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UFC ‘Fight for the Troops 2’ Analysis: The Main Card
By: Tim Leidecker
Patrick Barry (top) file photo | Sherdog.com
On Saturday, the UFC put on its second “Fight for the Troops” show to support severely wounded military personnel. While the first event in December of 2008 had many former U.S. Armed Forces members on the fight card itself, that theme was dropped this time around. Instead, “FFTT2” mostly featured the lighter weight classes, with plenty of 135-, 145-, and 155-pound action alongside a pair of heavyweight bouts.
Below, an in-depth look at Saturday’s five main card matches and which fights are likely to be made in the near future for the 10 participants.
Matt Wiman def. Cole Miller -- Decision (Unanimous)
What happened: Long known only as a very confident -- perhaps overconfident -- contestant from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5, Wiman effectively emancipated himself from his “Handsome” moniker by turning in a career-defining performance over fellow “TUF 5” alum Cole Miller. From the opening bell, both men fought in the way one would want two fighters in the UFC’s ultra-competitive 155-pound division to engage. Midway through the opening round, Miller lost interest in standing and trading with Wiman, who was getting the better of their exchanges. Miller instead tried to pull guard, but was slammed to the mat for his efforts.
Over the next two rounds, Wiman continued to use his strength advantage and tenaciously came after Miller, putting tons of pressure on the American Top Team fighter with vicious ground-and-pound. Read more -
WEC 51 Postmortem: Eight not Enough for Aldo, Torres Revived
By: Jake Rossen
Jose Aldo file photo: Sherdog.com
Every time I see Jose Aldo perch himself on the top of the cage and perform a back-flip, I cringe.
It would be an incredible waste of ability to see the guy trip, fall, or land in a way that interrupts what’s becoming a very notable career. The commissions might want to consider fixing that, possibly by shooing offenders off with brooms.
Maybe Aldo is putting himself in a little bit of trouble with the acrobatics because he’s not getting too nervous in the fight itself. For the eighth consecutive time in the WEC, Aldo more or less made a meal out of an opponent, stunning Manny Gamburyan with an uppercut Thursday and then knocking him unconscious with ground and pound. Gamburyan had no chance of getting him down and failed to discover any tricks for getting inside Aldo’s range. Has the guy ever even been in radical trouble? If he has, it hasn’t been worth remembering.
Every time a dominant champion is established, the same question comes up: do audiences like seeing a man operating clearly above his competition, or do they grow bored if the suspense is leaking out of the bouts? Considering the purpose of titles is to find the best, it makes more sense that people would enjoy a clear and concise answer. Aldo is providing it.
The follow-up: when champions are this dominant, do they get too complacent? Anderson Silva, with 12 wins in the Octagon, has turned in several bizarre performances; Georges St. Pierre walked into a fight with Matt Serra giving him only the same respect fans did, which wasn’t much. If Aldo ever develops similar boredom, he’s vulnerable. If he insists on using the cage as a pommel horse, he might one day feel very stupid. Either way, Aldo’s biggest threat in the WEC’s featherweight division will probably remain himself. Read more
