I was live at UFC 130 this past weekend and while the show was just average (or maybe below average based on what you thought of the last two fights), it’s always fun to see UFC live. It’s the fourth UFC show that I’ve been to live and it was probably the worst of the four, but still, a good time was had by all.

I took a bunch of photos from the event starting with the main card and posted them on the Fight Game Blog Facebook page. Check them out and become a fan of the page while you’re at it.

I was at UFC 130 live tonight and was able to get Ryan Pike, MMA super fan and freelance writer for websites like Mike Sawyer’s Tough Talk MMA, to do a podcast with me.

We go through every fight on the card all the way through the main event with Rampage Jackson and Matt Hamill. It’s not the best UFC card you’ll ever see and we’ll tell you why.

You can also follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanNPike.

Check it out! Right click to download or stream below.

As I’ve stated on FGB Radio and our UFC 130 preview, this show has lost a bit of its main event luster, but there’s still quality underneath.

If you missed any of the preliminary stuff, I posted updates on our FGB Facebook page as well as our @fightgamblog Twitter page. Go there to see what you may have missed.

1. Jorge Santiago vs. Brian Stann
After a lot of kicking each other happening, Stann drilled Santiago with a left hand and Santiago went down. Stann followed him to the ground and landed bombs on the ground. Great round for Stann.

Damn, Jorge Santiago was target practice. Stann hit him at will in the face. He put him down with an overhand right and finished him on the ground.

Winner: Brian Stann by way of 2nd round TKO

2. Rick Story vs. Thiago Alves
First round started out slowly with Story holding Alves up against the cage, but turned into a slugfest. Both guys got nice shots in.

It’s plausible that Story is up 2-0 here. Story worked hard for a takedown, but Alves was up quickly. Alves tripped him back down, but Story exploded out. The thing that may be the difference in the round is that Story caught him off-balanced when he was throwing a kick and knocked him down.
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If I can describe the enthusiasm for this show by the feedback I’ve received so far, I think I would use the word, “meh”. When Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar was called off and Matt Hamill vs. Rampage Jackson was put into the main event it signified that the UFC couldn’t replace the main event and fans who already bought tickets for the show (like me) and those who wanted to buy it on PPV were just going to have to deal without a true marquee match. Hopefully the stuff underneath, which could range from pretty decent to pretty good, leans toward the good side.

The FGB crew (even Big D), along with Stevie J from Angry Marks, and friend of the site JP, have predictions ready for not only the main event, but for Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson as well.

Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson

Duan: Nelson by 1st round TKO
Alan: Nelson by 2nd round TKO
Stevie J: Mir by decision
JP: Mir by decision
Big D: Nelson by 2nd round TKO
Cactus Jim: Nelson by 3rd round TKO
GG: Nelson by decision

Duan says:

Frank Mir has done a good job of proving me wrong recently, but I still refuse to believe this guy is amongst the sport’s elite. His wins have come against fighters on the downward slide and when he has stepped up from that level he has been demolished.

It’s no slight at Nelson when I say he is not in the heavyweight division’s A class. He’s a real fighter and a very tough guy, I just feel he will always fall short at championship level. I do however believe he has enough to comfortably handle Mir. Nelson is not the type of man to crumble. If Mir is forced to slug with Big Country (which i think he will be) this won’t go long.

Alan says:

As Duan said, Mir has not been proving himself against fighters in their prime. Nelson, while not able to hang when matched up with Junior Dos Santos, has shown that he can beat good young fighters. He’s a legitimate guy in every aspect of the game, and he has a great attitude. I don’t see him ever getting nervous or antsy or anything like that. He’s a calm, relaxed dude and he fights like it. Mir is more likely to spaz out when things aren’t going his way. I see Roy getting inside and knocking Frank into next week.

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Chuck O’Neil wants to give Charlie some of his win bonus because Charlie’s having an issue with his baby momma and his oldest son. That’s a pretty nice gesture.

Chuck is facing Zach, who has already beaten him before.

Zach Davis vs. Chuck O’Neil

O’Neil started out aggressively with straight right hands and leg kicks. Davis pushed him up against the cage and held him there for a bit. Davis’ eye is already busted open. O’Neil flurried late in the round and I thought it was going to get stopped. His round easily.

Davis’ face is entirely deformed. He can’t block O’Neil’s right hand. Every time he tried to take him down, O’Neil could see it coming and sprawled. Davis’ hands were very lazy. He’d throw a punch, miss, and forget to put his hands back up and just get tagged. O’Neil wins this fight easily.

Winner: Chuck O’Neil by way of unanimous decision

Davis’s retina on both eyes are torn and the doctor doesn’t want him to fight anymore.

Up next is Tony Ferguson vs. Ryan McGillivray.
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Jason (aka dadrrtywhyteboi) and I spend the first 20 minutes talking about Macho Man Randy Savage’s career, what we think were his best matches and angles, and how influential he was.

We then jump right into UFC 130, which is a show that is desperately lacking a main event. We talk about which fight could be the fight of the night, which fight we’re both looking most forward to, and wonder which Rampage Jackson we’re going to see. We start from the Spike TV fights and go all the way through the main card.

Check it out! Right click to download or stream below.