MMA's 3R's 01.19.12: UFC 142 Edition

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 01.19.2012

From Jose Aldo's dynamic win over Chad Mendes and Edson Barboza's KOTY candidate kick over Terry Etim to the Anthony Johnson weigh-in debacle, 411's Jeffrey Harris breaks down the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous from the week in MMA!



*The Column Concept*
Greetings loyal readers and welcome back to a brand new edition of The 3R's of MMA. The rules and format are still the same as I will be taking a look at the Right, the wRong, and the Ridiculous in the MMA world. The Right will be about the good to great fights or positive news items for the week or big fight announcements. The wRong will be the bad fights, showings or performances, and bad fight bookings. And the Ridiculous will be the worst of the world of MMA.

The best and fastest, growing weekly MMA radio podcast in the entire internet is the 411 Ground and Pound Radio Show, hosted by Mark Radulich. In the last episode, we recapped UFC 142. You can listen to the latest episode here:

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

The UFC kick started their year for 2012 and new era with a bang as they returned to Brazil for UFC 142. Much controversy was to be had, but the show overall turned out to come off pretty well. And getting all those extra fights on the two-hour FX Prelims special wasn't too shabby either.

THE RIGHT:

Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes: OK, did I goof here by picking Mendes? Yes, admittedly I did. I figured if anyone posed the biggest challenge against Aldo in a match-up, stylistically, it would be Mendes. And I was wrong. Aldo showed that his work with Gray Maynard on his wrestling definitely paid off and definitely put any other wrestlers that planned to face him at featherweight on notice: Scarface has some nifty takedown defense. There was the one issue where Aldo did have the blatant cage grab when caught in a waist-lock and attempted takedown by Mendes. But honestly, I don't think it would make much difference in the fight overall. Aldo was warned, and no matter what Mendes could do, he couldn't really get or keep Aldo on the ground. Mendes used some decent leg kicks at first but as the fight started to settle, Aldo was opening up more and Mendes' main weapon of wrestling was not really working. Eventually Aldo broke out of Mendes' arms and Mendes went low and Aldo landed a sick knee before finishing the downed Mendes with a barrage of shots with naught but a second to go in the round. This was a great win for Aldo. We finally got to see that killer instinct that had been lacking with him in the UFC for quite some time. This was Aldo's strongest UFC performance to date and it definitely sort of reinforces Aldo as the essential Anderson Silva of the featherweight division. However, let's not call on Aldo moving up in weight to fight Frankie Edgar just yet. I think there are still some other fights and challenges for him out there. But honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of catchweight or even a title fight between Aldo and Edgar at some point if circumstances allow. Aldo's post-fight celebration with the crowd was both scary and awesome. Aldo finally got to show a little bit more of his crazy self he liked to show off in his early WEC fights when fans would wonder what he would do next after scoring a big knockout win, lest we forget his back flip off the top of the cage or running out into the crowd to rock it out and celebrate with them. However in Brazil, Aldo was truly a man of his people.


UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo, celebrates with the crowd after a successful title defense at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro.

Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson: I will get to the Anthony Johnson nonsense later. Though the whole debacle had me wishing I was able to change my staff roundtable picks for the winner of this fight. I did want to acknowledge this fight at least since Belfort did put on a strong performance. He got hit hard and slammed by Johnson, but for once Belfort was the one in a fight with the better cardio. I didn't have a problem with the stand-ups in the fight. I recall at a certain point on the ground nothing was happening and it became a stalemate. In such cases, I have no problem with a stand-up or a restart in the action. I see no reason to nitpick of Joe Rogan's stance on stand-ups since I think this has come up before such as during the Serra/Hughes fight. While Rogan might be fine with the idea on guys staying on the ground and being neutralized as much as they want, I don't see a problem with Rogan simply commenting and approving over a call made during a fight according to the rules. With his eye nearly swelling shut and his opponent getting gassed and tired after a strenuous and failed weight cut, Belfort pulled off the submission win going into his coaching assignment for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Next up, Belfort will face Wanderlei Silva in a rematch from the early days of both these men's careers in the UFC.


Vitor Belfort celebrates with his wife post-fight at UFC 142 following Belfort's submission victory over Anthony Johnson.

Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim: Early candidate for Knockout of The Year? Pretty bloody likely. Edson Barboza put an exclamation point on his fourth straight UFC win and tenth overall successfully executing the first ever spinning wheel kick knockout in the Octagon. The fight was going decently beforehand and it looked like Barboza was edging things out with his quick and accurate striking. Late in the third round, Barboza found an opening and executed his shot beautifully. The visual with Etim dropping like a tree in the woods is one that we will not soon forget. Barboza with this win is definitely a name to watch out for at lightweight.


Edson Barboza knocked out Terry Etim with an amazing wheel kick at UFC 142.

UFC 142 Prelims on FX/Fuel TV Post Show: This also marks the change of a new era. We got two hours worth of free fights from the preliminary card on FX and after the fight was over, a live post-show on Fuel TV hosted by Jay Glazer and Kenny Florian. Mike Pyle had a fun knockout victory and post-fight victory interview with Joe Rogan. Gabriel Gonzaga made a successful return to the Octagon. I was glad to see Gonzaga back in the UFC, but I see his role being much like it was before. Beating up bigger name fighters training partners like Ednaldo Oliveira and being more of a gatekeeper type to up and comers or potential title contenders. Still Gonzaga is back and got a win so good for him. Sam Stout unfortunately was not able to edge out Thiago Tavares in a closely battled decision. I think the fight could've gone either way, though I definitively gave the first round to Tavares. I think Stout's problem is sometimes he is too technical. He is a good striker, but there times in the fight where he it looked like he didn't turn it up. I recall a moment where it looked like Stout tagged and wobbled Tavares and he just kind of hung back rather than pick up the pace and the urgency in a fight that would soon end and likely go to the scorecards. While I think you can make an argument for a Stout win here, ultimately I think Stout only has himself to blame for letting Tavares take the victory. For Tavares this is a huge win so congrats to him.


