UFC 76 Knockout Decision

     The event last night wasn’t as exciting as it could have been but there were still some great fights. We will start with probably the most exciting fight of the night, Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin. Once again the lighter weight classes steel the show, this was a grappling clinic. For a newer fan of the UFC it may not have seemed very exciting but it was truly a great example of two guys that really know how to roll. Tyson Griffin had some amazing escapes and Thiago was constantly trying to get him in some sort of submission. In the end it came to a decision with Griffin taking the win but he was the clear winner. I wouldn’t say he completely ran away with it but he did clearly dominate.
     Next we had Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Lyoto Machida and again we see a Japanese fighter having a tuff time getting into the UFC. I don’t know what it is but you get a lot of bad ass Japanese fighters coming over and they don’t seem to do well. Machida dominated the entire fight and I will give it to Nakamura for hanging in there for the full three rounds. This was also a unanimous decision for Machida.
     Then we had Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez, this was a fight I was really excited to see. I had predicted Fitch to win but got a lot of push back with people saying that Diego is primed and ready to go and plus he needs to get a win since he is coming off of a loss. But I think Diego is a very heady guy and still shaken about losing to his nemesis Josh Koscheck. This was a great fight and Fitch wasn’t having any of Diego’s typical tactics. Diego went in to shoot several times and the majority of the time Fitch stuffed him and stayed on his feet, or if he was taken down it didn’t take him very long to get back up for reverse the take down. Fitches ground game is sorely under rated and his is definitely a force to be reckoned with. However, he only won by a split decision. Personally I think he was robbed and would love to here why one of the judges had Diego as a clear winner, but this is why they always say, “Don’t leave it to the judges.”
     Alright now we have another crossover fighter coming into the UFC, I will stick to my guns and say anyone crossing over into the UFC that is supposed to be a big deal is going to have a hard time. It is not because they are not a good fighter but rather it is just a different game. Some differences may seem small, but small differences are what can determine the winner of a fight. We had Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Forrest Griffin, this was a great back and forth fight, both were really putting it on the line. This fight was pretty much all standing up which is where both fighters wanted it. By the end of the first round both fighters actually looked gassed already and I was wondering if the rest of the rounds would even be good and if we would see yet another fight going to the decision. They both seemed to summon up some more energy and started exchanging blows. Then with only 15 seconds left in the 3rd round Forrest won by submission with a rear naked choke, where I was at went wild. Finally we had seen a fight finish without going to decision. Forrest was looking great, but I think he may have over trained because he did seem to gas pretty easily in each round. Forrest, listen to Randy when he kicks your but out of the gym!
     Last but not least we have Keith Jardine vs. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. This for sure would be a knock out fight and most likely ending in the first round possibly allowing the UFC enough time to show us one of the under card fights. Nope, this went the distance, all three rounds with Jardine winning by split decision. Wow, I was not expecting that but it seemed like through the entire fight Liddell just couldn’t get his timing on Jardine. Jardine was also using a ton of kicks, I think he wanted to stay as far away for Liddell’s hands as possible which is a smart move. Also with Jardine landing so many kicks to Liddell’s side I was surprised he didn’t have any broken ribs. This was another one where I couldn’t see how there was a split decision and that is hard for me to say because I am definitely a Liddell fan.
All and all there was some great fighting but for a bunch of fights that should have been knockouts there sure were a lot of decisions.