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The Aftermath – UFC 145

11 years ago GG

We’ve stopped doing these posts because there are so many shows these days and by the time we were able to get our thoughts out, the shows would be old news.

But, the guys wanted to get their thoughts out about the show.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 145:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

This show was always going to be judged by it’s main event, and ultimately the fight couldn’t live up to the build.

Evans/Jones was at least tense for a couple of rounds before settling into a pattern it was destined not to stray from for the remaining three. Rashad wasn’t going to win a point scoring contest; that’s how it played out and he could do nothing to change the dynamic. It made for dull, one-paced viewing.

Boeck/Alessio in the opener was death – two guys who are just there in UFC having a horrible fight – the less said the better.

Now if you look past those two, there was actually a fair bit to like about the middle portion of the card: a pair of masterclasses from McDonald and MacDonald, the seventy second Schaub/Rothwell shootout, and a classic tear up between Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick. The later being amongst the best UFC fights this year.

A painful opener and lackluster main event took from what was an otherwise decent show.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

I was far from blown away by this show. Things were pretty average up until the main event. There was one hellaciously boring fight, one decent brawl, a one-sided beating and two quick finishes. So the show was setup to totally swing in whatever way Jones and Evans pulled it. I was on the edge of my seat in the early rounds but about half way through the fight it became pretty apparent that this one wasn’t going to have many fireworks and Jones was going to close out a victory by decision. It was, to be honest, quite the anticlimax.

Big D
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

What more can be said? Jon Jones wins again, and each time he wins, he does it completely different than the last. We’ve seen Jones overwhelm guys with strikes and whip out chokes from seemingly out of nowhere, but in his fight with Rashad Evans, we saw him use his reach advantage more so than ever before. He used his long arms and trademark elbows to out-smash Rashad and take the win, and the most amazing part is that he looked like he could’ve gone five MORE rounds. Who can stop him? Who’s next? I think they should book Forrest Griffin AND RIch Franklin vs. Jones in a HANDICAP MATCH! That’ll be a new challenge! Anyways, the other big story of the show was the coming out party of the WHITE JON JONES – Rory MacDonald! Keep an eye on him! Overall, show had 3 exciting fights and 3 boring ones, so its a straight thumbs in the middle and will probably be remembered for the build-up rather than the fight.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

I enjoyed the show more than my FGB bros. There was only one boring fight and it was a coming out party for Rory MacDonald and Michael McDonald. It was very apparent that the UFC wanted to showcase both guys on one of the bigger shows of the year and it worked out perfectly for them. I really liked the main event and wasn’t bored by it at all. The story of the fight was all about how Rashad Evans was going to break through Jon Jones’ defense. And he couldn’t. It felt like a big fight and Jon Jones feels like a big fight fighter. The thing Jones has to avoid though is getting complacent, much like GSP has had to work hard against. You don’t want two of your best fighters to be so involved in the strategy that they don’t even take openings to finish. There were a few times where Jones could’ve been more aggressive, but he decided to stay on the outside.