UFC 83 Musings

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By Michael DiSanto

UFC meet Canada. Canadian MMA fans meet the UFC.

It was a perfect first date. It was so perfect that two records were established in the UFC’s first visit to Canadian soil: more than 21,000 fans crammed into the arena, making it the largest live crowd in UFC history, and Kalib Starnes set a record on the judges’ cards, losing all three rounds of his non-title affair 10-8 on one judge’s card.

Oh yes, Canada’s favorite MMA son, Georges St-Pierre, also regained the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Yep, that is a perfect first date for what is sure to be a long-term relationship between the UFC and Canada.

ARRIVAL OF THE KING, PART 2

He is the Chosen One. George St-Pierre is the total package—young, good looking, extremely personable, and uber talented.

When GSP defeated Matt Hughes to win the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 65 on November 18, 2006, he finally fulfilled his destiny. The question wasn’t whether he would be able to successfully defend the title. The question wasn’t if he would surpass the existing record for most successful title defenses established by the man he just dethroned, but rather by how many.

Of course, he wasn’t able to successfully defend the title even a single time, as GSP’s reign came to a violent end when Matt Serra bludgeoned the title away from him at UFC 69. It was the biggest upset of 2007.

GSP returned to the pinnacle of the sport on Saturday night, stopping Serra with a series of knee strikes with 15 seconds remaining in the second round of their five-round title fight.

It won’t take long for those same conversations to resurface. GSP was so dominant in his win over Serra that many will dismiss the loss at UFC 69 as an explainable aberration—a mere detour in what will surely be a record-breaking title reign.

Whether GSP truly is the dominant, ruthless czar that will rule the 170-lb division for years to come remains to be seen. But the King is back to try yet again to live up to the ridiculously lofty expectations that the sport has placed upon his broad Canadian shoulders.

TITLE HOPEFULS BEWARE: FRANKLIN ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE

UFC 83 served as a vivid reminder that Rich Franklin is far and away the second-best middleweight in the world. The facts don’t lie. He is a perfect 10-0 inside the Octagon against guys not named Anderson Silva. Eight of those wins came inside the distance—seven by knockout or technical knockout. And the five-round beating he gave David Loiseau was so ferocious that Loiseau has only been able to compile a 2-3 record since their March 2006 bout.

Franklin’s thorough dominance of the division is only tempered by his two technical knockout losses to Silva. But those were two bad losses.

Some elite fighters, like Loiseau, do not fully recover mentally from a savage defeat, let alone two. It can chip away at one’s confidence, causing fearless warriors to hesitate, even cower, in the face of adversity.

Travis Lutter, along with many pundits and fans, thought Franklin’s second loss to Silva would have such an effect on the former champion, making him the perfect opponent to use as a catapult into division stardom. During the opening round, Lutter put Franklin’s fight character to the test when he rolled into what appeared to be a picture-perfect armbar.

At that moment, Franklin had the perfect opportunity to quit. Yet, the former champion did not panic. He did not tap out. Instead, he relied on deep ground skills to defend the submission hold and escape danger, and a short time later, Lutter found himself rescued by referee Steve Mazzagatti, as Franklin reminded the world that he is the second-best middleweight in the world.

The problem, however, is Franklin’s position as the division’s No. 2 guy is a veritable No Man’s Land. Despite his impressive win over Lutter, there is no clear path for him to earn a third title fight because Silva’s two wins were so dominant that a third fight between the two is completely devoid of intrigue. Franklin is forced, therefore, to stay active in order to keep himself at the top of his game while he waits for someone else to dethrone Silva. Either that or hope that the fearsome champion decides to head north to light heavyweight in search of new challenges.

Franklin is a master self-motivator. He understands as well as anyone that fighting is as much a business as it is a sport. He will not let his lack of championship prospects derail his career any time soon. He might not be able to beat Silva, but he isn’t letting those two losses affect him against others.

Suffice to say, anyone looking for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Title would be well served to stay far, far away from Franklin. Nobody, other than Silva, is going to make their career Franklin’s expense any time soon.

BISPING FINDS A NEW HOME AT MIDDLEWEIGHT

Speaking of middleweight contenders, Michael Bisping looked terrific in his 185-lb debut. He completely dominated UFC veteran Charles McCarthy, scoring a technical knockout win when the American Top Team fighter was unable to continue after the end of the first round.

The move to middleweight makes all the sense in the world for the Manchester, England fighter. He was a smallish light heavyweight, so a bit of an adjustment to his diet was all that was necessary to get him down to the middleweight limit. Actually, it was so easy for him to make weight that Bisping claims that he did not have to cut any water on the day of the weigh-ins.

