UFC 96 - This Weekend
- Thread starter pwmin
- Start date
Thoughts:
Rampage vs. Jardine - This fight was pretty solid, I just wish there were a few more rounds for them to go at it. It looked like both of them really competed at a pretty high level, and overall I think it was a good fight. I thought the key to the fight was the patience that Rampage showed in the later parts of round 2 and into round 3. He did a very good job at not getting caught up in too many flurries with Jardine, which is where I think Jardine best opportunities were. When those took place Rampage stayed patient and stepped out and just out techniqued Jardine. I thought Rampage was the better fighter and he proved it with this performance. He stayed out of the crazy exchanges and just used his superior skills to go in and out and score points. Also, his takedowns were very good, and the small amount of takedown defense he needed to show was also pretty good. The fight between Rampage and Rashad now interests me because I'm not a huge Rashad fan but the speed of his combos does cause me to think he may be able to get Rampage, but Rampage has the edge in power. Should be a cool fight.
Gonzaga vs. Carwin - I have been a pretty big supporter of Carwin and hoped that he would keep the streak alive to bring some more credibility to the Heavyweights. So, I am glad that he won, and the way in which he won will just keep his momentum going, and that is good for the sport. Having said that, I thought that Gabriel also was looking pretty good before he got dropped. I like his BJJ for a guy his size and he was really going at Carwin until they got back up. Carwin took 2 good shots in their first exchange and did a good job at grabbing on to get his feet back under him. Carwin has crazy power and this fight show that he can drop anybody. He'll need to work on his BJJ more if he wants to keep climbing, but he got a win and thats whats important.
Sell vs. Brown - Brown really took it to Sell and looked great doing it. It's sad that the story-line that will come out of this fight will be Lavigne's mistake on stepping in and then allowing the fight to continue. Lavigne is a good official and he has proved that, but he made a mistake here, and it was a big one.
Hamill vs. Munoz - I picked Hamill to win this fight but I really thought that Munoz would show better than he did. He did throw some shots that you could see his speed and power on his feet, but it wasn't near enough. Hamill just teed off on him and it looked like there was almost no defense. Thats a nice win for Hamill, and he should get a decent fight out of this, and he deserves it. I'm not sure how much higher he can climb in this weight class with the way he fights now, but he presses the action and is fun to watch.
Maynard vs. Miller - I wasn't real high on Maynard before the fight but he looked pretty good. I like that Miller kept going for the whole fight even though he was outmatched. Maynard showed a lot of speed and his technique was solid. I wish he could have ended the fight before decision, but thats nit-picking and Miller seems pretty tough.
Also, while he wasn't exactly fighting top notch talent, Brandon Vera looked very good. When you win a fight basically by TKO from leg kicks, that shows that you are taking fighting seriously. Vera has a ton of talent, and it is good to see him win, and he will get another fight soon, maybe with another UFC 96 winner in Matt Hamill.
Rampage vs. Jardine - This fight was pretty solid, I just wish there were a few more rounds for them to go at it. It looked like both of them really competed at a pretty high level, and overall I think it was a good fight. I thought the key to the fight was the patience that Rampage showed in the later parts of round 2 and into round 3. He did a very good job at not getting caught up in too many flurries with Jardine, which is where I think Jardine best opportunities were. When those took place Rampage stayed patient and stepped out and just out techniqued Jardine. I thought Rampage was the better fighter and he proved it with this performance. He stayed out of the crazy exchanges and just used his superior skills to go in and out and score points. Also, his takedowns were very good, and the small amount of takedown defense he needed to show was also pretty good. The fight between Rampage and Rashad now interests me because I'm not a huge Rashad fan but the speed of his combos does cause me to think he may be able to get Rampage, but Rampage has the edge in power. Should be a cool fight.
