Sorry about this one, Smith.
#1 ~ Bibiano Fernandes
Yes, the man who saved Japanese MMA from becoming what has been staining North American MMA most notably in the past year or so: LAY AND PRAY.
Joe Warren somehow managed not to get knocked on his ass (he sure tried to though) in the 15 minutes he fought one of my all-time favourite fighters, Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto and eeked out one of the worst decisions so far this year via takedowns, minimal ground-and-pound, weak upper cuts from a sloppy clinch, and his dreaded "ass knees".
Thankfully, there is some sanctity left in this sport; the MMA gods have me and everyone else who appreciates the entertaining aspect of combat sports left satisfied after last Tuesday's result. Bibiano made Joe submit in the opening minute, fulfilling my prediction and making me want to kiss the ground he walks on.
Bibiano Fernandes, thank you.
#2 ~ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
No, not because he met Sylvester Stallone (in all his tattooed glory), but because he gave Randy "Handy" Couture one of the worst beatings of his life.
All respect to Randy, the guy is a warrior and a nice person, but Rodrigo needed this win, as did his fans, more than Randy needed it. I can imagine if Randy did beat Rodrigo, we'd hear all about how PRIDE sucked, overrated fighters etc. for the billionth time. All these years we knew Rodrigo was by far the more talented fighter, and I just had a horrible feeling that Randy would win, with Rodrigo's performance against Mir still burned into my mind. I even went as far as to say I didn't care for the fight, and that it "would have been good 5 years ago."
Well I admit I was wrong about that for sure. UFC 102's main event in Oregon was one of the best main events I've seen in a while, an exciting fight that left all fans of the old Rodrigo satisfied.
I guess I'll have to give Rodrigo a thanks too, so that I don't have to listen to UFC Nazis call down a legend.
#3 ~ Vitor Belfort
*Insert Frank Trigg quote here*
I knew Vitor had the skills, but for some reason I never saw him beating Rich.
Sorry Vitor.
Vitor put an absolute ass-whooping on Rich, and I for one am very happy. Vitor vs. Anderson is a fight I actually want to see in MMA right now (can't say that for many fights these days), and Dan Henderson gets bumped out of the title picture for Vitor. We don't get to see Dan act like a fool, stand and trade or attempt his ol' lay and pray and get submitted yet again (YES!). Vitor has a great shot at taking out Anderson, I'm firmly behind him to take the belt.
#4 ~ Cosmo Alexandre
Evolution 17 was an odd event. Cosmo, if he did beat Dzhabar, he'd lose to JWP. Common thought.
Wrong.
Cosmo DID beat Dzhabar, beat on an injured JWP, and took a razor close decision over Thai takedown king, Tum Madsua, to win the Evolution tournament. After such a destructive beatdown at the hands of Yod, nobody believed he could do it.
While it took some luck and an injured favourite in JWP in the semis, Cosmo badly needed this one, and I'll throw out a congrats to a K-1Fans community brother!
Cosmo, thanks for.. being Cosmo.
Happy Thanksgiving!
