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The Aftermath – UFC 131

GG June 25, 2011 0

It was a short turnaround for UFC 131, after a putrid UFC 130. The show was much better, though still, unspectacular at times. Even the heavyweight fight, which was nearly promised to be great, was just an alright tactical battle between one guy who didn’t want to risk getting upset, and another guy who was simply not in the same class on the feet. What should’ve been a great styles clash was in fact, a pretty boring one.

Duan and I give you our thoughts about UFC 131.

Duan
Thumbs In the Middle
Best Fight: Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos
Worst Fight: Diego Nunes vs. Kenny Florian

After a disappointing run of shows, there was a sense that UFC really needed a good PPV outing this month. While 131 was by no means perfect, it did go a long way towards stopping the rot. While there was no real blow away fights or stand out performances, the action was solid throughout, and I think for the most fans will feel they got their money’s worth.

This card also acted as a reminder why the move towards five round main events is not necessarily for the better. Dos Santos vs. Carwin, despite being wildly uncompetitive and quite one paced, came off like a really big deal. I have a feeling that had it gone another two rounds, people would have lost patience and turned on these guys. If that happened, how would it effect demand for a Velasquez/Dos Santos title fight? It’s something to consider.

GG
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Worst Fight: Diego Nunes vs. Kenny Florian

Sam Stout gave us a vicious knockout. Dave Herman and Jon Olav Einemo gave us a rock ’em/sock ’em kind of fight. And Mark Munoz and Demian Maia gave us a fun, strategic battle. Even though all of those things happened, the show still felt a bit anticlimactic because of the main event. I think most of us figured that Junior Dos Santos was going to beat Shane Carwin, but I think we predicted it to be more of a war than it was. JDS fought safe fight and Carwin just couldn’t do anything. Had that fight ended in the TKO we all hoped for, I think we see this show differently.