Former UFC star Houston Alexander hadn't stepped into the cage in more than a year and hadn't won a fight in more than two years, but on Friday night he got back on track at the Adrenaline MMA show in Council Bluffs, Iowa, easily beating a tomato can named Sherman Pendergarst.
But while Alexander needed to move to the small time to win a fight, he says he's still under contract with the UFC and plans to fight in the big time again soon, and that the UFC took the unusual step of allowing him to fight in the Council Bluffs show because it's close to his home in Omaha, Nebraska.
"I'm still under contract with the UFC," Alexander said on HDNet's Inside MMA. "We did get special permission from Joe Silva to compete in this area because it was something I wanted to do. It was an idea that was brought to me. Since the last UFC fight in this area didn't have the storybook ending that I wanted, this was another opportunity to give the fans what they wanted, and fight where it all started for me."
Alexander is such a good story -- nice guy, personable around fans and the media, single father who donated a kidney to one of his daughters -- that everyone wants to root for him. And he has such an exciting style -- all five of his UFC fights were brawls that ended in the first round -- that fans enjoy watching him.
But is Alexander really a good enough fighter to be in the UFC? I have my doubts. Alexander won his first two UFC fights in spectacular fashion, but then lost his next three fights in "I have no defense" fashion. Pendergarst entered this fight on a five-fight losing streak, and was basically a squash match for Alexander. If Alexander does return to the Octagon, I'll enjoy watching it -- but I won't be expecting to see him win.
But while Alexander needed to move to the small time to win a fight, he says he's still under contract with the UFC and plans to fight in the big time again soon, and that the UFC took the unusual step of allowing him to fight in the Council Bluffs show because it's close to his home in Omaha, Nebraska.
"I'm still under contract with the UFC," Alexander said on HDNet's Inside MMA. "We did get special permission from Joe Silva to compete in this area because it was something I wanted to do. It was an idea that was brought to me. Since the last UFC fight in this area didn't have the storybook ending that I wanted, this was another opportunity to give the fans what they wanted, and fight where it all started for me."
Alexander is such a good story -- nice guy, personable around fans and the media, single father who donated a kidney to one of his daughters -- that everyone wants to root for him. And he has such an exciting style -- all five of his UFC fights were brawls that ended in the first round -- that fans enjoy watching him.
But is Alexander really a good enough fighter to be in the UFC? I have my doubts. Alexander won his first two UFC fights in spectacular fashion, but then lost his next three fights in "I have no defense" fashion. Pendergarst entered this fight on a five-fight losing streak, and was basically a squash match for Alexander. If Alexander does return to the Octagon, I'll enjoy watching it -- but I won't be expecting to see him win.
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