UFC 145 Jones proves too much for Evans
UFC 145
The undercard on FX had very few exciting moments. I was a bit disappointed by the lack luster performances of some quality names. Note to some of the fighters on the undercard: “If you want to make it to the main card and make main card money, make it exciting.”
Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio was first up on the PPV card and all three rounds were slow moving with neither fighter having a clear advantage. It was a close and boring fight. Bocek used his superior grappling to grind out a slow moving and unimpressive decision victory.
Mark Hominick vs Eddie Yagin started slow, but quickly picked up speed. Round one saw Yagin landing several solid punches and one sent Hominick to the canvas and opened more than one cut. Round two started with Yagin using his leg kicks to set up his punches and he landed both with regularity. Hominick failed to use his longer reach to keep Yagin away early in the round. Yagin again landed a big right that dropped Hominick. Hominick would come back at the end of the second round to make it very close. Round three started with both fighters bloody and looking haggard. Both fighters stood in the center of the octagon and traded punches making round three very exciting. Yagin finished the fight with a mask of blood and Hominick’s left eye was nearly closed. Yagin won by split decision and I agreed with his victory. Great fight.
Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald ended in devastating fashion with McDonald knocking out Torres at 3:14 of the first round. I thought Torres was the heavy favorite and this excellent knock out by McDonald puts him on the radar at bantamweight. Top notch knock out.
Ben Rothwell vs. Brendan Schuab was one fast and exciting fight. Schaub landed several shots early and I was sure Big Ben was going out. Instead of Rothwell being dropped, he landed one huge shot to Schaub’s temple and knocked him out with one punch. The three big shots Rothwell landed after Schaub was on his back were completely unnecessary. Good first round knockout.
Rory McDonald vs. Che Mills started with Che Mills landing several big shots and ended with McDonald on top for most of round one. McDonald dominated with his take downs and ground and pound. Round two started with more ground and pound and McDonald on top. Mills had several cuts by the middle of the second round and he could do nothing with the ground game of McDonald. Mario Yamasako stopped the fight at 2:20 of the second round. GSP is calling McDonald the next GSP. We may indeed see the young Canadian with the welterweight belt in the very near future. Impressive ground and pound victory.
We have waited so long for the Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans fight, I was just glad it was finally here. Round one was slow with both fighters feeling each other out and trying to find their range. Jones did land a few kicks and Evans landed one nice head kick at the end of the round. I gave round one to Jones. Round two was close, but it went to Jones as well. I thought Rashad could easily have been knocked out by one of the many big shots he took in that round. Jones landed two excellent elbows that had Rashad in trouble, but he was able to continue. Evans landed two substantial shots early in round three. Otherwise, Jones had his way the entire third round. I had him up 3-0 at this point. The fourth round was more of the same. Evans could not solve the mystery of Jones’s reach and unorthodox striking. At this point I am thinking Evans has been shut out and needed a knockout or submission to win this fight. He had lost every round on my score card. After the fifth round I felt as if Jones won the fight 50-45.
No surprises with the decision victory for Jones. This was a good fight, but if I am honest, it was a little disappointing. This was not the most exciting championship fight I have ever seen. This fight makes me think Jones will be around as the champ for quite a while. He beat Lyoto Machida in his last fight and Evans in this one. Two past champions in his last two fights.
I think Rashad should consider cutting to 185 and he would have the advantage of being the largest in the division. I think he would be an immediate impact at middleweight.
Overall, this was a good night of PPV fights.
What we learned from UFC 145.
Jon Jones looked great and he may be around for a long time as the light heavyweight champ for the UFC. Mac Danzig is back. Matt Brown is for real. Travis Brown is good and getting better. He is undefeated and it’s time for a top ten fighter to see if he is a legit threat at heavyweight. Mark Bocek is a great grappler, but boring MMA fighter. Miguell Torres needs to shake up his training because he cannot suffer another loss on his record. He was one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport. I sincerely hope he finds his mojo again. Who would have thought Ben Rothwell could have knocked out Brenden Schuab? I was shocked and happy to see the big guy get his biggest win to date. Rory McDonald will some day be the welterweight champion. When GSP calls you the next GSP, you know you are for real. Rashad Evans needs to drop down to 185 and instantly be a serious threat at middleweight.
