The Sprawl 11.20.08: Volume 21 - Thoughts on UFC 91

Posted by Alex Mattis on 11.20.2008

UFC 91 gave us new contenders and a new champion. Come on in for a full review of the event!

Hello all and welcome back! Well, UFC 91 is in the books and history has been made. New champions and new contenders. The event, as a whole, turned out to be much better than I had expected. I know this was suppose to be #'s 15-11 of my "MMA's 20 Greatest Fighters" but that will have to wait until next week because this event was too good not to cover. I mean really, when do we get to see every fight on the card? We'll go bottom-to-top, LET'S GET DOWN TO IT!!!

Matt Brown Vs. Ryan Thomas
Winner: Matt Brown (Round 2 - Submission)
I can't really say I was the biggest Matt Brown fan during the last season of TUF, I guess I just didn't dig his attitude or something, but he has been very impressive since the end of the show. He had some impressive outings and this was probably the most impressive. I had heard some good things about Thomas prior to this fight, so I was interested to see what was going to happen. Well Thomas didn't really give an eye-popping performance and he was submitted by Brown fairly easily. Honestly, how did Thomas not see that armbar coming from a mile away? Good stuff from Brown here, and even more impressive is that he took this fight on short notice. Let's see what he can bring to the table in the future.

Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley
Winner: Aaron Riley (Unanimous Decision)
Hey what do you know? Jorge Gurgel once again refused to use his strengths. This guy has an outstanding ground game but, for some whacky reason, he elects not to use it. What did he do at UFC 91? He tried to out-brawl a brawler. This was a hell of a fight however, a wild back-and-forth scrap. Gurgel did, however, look to have some steadily improving striking which he really displayed in the 1st round. Once Riley got comfortable he took over and was more accurate with the striking and was doing a LOT of damage. By round 3 I thought it was over for Gurgel. He showed a hell of a chin, I thought it was done at several points by Jorgey lasted it out. This was a pretty big win for Riley and I'm looking forward to seeing him again. As for Gurgel, he isn't going to get many more chances and needs to start being a smarter fighter.

Mark Bocek Vs. Alvin Robinson
Winner: Mark Bocek (Round 3 - Submission)
Mark Bocek really validated some of the early hype he had with this fight. He absolutely dominated and finished a tough opponent. Mark has had a hard road in the UFC; first Frankie Edgar, then Mac Danzig so an impressive win for him was overdue. Bocek's wrestling looked outstanding in this fight and proved to be the difference maker. His jiu-jitsu was also on point and is what earned him the tap. I'm anxious to see if Bocek's can string together some more performances like this one. As for Robinson, unfortunately with his current UFC record, I'm not sure how much more of him we're going to see.

Jeremey Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Winner: Jeremey Stephens (Round 3 - MURDER!!!)
I've been a fan of Jeremey Stephens since his UFC debut at UFC 71, not sure what it is about him that appeals to me but I just dig the guy. He has had a rather up and down time in the UFC, so I was nervous for him heading into this fight. He was facing a dangerous opponent and another loss may have got him his walking papers from Dana & Co. Well he was able to pull this fight out in a fashion that will make highlight reels for years and years to come. Stephens was more than likely 2 rounds in hole and came into the third guns a' blazing. He landed one of the most devastating/ridiculous uppercuts I've ever seen in my life and dos Anjos was dreaming about working in a chocolate factory. This was a tremendous win for Jeremey and I look forward to what the future holds for him, maybe next time he will successfully run through the cage. I can't see this enough...


Demian Maia Vs. Nate Quarry
Winner: Demian Maia (Round 1 - Submission)
Man oh' man, how sick is Demian Maia? To me, this was hands down the most impressive performance on the card. Nate Quarry is a tough, durable, solid fighter but Maia made him look like an amateur. He took him down and work for the choke and before I knew he had it, and the fight was over. This guy has done nothing but destroy since coming into the UFC. His submission of Ed Herman was once of the sickest triangle's I have ever seen, and his RNC on the always game Jason MacDonald was equally as impressive; but this win over "Rock" has to be the biggest feather in his cap to date. I did expect Maia to win the bout, but certainly not that easy and quick. I think that Demian Maia is the "guy to look out for" in all of the middleweight division.

Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga (Round 1 - TKO)
Gonzaga looked phenomenal here and looks to be back to form. I didn't really know much of Hendricks coming into this fight other than the fact that he had heavy hands. Well that didn't really matter here because "Napao" made this shit short and sweet. He landed some beautiful knees to the body from inside the clinch then landed a straight right hand on the way out and that was all she wrote. The dude was done when he hit the match, Gonzaga knew it, I guess Mazz just wanted to see a little more. Gonzaga has put on some noticeable weight but, unlike Werdum, this seems to be solid muscle mass. I think given the skills Gonzaga has, and taking his renewed motivation into consideration, I wouldn't be too surprised to see him get another crack at the title in the near future.

Dustin Hazelett Vs. Tamdan McCrory
Winner: Dustin Hazelett (Round 1 - Submission)
This was an excellent fight from two of the least intimidating looking human beings ever. Right away the action picked up as McCrory just started unloading on Dustin. The plethora of shots wouldn't be enough though, as soon as the fight hit the ground it looked like the end. Hazelett's ground game is just so slick. He immediately worked the rubber guard then threw his legs up for an Omaplata and it looked like he was going to finish it that way. When the Omaplata wasn't working Dustin grabbed Tamdan's arm and began to crank. It looked like he turned that son of a bitch 360 degrees, thank God McCrory tapped. More and more I'm becoming a fan of Hazelett and his sick Jiu-Jitsu. I know the loss to Koscheck was a setback, but if Dustin continues to build upon his impressive submission streak we may see him in some higher profile welterweight match-ups.

Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson
Winner: Kenny Florian (Round 1 - Submission)
Jesus Christ how impressive was this win? I truly thought that Joe was going to make this an incredibly difficult fight and I had even predicted "Daddy" to win, he didn't stand a chance in this fight. Kenny did his usual picking apart deal, he just did it a lot faster here. Joe tried pushing the pace a bit too much and Kenny took advantage of that. As soon as it hit the ground Florian took over and was able to choke out Joe Stevenson, it was pretty shocking. Kenny made his intentions clear after the fight, he wants to take out BJ Penn. Well he has his title shot, but taking out BJ is going to be quite a feat to achieve. Whatever the case, Kenny going to have to sit out and wait for his shot for awhile; the fight is going to have to wait until BJ beats... I mean fights Georges St. Pierre for the second time.

Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar
Winner: Brock Lesnar (Round 2 - TKO)
Well what can I say? I didn't think that he deserved the title shot, but he beat the champion. Chalk it up to Couture's age, size, Lesnar's freakish strength, etc. Whatever the case, Lesnar beat Randy Couture Lesnar beat the top dog and is now the champ. I personally don't like Brock Lesnar but I gotta give 'em his props, he is for real in the MMA realm. Now we await the winner of the Nog-Mir fight to see who Lesnar's opponent for the undisputed title will be. As for Randy, who knows? I think most of the interest in a potential fight between he and Fedor has been lost, and what is really left for him to do? I think his illustrious career may be coming to an end, but as always with Randy you just never know... The question of "is Brock for real?" has been answered, but a new one has been presented, "is Brock unstoppable?" I certainly think so, but there are many others out there who would beg to differ.

Well that's it for me this week.

Come back next week when I'll have #'s 15-11 of "MMA's 20 Greatest Fighters." Until then, take care.

Remember feedback, as always, is welcome at [e-mail] or directly below.

See you next week...

-Alex