UFC 168: What a card!

Earlier tonight, a group of us watched the latest UFC event on pay-per-view, UFC 168.  It was one hell of a card. 

Almost all of the prelims delivered entertaining fights.

Travis Browne knocked out Josh Barnett with vicious elbows and established himself as a serious heavyweight contender.

Challenger Miesha Tate took Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey past the first round for the first time in Rousey's MMA career, but in the end Rousey won again the same way she's ended all of her fights:  by armbar.  It was a great bout in which both women showed once again that they are true warriors.

In the main event, Chris Weidman retained his Middleweight championship by defeating Anderson Silva for the second time, but this match ended freakishly:  Weidman checked a kick, and Silva's lower leg snapped in half from the collision.  It was gruesome to watch.  Silva is clearly one of the greatest pound-for-pound MMA fighters ever, and we all can only hope that the surgery goes well and he recovers fully.  I fear, though, that this will end his MMA career, which will be a sad ending to an amazing run as a fighter.

Though Weidman won in this odd way, I believe he was winning both rounds before the kick, and I had picked him to win.  I expect him to hold the middleweight strap for quite some time.

Anderson Silva's Vegas act

Last night in Montreal, Anderson Silva, the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion, defended his title against Thales Leites. The fight went the distance--five rounds--and Silva easily dominated the judges' scorecards.

The fans at the event, however, were booing. At my house, most of us were going, "WTF?"

Thales, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and world champion, knew going into the fight that could not afford to exchange strikes with Silva. He needed to take down Silva and hope to submit the champ. He managed a few take-downs, but Silva wouldn't stay there and always got back to his feet.

Silva, who's renowned as a counter-puncher, needed Leites to attack him. Leites would not.

So, each fighter executed his strategy well, Silva did better at his, and Silva won.

The result was frequently boring. What was fascinating, however, was the way Silva behaved in the final seven or eight minutes of the fight. By that point, he was clearly going to win, and Leites was desperately trying to lure him to the ground. Silva wouldn't go, but he started playing with Leites, at one point karate-chopping Leites' ankle when Leites was on the ground, and a couple of times punching Leites in the thigh.

As MMA fans are wont to do, Kyle and I were discussing this odd behavior; after all, who punches a standing opponent in the thigh? I thought Silva was amusing himself while taking no chances. Kyle had a more extreme view: Silva had transcended fighting and now was doing something new, like a jazz musician riffing entirely for his own benefit.

We both agreed Silva could fight again almost immediately. I said he that at this pace, and given that he sustained zero damage, he could fight next month. Kyle correctly observed that Silva could fight the next night!

We were also bemoaning the lack of 185-pounders who would be a contest for him.

The answer came to Kyle: Silva should host his own daily fight show in Vegas!

Think about it: Anderson Silva's Fight Night! Each night, a different middleweight--and when we run out of them, a person from the live audience, maybe a lucky lottery winner--gets in the octagon with Silva and loses to him. Silva would need to do additional training to stay in shape, because only five rounds of work a day wouldn't be enough, but the draw for him and the UFC and the televising network, at least for the first season, would be huge.

For the second season, we might have to up the ante, maybe let the less experienced fighters bring small clubs into the cage, but this show could have legs.

Anderson Silva, Showtime, and HBO, are you listening? If you need a pair of development executives, Kyle and I are available for a very reasonable fee--and a few points, of course. It would only be fair.

Home

I'm home, and though that normally makes me happy, I'm still a bit wistful about leaving the beach. Returning to my normal, work-around-the-clock, high-stress life is going to be tough. I've got to make some changes to lessen the stress and give me back more time. I owe a lot of time to my kids, and I need to get healthy. I suppose it's good to have challenges, such obstacles are character building, and so on. Still, I'm reminded of what my old friend, Randy, used to say: "I'm enough of a character already."

Tonight, we gathered to watch a ton of MMA fights from two promotions: the UFC, and Affliction. The highlight of the UFC card was Anderson Silva proving that he is amazing and one of the only two legitimate candidates for the label of best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world. The peak moment of the Affliction broadcast was the fight with the other contender for that honor, Fedor Emelianeko, who demolished his opponent even more quickly than Silva took out his. Both men are amazing fighters and athletes. If you're into MMA and didn't see these fights, try to catch them in reruns or online.

I'm going to crash soon, but I have a bit more writing to do. I actually liked the work I did yesterday, but today's leaves me nervous. I suppose that's normal, at least for me.

RPS...ouch!

I have to confess it. I cannot hide my shame: Sarah just now whipped me in RPS and is the owner of a five-day winning streak. Ouch.

And now, speaking of said RPS loser-to-be, here's a word from Sarah:

---------------------------------------

CHRISTMAS BREAK (a compilation)

-Beating Dad at RPS 5 (count them 5) days in a row
-Waking up at 1 p.m.
-GET IN THE CAR KYLE
-"Hands on Me" by Vanessa Carlton, "Sleep" by the Dandy Warhols, "Alone on the Sea" by Steel Train, "Glasgow Love Theme" by Craig Armstrong, "Look Up" and "What the Snowman Learned About Love" by Stars
-Food and sleep combined, with a dream that included me actually waking up and making an order for Fettuccine Alfredo (hooray obesity! notrly)
-GLADYS
-EUNICE
-"Murder, She Wrote" and chocolate cake at midnight (HELLZ YES)
-50 lines of Latin translation (Poem 68 - Catullus, lines 1-40, plus the entirety of Poem 74)
-Sarah is Anderson Silva. You are Rich Franklin.

w0rdw0rdw0rd

---------------------------------------

What can I say? I let it all stand, despite the obvious falsehood of the penultimate line and the fact that nobody invited me for the chocolate cake.

I'll have to drown my sorrow in BCP and Zanzibar chocolate. There are always consolations.

Anderson Silva is amazing

Last night, a few of us gathered to watch the latest UFC PPV offering. The main event was a fight between the middleweight (185 lb.) champion, Anderson "Spider" Silva, and the former champion, Rich "Ace" Franklin. Silva won the title from Franklin about a year ago in a fight that ended in the first round with Silva demolishing Franklin. Franklin, who had previously looked unstoppable, spent a long time regrouping (and having his nose reconstructed), then won a couple of fights on his way to earning this rematch. Every MMA fan I know felt Silva would win, but we all hoped Franklin would make it a real contest.

He did--for all of a few minutes.

Then, Silva took over. He nearly won the fight in the first round, and he destroyed Franklin early in the second.

After the fight, Silva bowed to his opponent, treated him with great respect, and only praised him (via a translator). Silva is a class act, an amazing fighter, and pound for pound possibly the best in the MMA world. If you're at all into MMA and get a chance to catch this fight on replay, don't miss it.