What a night of fights... It was so good it made me decide to write a blog for the first time and i have been a TL member since TSL 2.
Before i start on the fights i would like to explain why you should give a crap about my opinion. I have been watching fights since i was 10 and analyzing and scoring them since i was 15.
In no way does that make me smarter i just feel like my opinion is a little more educated than the casual fan. I also finished 9th in the 2012 TL MMA pool and missed 3 cards. but enough about me onto the fights. Also even though I have favorite fighters just like anyone i will never let my bias cloud my arguments... its just unintelligent to do so.
Joe Benavidez vs John Moraga
I thought Benevidez was going to walk over Moraga to be honest but he really didn't.
Moraga's kicks were quite effective and he stood in front of Joe which a lot of people are afraid to do. I really think his performance even in a loss did more for Moraga than some people may think he came in and put up an awesome fight against the CLEAR second best fighter in the division. people could argue for Dodson or even McCall but Benevidez in my opinion is a cut above them both.
Andrei Arlovski vs Travis Browne
WOW Just wow a casual fans dream fight these guys threw it all out there and Arlovski showed at 36 that he is still a threat, he wont beat Velasquez in my opinion,yet he had a renaissance performance. Travis Browne is has championship mettle and showed he has a great chin cause some of those shots would have floored a buffalo.
Donald Cerrone vs John Makdessi
I have to throw out there that I really like Donald Cerrone... and im a proud Canadian so this fight was tough for me. Cerrone outclassed Makdessi in almost every way but man did Makdessi come to fight..on short notice against a Championship level opponent. The kick that broke Makdessi's jaw was absolutely perfect shin on face and Cerrone showed alot of Class by not coming forward when Makdessi stopped fighting... If Cowboy doesnt get the next title shot i would be AMAZED. and it may have been just me but did Dos Anjos look a little bit apprehensive when they put the camera on him after the fight or not?
MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Chris Weidman vs Vitor Belfort
The Haters can all leave now
Weidman is and has been legit for a long time. Belfort hit him with his best shots and Weidman showed championship resolve got an EASY takedown and Punished Belfort i counted 47 unanswered shots before herb dean stepped in... In my opinion Chris Weidman isn't even as good as he is going to be yet and he destroys champions he won't get beat for along time... World this is your new untouchable champion. A side note on the Testosterone levels... (I'm not an expert i read a little every time a guy gets suspended) Vitor was approved for TRT so he wasnt technically breaking any rules but his out of competition 1200 score is very slightly above the Normal spectrum of 348-1197ng/dl(nanograms per decilitre)
but his fall to 500 before fight is what is puzzling. (Weidmans stayed at 378 in both tests and he is 8 years younger) so what i am trying to say is i think Vitor bends the rules to the extreme(and he has been caught before for abnormal levels) so do i think he cheated, yes but they let him fight so w/e
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP aka The Fight for Jon Jones belt
Daniel Cormier vs Anthony Johnson
There is no excuse for getting tired at this level. taking nothing away from Daniel Cormier (I believe he proved he is the clear second best in this division as well) Anthony Johnson lost alot of respect from me due to this fight. He was broken and instead of fighting back he gave up . His cardio wasn't there which is inexcusable at a championship level and he stopped fighting in the second round. I honestly think Cormier is the first person he hit that was still there and it really shocked him. Cormier put together an Olympic performance(lol) and Ground Johnson until he gave his back and Cormier finished. DC is now king of the grind but i dont know if he wants to piss Jon Jones off again i didn't work well the first time
I could go more in depth but I have already posted a wall of text so i will digress feel free to discuss my opinions with me in the comments but lets keep our discourse intelligent and unbiased.. Thanks for reading
Til Next Time..