UFC made their FX debut with their UFC 142 Prelims special.

THE wRong:

Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater: In just thirty seconds it looked like Silva picked up yet another impressive and strong finish victory in the Octagon. Instead somehow Silva was announced as losing the fight by disqualification much to the chagrin of the crowd and fans everywhere. Joe Rogan replayed the footage for Mario Yamasaki who granted made a judgment call in what took place in about a split second. However the footage shows that maybe only about one or two blows landed the back of the head of Prater. Also, none of them truly brought about the end of the fight considering Prater was badly rocked with a knee and in a position to absorb numerous unprotected shots. Some defend the call as a fight did land to the back. But how often in these situations with a barrage of punches or rabbit shots do we see unintentional shots land to the back? I recall in fights with Vitor Belfort where he beat Akiyama and Rich Franklin he landed some shots that hit the back of his opponent's heads and that drew no disqualification. I think based on that this was not a disqualification. Silva should have the victory at the very least this fight should be a no contest.

Weight Cut Abuse: One issue that came under the microscope out of UFC 142 was the issue of fighter weight cutting. I imagine the hysteria will die down shortly after this fight, but honestly when you look at guys like Johnson cutting down from heavyweight to fight at welterweight or middleweight . . . when does it start getting absurd? Not only that, if fighters are risking kidney failure or body shut down by dehydrating themselves, is the juice always worth the squeeze as Forrest Griffin might say? I'm not sure what the solution is. I don't think fighters should resort to killing themselves to make weight or having to get hooked up to an IV right before a fight. One suggestion is for fighters to be more disciplined with their weight cuts instead of trying to cut 20 to 30 or more pounds in say two days. No wonder they get tired or gassed in fights if that's the case.


Anthony Johnson ultimately weighed in at 197 pounds for UFC 142.

Referee Inconsistency: Whether it's calls over shots to the back of the head or stand-ups, in MMA one of the greater problems is a lack of consistency between referees in their interpretation of the unified rules. Some are more vigilant about stand-ups over what they perceive to be a lack of action. Some will allow some questionable actions to go by without a second thought while some will issue quick warnings and deduct points. If a fight will draw a disqualification because some shots might hit the back of the head when a fighter is trying to get a knockout, then you have to look back at many fights that were wins and argue they were rightfully DQ losses. And there needs be use of an instant replay before questionable calls are made. UFC should not be exempt from using instant replays anywhere. Than maybe Erick Silva doesn't have a DQ loss. Maybe Michihiro Omigawa and Yuri Alcantara fight another two rounds because someone else sees his phantom tap.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Yuri Alcantara: Not that this was a bad fight, but the fight should've ended in the first round. Omigawa, you tapped dude. Granted the phantom tap was at a bad angle where the referee would've had a hard time seeing it, it looked pretty clear after getting trapped in an armbar, that Omigawa tapped out. Luckily Alcantara still was able to put out the win and not robbed but that might not always happen. I think this is where instant replay could've come in handy to show that the fight really should've been stopped after the first round. Granted, the angles the truck showed didn't get a good enough angle to show the tap in slow motion. But it happened.


Michihiro Omigawa loses his third UFC fight at featherweight at UFC 142.

THE RIDICULOUS:

"Rumble Not So Humble": Jay Glazer put it best on the Fuel TV post-fight show. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was set to make his middleweight debut at UFC 142. Previously he had been cutting a lot more to make 170 lbs. at welterweight. Previously, Johnson had failed twice before to make weight by a large margin. Granted, Johnson won his last two fights at welterweight against Dan Hardy and Charlie Brenneman. Johnson and his camp claim it was a "medical issue." After on the day of weigh-ins, Johnson got as low as 187 pounds before the UFC doctor ordered Johnson to rehydrate back up. Johnson was apparently losing the feeling of his legs and his body was shutting down. That does not sound safe. In the post-fight show in an interview and on his own personal Facebook page, Johnson did not appear to be apologetic for missing weight for the third time. Shortly before the fight, Johnson had promised he would make weight no problem and his camp was going much easier since he didn't have to worry about having to cut as much. Perhaps Johnson got bigger and his latest weight cut affected him badly. Or perhaps Johnson's previous weight cuts were finally getting to him. That is all just speculation. Regardless, after this even Johnson needs to work his way back into the UFC. It's not like he's banned for life. But now Johnson needs to definitely learn some greater discipline so this stops happening and he's not cutting say thirty pounds in two days. I think what is absurd this is Johnson's third offense and he was going up in weight this time. There really is no good excuse. Three strikes and you're out.


Following a loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142, Anthony Johnson's next fight won't be in the UFC Octagon.

What else is going on 411mania.com with yours truly, the 411mania Jack of All Trades?

Check out my first late breaking exclusive MMA interview of the year with Bellator Lightweight Champion, Michael Chandler.

And that's it for this week. Remember not to miss a new episode of the 411 Ground and Pound Radio Show this Sunday at 11AM EST. This weekend we'll be reviewing UFC on FX 1, so don't miss it.

Keep rocking it loyal readers. And like the great Buckaroo Banzai says, "Remember. No matter where you go . . . there you are."

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Joe says goodbye.