Thank you Dana! Fights ending in draws are such a rare occurrence as it is. The last I remember was Kongo vs Browne and before that Ortiz vs Evans. While the latter was expected to have a rematch but didn't pan out due to the Tito vs Dana saga, people couldn't care less about seeing Kongo and Browne go at it again.
Edgar vs Maynard 3 absolutely has to happen though. It was a close fight and the decision actually has people demanding an encore rather than berating the NSAC's flawed judging (for once!).
Anthony Pettis may feel like he's left in the lurch but he'll have to deal with it. I was never comfortable with Pettis or Henderson getting the next crack at the Lightweight title to begin with. There is such a chasm in competition between the WEC and UFC Lightweights that Edgar and Maynard have had to endure and conquer considerably more in their careers to get to where they are. In the mean time Pettis should continue to ride the wave the greatest kick in MMA has affords him.
Other thoughts on the video after the jump
- Dana seems more surly then usual, but I'd put it down to a few drinks at Lorenzo Fertitta's Birthday Bash. Props to Ariel Helwani tracking him down; any other reporter might have faired far worse.
- OK Dana, we get it, you hate Steve Mazagatti with a passion. You probably leave yourself post-it notes around the office just in case your forget. But honestly there was no problem with his reffing in the Silva vs Vera fight. Stand ups for the most part suck - if a fighter wants to get back to standing then it's up to him. The problem was clearly Vera's ineffectiveness off his back.
- Not everyone was saying Edgar vs Maynard would suck, and in fact some hit on the same points you did (hint, hint). Just they did it without needing to call anyone an F-bomb Moron. At least Dana didn't rant against 'The Internet' while bigging up his Twitterverse. Maybe someone left him a memo.