First off, I want to thank anyone that joined me on Twitter last night as I was tweeting LIVE during the UFC 130 PPV. If you haven’t already, you can follow me @savwrestlingmma.
Now, on to the review…
At the end of my UFC 129 Review, I stated that it was a great show, and that UFC 130 would have a lot to live up to. As I sit here reflecting on the show after a good night’s sleep, I don’t think it did.
Not that it was a bad show, because it wasn’t. It’s just that lackluster Main Events will, at times, leave a negative lasting impression. The first three fights of the Pay-Per-View, however, were fantastic.
American Hero Brian Stann gave the Nation what it wanted on this Memorial Day Holiday Weekend with a KO victory over Jorge Santiago in the second round. Thiago Alves and Rick Story fought what I considered to be the Fight of the Night, with Story picking up the Unanimous Decision victory. 6’7” Travis Browne provided us with a highlight reel knockout with his Superman Punch to 6’11” Stefan Struve.
The Co-Main Event saw Frank Mir manhandle “Big Country” Roy Nelson for three rounds to secure the Unanimous Decision win. Nelson proved once again how tough he is by withstanding some vicious ground and pound, but the fact that Mir was in so
much better shape appeared to be a major factor in his dominance. As much fun as Roy Nelson’s jolly persona is, last night’s performance may be a wake-up call for him that a lifestyle change is in order if he intends to compete at the UFC’s highest level.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson put on an impressive, but underwhelming performance in his victory over Matt Hamill. I suspected coming in to the fight that Hamill was going to use his strength to push Rampage around. He would have needed to control Jackson up against the cage, take him down, and grind out a win.
That did not happen.
Hamill never seemed to get off the launching pad, as Rampage was able to keep him at bay with a constant pressure. You could tell that Jackson really wanted to finish the fight in spectacular fashion, but just couldn’t. He revealed afterward that he was fighting with a fractured hand, so that may have played a part in the failure to put Hamill out. Give credit to “The Hammer”,
though, for his ability to hang tough and survive the three round battle.
While I found the overall event to be a mixed bag, the picks that I made in our Roundtable Preview were downright dreadful. Take a look at the results below:
Rob 4-1
Isaac 3-2
Frank 2-3
Brian 2-3
Jenny 1-4
Me 1-4
Scott 1-1 (He only picked the Main and Co-Main Events)
Rob Fletcher is the big winner this time out (Happy Birthday, buddy!).
Next week, The Ultimate Fighter Finale continues what is shaping up to be a busy and exciting month for MMA fans. I can’t wait!
