Well another Saturday night of fights. The big guys took center state tonight and in no way did the fight card disappoint. No fight by fight breakdown after this one. The fights flew by. Knockout after knockout and submission. Only one fight on the main card made it out of the first round.
Two of the highest vote getters at Showtime.com to win the Grand Prix were in action tonight. Both were handled with relative ease. Andrei Arlovski came out looking good and ready to fight. Shortly thereafter he looked stiff and rigid laying on the mat knocked out cold. Sergei Kharitonov was being hyped pre fight as the sleeper. Turns out he put The Pitbull to sleep with a barrage of punches that put him into the next round. Wow. I am a huge Arlovski fan but it appears, at least for now, this will be the last we see of him. Retirement may be the best option after four straight knockout losses.
M-1 Global and Strikforce put on the main event and it was one of the best fights I've seen, well at least in the last few weeks. Antonio Silva came out with no fear. Fedor came out swinging. A clash for the ages. The odds on favorite probably won a very close round but when the bell sounded and the fighters began the 2nd round it was all Bigfoot. He gets a takedown and uses his hammer (heard them called sledgehammer) fist punches combined with a nasty choke to bloody Fedor's face. The round goes to Silva easy. As the fighters sit in their corners you get a close up of Fedor's eye. It looks horribly swollen. Swollen shut to be exact. Talk quickly goes to if the fight can go on. It doesn't. A doctor's stoppage endd the fight and ends Fedor's career. Silva gets the news and goes to The LAst Emperor in a great showing of sportsmanship. Fedor hints that this is more than likely his final act.
The heavyweights shined in a big way. Strikeforce shined in a big way however their main attraction is out of the Grand Prix. A fan favorite in Arlovski is out in the first round. Will this hurt the rest of the tournament? If they are going to be able to maintain the momentum that they have gained leading up to this card they will have to do some major work. No one is a headliner. Overeem hasn't fought enough to get the casual fan to tune in. Brett Rogers? Fabricio? Who's gonna take the lead now. Maybe they will get lucky and get Gina to fight on one of the card's to boost viewership. It will be hard and I am sure Coker is stressing. The UFC shouldn't worry about Strikeforce taking over the MMA world anytime soon but make no mistake that Strikeforce at times is head and shoulders above the UFC at bringing exciting fights. just my opinion...whats yours??
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Fedor is a legend and it's hard to watch a legend fall. Strikeforce has lost it's biggest attraction for it's Grand Prix but I think fans will still tune in.
ReplyDeleteAs long as these fights are entertaining I will keep watching. The last two have been awsome, I don't even think a fight has made it to the third round. The may not have the high quality fighters, but they are better than average (for the most part they would not fair well against the UFC's best) but it is always exciting to watch someone get knocked the F out.
ReplyDeleteThere is no lack of excitement as of late that is for sure. The debate we have been going on about is what is better for MMA. Exciting fights or Famous fighters? Which do better in promoting the sport and the respected promotions. I am a fight fan...any fight fan. UFC is still the worldwide leader but they are lacking in the excitement of other promotions. Maybe its the hunger to get improve and move up. I don't know but we are more than pumped for the rest of the Grand Prix! Dump
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