great fighting like he'd rather be filming an action movie.
Best Career Resurrection: Mark Hunt
While I admit I was pleased to see that it’s not just me who has trouble getting more than a couple words at a time out of the former K-1 champion, I wasn’t terribly surprised with the outcome of the fight. Hunt has improved his grappling and his cage awareness enough to force other heavyweights to stand and trade with him at least a little bit. When you can take it and dish it out as well as Hunt can, that’s a recipe for some knockouts. A win over Cheick Kongo might not qualify you for a title shot these days, but with three straight wins in the UFC Hunt has definitely pulled off an improbable career turnaround at 37 years old. From July of 2006 through the end of 2010, he couldn’t buy a win (though, with bouts against guys like Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, and Alistair Overeem, it’s not as if he fought a bunch of chumps). But Hunt didn’t give up, and didn’t even give in to an offer of free money from the UFC. He wanted the chance to prove himself, and now he’s making the most of it. It’s the feel-good story that everyone except Hunt wants to talk about, but that’s okay. His performances of late speak for themselves.
Least Impressive in Victory: Jake Shields
He spent three full rounds using his striking as little more than a diversion to aid his takedowns, and he still struggled to get Akiyama down and keep him there. Granted, Akiyama’s a tough guy to haul to the mat, especially now that he’s dropped to welterweight, but if Shields is going to depend so heavily on his ground game he has to be able to force the issue more. He’s now four fights into his stay with the UFC, and he’s yet to pull off a truly convincing win. He’s too good a fighter to be content with lackluster decisions, and yet maybe not quite good enough to go out there and dominate tough competition. I don’t know where that puts him in the UFC’s welterweight class, but it’s nowhere good.
Most Impressive in Defeat: Frankie Edgar
Once again, MMA’s Rocky shows that he can take his licks and keep coming forward. There’s absolutely no quit in this guy, and seemingly nothing he can’t fight through. You can’t blame him for wanting to stick around at lightweight and get his belt back, nor can you blame him for feeling like he deserves a rematch. You don’t get to be UFC champion by being someone who is easily convinced to seek out easier challenges. Still, with his quickness and resiliency I think we’d all like to see what he could do against Jose Aldo. All of us except, perhaps, Edgar himself. Give him time to come around to the idea. If it’s between an immediate title shot at featherweight and getting thrown back into the hopper at lightweight, he might change his mind soon enough.
Biggest Boost: Anthony Pettis
The stars couldn’t have aligned any better for the former WEC champ. After a stunning head kick finish against Joe Lauzon and a victory for his old rival in the main event, Pettis might have somehow managed to vault to the top of the UFC’s most crowded division. Does he totally deserve the title shot after only two wins in the UFC, one of which was a forgettable split decision? Maybe not, and if he didn’t have that history with Henderson, you can bet that no one would be talking about it right now. None of that changes the fact that a Henderson-Pettis rematch would be an exciting option right now, and one the UFC likely knows it could sell. Maybe other fighters have to win five or six in a row to get a shot at the title, and maybe it’s a little unfair for Pettis to cut in line thanks to two memorable head kicks, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
Most Refreshing: Joe Rogan admits to getting carried away
Okay, so Rogan freaked out a little bit when Tim Boetsch pulled off a surprising comeback against Yushin Okami. It was a great come-from-behind win for Boetsch, but probably not the greatest comeback in the history of the universe, as Rogan initially seemed to suggest. Most color commentators would breeze right past that, but Rogan calmed down and admitted that, yes, he’d gotten caught up in the moment. When’s the last time you heard a sports broadcaster correct his own mistakes that quickly? In a job that often requires speaking before you have a chance to think, the occasional flub is going to happen. Props to Rogan for admitting it on the air. Now all he has to do is tone it down in those pre-PPV shouting matches with Dana White.
