I really wasn't lookin' forward to this card except for 3 fights that were in it, and they were the most important fights of the night(or day here). It involved 3 Brits who were headlining this London show. Namely, John Hathaway, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy, and UFC(UK) poster-boy, Michael "The Count" Bisping.
So the 1st 2nd fights, I didn't really get to watch that much, which was kinda' wrong too if you look at it from a different perspective because the 1st 2 winners could be future contenders that we need to watch out for. The problem was that the 1st fight involved a lot of "grind-it-out" wrestling. Not too much technical fighting goin' on, so changin' channels was always an option.
John Hathaway-Mike Pyle- I was disappointed with this fight because this Hathaway kid has tons of upside. He's only 22 years old I believe. I mean, besides BJ Penn, it was Hathaway who handed Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez his own ass the last time both went at it. Who does that shit to Diego?!?
But here, it was a different story. Mike Pyle was the one doin' the ass-handling. Hathaway's brute strength wasn't enough to negate Mike Pyle's far superior wrestling(this guy trains at Extreme Couture). The 1st few take down defenses were pretty successful(all due to Hathaway's "young lad strength"), but the rest went straight to hell(or to the mat, down the drain, whatever). And not only that, Pyle's striking was technical too. Hathaway's longer reach wasn't worth shit to Pyle. He(Pyle) even switched levels a lot, which threw Hathaway off when it came to defense. Hence, the big L for Hathaway.
Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy-Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit-This was guaranteed TNT! the only disgruntling thing was that my boy Dan Hardy was knocked out cold(well, his eyes were still open when he received the closing punches that ended the fight).
My money was actually ridin' on Condit(so good thing that he won), but that KO of Hardy was just brutal! I didn't expect that shit to go down like that. The left hook is indeed one of Hardy's more prominent weapon. And Condit isn't really known a a KO artist, so it was pretty foolish of Condit to be standin' and bangin' with Hardy like what he did in this fight.
But the reason why I bet on Condit was because he is like Nick DIaz in a sense that he'll beat you at your own game if you don't watch out. If you could strike, he would love to stand and trade blows with you. If you're the grappling type, he'll just out-grapple. So that just means that Condit's left hook was badder and meaner! It didn't really land first, but it connected clearer(both fighters threw left hooks before the lights went out for Hardy).
Mike "The Count" Bisping-"Sexyama" Yoshihiro Akiyama-I genuinely don't understand why Asian fighter's comin' from here crossin' over to the west can't tie up a decent string of wins and become successful. Even Asian fighters who grew up in the west can't seem to come up with something(i.e. Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Munoz and Philippe[did I spell that correctly] Nover). Guys like Brandon Vera and Yushin Okami can't seem to get past the tip of the iceberg. I'm not looking down at anyone here. But that's just the way it is I guess. Other races are physically superior than their Asian counterparts(taller, stronger, etc). The only exception(isn't that a Paramore song) is Manny Pacquiao.
Now in this fight, I think it's nearin' towards the end of the road for Akiyama. I mean, the dude had his chances, but he blew 'em. He wasn't ready to snatch a win against a B-Level Chris "The Crippler" Leben. He most certainly wasn't ready to steal the W against an always game Bisping, whose only strategy is to outpoint his opponents with soft, grazing punches. Lame, but effective nonetheless.
There you have it. A losin' night for British fight fans, but a winning night for me and fellow MMA junkies and maniacs. Next stoop, UFC 121! I'm salivating at the heavyweight fight of the century!
*image from octagonbuzz.com
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