Some of this may seem stupid after I post another topic, but I wrote this up last night before the article I'm about to post was written.
Cote/Belcher
Cote looked pretty good considering that he was fighting for the first time in like 20 months. Belcher was definitely a tough fight for him to return to, but I felt like he held his own. The biggest surprise for me I guess would be his cardio which is really hard to regain when you're only training and not actually fighting. It was only 1 and a half rounds, but he looked good and active the whole way. Obviously it was that huge slam by Belcher that pretty much finished off Cote, but I'm sure Cote will be back and even better next time. Meanwhile, Belcher continues to call out Anderson Silva, but I'll continue to doubt his chances against Silva especially since he wasn't really able to even control Cote who has been out of action for so long.
Kimbo/Mitrione
Wow...Mitrione's leg kicks were impressive. Or maybe Kimbo's inability to check them was just that bad. I don't think it's any surprise that kicks to Kimbo's legs are one of the ways to beat him (i.e. Houston Alexander), but Mitrone didn't strike me as a guy that would go out there and chop him down with kicks. I really thought he was more of a boxer type striker (well...boxer without the fancy footwork). It was a great start to the fight with those huge slams by Kimbo, but it quickly got sloppy on the ground. Mitrione wasn't able to really put on any tight submission attempts and Kimbo just tried to power out of them instead of defending himself intelligently. There's still a lot of work to be done by both fighters, but at this point in time, it looks like Mitrione has surpassed Kimbo in terms of skill.
Stout/Stephens
I really enjoy watching Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout fight. He's not the most powerful striker, but he's very good technically and is always active. He uses good angles and combinations and he'll just bang with you. It was a great back and forth fight for all 3 rounds, a fight worthy of fight of the night. I'm fairly surprised at the decision though, especially the 30-27 score by one of the judges. I thought Stout won that last round hands down. Personally, I had Stephens with the first round and Stout with the last 2 rounds for Stout winning 29-28.
Koscheck/Daley
Koscheck is one of the better overall fighters in the UFC. World class wrestling, everything else is pretty much above average, so it wasn't surprising to see him just go out and wrestle with Daley when he's at a disadvantage in the striking game. For the first round, that potential illegal knee was a little puzzling to me. After the knee when Kos was just laying there, it seemed like there was blood on the bridge of his nose, which I'm wondering where that came from as I don't recall Daley doing much at all while on his back. Not too sure what to make of the first round other than that Kos won 10-9. More of the same in the next 2 rounds and Kos is now the next TUF coach opposite GSP. And that punch by Daley after the fight...not cool. I'm kind of hoping Dana White releases Daley now because of that. He's a good talent and may light it up in another organization, but there's no room for that kind of stuff in MMA and more specifically the UFC.
Shogun/Machida
The only thing I liked about Machida was his entrance music, so yeah...obviously cheering for Shogun to win. And you know what, Shogun delivered again. Absolutely no doubt about it this time around as he handed it to Machida. Once he knocked Machida down, he just started raining down the punishment and even knew it was over before the referee stopped it. Great sportsmanship by getting off Machida once he knew he was out and I'm looking forward to Shogun's reign. I wonder if Anderson Silva might move up to fight at LHW now that Machida is no longer champ. In conclusion, SHO-FUCKIN-GUN!!!
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Subject: UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 
Sun May 02, 2010 5:14 pm
