The Big Day Came and Went

Alot of people complained about the UFC 75 card, and I never understood why. I thought that, while the undercard was mediocre, the main card fights like Bisping vs. Hamill and Kongo vs. CroCop were interesting, and I expected the title fight between Henderson and Rampage Jackson to be exciting.

The undercard met its expectations. Marcus Davis put on the most exciting show of the night, and the only submission, when he caught Paul Taylor in an armbar just past the 4 minutes mark in the first round. Taylor made it a war and proved that he is definitely a deserving fighter with solid standup, though his groundgame still needs work.

Houston Alexander, the rising star of the UFC's ever-improving lightheavyweight division, stopped Italian Alessio Sakara with strikes at 1:01 in the first round. While there are still doubts about Alexander's gas tank, there are none about his power and will. Alexander will be an exciting opponent, whoever he fights next.

Brit Terry Etim dropped a decision and though the rest of the undercard finished their fights, it was nothing to write home about.

Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill was much closer than anticipated, with Hamill displaying powerful wrestling and heavy striking, but losing a controversial split decision. While many of my fellow Americans are upset that Hamill's power and ability to take top position didn't win the fight, I was happy that his lay-and-pray tactics weren't rewarded by the judges.

In the biggest upset of the night, Cheick Kongo won a decision over Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic, breaking Filipovic's ribs with a body kick at the beginning of the fight. Despite the debilitating injury and painful slowness on the part of CroCop, the bigger, stronger Kongo was unable to finish the veteran and had to resort to winning on the judges scorecards.

Despite a passable performance standing up from Kongo, the night wasn't a bad showing for him. He displayed some groundnpound, an aspect of his game that we haven't ever seen before, probably because it was the focus of his training with Jaunito Ibarra. (it was a weakness that has been exploited in past bouts) Kongo is a standup phenomenon, and his ability to beat CroCop on his feet puts him in my list of top 5 strikers in the heavyweight division, running close with CroCop, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. He's in good company and good standing in the UFC heavyweight division and I think he's poised to get the winner of the upcoming matchup between Brandon Vera and former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, which, if he wins, will put him in title contention.

The biggest fight of the night was a matchup between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Dangerous" Dan Henderson, the UFC and Pride 205 pound champions, respectively. While Henderson dominated the fight early on, he didn't overwhelm Jackson with his Roman Greco ability and Rampage eventually recovered to win unanimous on the judges scorecards.

Quinton is the first fighter to unify a UFC and Pride belt. His next matchup is unknown, but it could very well be against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who beat Jackson badly when they met in Pride. If it is, Jackson will, once again be the underdog, as Shogun is considered by many the #1 lightheavyweight in the world.

The event was an interesting segueway and, despite a mediocre undercard and some main card contreversy, it was a history making night, as the UFC unified the 205 pound title.

Now, I'm looking forward to upcoming events like the next Ultimate Fight Night, taking place on September 19, and UFC 76, which will follow that Saturday. Both of those events look promising.

UFC 75: A Quick Preview

I'll give my major preview to the upcoming event later this week, but I though it would be worth starting off on early, since it's going to be a big event. It's the first title fight outside of the United States in a long time, and it's going to be the first title fight broadcast Free on Spike TV.

I should probably say first that Quinton Jackson vs Dan Henderson was a momentous matchup anyway. It was the first fight (hopefully the first of many) to unify a UFC belt and a PRIDE belt.

Henderson, who holds the PRIDE 205 pound and 185 pound titles, has been fighting overseas for a long time. When he signed with the UFC it was called into question whether he would get a title shot straight away. After Quinton Jackson, a former competitor in the PRIDE division that Henderson champions, defeated Chuck Liddell to take the UFC 205 pound title, it made sense that Henderson should get a title shot.

While many people think that over seas stars should get a warm up fight in the Octagon, it doesn't make sense for a guy with a belt. There are too many logistical problems.

Does the fight become a title fight?

Does his opponent have to earn the right to be a contender for his belt?

How does someone earn the right to fight for a belt in a division they don't belong to?

There are just too many issues (and if the incoming fighter loses his debut the consquences are really problematic).

Jackson v Henderson is a matchup that is interesting, because Jackson was dominated thoroughly by two of the top PRIDE 205ers, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (both have signed contracts with the UFC). Henderson defeated Silva for the title very recently, and this will be his first title coming into a fight as the PRIDE champion at 205 pounds.

There is definitely some extra pressure on Henderson, as he is the only fighter in the world to hold 2 belts in a major organization, and alot of people are wondering what will happen if he defeats Jackson to become the unified champion at 205. He could fight a challenger at 205 or he could drop down to 185 to unify the UFC and PRIDE titles in that weight class. Either way, there are going to be people who disagree with the move, but either way, it's going to make for an exciting matchup.

