Well, UFC 81 has come and gone and just when you think everything has been answered, more questions arise from the results. There was an abundance of celebrity firepower in attedance as Barry Bonds, Charles Barkely, Greg Maddux, Jay-Z and Chris Angel sat alongside former and current WWE stars Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and Lesnar’s girlfriend, Sable.
If you missed the show, here are the results:
While Brock Lesnar lasted a ‘Mir’ 90 seconds in his UFC debut, he showcased some serious takedown and ground and pound skills. I see some true potential in Lesnar, and if built correctly (over the next year or so), he can become a serious force in the heavyweight division. If you don’t take my word for it, then take the words of UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, former champ Chuck Liddell, contender Keith Jardine and the dozens of other UFC stars who echoed the same sentiments to UFC President Dana White.
With Mir winning and Sylvia losing, my hope is that the UFC will grant Syvlia his request in rematching Mir, who broke Sylvia’s forearm in their first fight. At Thursdays press conference, Dana White said if Mir was able to defeat Lesnar, he would be one fight away from a title shot. Why not put him against the guy (Tim Sylvia) who just lost the title fight vs Antonio Noqueira?
Speaking of Nogueira…his performance on Saturday night proved why he continues to be one of my favourite fighters of all time. Fight after fight, he starts off slow and takes round after round of beatings. He patiently waits to take the fight to the ground, so he can get his top game going. During the fight, I told Sportsnet Producer Bob T, that if he can just sweep Sylvia over, start the stopwatch and count back from 30, cause that’s all the time Noguiera needs to slap on a submission. In round three, Nogueira proved my theory right.
So now the real question for Noquiera is whether or not Randy Couture will come back to the UFC and offer him a unification bout. Dana White called out ‘Captain America’ and said he expects Couture to honour his contract and his obligation to the organization, the fans and now, to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. We still do not know who is right or wrong in the situation between Randy Couture and the UFC, but one thing is for certain: if it can get rectified soon and we are able to see the Couture/Nogueira unification bout, it would truely be one for the ages.