39 comments
Comments
The Boetsch fight was a pretty huge comeback
considering he probably didn’t belong in the ring with Okami in the first place. He wasn’t even ranked top 10. He was supposed to lose this fight without a doubt and 9 times out of 10 I think he does, when you look at the stakes, this MAY be a bigger comeback than the Frankie Edgar comeback for the simple fact that Frankie was the champ and and Tim Boetsch is a nobody
by Bigs- on Feb 27, 2012 1:28 PM EST reply actions
BTW
Shields beat Akiyama at his own game which should stand for something He walked forward and brought it all night. I think Bader was the least impressive
by Bigs- on Feb 27, 2012 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I don't think Bader was least impressive of the night...
…only because Cantwell was on the card sucking wind before that.
by KenpoJuJitsu3 on Feb 27, 2012 3:19 PM EST up reply actions
I think Cantwell is one of those guys (a la Dan Hardy) that would actually benefit from a run outside of the UFC, if he (hopefully) gets cut.
by Diz D on Feb 28, 2012 3:24 PM EST up reply actions
FYI, Akiyama’s “game” is Judo and Sheild’s went 2/17 on takedowns. Not sure what you think that should stand for.
by Diz D on Feb 28, 2012 3:23 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
theres room to argue the decision? really?
dude watch the fight again on mmacore- it wasnt close- edgars shots were more like slaps- you could hear the thuds when ben landed his kicks and knees
secondly all of frankies so called takedowns were worthless- he never controlled ben after he took him down and some of them were more slips than
takedowns- people are actually crediting edgar for catching hendersons leg
after he gets kicked- really? henderson had edgar hurt after that vicious upkick
and was the only one to come very close to submitting with that guillotine choke
not to mention the obvious danage to edgars face while henderson didnt have so much as a scratch- luckily hendo missed on that spinning kick when edgar was holding his leg because if that bad boy wouldve connected it wouldve knocked out edgars eyeballs— close fight? better watch it again son
by johnny vicious on Feb 27, 2012 2:18 PM EST reply actions
Agreed.
+1
by KenpoJuJitsu3 on Feb 27, 2012 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
wrong SON
the vast majority saw it for edgar,stop posing.henderson is a great fighter,very close fight,dont pretend he dominated .edgar put henderson down with a punch,so much for slaps.
by jobrijim4 on Feb 27, 2012 3:54 PM EST up reply actions
87% of statistics are made up on the spot
[citation needed]
The artful muppet formerly known as KrmtDfrog.
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by Cory Braiterman on Feb 27, 2012 5:10 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
It looked like more of a slip from the angle of the replay.
THESE are knockdowns
Didn’t you think Diaz won because of his “forward aggresion”? Wasnt Bendo the aggresor in this fight?
Tisk tisk.
"Alistair Overeem is a Dutch kickboxer who looks like someone at Marvel comics drew a man genetically engineered to fuck your girlfriend."
Hendo/Bisping:
"He hit him so hard that even gravity got scared. Bisping hung in mid-air for a moment while gravity screamed at inertia, "Did you see that shit!?" Then, after a high five, the two universal forces quit screwing around and yanked Bisping's limp body onto the floor." - quotes by Seanbaby
by superfknmario__ on Feb 27, 2012 5:18 PM EST up reply actions
Disagreed
-1
by anri on Feb 28, 2012 7:00 AM EST up reply actions
I saw it for Frankie
well, i know i’m in the minority…..but, i really thought frankie won that fight. take away that unusually landed up-kick and i truly believe everyones perception would have been different. add to that, that it didn’t knock him out. but, yes it did fu#k him up a bit. i still had frankie winning that round.
so for me, one weird strike does not win a round.
and even the swollen eye, really happened during the 1st round.
but for most it seems looks matter more than anything else.
i am in total favor for a rematch….with frankie. and if not him, definately pettis.
one last thing about ben, yeah, i know he seems like a good guy,
however, something about his post fight demeanor …..smug or a little arrogant or a little phoney.i don’t know something, i can’t really put my finger on it.
does anyone else pick up the same vibe?
and as far as the announcers being biased towards frankie, jeeze what was i listening to, i thought they were crowning ben midway through the 4th round,
oh well, thats my pov.
by neozoo on Feb 27, 2012 2:23 PM EST reply actions
yes neozoo i feel you
i feel the same about him.. something ..