If Jackson wins, he will move up a spot in the lightheavyweight rankings where he is currently hanging between number 3 and 4, close to tied with former PRIDE 205 pound champion Silva (Silva is returning to the UFC after two very tough losses to heavyweight Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic and Henderson).

Jackson currently tails Shogun and Henderson in most rankings, so defeating Henderson will move him into the undisputed #2 spot and give him the chance to fight Rua soon, as Rua may be considered a #1 contender once he has made his UFC debut at UFC 76.

Both fighters have a belt to lose and a belt to gain, and they know that they are a week away from making MMA history. The best part is that I'm not going to have to pay to watch it.

Winning Europe: The UFC's War To Expand

UK MMA poster boy and TUF 3 winner Michael Bisping.

I would be lying if I told you that Americans are "bringing" mixed martial arts to the UK. It's existed for many years and the community continues to grow.

Alot of people would say that British mixed martial arts are a lower cailber than American organizations are, but the UFC wants the UK market badly.

UK is the gateway to Europe, and fighters like "The Ultimate Fighter 3" lightheavyweight winner Michael Bisping and up-and-comer Terry Etim are their best bet.

The same way Americans love to cheer for their hometown boys, British fans go crazy for Bisping and he's fast becoming the UFC's European posterboy. He and Etim have already been announced as members of the UFC 75: Champion vs Champion card to be held in the UK. It will be the UFC's second event in the UK this year and will be the first time the UFC has attempted to unify a title with one from the recently liquidated (after being bought out by UFC step-parent company Zuffa) Pride Fighting Championships.

Dan Henderson vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will prove a high quality fight and will definitely do well in terms of American pay-per-view buys, but the time change may make it harder for American audiences.

Still, the UFC is trying to give the European fans something to be excited about, and with the main card bouts between the Brit Bisping and American archrival Matt Hamill (they are both very respectful, but it's no secret that Bisping doesn't like Hamill) as well as attractions for mainland Europe in the bout between Frenchman Cheick Kongo and Croatian Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic.

For all of the American MMA fans, we may not see the marketing, but the UFC is going global. We are no longer the soul patrons of the greatest fight-show on earth, and it's going to take some getting used to, but, in the end, it'll be a good thing.

After all, a world stage will bring us better fights and raise the level of competition that much higher.

Inside CroCop v Kongo: Underrated and Written Off

Mirko Filipovic vs Cheick Kongo may be the greatest standing matchup ever.

Even Joe Silva and the other UFC brass responsible for putting this matchup together don't seem to realize the magnitude a fight like this can have, the amount of impact this matchup can have.

Cheick Kongo is an up-and-comer. He's 10-3-1 in professional mixed martial arts competition, but the man is a complete monster on his feet. He's been KO'd once in his career by Dutch kickboxer Gilbert Yvel. Since being stopped by Yvel, he has not been stopped and, honestly, has looked unstoppable on his feet. He's stopped 7 of his 10 victories with his incredible striking ability, but it's more than just his precision and power.

Cheick Kongo is a monster. He's 6 feet and 4 inches tall, but he's built like a Ford F150. He's fast, agile and ripped, everything that a striker should be in terms of physique and raw athleticism.

When Kongo steps into the cage at UFC 75 he will be staring down, as Joe Rogan put it, "the scariest man ever to walk out to Duran Duran music."

Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic doesn't beat people, he destroys people. His striking is, beyond a doubt, the most percise and explosive skill in MMA. He holds a professional MMA record of 22-5-2 and has stood across the ring from more top ten fighter than any other heavyweight.

CroCop has a left leg that can really only be described as the most powerful tool in professional sports. It broke the leg of Judo Gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. It made giants like Bob Sapp and Josh Barnett just give up. It has claimed KO's over Wanderlei Silva and Igor Vovchanchyn.

Mirko has, perhaps, the greatest highlight reel in the sport and, while Kongo's career is still in it's beginning stages, he has proven that he is a monster standing up.

This is a fight that will not go to the ground. It'll be a kickboxing match between the giant Frenchman Kongo and the 212 pound Croatian Senator and anti-terrorist officer known as CroCop.

I'm not going to make serious, major predictions about the outcome of the fight, though I have my bet on CroCop, I think that this will be a bout worth TiVoing, but in case you don't, it'll be on youtube the next day.

Highlight reels for both fighters:

Cheick Kongo

Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic

Thank you to whoever did the highlight reels. They're really well done, especially the CroCop one.