UFC 101

As you may have figured out by now, I like to comment on the UFC fights after I see them. Last night's fight was a major disappointment for me since a) there were no really "good" fights, and b) the two people I wanted to win got beat.

First, Forrest Griffin looked silly in his loss against Anderson Silva. He went in there looking bigger and stronger than the Brazilian, but the fight ended with a beat-down Griffin begging, "No mas!" Unfortunately, the only clip anyone will see from the fight is the portion where Griffin is floored by Silva's right jab, as Silva backpedaled away from Griffin's reckless assault. Up to that point, the real damage was done when Silva clocked Griffin to the floor twice with clubbing shots to his cranium. The jab was just icing on the cake, but because the shot was not that impressive to look at, it will make people think that Griffin was TKO'd by a simple jab. Unfortunate, indeed.

The other fight where I was disappointed in the outcome was BJ Penn v. Kenny Florian. Truth in advertising alert: I do not really like Penn. He's just...I don't know...cocky? irritating? But, that's not the point, is it? He is a very good fighter--I have to give him that. And last night, he proved it again. I really thought that Florian was winning the fight through the third round, although the strategy he employed made for a humdrum affair. Florian's smothering of Penn against the fence served to tire the champ, but it also made for a lackluster first three rounds. In the fourth round, Penn finally decided to get offensive with his BJJ and took the attacking Florian to the mat. He quickly dominated the position and forced Florian into giving up his back. It wasn't long after that when Penn found the rear-naked choke to end the match.

My question is: what took you so long? I believe ego forces fighters into a striking attack when the ground game may be their stronger asset. That's what I detect was happening here. Penn could have ended the fight earlier if he had just taken Florian to the mat earlier in the bout. But, no, he had to come out with a stand-up attack first, thinking that was the best chance.

It resulted in a win, regardless, but I think it could have been just as decisive earlier if Penn had applied a different strategy.

The post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan, however, revealed the real weakness in Penn's game. He said, "I woke up this morning and asked myself, 'why the heck do I put myself through this'?" Penn's mind is weak. He is losing heart. The toil and strain that being a professional fighter requires is dulling his will. I question whether or not Penn will be able to push himself into too many more fights, let alone title defenses.