UFC 102, small number of beers

Real swingy card this, as those that read my last post will know, I was looking forward to this card quite a lot, and for the most part it didn’t disappoint.

Brandon Vera and Krystof Soszynski was dull, to put it mildly. I had Vera winning it 30-28, chopping the second. Vera’s striking was better in the first, landing more kicks and punches, but without any real power, second was closer and Soszynski was able to control with the clinch more, but the third was clearly Vera’s as the Polish Experiment looked to be gassing somewhat in the latter half of the round. No need to catch up on this one if you missed it.

Marquardt – Maia was one I was looking forward to a lot. Quite a few writers I respect had Marquardt as a solid bet even at the -170 or so that he was at, which I didn’t really get, thought Maia would at least be a live dog. Of course, this was dependent on Maia getting it to the ground, and he got to the ground via Marquardt’s first punch. Oh dear. It’s a shame when you’ve got two contrasting styles and what should turn out to be a really interesting ground battle, and it’s over in 20 seconds.

Leben – Rosholt was decent, I don’t care for either fighter much really. I gave the first to Rosholt, Leben didn’t do a huge deal with strikes, and while they were level in number of takedowns, Rosholt did a little bit more with his. Can understand that being given either way, but the second was obviously Leben’s round, his striking was much better and more consistent. A potentially pivotal third round resulted in Leben just getting subbed very quickly.

Hague and Duffee is worth watching, because it was over faster than a Usain Bolt 100m.

Jardine – Silva was also pretty quick, seemed like somewhat of a flash knockout by Silva, somewhat unexpected but it was always going to be fairly close.

Herman – Simpson is another fight worth watching, Simpson ran Herman over like a train in a very impressive first round, with Herman looking like he injured his knee badly late on. If there was doubt before, it was confirmed early in the second when it went ping. Don’t think he should have come out for it really.

Couture – Nogueira is one that you have to see if you haven’t done so already. Possibly one of the best obvious 30-27 fights I’ve ever seen, this was back to vintage Big Nog after the farce that was the Mir fight, it was only Randy being Randy that prevented this being stopped, which Minotauro had plenty of chances to do but couldn’t quite manage it. I wasn’t overly interested in this fight prior to it, but it surpassed expectations by a long way. Nog should get the next shot at Lesnar, which is going to be in 2010 at some point seeing how Carwin is lined up for him first. As for Couture? Don’t know, personally I like him moving down to 205 (again) as he’s clearly never going to beat Lesnar, and I don’t see how he beats Nogueira either in a rematch. Only trouble is is that division is extremely crowded. A somewhat logical fight would be against Forrest Griffin, that’d definitely sell tickets and I think it makes sense for both fighters, neither is anywhere near a title shot right now, but could angle towards a contenders’ fight with a win.

The bonus Aurelio – Dunham fight saw Marcus get screwed in my opinion. First round was Dunham’s, this is obvious. Stayed on the feet, he outstruck him. Final round was Aurelio’s, this is obvious, got the takedown early, threatened to finish, Dunham offered nothing after escaping. The second round is debatable, but the striking was a lot closer and Aurelio got the takedown, controlling a decent chunk of the round. Can understand a 29-28 either way (I obviously had it to Aurelio), but how the hell did one judge give it 30-27? That’s just insane.

Some quick beers:

203 – Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%) – 8, very nice dark beer, with hints of treacle and fruit amongst other things

204 – Rudgate Brewski (4.1%) – 6.5, light ale, initially mundane, but improves, slightly floral with a dry aftertaste

205 – Williams Brothers 80/- (4.2%) – 7.5, more or less what you expect from an 80/-, and it does it well