UFC 121: 10 Things Learned

10 Things We Learned at UFC 121

A New Champion is Crowned

Wow! There really isn’t another way to describe the performance Cain Velasquez put forth in becoming the UFC heavyweight champion.

The unbeaten Velasquez stuffed Lesnar’s initial shot and scrambled to his feet quickly when the champion did get him down. From there, the American Kickboxing Academy product put it on Lesnar, landing a short left hand that sent Brock stumbling across the cage.

Velasquez pounced and did what Shane Carwin could not, taking a measured approach with his offense against the downed and dazed Lesnar. Shot after shot landed, opening a massive gash under the champion’s left eye. As the heavy hands and hammerfists continued to rain down, Herb Dean had to step in, giving Velasquez the win and the UFC heavyweight championship.

Now Entering the Era of Cain

I generally loath the instantaneous proclamations that a newly-crowned champion is destined to rule for all of eternity that follow fights like this. After all, this is MMA, and everyone loses, right?

While the old axiom is certainly true, watching Velasquez beat the pulp out of Lesnar, a fighter who had previous done the same to his last four opponents, makes you wonder how long the title reign of new champion could possibly last.

Velasquez displayed the all-around skills that many of his supporters had spoken of before the bout and throughout his career, taking Lesnar down and hitting the now former champion with a mix of quick, powerful strikes. With a tremendous wrestling base, diverse striking and fight-finishing power, Velasquez has the assortment of talents that could keep him on top for some time.

Without a blemish on his record and fresh off delivering a savage beating to a champion many viewed as unbeatable, Velasquez is primed to start a dominant run atop the division.

Time for Lesnar to Re-evaluate

Though it might sound harsh to suggest that the recently disposed ruler of the heavyweight division needs to think so things over, that is exactly what Brock Lesnar needs to do in the wake of being badly beaten by Velasquez on Saturday night.

For the second straight bout, Lesnar was knocked right out of his element and forced to recoil across the cage when his opponent connected with a forceful blow. While not being a big fan of getting punched in the face is fine for you and me, its part of the job description as a cage fighter, and it has been made abundantly clear that Lesnar doesn’t handle it well.

When it was Randy Couture and Frank Mir doing the punching, Lesnar had little difficulty shaking off the less powerful punches of the two former champions. But with Carwin and now Velasquez, two heavy-handed heavyweights, Lesnar could not deal with the force of the blows.

That is something he’ll have to address at the DeathClutch gym if he hopes to wear heavyweight gold ever again.

Jake Shields Underwhelms

After all kinds of hype and even more anticipation, Jake Shields finally made his UFC debut by eeking out a split decision win over Martin Kampmann.

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion showed his elite-level grappling game, gaining the mount on numerous occasions and working well each time the fight went to the ground. Unfortunately, there were a number of times where Shields didn’t look good at all, eating a couple big knees and showing that his cut back down to the welterweight division was torturous.

In fact, Kampmann might have handed Shields the victory by trying to beat the grappler at his own game. Despite having a massive edge in the striking department and Shields’ obvious exhaustion, Kampmann tried to choke out the UFC newcomer and ended up getting dominated on the ground for the final minute of the bout. He’ll be kicking himself about that decision for quite some time.

If That Is How You Earn a Title Shot…

Somebody needs to keep a watchful eye on Jon Fitch for the next couple months. If (when?) Georges St-Pierre defeats Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 in December, the company will need to announce who will next face the reigning champion and if it’s Jake Shields, Fitch’s head might explode.

There is no possible way that the UFC can award Shields a title shot after that performance; while his awful cut certainly played a part in his mediocre performance, no number of excuses can make that fight worthy of earning a title shot.

This was a lesser version of the beating Fitch put on Thiago Alves earlier this year, and that performance got Fitch bumped down the contending ladder. Rewarding Shields for an uninspired victory would send the wrong message to Fitch and the rest of the organization.

We Need to Fix This… Now!

