O’Kane adds Prizefighter title to Commonwealth gold

I said going into this one that the Prizefighter format was made for guys like Eamonn O’Kane – a fighter of ability, but one who needs to be fast tracked. What I didn’t mention however was the pressure he was under to deliver. No opportunity comes without risk, and for a celebrated prospect like O’Kane, there was massive risk involved. At 30 years old and still only a handful of pro fights, he simply couldn’t afford any slip ups. For his career to push on forward, he had to come through this and he did.
Continue Reading »

We’ve stopped doing these posts because there are so many shows these days and by the time we were able to get our thoughts out, the shows would be old news.

But, the guys wanted to get their thoughts out about the show.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 145:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

This show was always going to be judged by it’s main event, and ultimately the fight couldn’t live up to the build.

Evans/Jones was at least tense for a couple of rounds before settling into a pattern it was destined not to stray from for the remaining three. Rashad wasn’t going to win a point scoring contest; that’s how it played out and he could do nothing to change the dynamic. It made for dull, one-paced viewing.

Boeck/Alessio in the opener was death – two guys who are just there in UFC having a horrible fight – the less said the better.

Now if you look past those two, there was actually a fair bit to like about the middle portion of the card: a pair of masterclasses from McDonald and MacDonald, the seventy second Schaub/Rothwell shootout, and a classic tear up between Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick. The later being amongst the best UFC fights this year.

A painful opener and lackluster main event took from what was an otherwise decent show.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio
Continue Reading »

I know I’m late to the game in getting these up, but I wanted to share the feedback from the past two UFC events before UFC 139.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 137:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione

The only thing that kept this show’s head above water was a spectacular main event, but what a main event it was. For two and a half hour’s we got a mixture of the average and the dull, but by the end of Diaz/Penn that was all forgotten about. Their three round war more than redeemed any undercard shortcomings.

There is now at least one welterweight title fight out there worth watching and that’s a major bonus moving forward. Diaz perhaps has the skill set required to ask some fresh questions of St. Pierre. This is the bout the division has been craving.

If this is to be the final farewell for both Penn or Crocop (and I think it should be), they can each leave with their head held high – huge efforts turned in by both guys on their last night even in defeat.

Penn is still certainly capable of competing in either of the divisions he once reigned, but I don’t see him being the type to just make up the numbers. Having been usurped by Edgar at 155 and now falling short of the 170 elite; he will likely see this as the right time for him to move on to other pursuits.

For Crocop, it’s more a case of diminishing options. At this point (should he carry on), he would be reduced to fighting at a prelim level and he’s getting paid way too much for that to make financial sense. He gave as good an account of himself as anyone could have realistically hoped for against Nelson, but Mirko has been a spent force for a long time. The truth is the real Crocop never once showed up in UFC – not even a glimpse – he perished with PRIDE in 07.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
Continue Reading »

UFC 136 wasn’t a resounding thumbs up according to entire the FGB crew, but some have pegged it as one of the better shows of the year thus far.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 136:

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle (leaning up)
Best Fight: Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia
Worst Fight: Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo

Florian/Aldo really dragged and I think that being a good fight would have made this a great show, but it was a half an hour of boringness at a key part of the event. The main event was good but the rounds after the exciting 1st round were kinda quiet until the finish. Garcia/Nam was very entertaining, and Melvin/Joe was fun while it lasted. Chael’s win and promo were the most memorable things on this show for me.

Duan
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar
Worst Fight: Brian Stann vs. Chael Sonnen
Continue Reading »

I wouldn’t call UFC 135 a dynamite show, but it was the type of show where you felt like a grudge was settled and you got your money’s worth. Jon Jones solidified his ranking as one of the top fighters in the world and Josh Koscheck won his first fight since his eye was destroyed by Georges St. Pierre.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 135.

Alan

This was one of those shows where the undercard did nothing for me so I just went with the top two fights. They were both enjoyable for what they were. I liked the Hughes fight because you were thrown the curveball of him looking good at the outset and you wanted to see how long it would last. It was quite like Shamrock Rovers going 1-0 against Spurs last night in a total shock, but they couldn’t hold on and Spurs obliterated them with 3 goals in quick succession. Josh Koscheck was Spurs. He may have just needed a kick up the backside to get going.

Rampage vs. Jones was a spectacle purely because it’s rare you see an MMA fighter in a high level title match no less, literally toying with his opponent. It was an unreal performance, and to me makes Jones the most must-see fighter in MMA right now. Can’t wait for him and Rashad.

Based on these two fights I’d give the show a thumbs middle leaning up.

(Christ, I completely forgot I watched Diaz/Gomi! That was really enjoyable.)

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz
Worst Fight: Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne
Continue Reading »

UFC 134 was a very good show. It was one in which Anderson Silva continued to establish his dominance on the sport of MMA. It’s getting so bad that there were people I was watching the fight with who thought the fight resembled pro wrestling because of how easy Silva had it. He’s just that damn good. There was also little better in MMA this year than seeing Big Nog win a fight he was supposed to lose in front of all of his fans in Rio.

Here’s what Big D and I thought about UFC 134:

Big D
Thumbs Way Up
Best Fight: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
Worst Fight: None

UFC Rio was an interesting show because it managed to satisfy the hardcore, old-school fanbase (specially PRIDE fans) as well as the home town crowd by having the Brazilians win the top 3 fights. The Silva outcome was expected, and even though there was a tiny speck of doubt about Okami, I knew Silva would destroy him and I liked how he took his time and didn’t rush things to finish him off. Shogun’s win was also one I was hoping for, but wasn’t sure about, and it definitely answered a lot of questions about his future. I was shocked he was able to dispatch Forrest so fast. The BIG shocker though, was how a guy who everybody thought was finished, Minotauro Nogueira, was able to defeat Brendan Schaub. I’ve been a huge Nog fan for a long time, but even I admitted he was done, but apparently he’s still got some fight cause he went in and showcased the Nog of old, pounding away at Brendan’s face. Was a great moment. Overall – the show was AWESOME and surprisingly ended at the 2 hour mark, which is WACKY!

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
Worst Fight: Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua

UFC Rio was quite the spectacle. With all of the PPV fights featuring Brazilians fighting in Brazil, you had a clear crowd favorite in every fight, and the Brazilians went 3-2 on the PPV card. Anderson Silva was fantastic as usual. Big Nog was inspiring. And Shogun Rua was all about business. It’s just too bad that Forrest Griffin didn’t really come to fight, even though he had his reasons. They should probably do a Brazil themed MMA show every year.