Category Archives: Aftermath

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Golovkin vs Macklin Aftermath – The Man To Beat At 160

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gggGennady Golovkin proved in his HBO headliner that there is a sizable gap between he and even the top middleweight contenders. In what was the standout performance of 2013 so far, the Kazakh KO King ended Matthew Macklin’s third bid at a world title in just three rounds.

As somebody who has followed Macklin’s career since he was a rising fighter on the domestic scene, I’m sorry to say this one played out exactly how I thought it would. Matthew has always been a guy who would take shots to give some, and this time it got him chopped down by a technically better, more accurate and heavier fisted foe. The scary thing is that Macklin is a championship class fighter, and GGG was on a different level. Continue reading

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Final Thoughts: Prizefighter – All Irish Middleweights

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O’Kane adds Prizefighter title to Commonwealth gold

I said going into this one that the Prizefighter format was made for guys like Eamonn O’Kane – a fighter of ability, but one who needs to be fast tracked. What I didn’t mention however was the pressure he was under to deliver. No opportunity comes without risk, and for a celebrated prospect like O’Kane, there was massive risk involved. At 30 years old and still only a handful of pro fights, he simply couldn’t afford any slip ups. For his career to push on forward, he had to come through this and he did.
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The Aftermath – UFC 145

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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
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The Aftermath – UFC 137 And UFC 138

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I know I’m late to the game in getting these up, but I wanted to share the feedback from the past two UFC events before UFC 139.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 137:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione

The only thing that kept this show’s head above water was a spectacular main event, but what a main event it was. For two and a half hour’s we got a mixture of the average and the dull, but by the end of Diaz/Penn that was all forgotten about. Their three round war more than redeemed any undercard shortcomings.

There is now at least one welterweight title fight out there worth watching and that’s a major bonus moving forward. Diaz perhaps has the skill set required to ask some fresh questions of St. Pierre. This is the bout the division has been craving.

If this is to be the final farewell for both Penn or Crocop (and I think it should be), they can each leave with their head held high – huge efforts turned in by both guys on their last night even in defeat.

Penn is still certainly capable of competing in either of the divisions he once reigned, but I don’t see him being the type to just make up the numbers. Having been usurped by Edgar at 155 and now falling short of the 170 elite; he will likely see this as the right time for him to move on to other pursuits.

For Crocop, it’s more a case of diminishing options. At this point (should he carry on), he would be reduced to fighting at a prelim level and he’s getting paid way too much for that to make financial sense. He gave as good an account of himself as anyone could have realistically hoped for against Nelson, but Mirko has been a spent force for a long time. The truth is the real Crocop never once showed up in UFC – not even a glimpse – he perished with PRIDE in 07.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
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