UFC Fight Night 22 - Post Event Thoughts and Analysis

The UFC never seems to fail to put on a great show. There have been very few times that the production or the TV presentation or really anything regarding the show, has been off. Tonight was no exception. The night went swimmingly along with 4 great fights. Nothing from the undercard made the show but the main card was solid enough to make up for it. In we go.

• I'm not sure how much I really believe in karma. But if there is such a thing Rousimar Palhares got his tonight. After nearly severely injuring Tomasz Drwal with a heel hook, he must have had some bad karma coming his way and tonight was the manifestation of that. He grabbed Marquardt's leg and dropped back for his patented move and Nate slipped his leg right out. Instead of paying attention and maintaining discipline, Palhares looked towards the ref or his corner, not sure which one, and gestured towards Nate to imply that he was greased. There is a reason the referee tells you to protect yourself at all times. Marquardt came in with a huge right hand and blasted Rousimar before pounding him out for the finish and a big win. If you're Palhares, what's the point of accusing your opponent of cheating mid-fight? It's not like you will accomplish anything by doing it. In this case, it directly lead to his defeat. Lesson learned.
  
• I thought the UFC did well to quell any greasing controversy immediately after the fight ended. Joe Rogan came in and made sure to ask Nate to clear things up. He commented that he was checked by the commission, the doctor and the referee before and after the fight and they found him to be clean and good to go. Nate said he worked up a good sweat to get slippery in the back before coming out for the fight. No rules against that. Then again, this was Texas and they don't exactly have a great track record as a commission. Dana White even tweeted about it to his million plus followers just to get out ahead of a potential story. The only story I see here is that Palhares got what he had coming to him.
• Well, I was quick to say that you shouldn't jump right on a hype train just because a guy goes out and picks up a quick and impressive win. Turns out, this Charles Oleveira kid is a very good fighter. There were comparisons being made between him and Jon Jones before this fight and I can totally see that now. Jones has a dynamic stand up game and really strong wrestling that he uses to get guys to the ground and pound them out with. Oleveira also looks to have a dynamic stand up game but his ground skills are rooted in some very slick jiu-jitsu. Efrain was so scared of it tonight that he was truly using wall and stall tactics. He thought he could win a boxing fight. He was wrong and so was I. That said, I've long thought that a technical striker could give a guy like Jon Jones trouble and I feel the same about Oleveira. Throwing a lot of kicks and flying knees is a good way to get knocked out by a guy who stands in the pocket with big counter shots. As it stands now though, we've got the next big thing at 155lbs.
  
• Jim Miller gets the least amount of respect in the entire UFC. As I mentioned on my Twitter, which you can follow here, (yes, shameless plug) this man has won 5 in a row now and has only 2 career losses; to Gray Maynard and Frank Edgar. That's impressive no matter how you look at it. His boxing is only slightly above average but he tagged Gleison Tibau repeatedly tonight. He never could finish, which to the fickle MMA fan is a big deal, but he was very impressive in a fight that surely should push him into the upper echelon of his division. In fact, there is a certain fighter from Boston that recently lost to and is in need of an opponent next year. It's time to give Miller a shot against a big name like Kenny Florian.
  
• It's nice to see Yves Edwards come back to the UFC and pick up a dominating win. I didn't see the fight but by all accounts he was doing very well against the wrestling game of John Gunderson and cruised to a unanimous decision. It's doubtful that he'll make any kind of serious run with the UFC but it's good to have him around if only for nostalgia. His flying head kick KO of Josh Thomson at UFC 49 has stood the test of time. Still one of the greatest things to happen in the Octagon. Here's to continued success for Edwards.

Another great show and not much of a break. Next Saturday night marks UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop. Plenty of great matchups on that card with a lot of divisional relevance.