Ortiz vs. Griffin II and UFC 106 Hangover

Some thoughts while I recover from my UFC 106 hangover...

- Forrest Griffin reversed the outcome of his first fight with Tito Ortiz, this time winning via split decision.

- Forrest Griffin's reliance on leg kicks makes him very beatable. But this weakness requires a fighter who can actually catch a leg kick and take Forrest down. Kind of like Rashad Evans.

- Forrest Griffin enters to "Tubthumping" better known as "I get knocked down" by Chumbawamba. Griffin certainly earns points for thematic entrance music.

- Tito Ortiz said he broke his hand in the fight. I am not sure when that injury occurred because I am fairly certain he only threw 0.032 punches in the third round.

- If Cecil Peoples was scoring the bout then Tito Ortiz would have won because leg kicks aren't worth anything. That sentence made my soul die a little bit. 

- Tito Ortiz looked old, he clearly gassed in the third round and will most likely never contend for the title. I hope the UFC is glad they spent a quarter of a million dollars on him and nothing on Dan Henderson.

- Apparently Tito Ortiz had a neck injury during camp on top of the black eye he suffered during a sparring session. Nice to see he had a built in excuse for losing the bout.

- There is nothing more enjoyable then watching drunk people at the bar mimic Bruce Buffer. Especially when they try to do the Buffer 360 and wipe out.

- Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck was one of, if not the weirdest fight I have ever watched. An illegal knee (which didn't really land) plus two eye pokes. Felt like I was watching a Florida Gators football game.

- I think MMA fighters should start wearing tanning goggles to protect their eyes. Right, Anthony Johnson?

- Somehow Johnson vs. Koscheck won "Fight of the Night." I mean, does three illegal blows, disjointed action and no rhythm sound like a "Fight of the Night" to you?

- Koscheck wrestled and won! See, using your best skill set does pay off.

- Ironic tweet of the evening brought to you by Jamie Varner. "Phantom knee but good fight I'dl like to see that again though!" Jamie should know all about "phantom" blows.

- Josh Koscheck proceeded to call out Dan Hardy saying that he wasn't the legitimate #1 contender and that he hasn't beaten anyone. I wonder how Koscheck's teammate, Mike Swick, feels about that....

- Why in god's green earth were we forced to watch Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann on the pay-per view card? Oh yeah, it was because of Karo Parisyan and his painkiller issues. Damn you oxycontin!

- There was a lot of chatter on the internet about Jacob Volkmann's nickname being "Christmas." Maybe Jacob is just a big Chevy Chase fan and really liked the movie Christmas Vacation.

- Speaking of the pay-per view product, who else was pissed that the UFC showed the Davis-Saunders, Grove-Rosholt fights twice tonight? What the hell is the point of the Spike portion if it is going to end up on the paid broadcast.

- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira absolutely obliterated Luiz Cane in under two minutes. It will be interesting to see if 'Lil Nog is in the title picture after just one fight.

- Hey, Amir Sadollah is not a completely overrated fighter as he was able to defeat Phil Baroni. Sadollah was in trouble early (how the f*** did that happen?) but bounced back to win.

- Joe Rogan kept saying "weather the early storm"  in the Sadollah-Baroni fight. Basically this is a code phrase for "the guy's lungs explode after 2 minutes of exercise!"

- For those readers who are preparing to take the SAT's here is an example analogy for practice. Phil Baroni : stamina as Hummer : gasoline.

- I know why Phil Baroni gasses so quickly. It is because his body was burnt to a crisp in a tanning bed. That shit is tiring!

- Ben Saunders KO's Marcus Davis via knees from the Thai clinch. Now if Saunders can do this against a fighter who is taller than 5'8" I will be impressed.

- Ben Saunders, "I hope I can be in his [Marcus Davis] situation in ten years." What, you want to be a gatekeeper?

- Kendall Grove got his ass kicked for three and half minutes but was then able to pull off a triangle choke to defeat Jake Rosholt. I guess this puts Grove back to where he was in the division three years ago. Good for him.

- Brock Larson was deducted two points for illegal blows in the first round of his fight Brian Foster. Foster came out in the second round pissed and TKO's Larson.

- The WEC welterweight division was completely overrated. My evidence? Exhibit A: Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster. Exhibit B: Brock Larson vs. Mike Pierce. Exhibit C: Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann. Exhibit D: Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger.

- Holy crap, the Mandalay Bay was empty during the preliminary fights. That normally doesn't happen at an UFC event. I guess this means we are getting closer to boxing. That means mainstream acceptance. Woohoo!

- We have a tie! Caol Uno and Fabricio Camoes fought to a majority draw due to a point being deducted from Camoes.

- George Sotiropoulos defeated Jason Dent. Can't wait to see him on the pay-per view card for UFC 110 in Australia.

SBN coverage of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2