UFC 204 Fallout

NOT a 10-8 in round one in my opinion. I wanted to get that right out of the way. People will debate the decision in the main event. My own personal opinion is that round one Bisping did enough before getting knocked down to keep the round a 10-9. I can even see why the one judge gave Bisping the second round. Remember prior to the knockdown Bisping was throwing and landing far more strikes. He was controlling the center of the cage keeping Henderson off him. This is not boxing or kickboxing where a knockdown is an automatic extra point. Again Bisping was controlling the round until he was knocked down. Henderson said post fight he did enough to win and the truth is so did Bisping.

The In Ring Action- As people arguing the decision they are burring what as a truly epic title fight. Dan Henderson one of the all time greats trying to claim the one crown jewel that had eluded him in his career. On the other side Michael Bisping a fighter who should go down as a all time great trying for revenge with all the pressure defending his title in his home town. Bisping didn’t fight like he normally does early on. His trademarks are footwork feints and angles. But Bisping seemed to be hunting the KO. Now he did out land Henderson. Bisping did though fall into one of bad trademarks that one moments of lost focus. It cost him dearly in the first round his hands down to low why throwing a hook The infamous H-Bomb landed. It was a near flashback to UFC 100. Bisping went down and Henderson dropped an elbow. This time though Bisping was still aware enough but he had to ride out one hell of a storm. The second played out much like the first. Bisping controlling the round early on than late getting caught. In the second though Bisping was able to tie up Henderson and limit the damage he took. The third finally saw Bisping start to feint and move more. Henderson as he has for years now had become over reliant on the H-Bomb.

Going into the forth Henderson looked exhausted his mouth wide open. Than eh got a break. In the second Bisping had kicked Henderson low in the fourth he landed low again. Now both times it appeared to be unintentional. But the second low blow gave Henderson a much needed break. Bisping though still kept a much higher pace. In the fifth Henderson scored a takedown but scored no damage. The truth is the fight could have gone either way. Bisiping winning is not some injustice.

In the Co-Main Event two of the most experienced fighters in the UFC finally collide. Vitor Belftor’s UFC debut pre dates Henderson’s having gotten started when he was only nigh teen. Gegard Mousasi got his own MMA career started when he was eighteen. The two men have fought all over the world since than. Belfort though has clearly reached the end of the road. Since the banning of TRT he entered 1-2 in his last three fights. Both losses being one sided mailings his trademark flurry's were in effective he was taken down and just about accepted being mounted until the referee stopped it. Mousasi fought a near perfect fight. He used his own far more technical striking to keep Belfort backing up. Belfort has never been a great counter striker. When Belfort did attempt to flurry he was shut down be a good strike. In the second he took Belfort down. And it was the story as the loss to Weidman and Jacare. Belfort was mounted made no real effort to escape until the referee called it off.

Jimi Manuwa and Ovince Saint Preux have both been with the UFC for a while now. Both have had some big opperitunires but never beaten a top contender. Both men have punching power scoring most of there wins via knockouts. So the potential was there for a great fight. Early on Manuwa controlled the striking how ever he kept attempt to wrestle with OSP. Which allowed the former college football player win key exchanges. In the second round we saw some great striking for Manuwa. Throughout the fight he had hurt OPS with a body shot. After rocking OSP with a good body shot head shot combo he would change it. Faking going to the body Manuawa went high and knocked him with a hook right to the chin. Odds are Manuwa will get another shot at a contender in his next fight.

A few years ago Stefan Struve in the UK knocked out Stipie Miocic handing the younger fighter his first career loss. Since than Struve has hit just about every low a fighter could, he’s suffered injures, health problems outside of the cage, one sided losses, and even in victory looking unimpressive. While Daniel Omielanczuk is not the elite of the of the division it was easily the best Struve has look in a long time. He controlled the majority of the fight and got a submission win. In the PPV open Misard Betick one of the better prospects at featherweight blew threw Russell Doane as he returned from a layoff.

Biggest Winners

Michael Bisping- For years The Count made it clear he would win the UFC championship and the defend it in Manchester. He’s now done that. Why his many detractors will be hold the first two rounds against him Bisping is the one who still has the title. Hopefully someday people will look back and realize just how good Bisping is. He should be respected for coming off the canvas not once but twice. Even long time rival Henderson gave Bisping credit for being willing to come at him as opposed to running away. With this win and several high profile fights taking place in the next few weeks he will be in position for another big money fight.

Gegard Mousasi- After losing to Uriah Hall many wondered if the window had closed on Mousasi’s chances of getting a UFC title shot. Since than Mousasi is 3-0 with two knockouts in a row. The win over Belfort gave him a big name value win. Again with the top four in Middleweight division set to fight it will clear the road for him a bit. Realistically he could just be one big fight away from a title shot.

Didn’t Win Not a Loser

Dan Henderson- One of the greatest careers in MMA history has ended. But Henderson’s legacy was set long before this fight. Winning the UFC would have simply been one more jewel in his crown. Still though Henderson came close twice knocking Bisping down. It would have nice for him to walk away after a win especially one like he scored at UFC 199 it pretty damn good at 46 many are saying he should have won the world title in his last fight.

Biggest Losers

People that say the UFC isn’t appreciative it’s talent- Seems like I can’t fire up a MMA web page without someone saying “The UFC doesn’t respect it’s fighters… The UFC is a dictatorship….” well think about this. For years Michael Bisping has been a loyal UFC fighter. After winning the world title the UFC ran a PPV in the UK at his request. Dan Henderson one of MMA’s all time great wanted one more title shot before retiring. The UFC granted him that final shot. Yes money did play a role in the decision. Still though the UFC could have made money with other big fights. Just keep this in mind the next time you want to scream “god Dana is such an asshole he won’t respect what these guys go through.”

Vitor Belfort- The end is here. Belfort is 1-3 since the banning of TRT he’s been knocked out in all three loses. All three losses have the same plot line he can’t hit the flurry of attack that was his trademark. He is taken down easily and than quickly mounted. Before the fight a rumor emerged that this would be the final fight of Belfort’s career. I think it should be. At 39 no matter how much Vitor and his supports want to claim he’s still learning and still improving he simply isn’t. He might have entered at number five in the rankings and remains number nine after the fight. I think that has more to do with people doing rankings putting to much stock in his past than anything he has done in the present.

What Comes Next- The Middleweight Division will sort it self soon enough. With Jacare about to rematch Rockhold and Romero facing Weidman the next true contender should emerge than. My own personal thoughts would be Jacare should get a win he should be next. He’s been great in the UFC his lone loss comes with a great deal of controversy and he’s yet to get a title shot. Gegard Moussi should get the winner of Romero vs. Wediman or potentially Rockhold if he wins but isn’t impressive.