Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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The first UFC fight card of 2011 has come and gone and it was a good one. The fans at the MGM in Las Vegas and everyone watching on pay per view tuned in and saw a solid night of mixed martial arts action.

The main event for the lightweight title was very entertaining but left a very bad taste in a lot of mouths.

Champion Frankie Edgar showed a ton of heart as he was dominated in the first round and out on his feet. Gray Maynard rocked him with a huge combination just seconds into the fight. Maynard stalked him for the entire round but just couldn’t finish the fight. Edgar looked out of it but did enough so the ref had to let the fight continue.

 

The second round was all Edgar as Maynard was regrouping from throwing nearly one hundred strikes, most of which landed. Edgar didn’t do a lot of damage in round two but did get his bearing backs and land some very solid punches.

 

Rounds three thru five were very close and hard to score. The action was back and forth and neither fighter was able to impose their will or score and takedowns. When fighters let the judges decide their fate, who the hell knows what is going to happen.

I scored the fight three rounds to two in favor of Gray Maynard. The first round was easily a 10 to 8 round so my score card would read 48 to 46 in favor of the challenger. One judge had the same score I did, another 48-46 Edgar and the third and final judge scored it even at 47-47. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a draw.

Even as a huge Gray Maynard fan, I have no issue with the scoring and the result. Both fighters were impressive and I want to see a third installment and a clear cut winner. It has already been announced by the UFC that this is exactly what will happen. Number one contender and WEC champion Anthony Pettis will have to wait a little longer to get his shot.

In the co-main event, Brian Stann earned a lot of respect in his impressive knockout win over Chris Leban. I pegged Stann as a fighter who would be outclassed by Leban and I was dead wrong. He stood and traded and got the upper hand and looked impressive doing so. While I don’t believe Stann will ever be a UFC champion, he does but on a hell of a show as he comes to band and entertain the crowd.

The most impressive performance of the night goes to Dustin Poirier. He took on the number one contender in the 145 pound weight class Josh Grispi.

Grispi was supposed to facing champion Jose Aldo before Aldo was injured. Talk about a letdown. Poirier dominated from start to finish and derailed those title hopes for Grispi. Poirier showed a excellent stand up game and beat the living hell out of Grispi for fifteen full minutes. I believe both fighters have very bright futures and look forward to seeing their next fights in the UFC.

Full fight card results:

Champion Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard declared a draw (48-46, 46-48, 47-47) - lightweight championship fight

Brian Stann def. Chris Leben via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:37

Thiago Silva def. Brandon Vera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Dong Hyun Kim def. Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Clay Guida def. Takanori Gomi via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 4:27

Jeremy Stephens def. Marcus Davis via knockout (punch) - Round 3, 2:33

Dustin Poirier def. Josh Grispi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brad Tavares def. Phil Baroni via knockout (strikes) - Round 1, 4:20

Diego Nunes def. Mike Brown via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Daniel Roberts def. Greg Soto via submission (kimura) - Round 1, 3:45

Jacob Volkmann def. Antonio McKee via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

All in all it was a very solid night of fights. 2011 is going to be a great year for mixed martial arts. The sport of boxing is in a huge slump right now and the mma world will be the benefactor of that. The UFC is getting even bigger and better, enjoy the ride.