UFC 108: A Night of Early Finishes

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Looking back at the previous fight card I will discuss three people/fighters that impressed me and three that disappointed me.  The individuals listed are not necessarily the fighters who performed the best or worst, but those who surprised me or failed to meet my expectations.

UFC 108 was night of quick finishes which presents the appearance of many impressive and disappointing performances, but with such a short presentation in the Octagon it can be difficult to truly gauge the amount of improvement.  With that being said, let us begin.

Three Who Impressed:

Sam Stout:

Stout's performance was obviously impressive as he dominated Joe Lauzon to a unanimous decision victory.  Before I begin it must be taken into account that Lauzon was coming back from injury about seven months earlier than initially expected.  There are excuses and then there are legitimate issues that affect fights.  This is not intended to diminish Stout's performance (I know it does though), but rather provide insight into why Joe was gassed three minutes into the fight and looked lethargic on his feet. 

Stout's boxing has always been sharp and accurate, if not powerful, so it was not surprising to witness him badger Lauzon on the feet all day.  Despite Lauzon's conditioning, what impressed me from Stout was his ground game.  Stout's takedown defense has always been suspect and I was not thoroughly impressed Saturday, but similar to Brendan Schaub his escape and defensive grappling can mask this weakness.  One example happened early in the fight when Lauzon had a solid hold on Stout's arm and Sam did a great job rolling out of the kimura.  I know Joe was gassed, but he still is a top of the line jiu-jitsu practitioner and Sam was able to stand back up time and time again.   

SBN coverage of UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva

More Analysis After the Jump

Jake Ellenberger:

With Condit's recent adventures I was not sure if Ellenberger's performance against Condit was more due to Carlos being overvalued or Jake's ability.  Regardless of what Condit does, it was Ellenberger's skill set.  Before the fight I mentioned his best chance was to use his wrestling in reverse and keep the fight upright.  Pyle has one of the most active guards and works hard from the bottom, something I thought Jake would try to avoid.  Jake either does not read my work or decided to ignore me, shocker I know, as he went for the takedown early and spent the whole first round with top position.  Ellenberger may not have landed much offense in the first round expect the first and last ten seconds, but he did a great job of fighting smart.  Pyle did all the work and exerted all the energy in the first round; he spent 80 percent of the round keeping Jake in full guard and attempting offense from the bottom (kimura).  Rogan and Goldberg mentioned how good a job Pyle did of controlling Ellenberger, but I saw a young fighter (24 years) fight an intelligent, controlled fight.  Many wrestlers aggression can get them in trouble, but Jake kept his head high and waited for the right moment to explode.  Jake obviously has the power and explosion to finish fights, but if he can bottle the aggression for the right moment he will have a very solid future.  A fighter with his athleticism, power, and wrestling coupled with fight I.Q. is scary combination.

Jim Miller:

Submitting Duane Ludwig is not the most surprising outcome of the night, but what was surprising is the continued striking improvement of Jim Miller.  Duane Ludwig is a very solid striker and far from a punching bag.  In the short time (around 2 minutes) Miller spent on the feet I felt he got the better of the striking, a very impressive feat.  Yes, the counter right hook dropped Ludwig, but he looked impressive before the hook even landed.  Two things from his striking impressed me; the combination and his defense.  MMA fighters do not throw enough combos and when they do they do not mix up punches and kicks enough.  Confusing the opponent is key to slipping something past his defense and Miller's combination that ended with the head kick was proof of that.  It was quick, accurate, and he did not over commit/go for broke.  Also, his striking defense was solid.  I know the fight had just begun, but his hands remained high.  He did not drop his hands which prevented Ludwig from landing any type of difference maker.  In addition, he kept circling with Ludwig.  Many fighters will not move their feet and this allows their opponent pick angles and therefore pick them apart with strikes.  With his only UFC loss coming to Gray Maynard and his only other career loss coming to Frank Edgar, Miller is putting himself in a good position for title contention run.

Honorable Mention: Mark Munoz

Not for his fighting, but his excellent handwriting.  I mean, how did he fit soooo many names on that tiny note card?  He must have excellent penmanship.  Bravo my friend, bravo.

Three Who Disappointed:

Dustin Hazelett: This is obvious and pains me to say it, but what was he thinking.  There is not much to say here because everyone knows he made a huge mistake.  At least Kampmann attempted one takedown.  Daley tells us his takedown defense is better, but until someone comes after him how can we know.  This is a competition, not a showcase.  Forcing an opponent to play your game is how teams/fighters win games/matches.  Hopefully, Dustin learns from this.  It is important to be well rounded, but you should at least try and force the fight into your world.

Thiago Silva:

Where to begin?  Let's start with his third round taunting.  At first I thought it was genius.  He knew he was losing and was trying to bait Rashad into doing something stupid so Thiago could counter.  However, once he rocked Rashad he backed off to taunt him some more.  I have no idea what he was thinking.  Blood is in the water, jump your ass in.

Second, I may not be an Olympic wrestler, but I am pretty sure backpedaling is not an effective takedown defense.  His corner told him to keep circling, but he stood right in front of Rashad.  This is more or less a gift to a wrestler.  He needed to move side to side or press the action by pushing forward.  Moving straight back simply gives the wrestler more room and more time to gain momentum.  All in all though, the loss does not hurt Thiago too much.  There are still plenty of solid match ups for him and he was not getting a title shot with a win against Rashad.

Martin Kampmann:

The fact that Martin acknowledged it in the post fight interview does not change the fact that he gets hit way too much.  It is forgivable when a Mauy Thai world champion knocks you around, but Volkmann is a former wrestler with poor striking.  Volkmann's strength is on the mat, yet he clipped Kampmann time and time again during the first round.  In the end, Kampmann was able to counter Volkmann's "throw wide with both hands, square up, and leave my chin right in front of you style," but he needs to shore up his striking defense.  His TKO losses to Marquardt and Daley are a telling sign that powerful fighters will finish him.  Barros, Condit, and Volkmann are not power punchers so Kampmann's chin can take a shot, but with Koscheck, Alves, Hardy, and now Daley there are four huge punchers near the top of the division.  Kampmann will not earn a title shot unless he fixes this problem.