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by szanpan on Feb 27, 2012 2:41 PM EST up reply actions
Smug?
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of earning the title of #1 ranked lightweight in the world.
Henderson is years younger than I am and he’s already accomplished more than I can hope to achieve in my lifetime. Give the guy a break.
I’m not saying you are jealous, but I know a ton of fans are jealous over the accomplishments of guys life Jones and Silva. And now Henderson, a young champion, will probably get a ton of hate from people who envy his position.
by TomFop on Feb 27, 2012 3:11 PM EST up reply actions
hey tom,
naw it has nothing to with success or age, per se.
and when referencing age, that is usually more indicative of maturity. and i don’t necessarily see ben as immature.
I’m not jealous or envious or for that fact…even admirious.
the dude is a stud and has worked hard to get where he is and deserves everything he gets, as we all do.
so smug? not smug? arrogant? phoney?
ehh, no big deal, just an observation.
by neozoo on Feb 27, 2012 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe he looked arrogant because 20,000 people were watching Dana White put a gold belt around his waist.
by Aptninja on Feb 27, 2012 3:06 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Knockouts and Bitter Endings
Henderson was a cocky phoney up until Pettis beat him. Now he practices restraint, which I applaud. He’s still a d0uch3 personality-wise, but he makes a strong conscious effort to not show it, which I like. That smuggy smile he always had is definitely appropriate now that he’s champion.
Edgar beat him technically, but Henderson’s upkick and his strength gave him an image of dominance: punches doing more damage, loud kicks and not letting Edgar pass guard.
Sometimes you have to look past the score cards, and that’s what the judges did. I’m upset that he lost, but having trained with him and getting to know him personally, I’m just outraged that he didn’t get a rematch. Maynard had to wait for BJ, even though he had already beaten Frankie by a LANDSLIDE, why shouldn’t Pettis have to wait for Frankie, even though he already had beaten Henderson? He’s a good fighter but he has only fought twice in the UFC! Totally a C’Mon Man! moment.
by Art Jimmerson's Glove on Feb 27, 2012 3:48 PM EST reply actions
my reply is just below
:)
by neozoo on Feb 27, 2012 4:28 PM EST up reply actions
ahhh great to know it from someone who is more into these things
so observation wise we are close to the truth..
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by szanpan on Feb 27, 2012 7:33 PM EST up reply actions
Hatsu Hioki
I was really impressed by this guy. Ever since the Marlon Sandro fight I had high hopes for him. I do BJJ so I always like watching him for some reason. I think everyone was talking bad about him because of “Japanese fighters not being successful in UFC.” Also people tend to think you’re only as good as your last fight, and I’m glad Hioki proved the world wrong. Hope he gets some good fights before his title shot against Aldo. Outclassed BJJ blackbelt.
by Xiongswm on Feb 27, 2012 4:25 PM EST reply actions
obviously i agree
the only caveat would be…..even though i agree with you about a rematch with frankie……the only caveat would be, the immediate rematch thing is getting a little old and tends to bottleneck the division, especially when we are talking the deepest and most competitive division in all of mma.
by neozoo on Feb 27, 2012 4:26 PM EST reply actions
so true, i mentioned that in another post. if frankie wins a rematch, then henderson will want a rematch so on so forth. just a shitty awkward card making situation. i think now its more about powerful 5’9"ers than 5’"6ers. frankie would be DIRTY in featherweight, his footwork is insane when hes cut, this fight he tried bulking u can clearly tell, he was sluggish. i dont think he can take aldo, it would be a war, but i dont think he cud take him.
by Art Jimmerson's Glove on Feb 27, 2012 7:50 PM EST up reply actions
Why rematch? Wasn't split and wasn't close. UNANIMOUS!
Can some one enlighten me on why there should be one? Bendo through more, landed more and was the only one that 5 TIMES, yes 5 TIMES almost ended the match! Edgar not even once put Henderson in danger of losing. If anyone was going to even lose the match by KO or Submission it was actually going to be Edgar, 2 times by KO and 1 time by TKO in the 5th round, and the 2 guillotines he got on him JUST before the round ended. Lets face it, Edgar didn’t do enough to win..period. Where are we getting this “rematch” crap from? OH he took him down 4 more times for about 2 to 3 seconds…? He didn’t do anything to actually end it after those take downs, didn’t advance position, didn’t try to hammer fist or mount, he tried to transition, but it was so rookie and sloppy that Henderson just stood RIGHT UP! LOL.
