The Aftermath – UFC 127
When I started going back through the UFC video catalog after I became a hardcore dedicated fan, there were some shows that seemed left of center. Patrick Cote was a contender for Tito Ortiz’s belt? How did that happen? Vitor Belfort beat Randy Couture? How did that happen. There have been some flukey shows in UFC history. That’s how I feel about UFC 127. It was quite the flukey show.
When new MMA fans go through the catalog, they’ll probably wonder, “Who in the blue hell is Brian Ebersole?” And, “Why did Michael Bisping knee Jorge Rivera right between the eyes when he was down?” Or, “How did George Sotiropoulos screw up his title shot?” The show was just odd, but I enjoyed it for its odd charm. The rest of my FGB crew didn’t like it was much as I did.
Here’s what we thought of the UFC 127:
Duan
Thumbs Leaning Down
Best Fight: Dennis Siver vs. George Sotiropoulos
Worst Fight: Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke
There was nothing particularly wrong with this show per se. It just lacked any sense of finality. There wasn’t a clear-cut winner or stand out performance in any of the three major fights on the card. Sotiroploulos/Siver could have been decided on a coin flip. It was a stupid match to make in the first place as I alluded to in the preview. A future main event was lost with nothing gained. I believe the Bisping fight would have finished in much the same way regardless, but the result was tainted by the illegal knee in round one. And then the main event ending as a stalemate really just capped the whole thing off. I thought Penn clearly won the first two rounds before losing the last one big. My card was 29-28 Penn, but a draw was probably a fair reflection of the fight overall.
Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Jorge Rivera vs. Michael Bisping
Worst Fight: None that I watched were any worse than the others
Very inoffensive show with nothing particular memorable or worth getting excited about.
Jim
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Brian Ebersole vs. Chris Lytle
Worst Fight: Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Thoughts – An average card with nothing standing out as extraordinary, nor anything really bad. I was sad to see Sotiropoulos’ progress stall, but am hopeful that he goes to work on the holes in his game and comes back stronger in his next fight. Bisping has positioned himself as the biggest heel since Koscheck. Was the illegal knee intentional or was he just caught up in the emotion of the fight? Hard to say, but his antics afterward certainly threw another log on the proverbial fire. And then there was the “controversy” over the main event decision. Having only watched the fight once, I tended to lean toward a Fitch decision, but the first two rounds were close enough that I could see them potentially going to Penn. Had the fight gone one more round I think we would have seen a Fitch victory, but we’ll never know for sure. 127 is worth catching if a friend has it recorded, but not worth spending the money on the replay in my opinion
GG
Thumbs In The Middle, Pointing Up
Best Fight: Brian Ebersole vs. Chris Lytle
Worst Fight: Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda
With all of the new ways UFC promotes their shows, I was able to see every fight on this card except for one. There were fights on their Facebook page, on Ion before the show, and then the show itself. I’m not sure what makes a better viewing. Do you get more entertainment value seeing only the top 5 fights, or do you get more entertainment spending more of your time watching as much as you can? Like I said above, I thought this was a quirky, fun show. If you thought the BJ Penn/Jon Fitch decision was wrong, you should check out the Nick Ring/Riki Fukuda fight. Fukuda was robbed. I loved watching Brian Ebersole bring his crazy style to the current UFC. I enjoyed watching Dennis Siver coming in as a huge underdog and make the most of his opportunity. I liked seeing BJ Penn out-wrestle Jon Fitch for one and a half rounds. Was it one of the better and more noteworthy shows of late? No, but my expectations for that weren’t high. And Michael Bisping’s blatant knee did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
