Mixed Martial Thoughts: UFC on Fox and why Clay Guida shouldn’t have been in the title picture

How monumental was UFC on Fox 1?  It was so monumental that my 5-year-old was allowed to stay up and watch “the fights”.  While she is very aware that daddy is a big fight fan she is also aware that she isn’t allowed to stay up and watch them. Not on this Saturday.

Saturday was a big moment in the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC that I felt that it called for her to be able to watch it.  As 9pm approached I could tell she was starting to fade and instructed her to brush her teeth and to go to bed.  She resisted and whined and finally turned to me and asked if she could stay up ten more minutes while she drew a picture of her and me “watching the fights”.  It’s needless to say that she was allowed to stay up.

Prior to the Main Event on Fox, Facebook was streaming the undercard and unfortunately I wasn’t able to get home in time to watch most of them.  The one fight I was able to watch was the only one I cared about: Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida.

I respect Clay Guida as a fighter, I admire his cardio, and I believe that he belongs in the UFC, but Clay Guida deserving to be in a number #1 contender fight for a shot at the lightweight title?  Absolutely not!

Since Guida’s debut in the UFC I give him two wins over notable opponents.  In five years only TWO notable victories, his first was a split decision win over Nate Diaz that could have gone either way, and most recently he held Anthony Pettis down long enough to get a decision from the judges.  I know some people will read this and say, “What about his wins over Marcus Aurelio, Gomi, and dos Anjos”?

Marcus Aurelio is overrated and does anyone truly believe he could contend for a championship in an elite organization?  Gomi is past is prime and some might put him in the same “overrated” category as Aurelio.  Rafael dos Anjos is too young to be put in the same category as those other two guys but I do believe he is over hyped and won’t be in the title picture for at least two years.

The fight between Guida and Henderson was FOY caliber and it was made possible by Henderson’s ability to not be taken down and be held there by Guida.  Watching Benson Henderson stuff, reverse and out work the workman for three rounds was a thing of beauty and brought major relief to me.  I’m not sure my heart could have taken the possibility of the premiere mixed martial arts organization, having a middle of the pack fighter in the main event for the lightweight title.

If only the main event had been as exciting we wouldn’t have been subjected to the countless articles debating whether or not it hurt the sport.  Just to clear things up for everyone, the UFC’s deal with Fox was NOT contingent on how exciting the Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos fight was.  We all knew it could end at any moment and it did when Dos Santos proved why he is the best striker in the division.

While the fight itself was just over a minute long and somewhat anti-climatic it sets up the possibility of some very exciting fights.  We know that JDS gets the winner of Brock-Overeem but what happens to Cain?

A Frank Mir win over Big Nog puts him a win away from a title shot and who better than Velasquez to stand in his way?  What about the guy who stood toe to toe for three rounds with Dos Santos, Roy Nelson?  The loser of the Lesnar-Overeem will be in need of an opponent and would serve as a great fight for the fans.

It wasn’t too long ago the heavyweight division was lacking depth and we were forced to sit through back to back Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia fights.

The heavyweight division is now as exciting as any other division and boasts one of the nicest and baddest man as its champion.

Until next time, Stay Focus and Support the Sport.

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Ben Henderson, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Clay Guida, junior Dos Santos, Mixed Martial Thoughts, MMA, Opinion, UFC, UFC on FOX

Category: MMA, Opinion, UFC