So first off, I missed the James Wilks and Cheick Kongo fights. Turns out Patrick dominated Wilks for three rounds using clinch grappling as well as taking Wilks down a few times. Much like I predicted, Patrick was able to use his superior grappling to control Wilks, although neither of them was able to submit their opponent en route to a unanimous decision victory for Patrick. The Kongo fight started off as I expected, with Browne coming out wild. Unfortunately Kongo didn't unleash his hands the way I expected, and the two ended up fighting to a lackluster decision resulting in a draw due to a point being deducted from Kongo in the 3rd round. With these results, Wilks may be on his way out of the UFC, while Cheick Kongo has become solidified as a gatekeeper in the HW division.
Can't believe the result of the Hathaway fight. Honestly this kid looked unstoppable when he fought Sanchez. Against Pyle, he was never able to land a punch first, and was constantly being tagged on the feet. Also, very surprisingly, Pyle had a lot of success dragging Hathaway to the ground and gaining dominant position. This fight went the complete opposite way I expected, as John Hathaway was handed his first loss. Apparently he's not as legit as I thought.
On to the fight I was looking forward to most. Condit vs Hardy left me more satisfied than any fight has in a while. Coming in, I was rooting for Condit all the way, but fully expected Hardy to pull out the victory due to style matchups. They engaged for the first three minutes, before both fighters threw straight right - left hook combinations simultaneously. Hardy's left hook landed on Condit's right shoulder, while Condit's left hook landed flush on the cheek/jaw of Hardy. The Outlaw went down, and Condit followed up with two pinpoint shots to put Hardy's lights out. Condit has never been one to show KO power, and the fact that he did this against a fighter like Dan Hardy is fucking awesome. Condit has definitely earned himself a shot at an upper echelon fighter, someone like Sanchez/Thiago, Alvez/Howard, Shields/Kampmann(rematch). Looking forward to Dan Hardy vs Chris Lytle.
On to the main event. Bisping looked real good tonite. Sure he did get tagged by a few big right hands from Akiyama, but aside from that, he was landing leg kicks and combinations with ease. That may not be saying much, considering that Akiyama's whole offense was his right hand and he didn't seem to put up any sort of defense. Akiyama put all his eggs in one basket, relying on that right hand to finish the fight. While Bisping looked good putting his hands together, he still showed a lot of fundamental mistakes in his striking. Circling to his left (towards the power hand of his opponent). This is what got him knocked out against Hendo, and almost got him KO'd by Akiyama. He also shows a tendency to keep his hands high and tight, but once he throws some punches, he is slow to bring his hands back, resulting in Akiyama landing several big counters. Bisping also went for several pitiful takedowns during this fight. A well deserved decision for the Brit, although I don't think he stands a chance against Marquardt, Sonnen, Belfort, or Maia, not to mention Anderson.
So all in all it was a pretty decent card for a free TUF. Sadly 4 of the 5 bouts went to decision, but I am still overjoyed by Condit's knockout victory. As I mentioned earlier this week, I am very excited for next week's Preview and Predictions for UFC 121. Very exciting card with a lot riding on each fight. Tune in next week for my two cents.
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