If that is true, the proficient striker should consider adding five or ten pounds of muscle mass to maximize his frame for competition. Even though the middleweight limit is 185 lbs (186 lbs for non-title fights), many middleweights weigh 195-200 lbs come fight time. Bisping should follow suit.

Regardless, he looked light on his feet, appeared extremely strong, and definitely did not sacrifice any of his striking power, as evidenced by the beating he handed McCarthy. His arrival in the division could be the most significant move from light heavyweight to middleweight since former champion Rich Franklin did it back in 2004.

QUARRY SHOWS UP TO FIGHT; STARNES MAKES HISTORY

Say what you will about Nate “The Rock” Quarry—criticize his unyielding self confidence, praise his return from career-threatening back surgery, talk about his robotic fighting style. But the one thing fans cannot criticize is his fighting spirit.

Love him or hate him, Quarry shows up to fight each time he steps inside the Octagon. He shows up ready to throw caution to the wind and exchange on the feet with anyone. That gameness resulted in one of the most spectacular knockouts of 2005, only he was on the wrong end of the highlight courtesy of Rich Franklin in Quarry’s lone title challenge to date. Undeterred, Quarry still shows up willing to bang it out each and every fight.

One cannot make the same statement regarding Kalib Starnes.

Fighting in front of a friendly, supportive crowd, the Surrey, British Columbia native put forth a putrid effort on Saturday night, continually opting to backpedal and circle rather than engaging with his aggressive, stalking opponent. Quarry was so disgusted with Starnes’ refusal to fight that he mocked him in the final seconds.

In fact, Starnes’ most aggressive moment was a verbal jab at Quarry’s corner for criticizing his effort. “Why aren’t you in here fighting,” Starnes yelled after a few choice adult adjectives.

Starnes needs to stare into the mirror and ask himself that very question.

Maybe there was some explanation. Maybe he was injured heading into the fight or suffered an injury early in the first round. Or maybe he was more interested in surviving until the final bell than winning.

Whatever the case, he now holds the distinction of being the first fighter in UFC history to lose a fight 30-24 without having to survive a single knockdown, defend a single submission attempt or fight through a deep cut. Not exactly the most impressive way to get into the history books.

HERE COMES CAIN

The UFC heavyweight division has long been the focus of criticism for pundits due to its lack of depth. That changed dramatically over the last few years with the additions of reigning interim champion Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira, Heath Herring and Fabricio Werdum, all established stars overseas before entering the UFC. Things got even more interesting when all-world wrestling superstar Brock Lesnar tossed his hat into the heavyweight mix earlier this year.

UFC 83 served as notice that another heavyweight with tons of potential is ready to throw his name into the heavyweight mix. Cain Velasquez debuted in relative anonymity in an off-television preliminary bout, but make no mistake about it: this guy will be fighting on the main card sooner rather than later.

Velasquez’s amateur wrestling pedigree is impressive. He won a National Junior College Athletic Association championship in his lone season at Iowa Central Community College. From there, he headed to Arizona State and compiled a 50-10 record in two seasons that were punctuated with All-American and Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year honors at the conclusion of the 2005 season.

Nevertheless, one shouldn’t mistake Velazquez for just another wrestler looking for takedowns and ground and pound. He is trained by former world champion kickboxer Javier Mendez at the American Kickboxing Academy, and by all accounts, this guy is an absolute monster in the gym. He is a perfect 3-0 to start his MMA career, including Saturday’s impressive win over Brad Morris.

AKA is a top of the food chain gym with several superstars choosing to call it home. It is the perfect place for a guy like Velasquez to develop his skills for a very real run in the heavyweight division, as evidenced by his quick, efficient knockout win over Morris. Fans need to temper their expectations for the near term because the guy is still nascent in the sport, but this guy has very serious potential. Keep an eye on him.

CLEMENTI MAKING A STATEMENT

I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I classified Rich Clementi as one of the welterweight gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are the guys that a legitimate contender should handle, but they will quickly expose a pretender.

It’s not the biggest compliment to give a fighter, but it is what it is.

Since that time, Clementi has dropped down to his natural weight class and run off two straight UFC victories. The first was a statement submission win over bitter New Orleans rival Melvin Guillard. That was certainly impressive. But his split-decision win over Sam Stout on Saturday night was division altering – at least in terms of Clementi’s standing within the division.

Stout is the real deal at lightweight. He is a legitimate fringe contender—not a guy who is ready to contend with the likes of reigning champion BJ Penn, former champion Sean Sherk or former title challengers Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. He is in that next level of challengers, which is sufficient to give Clementi serious credibility within the division for scoring the upset victory—disputed decision or not.

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