Wrapping up the UFC on FOX 7
After every event MMA Fans and even some Media will make outlandish claims of a certain fight or the entire event being the “best/worst of the year/all-time” and last night’s UFC on FOX 7 was no different. As the card headed into the co-main and main event UFC on FOX 7 was being called the best card of the year all over the internet. Hard to blame them though, 8 of the first 10 fights ended within the first two rounds via knockout and you know how much fans love the knockout.
The final two fights on the card sort of fizzled out the events momentum a bit but “overall” the event did not disappoint. With that said though, that does not mean there weren’t some disappointing moments along the way at UFC on FOX 7. As we turn the page on yet another UFC event and before all the focus goes towards next weekend’s UFC 159, here is a recap of last night’s event.
Disappointment:
Heading into the co-main event the event was on a high and with Daniel Cormier making his highly anticipated Octagon debut the expectations were high. To say his 15 minute clinch dance with Frank Mir wasn’t a disappointment would be a lie, but nerves played a heavy factor and thus he gets a pass. The biggest disappointment of the night was the horrible decision in the Francis Carmont vs. Lorenz Larkin preliminary bout. The fight wasn’t spectacular but as the scores were being read off 29-28 across the board everyone expected Bruce Buffer to say Lorenz Larkin as the winner. Instead it was Carmont who was declared the winner and yet again the scoring in MMA rears its ugly head; just make sure you do not look it directly into its eyes or you’ll turn to stone.
Main Card Surprises:
The opening main card bout between Matt Brown and Jordan Mein being the fight of the night was not a big surprise. What was a surprise was seeing Brown recover from a body shot that nearly ended the fight to finishing Mein off in the second round. The tough as nails Brown has quietly reeled off five wins in a row and impressed everyone last night. Oh but the main card held an even bigger surprise in the next fight between former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson and the Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz. Thomson had a specific gameplan coming into the fight and executed it to perfection in the first round. The heavy dose of leg kicks mixed with lots of side to side movement had Diaz frustrated after round one. The leg kicks diminished in round two but the damage was done, the right knee of Diaz was swollen and the treat of the leg kick left the head exposed. Thomson softened up Diaz with nasty elbows in the clinch and then targeted the head with a high kick that put Diaz on shaky legs. A punch from Thomson and some ground and pound later the referee was stopping the fight at the same time the Diaz camp was throwing in the towel. Thomson is the first fighter to knockout Nate Diaz in his 25th career MMA fight.
No Frank Mir you did not win Submission of the Night! Click the picture to see more photos from the weigh-ins.
Fight Night Bonuses:
Each fighter received a $50k bonus on top of their contracted pay. For the third time this year there were no submissions on a fight card, which is already one more time than it happen in 2012. With no submission bonus the UFC instead handed out two knockout bonuses.
Fight of the Night – Matt Brown and Jordan Mein
Knockout of the Night – Yoel Romero and Josh Thomson
Submission of the Night – None
Attendance:
The HP Pavilion looked full and sounded full but the numbers show it wasn’t completely full. Last night’s attendance was 13,506 for a total gate of $1,333,000 which is nearly spot on to the numbers the UFC 139 pulled in back in November of 2011 (13,832 / $1,268,000). The UFC closed off parts of five different sections last night so their numbers didn’t surpass the four larger attendance totals Strikeforce delivered in the at their former home of the HP Pavilion. With that said though, Strikeforce never came close to last night’s total gate numbers in those four events.
Team Alpha Male:
Sacramento, California super gym Team Alpha Male had a great night at UFC on FOX 7 going three for three. Chad Mendes, Joseph Benavidez and T.J. Dillashaw all scored knockout victories and the wins for Mendes and Benavidez could have earned them a future title shot. Along with the win from Team Alpha Male Urijah Faber at last weekend’s TUF 17 Finale, the guys at from Sacramento are having a great month of April.
Closing thoughts:
Whether or not the UFC on FOX 7 fight card was the best card this year is all subject to one’s own opinion. The card saw a memorable number of knockouts that certainly outweigh everything else and let’s not forget it was all free.
Up next for the UFC is next weekend’s UFC 159 Newark, New Jersey.
Category: Featured, MMA, Strikeforce, UFC
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My brain child is MMAValor, something I had wanted to do for a long time and finally it’s here. Been an MMA fan since TUF season one (play catch up all the time) and the obsession started to grow like a weed and as the sport grows so does the love for the sport. I’m a jack of all trades, a very organized person that rides an emotional roller coaster daily.Subscribe
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