[quote name='n8rockerasu']Thoughts from tonight:
Chris Leben is done. I don't even know why the guy is fighting anymore. I guess it's a paycheck, but good God, at least make it look like you're giving an effort. Not impressed with Brunson's cardio either. Had he been fighting almost anyone other than Leben, he probably would have lost.
Alan Belcher had a really stupid fight strategy going against a wrestler. Yeah...throw kicks and pull guard on a guillotine that Okami popped his head out of in less than 5 seconds. He finally figured out it might be wise to try to outbox Okami in the 3rd round, and dropped him. But too little, too late, with all the time and energy wasted with a non-existent attack before that point.
Tim Boetsch has some shitty luck. After getting the better of Philippou in the 1st, he allegedly breaks his hand and then gets poked in the eye. All the credit in the world to Matt Hume though for not being a terrible corner man and actually telling his fighter "It's 1-1. If you want to win this fight, you need to go after him." Then, when Boetsch responds that he can't close the distance because of his eye, Hume asks him point blank "Do you want to stop?" That's how you corner a fighter. Not this ego stroking "You're doing really good! He's afraid of you!" bullshit that most trainers seem to do.
Miller - Lauzon was when the PPV finally started. That fight needs to be shown to every fighter when they sign a contract so they can see what fighting actually is. It's not even about going for the KO constantly...but actively trying to win. As impressed as I was with Miller, I couldn't believe how Lauzon kept coming at him. Even to the very end, he goes all out to try to get a submission. Again, this is worlds different from how some fighters just coast to a loss. FOTN...no question.
Cain gave JDS a hell of a beating. I will say though, I felt Cain started coasting from about the midway point of the 3rd round. He kept getting takedowns, but I didn't really see him as trying to finish the fight. They kept talking up his cardio, but I think he looked pretty damn tired too. Not that I can blame him after the flurry he put on in the first two rounds, but it made for kind of a lackluster ending. I still appreciate the work he did though...and while I like Junior, I'm actually glad Cain won because it sets up the rivalry I've been wanting to see. Hopefully Junior does put in the work to make himself a better fighter, and we see that the next time these two meet. They can easily make each other two of the greatest of all time if they're both willing to work for it.
Overall, not a great card, but it had its moments.[/QUOTE]
I agree with everything you said there, honestly.
JDS was able to stuff the early takedowns but was fighting so scared that he wasn't thinking about getting outstruck, something that had never happened to him before. He did the same thing against Mir but Mir posed no threat on the feet, unlike Velasquez. The thing that shocked me was the lack of conditioning displayed by Cain. He should have been able to finish the fight after the first round but appeared to have worn himself out beating up JDS, I guess much like JDS was dead tired against Roy Nelson by the end of their fight. But only one round? C'mon, son.
Leben is shot, really. Nothing much to be said about it at this point.
Belcher's strategy was terrible with pulling guard on the Guillotine (twice) but he couldn't handle Okami's strength and takedown ability. If you can't outwrestle Okami and stuff his takedowns, you lose. Belcher couldn't stop them, so he lost. I expect him to put up more of a fight in the grappling department but alas, Okami is a world class grappler and his top control is elite. The difference between Belcher's top control (of which he was on top three times) and Okami's it just insane.