The second UFC on FOX went down last night and the two main fights went according to plan. That is the UFC’s plan for upcoming fights that the fans will want to see. The more cards the UFC holds, the more questionable decisions we are going to see, and in my opinion we saw a terrible one in the co main event.
The fight in question is the Michael Bisping versus Chael Sonnen to determine who is next in line to contend for Anderson Silva’s middleweight belt.
Sonnen was the clear favorite coming into the fight and never stops running his mouth trying to set up a rematch with Silva. His mouth and the UFC’s desire to have the most hated man in mixed martial arts try to defeat the pound for pound king might have won him the fight, not what he did in the octagon against Bisping.
Chael Sonnen won a three round decision, two rounds to one and will get his rematch. Many observers, including myself, had Bisping winning the first two rounds and that would have given him the victory. He landed more shots, was more aggressive, and clearly controlled the octagon in the first ten minutes. Sonnen scored takedowns in round three, yet did very little when he was in a dominant position. One of the judges somehow gave all three rounds to Sonnen, I think he missed the entire fight.
The judges in mixed martial arts is one of the sport’s only problems and people in the UFC are on record saying that exact thing. They tend to “remember” just the last minute of a five minute round way too often and it’s becoming a problem to many fans and people in the sport.
I clearly think the judges got it wrong and Chael Sonnen and the UFC will get the fight they wanted. If this continues to happen, MMA will turn into boxing which is currently in the shitter.
The main event was an easy one to score for the judges. Rashad Evans dominated and won every second of every round over an outclassed Phil Davis.
The Evans victory will set up a grudge match with former friend and training partner, the current light heavyweight tiltle holder, Jon “Bones” Jones. That fight will take place in April on pay per view.
Rashad Evans was simply too much for Phil Davis who looked like a deer in headlights once the opening bell sounded. Rashad landed better strikes, scored easy takedowns, and man-handled Davis for twenty five minutes.
Full results:
MAIN CARD (FOX)
- Rashad Evans def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Chael Sonnen def. Michael Bisping via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chris Weidman def. Demian Maia via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
- Evan Dunham def. Nik Lentz via TKO (doctor's stoppage) - Round 2, 5:00
- Mike Russow def. John-Olav Einemo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Cub Swanson def. George Roop via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:22
- Charles Oliveira def. Eric Wisely via submission (calf crusher) - Round 1, 1:43
- Michael Johnson def. Shane Roller via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lavar Johnson def. Joey Beltran via KO (punches) - Round 1, 4:24
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)
- Chris Camozzi def. Dustin Jacoby via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 3, 1:08
The fact that The Ultimate Fighting Championship is airing on FOX is great for the sport. All but one fight of ten fight card aired on either FUEL TV or FOX, and that is another huge way to gain additional eyes. That all being said, questionable decisions will turn the most hard core fans away if it continues to happen. Let’s hope the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts continues to work on this problem