THOUGHTS ON UFC 115

Ok, I'm going to start with the prelims and work my way up.
Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox - Decent fight. Mike Pyle won with a triangle at 4:44 in the 3rd round.

Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick - At first Funch was looking good...well other than that HAIR...then in his UFC debut Patrick wins with a guillotine at 1:48 in the second round.

James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta - They go the distance, and Wilks wins by unanimous decision.

David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda - Miranda wins by TKO at 4:07 in the second round.

Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman - Ok, this is the first fight that I really have something to say about. Yves Lavigne, in his first, and largest blunder of the night stopped a fight that WASN'T FINISHED!! So Wiman had a guillotine on Danzig, but it wasn't locked in. You could see a large space on one side, blood was getting to his brain, everything was still copasthetic. Wiman started shouting at the ref to check Danzig, because he felt him go limp and thought he was out. Lavign comes over and grabs Danzin, who doesn't move because hes posting on Wiman's leg. Lavigne thinks Danzig is out, calls it. Wiman hops up and immediately Mac Danzig throws his hands in the air. HE WAS NEVER OUT!!! Lavigne, for some inexplicable reason won't take it back...This was an awful stoppage that left a bad taste in the mouth of everyone involved. Danzig was so upset that at one point he looked like he might cry. I understand why some people think that Wiman had a part in the horrible call, but hes not the ref hes the fighter, and the decision isn't up to him. It was an honest mistake on his part, and when it was over, it was obvious that he felt awful about it. It was also obvious that he thought he was about ten seconds away from winning, but he was upset that the early stoppage had tainted the fight. Amidst all the boos, he handled it well...as did Danzig after he took a moment to collect himself. The two fighters spoke briefly, hugged, and ended things better than could have been expected. Lavigne flat ruined that fight, and it was disgusting. Official decision: The Worlds Toughest Vegan choked out by guillotine at 1:45 in the first round. It made me sick!

Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham - Good fight, I'll admit I was a little suprised Dunham won. I'd have guessed It would be Griffin. Dunham wins by split decision.

Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald - Lavigne's next blunder of the night was this fight. MacDonald dominates the majority of the fight. I'd say the first two rounds go to him easy. Somewhere in there, he got clipped and Condit probably broke his orbital socket. The swelling started immediately and it was ugly. The third round MacDonald was getting his ass beat. He really seemed to be feeling his injury...who wouldn't. The gripe I have is that there were a few times early in the 3rd round that it should have been called as a TKO, in my opinion...letting him keep going was like letting him get an extra good beating. He was doing very little to fight back, he looked dazed. So Lavigne let it go on until SEVEN SECONDS before the final bell. If he was going to stop it he should have stopped it...not let it go on until MacDonald was most likely SEVEN SECONDS from winning it...and then stopping it. It was at the point where it was dangerous, and he let them keep fighting. He needs to be reprimanded. It is his job to make sure that the fighters don't do anything that could cause any permanant damage, if at all possible. He failed miserably last night.

Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann - Kampmann by unanimous decision. He looked really good!

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry - So several times during this fight Barry looked like he was gonna end the fight. By the end, I had that old Mortal Kombat "Finish him!" voice going through my head, every time he knocked down Cro Cop and backed off. He wouldn't do it, and Cro Cop turned it around and took the win. Ok I understand respect...but this was ridiculous!!! In addition to the backing off, in the middel of the fight they stopped and hugged...twice I believe, and started grinning...it looked like they were having a moment...it was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen...THERES NO HUGGING DURING A FIGHT!!!! And then Cro Cops weird statement addressed to Dana White at the end, about "Don't be stingy" pandering for fight of the night or submission of the night money. Incidently, he DID get submission of the night. This fight was entertaining to me only because it got progressively stranger as it went on. Oh, and also it looks like Cro Cop somehow got his jaw or something broken somewhere along the way. Cro Cop won it by RNC at 4:30 in the third round.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin - I'll admit it, I was suprised by this, although really I shouldn't have been. Liddell got KTFO!! Franklin got his arm broken in the very beginning of the fight, and fought through it, still using the arm. Nobody knew that he had even hurt himself until the interview right after the fight. Franklin didn't play, and Liddell went down...I kinda feel bad for the guy. Dana White personallt guaranteed that this fight was officially Liddell's last UFC fight. The official decision, Franklin wins by KO at 4:55 in the very first round!