UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop - Post Event Reactions

Well that was....forgettable. That's the word that keeps popping into my head. Despite the fact that so many of the fights were stand and bang style match ups, the entire event seemed entirely too boring. Maybe it was partially the live crowds fault. When a crowd is dead, the event feels the same way. Granted it was one of the worst crowds in recent memory but for the most part they had a reason to be upset. If you bought the pay-per-view then so did you. In we go.

• You will never again hear me apologize for Frank Mir. He could not have been any less impressive. After he stopped Nogueira, blasted Kongo and dominated Lesnar on the feet, it seemed like he really had a much improved stand up game. Like he wouldn't have to rely solely on his jiu-jitsu skills. No. Watching him tonight showed three things. One, he throws the same tired combination that even a marginal boxer could avoid. Two, he has a complete and total inability to alter his gameplan if it's not working. Finally, he's got to be the worst wrestler in the Heavyweight division. He couldn't take Cro Cop down. I will repeat that, my gentle snowflakes. He couldn't take Cro Cop down. He won the fight on a flash KO. What would have happened if it had gone to the judges? Speaking of judges...
• I agreed with only one decision on the night. Just one. Chris Lytle definitely beat Matt Serra. Outside of that the judging on this card was a train wreck. Just disgusting the way these guys are awarding victories to fighters who don't deserve it. Especially in a sport where these guys get paid so little and win bonuses are so important. Melvin Guillard spent his entire fight backing up and winging an overhand right. Somehow that strategy won him the fight. Then Evan Dunham lost a fight to Sean Sherk based on....yeah, I couldn't even tell you. Later, Ryan Bader would defeat Antonio Rogerio Nogueira based solely on the fact that he took him down a few times. Nevermind the 90 failed takedown attempts and the fact that he was clowned standing up. He got a couple takedowns. Clearly, that means he won. It's horrible. On a night that saw 4 of the 5 main card fights go to decision, it's really too bad to see 3 of those 4 judged so horrifically.
  
• Mike Goldberg prematurely proclaiming that, "IT IS ALL OVER!!!" in the Sean Sherk-Evan Dunham fight was the most hilarious thing I've seen on a UFC card in a long time. Joe Rogan tried to help him save face when they showed the replay but that was just sad. I mean, come on dude, you do this for a living.
  
• I don't want to see Matt Serra fight again. I just don't. The way he approached this fight really made it seem like he and Lytle decided that they would fight the exact opposite of the first time they fought. Who cares about winning, let's just go out and get crazy and wing punches at each other. Usually it works better when you hit your opponent in his face, like Lytle was doing, as opposed to in his side and back, like Serra was doing. His left eye is mangled due to one of the worst gameplans in the history of the sport. Stand and bang can be exciting but not this. And since Serra hasn't shown his jiu-jitsu skills in what seems like forever, I really can't think of any reason to keep him around. He's 36 years old and his last meaningful win was the monster upset of GSP. That was in April of 2007. Maybe it's a little cold and unfeeling but I've had enough of him. 
• Oh, so that's why they put Mark Hunt on in the very first fight of the night against a completely unknown fighter. Okay, that makes sense.
• I really really really hope the UFC sets up Ryan Bader vs Jon Jones. The thinking maintained by the masses has always been that you should never match up two potential champions before they have a chance to challenge for the title because you don't want to unnecessarily eliminate one of them. To hell with that. Put these two together and let Jon Jones tear him apart. I'm not okay with the fact that Bader was awarded the decision based on a few takedowns. Yes, he dominated the first round but the second and third should have gone to Nogueira. Bader couldn't look any less imposing now that the fight is over. Unfortunately that also means that a Jones victory won't catapult him as far up as the UFC would like it to. Either way, they need to set it up and they need to do so immediately.
  

There was all this talk of how little buzz there was for this card coming in. The hardcore fans were quick to sing the tune that the cards with the least amount of hype and the lowest expectation usually end up being the most exciting. That couldn't be further from the truth, at least in regards to this show. If you saved your money, then good for you. You didn't miss much.