Brock Lesnar Seems to Revel in the Villain Role
Sunday July 12, 2009
After defeating opponents, Tito Ortiz used to wear tee shirts that insulted them. After
Brock Lesnar's UFC 100 victory over
Frank Mir, we can now say that the former professional wrestling star doesn't bother with tee shirts. He simply insults people to their face, flips off the crowd, and then talks some trash to Joe Rogan.
Oh, how times have changed.
"Talk all the [bleep] you want now!" Lesnar said to a bloodied and battered Mir after defeating him, indicating that perhaps he doesn't subscribe to all of that MMA respect stuff that people talk about. In the post fight interview with Joe Rogan he went even further, citing, ""Frank Mir, he had a horseshoe up his ass. I told him that a year ago. I pulled that sumbitch out and I beat him over the head with it! Wooooooo!"
Fans booed him. Lesnar flipped them off. He just doesn't seem to care what people think of him. Whether it's bravado or not, he appears to have embraced the villain role. So get ready for some different behavior after championship fights in the heavyweight division. The champ is a villain and he's a darned good fighter. Let's face it: Whether it's a good thing or not, we haven't had a champion play the role of a villain this good in a long time, if ever.
Georges St. Pierre Victorious Over Thiago Alves By Unanimous Decision
Sunday July 12, 2009
Thiago Alves hit home with some very solid low kicks on UFC Welterweight Champion
Georges St. Pierre during their
UFC 100 encounter and connected with notable punches in spots. Further, he demonstrated toughness and heart throughout their fight, and showed an ability to get up when taken down. But in the end, that wasn't enough.
St. Pierre managed numerous takedowns on the night. He took Alves' back to no avail on multiple occasions. And in the third round, a St. Pierre left-right combination floored his adversary. In the end, despite the fact that Alves fought with honor, the Canadian fighter pretty much won every round on his way to a unanimous decision UFC 100 victory.
By the way, St. Pierre managed the victory with a reportedly pulled groin that he started feeling in round three. It's time for Anderson Silva now, don't you think?
Dan Henderson Defeats Michael Bisping by Vicious KO
Saturday July 11, 2009
Before his
UFC 100 fight with
Michael Bisping,
Dan Henderson said, "the biggest thing that I want to do in this fight is just shut his face." Let's put it this way: Henderson came through big time.
The first round saw the man they call "Hollywood" stun his opponent with some big punches as he chased him around the cage, looking to connect with that vicious right hand of his. Later in the stanza, Bisping did begin to stick and move better, even if the power differential between the two (in Henderson's favor) was quite obvious. But in the second round, Henderson finally connected with that one big right hand he'd been looking for all night. Bisping was out cold immediately, but still sustained another tough shot from Henderson on the ground before the referee stepped in.
Dan Henderson wins by KO at 3:20 of round two. It took Bisping awhile to get up. Thankfully, he finally did.
Yoshihiro Akiyama Defeats Alan Belcher by Split Decision in UFC Debut
Saturday July 11, 2009
In the first televised fight of the night at
UFC 100, Yoshihiro Akiyama managed to win his UFC debut over Alan Belcher by split decision. The decision was controversial in some people's eyes. But it was a close fight that truly could've gone either way in every round.
The first round saw Belcher hit home with some nice low kicks, even if most of them missed hitting home with power. Akiyama connected with a couple of nice high kicks and punches before gaining a takedown at the end of the round. That said, a Belcher left hand dropped him earlier in the stanza, even if he did pop right back up. So it was a hard round to call.
The second round saw Akiyama take Belcher down early and connect with some nice ground and pound in spots. Around the halfway point, Belcher got up and outstruck his opponent for the majority of the stanza by a little, hitting home with some very nice low kicks. So it was another close round that could've gone either way.
The final round saw Belcher connect with some devastating low kicks and Akiyama's eye close from swelling. However, Akiyama did connect with a right hand that dropped his adversary- who seemed to be somewhat off balance from throwing a low kick- and both fighters hit home with a lot of punches. Akiyama's right hand plus a takedown that he achieved (Belcher got right back up) made the third round close as well.
In the end, this was a fight that saw both competitors bring it. Each and every round was close enough to go either way. Akiyama won. Some don't think he should have. That's why fighters are taught to avoid decisions whenever possible.