Ten Things We Learned: TUF 12 Finale and Strikeforce

Taking a look back at the two major MMA events from last weekend

Since most of us are going to compare and contrast Saturday’s dueling events anyway, we figured combining their recaps into one easy-to-ingest article made a lot more sense. Ten talking points, two events, and one concise piece of coverage – that’s just how we do things here at Heavy MMA.

Strikeforce Scores the Victory

As much as Scott Coker says that he doesn’t want to compete with the UFC, there is no way that having the better reviewed event on Saturday night doesn’t put a smile on the face of the San Jose-based organization’s CEO.

Dana White will argue that the show was comprised of castoffs from the UFC, and while that is true, there are times when who is fighting isn’t as important as the excitement those bouts produce. This is one of those cases.

With the UFC rolling out a card full of mid-card talent, Strikeforce caught lightning in a bottle with their card in St. Louis, and then the lightning struck in the cage. The final three fights of the night produced first round, highlight reel finishes, and the entire main card lived up to the advanced billing, giving the sport’s second fiddle the first place finish in this weekend’s head-to-head showdown.

If they can deliver the same kind of cards with a little consistency in 2011, we could be in for a very interesting and entertaining year.

Henderson Remains a Light Heavyweight Threat

While the comparisons to Randy Couture’s 40-plus exploits are a little soon (and a little much), his former Team Quest teammate showed last night that he’s still a legitimate contender in the 205-pound division.

Henderson made quick work of Renato Sobral, stopping the Brazilian in less than two minutes to earn a shot at light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante early next year. Henderson’s power was once again on display, and unlike his encounter with Jake Shields, the former Pride two-division champion finished things off when he had the chance.

Though he said post-fight that he wasn’t opposed to dropping down to middleweight again in the future, Henderson offered the opposite thought after his loss to Shields, and should stay at light heavyweight. The division offers better opportunities without the need to drop weight, and with a title shot on the horizon, Henderson should focus on putting together a championship run, instead of trying to compete in two divisions.

Heavy Blogger Jonathan Brookins Wins The Ultimate Fighter, Season 12

Congratulations go out to HeavyMMA.com blogger Jonathan Brookins for claiming the title of The Ultimate Fighter at Saturday night’s finale.

Facing off against fellow Team GSP contestant Michael Johnson, Brookins endured a difficult first round that saw Johnson come out strong and land some quality shots. But as had been the case in each of his bouts during the recently-wrapped season, Johnson couldn’t keep up the pace he established in the opening frame, and his fatigued became Brookins’ opening.

The final two rounds were still hard-fought frames, but Brookins got the better of both, landing the more solid strikes, scoring with takedowns and dominating Johnson in the positional battle as well. When the cards were read, Brookins had earned a unanimous decision victory, accompanied by the six-figure contract and title of “The Ultimate Fighter” for Season 12.

Paul Daley Belongs in the UFC

I did not hesitate to side with the UFC when they decided to instantly release Paul Daley following his post-fight punch on Josh Koscheck back in May. To this day, I think the decision was the correct one.

That said, Daley belongs in the UFC.

The explosive Brit should be doing more than dropping Scott Smith on his face with a perfectly-timed left hook. His next fight shouldn’t be against a bulked up lightweight like K.J. Noons, a bout Daley began lobbying for immediately following his victory.

Despite his indiscretions, Daley’s talent dictates he belongs amongst the best welterweights in the world, and those fighters populate the UFC’s 170-pound division. If Karo Parisyan can get a do-over after leaving the UFC hanging in the wind on more than one occasion, Daley should be afforded the same opportunity once his contract with Strikeforce comes to a close.

Just Awful

Its one thing for a close fight to produce questions about what the judges’ saw on each side of the argument, but this was not one of those occasions. Leonard Garcia was handed the most inexplicable decision win of the year in his bout with Nam Phan to kick-off the Ultimate Fighter Finale card on Saturday.

Of the capacity crowd in attendance at The Pearl at the Palms, only two saw the fight in favour of the Greg Jackson student; unfortunately for Pham, those two men were sitting beside the cage and charged with scoring the bout. Everyone – literally – expected to hear the TUF 12 cast member’s name read aloud by Bruce Buffer, but it was Garcia whose arm was raised amid a chorus of boos and “bullshit” chants.

There is no way that the Nevada State Athletic Commission and head Keith Kizer can avoid investigating the dangerous situation that repeatedly presents itself at the judges’ table. The livelihood of fighters is at stake, and refusing to address the glaring issue at hand would be an even greater travesty than Saturday night’s decision.