I won't give the end times because I don't remember them all and don't much feel like checking them just for this post.
Georges St. Pierre def. Dan Hardy via Unanimous Decision, Rd 5The closest to a sure thing on this card. The UFC tried their darnedest to make Hardy look like he had anything on GSP but I certainly never bought it. From the moment this match was announced I felt Hardy had no business being in there with GSP, and that fact was proven with one of the most dominant decisions I've ever seen in my life. Props to Hardy for surviving and not tapping despite almost having his arms ripped off by a deep armbar in the 1st and an even deeper kimura in the 3rd. I checked out the Fight Metric stats for the fight (yes, I know its not perfect but I think it does a decent job of putting things into perspective) and they were pretty sad. Anyways, needless to say this fight pretty much went as I expected. And also expected is the rampant GSP hatred following this match about him going to decision again. Haters need to give this guy a break; he works constantly, sunk in subs that 97% of fighters would've tapped to TWICE, and pretty much made Hardy look even more foolish than his previous opponents. So he didn't get the finish. I guess only those of us who don't have ADD and a rampant lust for definitive violence can appreciate a GSP fight. They won't all be this long. I promise.
Shane Carwin def. Frank Mir via KO (punches), Rd 1Wow. Carwin hits HARD. Can't remember the last time I saw so much damage from short punches in the clinch. And once again, Mir shows us how once he gets hit in the face a few times he just wilts under the pressure (not that I can really fault him for that. getting hit in the face sucks). Always hoped Carwin would win, but my original pick was Mir. Glad I changed my mind on that one.
Kurt Pellegrino def. Fabricio Camoes via Submission (rear-naked choke), Rd 2Camoes was my underdog pick for the night, and in the beginning of the fight I looked to be right in thinking so. He showed some slick BJJ in the opening moments, took Pellegrino's back, and almost slapped on a standing RNC. Getting spiked on your head can really change things. This was Pellegrino's method of shucking Camoes off, and from then on he just didn't look the same. It was a nice tactical ground battle that saw Pellegrino take control in round 2 with tight wrestling and BJJ before locking in the RNC for the win.
Jon Fitch def. Ben Saunders via Unanimous Decision, Rd 3Another Fitch fight. Another Fitch Decision. Yawn. I want to be a Fitch fan, and he is very talented, but I would love it if he could at least LOOK like hes trying to finish the fight. Granted he does work pretty diligently and does throw some strikes, but....yawn. The reason I call GSP "not boring" is because he's constantly working, improving position, looking for subs, punching, etc. You never hear the ref telling GSP to work. Not to mention GSP has been facing much better competition. Makes me really sad Thiago Alves had to withdraw. I thought this might be one chance that Fitch couldn't impose his blanket style. Either way, a win is a win, and I called this one from a mile away. I don't think anyone besides GSP can really beat fitch at this point. Fire with fire.
Jim Miller def. Mark Bocek via Unanimous Decision, Rd 3Very nice competitive fight. Bocek surprised the hell out of me, as I thought Miller would run through him fairly easily. In fact, apparently many believe Bocek actually won the fight. I say it was really close, possibly a draw. I wouldn't take offense to either man winning. Bocek showed that he's still solid, and Miller extends his win streak to 4.
Quick notes:Nate Diaz looked pretty impressive in his TKO of Rory Markham. Still says nothing about whether he can handle the bigger, stronger wrestlers that await him at 170. But his striking did look improved, so we shall see.
Ricardo Almeida looked absolutely beastly against Matt Brown. That RNC was a thing of beauty and I think it deserved submission of the night. Brown's a tough guy and Almeida just bullied him.
Rousimar Palhares vs Tomasz Drwal....what can I say. An early slip might have caused Drwal a serious injury after Palhares latched on a heel hook and forgot to let go for a while. Pretty douchey of him. Glad the UFC is holding him responsible and suspending him for 90 days, but were they even planning on giving him another fight in the next 3 months anyway?
Jared Hamman vs Rodney Wallace was one of the funniest fights I've seen in a while. It had some close calls, some hideous ground and stand up technique, nice reversals, and fatigue. Now that I say that, maybe it did deserve fight of the night. I was pretty entertained throughout and the see-saw nature kept me on my toes.
Didn't see Matt Riddle vs Greg Soto. I dunno if I missed much, but since it ended in a DQ....meh. I read Riddle was dominating before the illegal upkick. Sure it's a disappointing way to win, but he probably would've won anyway via uninspiring decision so what-eveeer.