What green MMA fans ie UFC fans. Don’t get is that you don’t win by trying not to lose. Yes Edgar avoided some really, really near finshers…but the problem with that is, he himself never really forced Henderson to do the same. We didnt’ get a “oh Henderson almost got KO’ed” moment, or a “oh MY Henderson almost got submitted, if only there was 20 secs left” moment or “OH MY Henderson almost got TKO’ed at the ending of the 5th round” moment. So why would we say Edgar won with NOTHING like that happened on his end? Even more importantly, why would he deserve a rematch? Unanimous, is unanimous, it means EVERY ROUND WON!, He put him in zero danger of losing, but he didn’t get KO’ed lets give him a belt? LOL. Watch some more MMA to see how things work, people paid to see fighters….FIGHT. Not just try to score and hope to win by take downs that don’t even do shit but score for you to get a “safe” W.
by EDMIX on Feb 27, 2012 8:28 PM EST up reply actions
Can I get an Amen!
+1
by Rob35 on Feb 27, 2012 10:57 PM EST up reply actions
Thats not what unanimous means.
by Mikek83 on Feb 28, 2012 12:13 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
The next poster
who uses the phrase “walking forward”, or some variant thereof, needs to be taken out behind the building and beaten to death. Walking forward means next to NOTHING. I walk forward every day, it is not going to keep me from getting my ass handed to me if I step in the cage with a trained fighter.
by Phred013 on Feb 27, 2012 5:14 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
HAHA i agree with you
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by szanpan on Feb 27, 2012 7:34 PM EST up reply actions
LMFAO! At all the Edgar nut-huggers.
He striked less, landed less and never had Henderson in any danger of getting KO’ed or submitted. Shit, he struggled just to “try” to take Bendo’s back (very rookie by the way). The way he fought Bendo, he wasn’t going to win. I knew it before the 4th round, he wasn’t going to win. And i got tweets to prove that. LOL. Henderson caught him with punches a lot of times, dropped him a lot of times, up kicked him, hammer fist, 3 times he was almost guillotined. I mean enough is enough, Edgar was NEVER IN YOUR CARTOON MINDS going to win that fight. I watch fights pretty much blind to who i like or want to win. That fight was 100% Henderson, i can’t even say Edgar won a single round cause Henderson rocked him at least 2 to 3 times EVERY ROUND. It wasn’t split decision…it was UNANIMOUS. Its even funnier with you look at the stats and YES Henderson landed and throw more.
What i don’t get is what exactly are they saying happened for Edgar to win? He put Henderson in ZERO DANGER. i mean really NOT EVEN ONCE! Its just too funny to see how much people are fanboys on here claiming something was “close” or someone got “robbed”. Throw the least, landed the least and didn’t actually KO or Submit him….shit didn’t even get close…but wait…what exactly are we claiming he did to win? LMFAO! Bendo came to either TKO, KO or Submit frankie or just hurt the shit out of him and yes…he very much proved he intended to do with with all the head kicks he was throwing. Edgar came to score and edge a victory by not actually fighting. He didn’t comit to combos (scared to get countered by Bendo) scared to actually keep him on the ground (scared of Bendos submission game). I can’t stop laughing. I’m actually watching the fight now and laugh how anyone in there right minds thought Edgar won. Edgar got beat up sooooo badly he at least has the excuse that he got upkicked and didn’t know he was losing the score cards LOL, what the hells some of you guy’s excuse? LMFAO!
by EDMIX on Feb 27, 2012 8:08 PM EST reply actions
Agreed
Edgar hit Bendo with a left hook in the 5th, flush and sounded good and it didn’t phase Bendo at all. Frankie was overmatched in that fight, I knew that when the fight was first announced.
