Sunday, January 25, 2009

Affliction puts on a great show


First of all, this was a seriously great show. There's no point at all comparing UFC and Affliction, though fans will insist on it. Affliction delivers a different product to a different audience, and they do it well. I even enjoyed goofball Scott Farrell.

Green v. Lauzon: This was very entertaining barring all the kicks to the nuts. Actually, those were pretty entertaining too. Highlight was Green marking out for ODLH and Donald Trump.

Buentello v. Baby Fedor: Not a lot to take from this fight, other than training with Fedor isn't enough alone. Buentello just had too much experience, and while BF could take a lot, it was eventually too much.

Babalu v. Sokoudjou: Pretty enjoyable fight. The first round was slow, but Babalu fought through Sok's takedown defense to get a nice submission. Hard to say where either goes from here. Babalu could be heading back to Zuffa land soon, I don't see Tito ever fighting him.

Vitor Belfort v. Matt Lindland: Holy crap. What a win from Vitor, who took on a guy universally considered a top 3 middleweight. It has admittedly been a long time since Lindland did anything big at 185, but with this win Vitor reinvigorated his career. Rumor has it he is a free agent now, and if true I hope Zuffa pulls the trigger and brings him back.

Josh Barnett v. Gilbert Yvel: This was one of those fights that was never close, but was still pretty entertaining. Surprised Josh couldn't finish him, I think he kind of blew his wad trying to finish it at the end of round 1. Good heart from Yvel, but Josh was just too much. Josh-Fedor is an interesting fight, because I still think the best way to beat Fedor is to pick him apart on the feet. Can Josh do it? Maybe, but his striking is nowhere near Arlovski's.

Fedor Emelianenko v. Andrei Arlovski: What a tragic mistake by Arlovski. He was winning this fight; Fedor had no answers for his boxing, and Arlovski was able to neutralize the first takedown attempt in the clinch. Smart move actually going for a takedown instead of letting Fedor work for it. One mistake was one too many, Fedor caught him perfectly. He should have never left his feet. Andrei showed the way to beat Fedor: use straight punches and keep it standing. Unfortunately, no immediate challengers can punch on Andrei's level. I want a rematch more than I want to see Josh-Fedor.

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