UFC 130 Recap

UFC 130 is in the books and as we set up for a busy MMA summer this event could end up being some what forgettable as a whole it did provide some impressive individual performances.  The good we saw was a  Middleweight push him self into the top 10 rankings and potentially a future title contender, a high light reel KO that will get consideration for the best of the year, and one of the best grappling bouts of the year with potentially the next bantamweight title challenger emerging from it.  The bad was the original main event being cancelled and replaced with a bout that most thought was somewhat lackluster.  Also the co main event was less than stellar with both competitors running out of gas.


Quinton Jackson defeated Matt Hamill by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
My Prediction Jackson by TKO 2nd Round
Most of the opinions I have seen have not been the most positive about this bout.  It certainly wasn't Fight Of The Night caliber but there certainly was aspects of it that I enjoyed.  Rampage's takedown defense for one was pretty darn impressive stuffing 17 takedowns is not an easy task when they are coming from Matt Hamill.  I really have to think that he could of gotten the KO win if it wasn't for the supposed broken hand that Rampage had. $$


Future match ups to make:
Jackson- Timing could be everything for Rampage as he could very well find him self in a title shot with Jon Jones. If not a rematch against the winner of Shogun/Griffin could make sense.
Hamill- I would like to see a previous bout with Brandon Vera that was cancelled due to an injury to Hamill re-scheduled.


Frank Mir defeated Roy Nelson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
My Prediction Nelson by Decision
Not much can be said about this one, Nelson gassed and couldn't stop Mir from taking him down but I can't agree with the one judge that gave a 10-8 Round for Mir.  This is the 2nd straight "ugly" win for Mir and it wasn't just Nelson that looked really gassed during this one. $


Future match ups to make:
Mir- I think Lesnar's return is too far out to have Mir on the shelf so I could see Mir taking on a winner of an already booked match like the Schaub vs Nogueira bout.


Travis Browne defeated Stefan Struve by KO 4:11 1st Round
My Prediction Struve by TKO 1st Round
We've seen 2 front kicks, a spinning back fist and a flying knee but Travis Browne's KO over Stefan Struve will surely go down as one of the best traditional punch KO's of the year. $$$$


Future match ups to make:
Browne- I'd like to see Browne matched up with Roy Nelson.


Rick Story defeated Thiago Alves by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

My Prediction Alves by TKO 2nd Round

Story came through in this bout with a very impressive performance in a pretty entertaining fight overall.  Aside from losing the 3rd Round Story did a good job keeping Alves off his game by staying in close and clinching with Alves and takedown attempts. I have seen some outrage over the score of this bout but I had it 29-28 my self with Story winning the first 2 rounds.

$$$

Future match ups to make:

Story- He's in the top 10 now and a fight with another ranked fighter such as Josh Koscheck should happen.

Brian Stann defeated Jorge Santiago by TKO 4:29 2nd Round

My Prediction Stann by TKO 2nd Round

This fight went pretty much as expected as least from my point of view.  Stann nearly finished Santiago late in the 1st round and quite honestly I'm surprised it lasted that far into the 2nd. $$1/2

Future match ups to make:
Stann- With alot of the top middleweights already tied up with booked fights we'll probably have to wait for some winners to emerge to really get an idea for Stann's next opponent but fighting the winner of the Maia vs Munoz bout or Wanderlei Silva if he gets by Chris Leben would both be great bouts.

Demetrious Johnson defeated Miguel Torres by Unanimous Decision (29-28. 29-28, 29-28)
My Prediction Torres by Decision
Controversial? yes, entertaining? heck yes.  As I mentioned in my intro this fight was a great grappling contest which I'm sure by December 31st. 2011 I'll still consider one of the best of year. $$$$
\Future match ups to make:
Johnson- If not an imediate title shot a #1 contender fight with Joe Benavidez would be highly entertaining.


Tim Boetsch defeated Kendall Grove by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
My Prediction Grove TKO 2nd Round
$


Gleison Tibau defeated Rafello Oliveira by Submission 3:28 2nd Round
My Prediction Tibau by Decision
$$$


Michael McDonald defeated Chris Cariaso by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)
My Prediction McDonald by Submission 2nd Round
$1/2


Renan Barao defeated Cole Escovedo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
My Prediction Barao by Submission 2nd Round
$$

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