Well, UFC 63 is in the books and overall I thought the event was excellent. We now have an undeniable Welterweight champion and a valid number one contender waiting to rematch him in Georges St. Pierre. I’m going to take a minute and recap a few fights and their highlights.
Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn Overall, I fell this fight lived up to its billing. At the beginning it seemed to me that Hughes was going to rely a little too much on his hands and all that standup work he has been doing in the gym. Taking down B.J. Penn is no easy task as we saw last night. However, we also saw last night that B.J. Penn is not training like he should for these fights, as has been rumored leading up to last nights event. Penn gassed again last night, like he did in his previous fight with Georges St. Pierre, and he paid dearly for it this time. Hughes waited until the third round when he was still fully charged and B.J. was winded and Hughes went into domination-mode. I’m glad Hughes won and that St. Pierre will have his chance at rematch against Hughes, who he desperately wanted to fight. What’s next for Penn? Two fights back in the UFC and two losses. Sure they were to the two toughtest fighters in the division, but a loss is still a loss.
Mike Swick vs. David Loiseau As everyone said, this was Mike Swick’s toughest fight yet in the UFC and he really showed his skills. Loiseau looked very timid after his loss to Franklin and wasn’t willing to risk exposing himself at all, and it cost him the first two rounds. The Crow woke up a little in the third round and looked like he almost had Swick beat, but Swick withstood the barage and was able to pull out the decision. Afterwards, Swick was nearly begging for a title shot, which I think is a little unrealistic. Franklin would eat Swick for lunch, with a little skim milk.
Jason Lambert vs. Rashad Evans Finally we get to see Rashad Evans at his best in an exciting fight. Evans was entertaining to watch as he completely handled Lambert like he did to Stephan Bonnar; only this time Evans was also active on the ground and pounded Lambert’s face from the mount until the ref stopped the fight. An impressive victory for Rashad.
Joe Lauzon vs. Jens Pulver Not really sure what to think of this fight. Pulver was too over-amped for this fight and didn’t look comfortable from the start. Lauzon played his game well and caught Pulver with a nice punch. A nice welcome to the UFC for Lauzon and a difficult welcome back for Pulver.
Gabe Ruediger vs. Melvin Guillard Ouch! Thats really all that needs to be said: Ouch! I have never seen body punches like that in any MMA fight. After the first body punch I rewound my DVR 3 times to watch it. Little did I know a second, and more devastating body punch would come soon to finish off the fight. Ouch!
David Lee vs. Tyson Griffin A nice attempt at a flying knee by David Lee, but Griffin showed why he is undefeated and easily handled Lee with a submission. Griffin is a welcome addition to the UFC lightweight division and a nice matchup in my mind would be Tyson Griffin vs. Jens Pulver at UFC 66. Just a thought.
What are your thoughts after watching UFC 63? Did the fight card live up to your expectation? What was your favorite fight of the night? Favorite knockout? Thoughts on the Hughes vs. Penn fight? You know the drill; leave some comments.
Loading ...
I’m so dissapointed in BJ. I feel he is the better fighter than both St. Pierre and Hughes, but he doesn’t train as hard as he should, and gasses out and gives them the win. Cardio won that fight. Note to Matt Hughes, St. Pierre was just hyping the fight, and gaming a bit. Don’t get your panites in a bunch so easily. Pierre is like most polite fighter I’ve ever seen, and the one time he decides to poke his opponent a bit..Matt gets pissed. I hope Jens comes back, I honestly think he had got himself too oworked up over returning the UFC. His next fight will be more in line with what we expect.
Bahaha..Franklin would eat Swick for lunch. I can’t wait for the day you will eat those words much like “Babalu will beat Chuck”
So let me get this straight.
You are picking Swick in a Swick vs. Franklin matchup????
I believe that’s exactly what he’s saying…
Seems pretty outlandish if you ask me. Even for Gatties, haha.
Now, I don’t knock Swick and I never have. When he steamrolled Joe Riggs, I gave him his credit and I know he is an excellent MMA fighter. His skills are there. But I can’t see him beating Rich Franklin. And this has nothing to do with TUF. Swick has risen above TUF just like Forrest Griffin has. Facts are just facts. Franklin would win that fight.
I take back my comments about Penn giving up. I’ve learned he apparently had a seperated rib at the end of the 2nd round. After watching the fight again, it’s apparant that there was something really wrong. He stated in a unsubstantiated interview that he had let Matt pass guard just to get him off his ribs. Letting Matt pass guard is huge mistake….obviously.
Sure Doc, care to bet again???
When the Franklin/Silva vs Swick bout happens, we can do up the same bet. Infact, this would give you extra time to come up with an even better graphic. The last graphic when you lost the bet was outstanding, just imagine how good it will be when you have months to work on it!
You’re on Gatties. But I think its you who better fire up the old sketchpad and get started on the graphics.
hehe man, i really enjoyed this card. The upset on Jens pulver was pretty shocking, but anyone can get caught, im sure he will be back.
Melvin guillard was like a mini randleman the way he was throwing him around lol dam, hes a monster at that weight. I didnt really like how he said the other guys stomach was soft, that was a nasty shot to the spleen, then followed with the shot to the solar plexus. I dont care how ripped your abs are, nobodys taking that lol
The swick loiseau, i was always a fan of loiseau, but after this consecutive garbage performance, i was glad he lost, i dont know what his problem is, but its definately mental. As he showed for a short time in the 3rd, hes got the technical skills and the physical tools to be the middle weight champ. What happened to the old loiseau? why doesnt he move forward anymore? im really interested to hear any opinions on what happened to loiseau.. dont tell me hes trying to counter punch.. whenever he moved forward he put swick in trouble.
The rashad?? hmm.. he boxed an wrestled him nice.. did anyone else notice that he nailed him right in the throat right near the end of the fight, im surprised he didnt dislodge his larynx. daaam it was dirty..
The hughes penn was an exciting fight! who came up with the strategy of hughes to box with BJ? i thought that was a stupid move. Hughes couldnt take him down, he wasnt trying hard enough, he was trying to rely on the single and double leg takedowns. There are so many ways to take someone down, he wasnt faking or anything, just kept doing the same thing. He paid for it, i thought BJ was gonna win that fight by the end of the 2nd round. I see this as a failure in matt hughes performance he got lucky BJ wasnt in shape, or else he would have lost his title. Though i loved the crucifix at the end, if you notice when he was adjusting it he nailed BJ with a knee to the head.
oh and Gatties, id like to get in on that action too lol
I cant think of anyone at 185 thats touching Franklin.