From July 11th to July 18th, the UFC put on four events in just shy of one week. Kicked off with current MMA Golden Boy Conor McGregor's ascension at UFC 189 and capped by stalwart Michael Bisping's back-and-forth five round battle with Thales Leites at UFN:Glasgow, the week was filled with drama and excitement the likes of which we rarely get to witness in the modern UFC.
This was accomplished on the heels of what could have been a catastrophic blow to UFC 189. A few weeks out from fight night, word came that featherweight champ Jose Aldo had injured his ribs and may not be able to compete. This turned out to be the case and the big money fight the UFC had been shilling so hard for so long was washed out.
Luckily, former title challenger Chad Mendes was waiting in the wings, and stepped in for Aldo as a late replacement to challenge McGregor for an interim Featherweight title, until Aldo was ready to return. While the luster of a McGregor/Aldo fight couldn't be matched, a face off with Mendes was perhaps a more interesting proposition for fans still questioning McGregor's all around MMA ability (like myself).
While McGregor stormed through his early UFC fights, and talked as big a game as anyone, the doubters had plenty of ammo:
The UFC was fast tracking him to a title shot.
He was fighting guys he was clearly suppose to beat.
He wasn't being challenged.
And the big one, he hadn't fought a wrestler.
Enter Mendes.
Chad Mendes is a top notch wrestler, with good boxing, fast hands, and a submission game. He had gone toe-to-toe with the Champ less than a year ago, losing by decision. He was the guy everyone who doubted McGregor had been saying McGregor needed to beat to legitimately earn his title shot.
And at UFC 189 Mendes couldn't make it to round three, getting TKO'd in the waning seconds of the second round.
Questions answered.
Validation.
Right?
Sorry, I'm still not convinced.
While McGregor did all he was asked, and accomplished his goal, the reason for doubt lies not with him, but with the circumstances surrounding his win. Chad Mendes was visibly tired about a minute into the fight, certainly the result of taking the fight on a couple weeks notice. McGregor did his part in helping Mendes gas out by drilling him with body kicks fairly consistently and landing punches with laser accuracy, sure, but I don't buy that as the primary reason.
Not only did Mendes' conditioning leave a stain on the outcome, but by all accounts, he was winning the fight. He landed big power shots on the feet. Scored takedowns with relative ease. Cut McGregor open with one of the many elbows he landed while on top. Doing everything the doubters expected.
To be clear, I'm a doubter, not a hater. I actually love Conor McGregor. And I give him credit for the win. He agreed to a fight with a wildly different opponent than he had been preparing for, and he took care of business. When Mendes went for a risky guillotine choke late in round two, McGregor scrambled out and stalked Mendes down like he had throughout the fight and landed a series of big punches to put his opponent down for good.
I don't doubt Conor McGregor's status as an elite fighter, but the fight did not answer the questions I had about his shortcomings.
He didn't show much takedown defense and he didn't do much off his back.
(Frankie Edgar was licking his chops watching that fight.)
He can take a punch, but he eats too many.
(You don't want Jose Aldo, who has power, speed, AND accuracy, teeing off on your face.)
Still having these questions is what makes Conor McGregor's career going forward so interesting. I can't wait to see what's next.
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While I stated earlier that the Featherweight title fight kicked the week off, that wasn't exactly true. That fight was the Main Event of UFC 189, but the card leading up to that battle was just as exciting, and at times, even more so.
Brawling warrior Matt Brown returned to his winning ways with a choke out of Tim Means late in a barn burner of a first round. Speaking of barn burners, they don't get much crazier than the Brad Pickett / Thomas Almeida scrap that ended with Pickett flattened by a flying knee.
After Gunnar Nelson dispatched Brandon Thatch with a first round RNC, another flying knee finish courtesy of Jeremy Stephens (against Denis Bermudez) set the stage for one of the best fights in UFC history.
Robbie Lawler had already beaten Rory MacDonald on his way to capturing UFC gold, but MacDonald had earned himself a re-match with the belt on the line. Somehow Lawler, with the belt and a win over MacDonald in his pocket, was the betting underdog.
Early on you could see why. Rory is longer, and always fights smart. He peppered the champ with jabs and kept out of Lawler's range. Lawler couldn't figure out the distance and spent most of round one staring at his challenger, occasionally eating punches.
In the second round Lawler found his range and managed to get inside, land big shots, and stay out of danger. He opened Rory up and busted his nose. It was more of the same in round three, but MacDonald was consistently throwing up a right high kick, which the champ was blocking. Until he wasn't.
Late in the third round that kick snuck behind Lawler's guard and landed near the back of his head, visibly wobbling him and MacDonald went after the belt like a rabid dog. It looked over. As if Robbie Lawler was on the verge of collapsing against the cage in a heap under an overwhelming assault.
But he never did. He covered, and he moved, and he survived. If only barely. When round four started, MacDonald came out gunning and Lawler was still trying to recover from that damn head kick. Lawler bided his time, and late in round four he finally recovered and started to put his own offense back together.
There was a moment at the end of round four, just after the horn sounded, when most fighters relax and retreat to the corner for the round break. Robbie Lawler stood in front of MacDonald shaking his head, not backing up, as if to say "I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. You missed your window." MacDonald followed suit and the two battered men stared at each other in a moment packed to the brim with testosterone and adrenaline. Neither backing down, or looking away, until the ref forced them to separate.
You see that type of thing in MMA from time to time, and I think I've seen it from Lawler on several occasions. But this one was different. This was the kind of war that happens only every few years and it came with a belt on the line, in what was probably the most watched pay-per-view event in the sports history.
As the final round began, Lawler was down big, having lost three of the first four rounds. He likely knew this, and was aware that only a finish would allow him to retain his title. He had been landing heavy punches to MacDonald's face all night, and finally a big right hand connected square on the challenger's nose. A half second to react, a quick touch of the nose, and then Rory MacDonald collapsed. He had nothing left. The ref stepped in to halt the bout and Lawler kept his belt.
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Even though the Lawler/MacDonald bout was the highlight of the week, and nothing could match the spectacle of the McGregor/Mendes fight, there was still more to come.
The TUF 21 Finale featured an impressive debut for "Karate Hottie" Michele Waterson (winning by RNC over Angela Magana), and Stephen Thompson obliterating Jake Ellenberger with head kicks in the Main Event.
Fight Night: Mir/Duffee was a fantastic mid-week card with a fun scrap between Matt Dwyer and cartwheel kicking Alan Jouban, an impressive showing by Holly Holm, and Josh Thomson falling, but refusing to be finished by an onslaught from Tony Ferguson. Then there was the Main Event of Frank Mir vs. Todd Duffee. Two huge men standing in the pocket, winging haymakers at each others heads with reckless abandon to see who will faceplant on the mat first (it was Duffee). Seventy three seconds of pure pandemonium.
The week was topped off early Saturday with a solid show that gave us a look at Joanne Calderwood taking a decision from Cortney Casey, an impressive showing from Joseph Duffy, who looked good on the feet before subbing a BJJ black belt in Ivan Jorge, and good ol' Mike Bisping taking a split decision over Thales Leites, who had Bisping hurt several times throughout the bout.
Obviously, the UFC is putting way too many shows together right now. A trend that has been going for almost two years. Finally, fight fans have something to show for it. The greatest seven days of MMA action since, well, probably ever. There was even a Bellator in there!
I didn't watch it.
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