UFC 109 wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either
Ringside analyst Joe Rogan said before the fight, "Mark Coleman is the grandfather of ground and pound". I think Coleman looked more like a grandfather than a ground-and-pound expert. This wasn’t the Coleman we saw in Pride (or earlier in the UFC) -- he looked old and slow. Couture beat him to the punch throughout the night and Coleman landed only one clean punch in the first round.
Both UFC announcers agreed that we haven't seen the last of Coleman. I think we have seen the last UFC fight for "The Hammer," but maybe not his last MMA fight.
Coleman had an exchange of words with fellow fighter, Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, who was ringside. Ortiz loves to talk trash and challenge other fighters after a fight.
I would like to see who the UFC matches Couture up with next. Who do you think?
In the co-main event, Nate Marquardt battled Chael Sonnen for three rounds, but Sonnen won every round on the judges' cards. Before the fight, Sonnen said, "I'm going to be on him from bell to bell."
On two different occasions, Marquardt had guillotine chokes on Sonnen, which should have ended the fight. But, Sonnen was able to remain calm and Marquardt eventually relinquished the holds. Sonnen stuffed Marquardt's takedowns and he ground-and-pounded him for the win.
Sonnen told Sherdog.com, "I hope Anderson [Silva] wins" his next fight against Vitor Belfort.
Do you think Sonnen is ready for Silva or should Demian Maia get a shot a Silva?
After Couture’s win over Coleman, the UFC announcers were giving the “Submission of the Night” honor to Randy Couture. But clearly that honor had to go to Brazilian Paulo Thiago for his D'arce choke on American Mike Swick. Thiago landed a right behind the ear of Swick and followed with a left to the jaw that put him down. Thiago applied the choke and Swick was out cold.
In the middleweight class, Brazilian ju-jitsu black belt Demian Maia won a unanimous decision over American Dan Miller. Maia said after the fight, "I came to show off my standup." So for the first two rounds, I thought it was a boxing match. And in the third round, Maia took it to the ground and got the win.
Former UFC champion Matt "The Terror" Serra’s win over Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg was a total surprise to me, because Trigg loves to take his opponents down. But for some strange reason, he wanted to stand toe-to-toe with Serra. And he got knocked out by an overhand right to the jaw in the first round. Trigg should have learned from Serra’s win over Georges St. Pierre, in which Serra won the belt because GSP tried to stand toe-to-toe. Serra made his way out to the ring to the music from "Rocky," an appropriate choice. Serra won “Knockout of the Night”.
In the Melvin Guillard-Ronys Torres bout, you heard Guillard’s new trainer Greg Jackson say, "this is the best I have seen you in the cage." In the past, Melvin would swing for the fences, trying to get the spectacular knockout. In his battle with the Brazilian Torres, he remained in control during the match and took a unanimous decision.
Justin Buchholz and Mac Danzig had an unofficial loser leave town match. Danzig was the aggressor and he tried to finish the fight on several occasions. The fight went the distance, and Danzig won with a majority decision.
Newcomer Phil Davis beat Brian Stann throughout during their bout. Davis, a wrestler, took Stann down whenever he wanted to and surprisingly dominated every round. If trainer Lloyd Irving can help Davis with his standup, we may be looking at the next champion in two years.
I wish the UFC had shown the Tim Hague-Chris Tuchscherer fight and not Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran. Gracie was clearly out of shape and not prepared to fight beyond the first round. He won his three previous bouts, all ended in the first round. Beltran defeated Gracie by TKO in the second round.
After the Hague-Tuchscherer fight, the crowd booed as Tuchscherer won a majority decision over Hague.
Phillipe Nover won a decision over Robert Emerson in a contest that wasn't televised.
This was an average fight card: I'll give it a C-
What grade would you give it?
-Kevin Richardson
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
I don't think demian maia is ready for silva.
Sonnen has a beter shot at silva.
Posted by: billy | February 7, 2010 7:31 PM
oh great i like boxing..The fight went the distance, and Danzig won with a majority decision.
Posted by: colon cleansing | April 26, 2010 4:04 AM
did you watch lesnar vs. carwin last night? it was so great to see lesnar all healthy again. it was also great to see former wrestlers like stone cold and the rock.
Posted by: kevin | July 4, 2010 7:07 PM
Great post! I love boxing indeed and so with MMA. The fight wasn't that bad and besides my friends and I enjoyed it.
Posted by: Blessed Herbs Australia | August 17, 2010 11:36 AM