Once again, I fail to understand how one person can score a fight 30-27 for one competitor while another can award the same bout a score of 29-28 for the alternate fighter. The time for accepting that judges are going to get it wrong from time-to-time has passed, and we need to fix the problem post-haste.

Fighters shouldn’t have to worry that they’re going to get screwed by leaving the results in the hands of the judges; as much as finishing fights takes the worry away, it isn’t that easy, and relying on the people paid to score the bouts correctly should cause heart palpitations. Right now, it does, and that needs to change.

Either start disclosing scorecards following fights, re-examine how these fights are being scored (read: a takedown isn’t valuable if you do nothing with it), and get rid of the group of judges that cause fans to cringe at the mention of their name.

Learning that Cecil Peoples was scoring the main event last night made me exceptionally nervous, and that should never be the case.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Diego?

Dana White said he didn’t think Diego Sanchez belonged in the welterweight division after John Hathaway dominated the former Ultimate Fighter winner during the summer. Reports had him dropping back down to lightweight after his bout at 121.

But after putting on a dominant performance over the final two rounds of his meeting with Paulo Thiago, it looks like the UFC has an unexpected and pleasant problem on their hands. What do you do with Diego Sanchez moving forward?

Thiago is a legit Top 10 contender and Sanchez outclassed him over the final two frames, slamming him to the mat with force a la Matt Hughes on Frank Trigg, and then proceeded to ground and pound the Brazilian for the remainder of the fight. How do you cut 15-pounds after a victory like that?

It will be interesting to see where Sanchez lands next time out. Your guess is as good as mine right now.

The Sun Has Set on Tito Ortiz

Once again, Tito Ortiz returned to the Octagon after an injury and once again, the former UFC light heavyweight champion was defeated. He hasn’t won a fight in four years, and that victory came over Ken Shamrock. Man that sounds sad.

This time, Ortiz was bested by his former charge, Matt Hamill, out-struck and unable to score any takedowns. He was effectively a live sparring partner for Hamill and that should signal something to both Ortiz and the organization.

There is only one fight that remains for Ortiz, a third bout with Chuck Liddell. Nothing else makes sense; both fighters are at the bottom of the hill, a couple years removed from coming over the crest, and they really hate each other.

If either one going to step in the cage again, it has to be against the other or else it’s a huge mistake. Ortiz is done, and if it wasn’t clear before last night, it should be clear to everyone now, Tito included.

Schaub Continues to Show Promise

In a division top-loaded with big name stars and lacking in emerging prospects, Brendan Schaub took a big step forward Saturday night by peppering Gabriel Gonzaga for fifteen minutes en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Getting the better of the gatekeeper puts Schaub on a very short list of second-tier sluggers looking to break into the upper echelon in 2011. The TUF 10 finalist has put together a three-fight winning streak, and has shown steady improvement since getting starched by Roy Nelson last December. He’ll need to keep growing too, as his future is full of high-powered competition.

Schaub now has to take another step up the competitive ladder, with his list of potential future opponents including the names Kongo and Mir, and maybe another meeting with Nelson at some point. From here on out, each new fight is the toughest of his career, and will give us a better indication of how high up the heavyweight ladder Schaub could climb.

McGee Impresses on Spike TV

After the first round of his fight with Ryan Jensen, it looked as if TUF 11 winner Court McGee was going to follow the Joe Stevenson blueprint and drop his first fight post-filming. Jensen was dominant and McGee had no answers, but the man in charge of his corner came with wise words and turned the tide.

John Hackleman told McGee that he would get the best of his opponent on the strength of his condition, and early in the second round, it was apparent that “The Pit Master” knew what he was talking about. McGee held his own as Jensen tired, earning a close round on the cards. By the time the third frame began, it was all McGee.

The bearded fan favorite worked over Jensen in the third, peppering him with punches and eventually taking him to the ground and forcing him to tap to an arm triangle choke. Hackleman was right, McGee was impressive, and Jensen punched himself out of the fight and the organization with his hyper-active first round.

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