And again I say if Maynard knew what a guillotine was or a RNC he would have won in the first round of his two fights with Frankie. Frankie was stunned big time and the submission opportunity was there big time.
by Rob35 on Feb 27, 2012 11:02 PM EST up reply actions
maynard failed capitalize
That is one thing I hate about guys that refuse to use subs ever. I mean when you have guys like rampage who use to be able rock people y not lock in a sub, or maynard who easily controls most anyone on ground. Chael sonnen was one of these guys as well, up until recently never used subs but just look at how dangerous he could be if he did, easily finishing brian stann. Just wish more guys would at least attempt subs that are given to them when present.
by jesusjr on Feb 28, 2012 7:00 PM EST up reply actions
If there was no time limit, who sees Edgar winning that fight?
Once again I ask, If you break a guys nose, walk through everything he has, almost choke him, and don’t let him touch the middle of the octagon while having him in retreat the whole fight, do you deserve to win?, a bunch of you Idiots don’t seem to think so. Please get of Edgar’s nuts and admit he lost trolls, I cheer for the underdog just as much as the next guy but I kind of watch the sport to see the best perform, not to hope and pray that the better guy gets robbed every time(first penn fight)
by venomzx on Feb 27, 2012 8:46 PM EST reply actions
Agreed!
I’m a huge Pride fan and of course a Huge fan of Rampage Jackson…i’m not saying he won just because of that. I’m a MMA fan first and a fan of a fighter second.
Edgar tried to score, not end the match, not TKO, KO, Submit etc. He just tried to score, Henderson came to fight and attempted to TKO, KO and Submit him, evident by Frainkies Face and by all the highlight clips. There is no clips of Edgar dropping him, almost submitting him etc. Cause HE DIDN’T how on earth can someone say he won after all that? Frankie will NEVER hold another belt, at this point his “lay and Pray” days are pretty much over, the WEC fighters don’t play, they go for KO’s, Subs ALL DAY. He can climb latter if he wants, good luck against Nate Diaz, Pettis, etc. Cause there not going to let you score on them. LOL and if he moves down, good luck against Aldo. At this point, i see Edgar never getting anything MMA belt. It was fun while it lasted, but the marathons over.
by EDMIX on Feb 27, 2012 9:02 PM EST up reply actions
nuthuggers can make you money
they get their heros and cant imagine how they can possibly lose
so you get good odds and bet against then- ive made some serious jack
this past year- dos santos condit pettis and henderson thank god
i live 4 hours from vegas easy tax free money whats not to like
by johnny vicious on Feb 28, 2012 12:51 AM EST reply actions
is it just me...?
I thought Henderson CLEARLY won, I dont even know why people are discussing that…maybe I’m the only one but was anyone else shocked when the judges said Shields beat Akiyama??? Im not really a fan of either but i almost didnt watch that decision because i was so sure.
by sharkpop on Feb 28, 2012 1:19 PM EST reply actions
Akiyama won
3 takedowns over two, both men had each others back, and Sexy landed better strikes.
Robbery.
by fukoujiyuu on Feb 28, 2012 3:29 PM EST reply actions
I could agree
I’m still not sure why Akiyama didn’t throw more punches and that would be the only reason I can think of that he lost. He looked great as far as grappling goes. He just didn’t stand and trade with somebody he could have easily outstruck. Shields is a terrible striker and almost as bad of a counter striker. Aside from the beautiful judo throws, he just didn’t throw many punches. I think he was in “fight to not lose” mode.
by spooner901 on Feb 28, 2012 6:11 PM EST up reply actions
That being said...
Yes, I thought Akiyama won that fight. Barely.
by spooner901 on Feb 28, 2012 6:12 PM EST up reply actions
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by Ivana Likitov on Feb 28, 2012 8:44 PM EST reply actions
WTF...YOU DO WITH SEXY AKIYAMA?!
Sexy Akiyama has awesome fights, but the dude loses. WTF, do you do with a fighter that brings in everything, we fans love him and enjoy his fights, but loses a lot of fights in the Octagon; now four in a row. If you’re Dana White, WTF do you do here?
by T-Shaun on Feb 29, 2012 8:43 PM EST reply actions
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