UFC 99 thoughts

I really want to blog about Tim Sylvia getting ko'ed by Ray Mercer in 10 seconds last night, but I will hold off on that until tomorrow. So my UFC 99 thoughts instead. There were 3 really close fights on the PPV broadcast that could have gone either way. The main event was a really close fight. I went back and forth on this fight before the bout and in the end with Wanderlei. And I did score the bout for Wanderlei (10-9 Franklin/10-9 Silva/10-9 Silva for 29-28 Silva) but the fight was so close that you can not argue the decision one way or the other. Franklin's final takedown with 30 seconds left in the third may have stolen that round and won him the fight. It wasn't much of a takedown, and Wanderlei did get up shortly after, but that very well may have been the difference in the fight. Next for Franklin I would like to see him fight the winner of Thiago Silva/Keith Jardine. Wanderlei needs to go down to 185 and fight a middle of the road guy to get a win. Believe it or not, Wanderlei is 2-5 inside the UFC.

Cain Velasquez showed why he is considered a top prospect as he demolished Cheick Kongo. I still can not believe that some betting lines had Velasquez as an underdog when this fight was first announced. I had it 30-26 for Velasquez (giving him a 10-8 last round). You could argue each round could have been a 10-8 round though. Kongo was catching Velasquez with some shots and still needs to work on his stand-up, but he is a legit prospect. I really hope he gets the Jon Fitch treatment and is given another 3 or 4 fights at least before getting a title show. Some people want him vs Carwin next with the winner of that getting a title shot. I want Velasquez to get the slow burn.

Spencer Fisher verses Caol Uno was another really close fight that could have gone either way. I had it 29-29 even (10-9 Fisher/10-10/10-9 Uno). Unfortunately for Uno, the judges apparently did not like his wrestling. Uno won the third round bigger than Fisher won the first round, but because of the 10 point must system, the fight was scored the way it was.

Dan Hardy finished what he started as he beat Marcus Davis after getting under his skin on the internet. It too was also a really close fight and it was very entertaining. Davis started strong but Hardy came on as the fight went on. I had it 29-28 Hardy (10-9 Davis/10-9 Hardy/10-9 Hardy). I know judges aren't suppose to score on facial damage, but Davis looked like hell after this fight and this being the first UFC show in Germany, the judges may have been swayed by that. Dan Hardy vs Mike Swick I think is the logical next fight for Hardy.