Gonzaga vs. Carwin - I have been a pretty big supporter of Carwin and hoped that he would keep the streak alive to bring some more credibility to the Heavyweights. So, I am glad that he won, and the way in which he won will just keep his momentum going, and that is good for the sport. Having said that, I thought that Gabriel also was looking pretty good before he got dropped. I like his BJJ for a guy his size and he was really going at Carwin until they got back up. Carwin took 2 good shots in their first exchange and did a good job at grabbing on to get his feet back under him. Carwin has crazy power and this fight show that he can drop anybody. He'll need to work on his BJJ more if he wants to keep climbing, but he got a win and thats whats important.
Sell vs. Brown - Brown really took it to Sell and looked great doing it. It's sad that the story-line that will come out of this fight will be Lavigne's mistake on stepping in and then allowing the fight to continue. Lavigne is a good official and he has proved that, but he made a mistake here, and it was a big one.
Hamill vs. Munoz - I picked Hamill to win this fight but I really thought that Munoz would show better than he did. He did throw some shots that you could see his speed and power on his feet, but it wasn't near enough. Hamill just teed off on him and it looked like there was almost no defense. Thats a nice win for Hamill, and he should get a decent fight out of this, and he deserves it. I'm not sure how much higher he can climb in this weight class with the way he fights now, but he presses the action and is fun to watch.
Maynard vs. Miller - I wasn't real high on Maynard before the fight but he looked pretty good. I like that Miller kept going for the whole fight even though he was outmatched. Maynard showed a lot of speed and his technique was solid. I wish he could have ended the fight before decision, but thats nit-picking and Miller seems pretty tough.
Also, while he wasn't exactly fighting top notch talent, Brandon Vera looked very good. When you win a fight basically by TKO from leg kicks, that shows that you are taking fighting seriously. Vera has a ton of talent, and it is good to see him win, and he will get another fight soon, maybe with another UFC 96 winner in Matt Hamill.
sounds like most of the UFC fights went the way of whom I wanted them to. no submission victories, though 
Here are the Dream 7 results directly from Wikipedia:
Takafumi Otsuka vs. 
Bibiano FernandesFernandes defeated Otsuka by unanimous decision.
Chase Beebe vs. Joe WarrenWarren defeated Beebe by TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the first round. The stoppage was due to a cut Beebe received over his right eye.[3]
Akiyo Nishiura vs. Abel CullumCullum defeated Nishiura by unanimous decision.
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke NakamuraIshida defeated Nakamura by unanimous decision.
Shinya Aoki vs. David GardnerAoki defeated Gardner by rear naked choke submission at 5:58 of the first round.
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross EbanezKawajiri defeated Ebanez by rear naked choke submission at 4:03 of the first round.
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah MillerMaeda defeated Miller by unanimous decision.
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. 
Jong Won KimTakaya defeated Kim by TKO due to punches at 0:40 of the second round.
Masakazu Imanari vs. Atsushi YamamotoImanari defeated Yamamoto by split decision.
Here are the Dream 7 results directly from Wikipedia:
- Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano FernandesFernandes defeated Otsuka by unanimous decision. - Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Chase Beebe vs. Joe WarrenWarren defeated Beebe by TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the first round. The stoppage was due to a cut Beebe received over his right eye.[3] - Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Akiyo Nishiura vs. Abel CullumCullum defeated Nishiura by unanimous decision. - Lightweight match
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke NakamuraIshida defeated Nakamura by unanimous decision. - Welterweight match
Shinya Aoki vs. David GardnerAoki defeated Gardner by rear naked choke submission at 5:58 of the first round. - Lightweight match
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Ross EbanezKawajiri defeated Ebanez by rear naked choke submission at 4:03 of the first round. - Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah MillerMaeda defeated Miller by unanimous decision. - Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jong Won KimTakaya defeated Kim by TKO due to punches at 0:40 of the second round. - Featherweight Grandprix 1st round match
Masakazu Imanari vs. Atsushi YamamotoImanari defeated Yamamoto by split decision.