Only a week after UFC 89, which was broadcast on Spike TV from UK, UFC was back on pay-per-view with another event – their first one in Chicago, Illinois. UFC 90 was headlined by Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title against an unlikely contender in Patrick Cote. The card also featured four lightweight bouts, only two of which made the televised broadcast.
Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk (155 lbs)
The broadcast began with one of the lightweight bouts: a matchup between two fighters with very similar styles. It turned out that Sherk was a little better than Griffin in every area. Sherk took Griffin down early in the first round and quickly took Tyson’s back but was shaken off. Sherk achieved several more takedowns over the course of the fight, but was not able to keep Griffin on the ground for more than a few seconds, while Tyson’s takedown attempts fell short.
By the middle of the second round, both fighters abandoned the idea of ground fighting, and the remainder of the bout was mainly a kickboxing match. On the feet Sherk had the edge as well with sharp uppercuts and knees and quick combinations of strikes. Griffin turned up the intensity of his attacks in the third round, but it was not enough as Sherk walked away with a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) . The bout earned the official ‘Fight of the Night’ award.
Aftermath: Sherk positions himself back in the lightweight title picture, and has mentioned his desire to face the winner of the upcoming bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. Griffin lost but had a solid performance; this may be a good time to match him up with Nate Diaz, who is still undefeated in the Octagon.
Fight grade: 4/5
Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior dos Santos (265 lbs)
In a heavyweight bout, Fabricio Werdum took on a fellow Brazilian, UFC newcomer Junior dos Santos. Despite establishing himself as a top contender in the UFC’s shallow HW division, Werdum was left by the wayside in the ongoing four-man title tournament, and took what was basically a ‘stay busy’ fight against dos Santos. Fabricio weighted in at an unusually heavy 256 lbs, leaving many people wondering whether he was taking Junior too lightly. The concerns turned out to be valid: Werdum did not attempt to get the fight to the ground where he would have an advantage, and instead attempted to stand and strike with dos Santos. This turned out disastrous for Werdum, as he ducked right into a huge uppercut about a minute into the first round. Werdum collapsed and dos Santos quickly finished the bout with a barrage of punches. Junior dos Santos earned the ‘Knockout of the Night’.
Aftermath: With a win over a highly ranked contender, dos Santos launches himself into the heavyweight Top 10. I would like to see him face one of the other hot heavyweight prospects next: Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez. A bout with a another established fighter such as Gabriel Gonzaga or Cheick Kongo would be interesting as well. Werdum takes a fall that knocks him out of the title contention for the foreseeable future. Heath Herring would make an ideal next opponent for Fabricio.
Fight grade: 4/5
Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi (155 lbs)
The night’s second lightweight bout delivered very sporadic action. After uneventfully exchanging strikes for most of the first round, Maynard took Clementi down, and proceeded to not do much on the ground. Maynard repeated this strategy for the remainder of the fight, with a few nice looking slams followed by a whole lot of nothing. Clementi was not able to defend the takedowns, and had a few submission attempts from the bottom but nothing came close. The fans booed, the referee repeatedly implored the fighters to “come on, let’s go” and Mike Goldberg went on a diatribe about the rivalries between Michigan State, Ohio State, and University of Michigan to keep from falling asleep. Maynard earns a unanimous decision: 30-27 on all three scorecards. Boring fight.
Aftermath: Solid win but uninspiring performance for Maynard, who needs to be matched up with someone who can neutralize his impeccable wrestling – a Tyson Griffin or a Sean Sherk. Clementi’s four win streak has been broken, and hopes of title contention crushed. I would like to see him square off against Spencer Fisher, who defeated Shannon Gugerty by the means of a triangle choke in an untelevised bout that earned Fisher the ‘Submission of the Night’ award.
Fight grade: 2/5
Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves (170 lbs)
The big question coming into this fight was whether Alves could make weight after showing up heavy in his previous bout. Alves weighted in at 171 lbs – within the 1 lb. allowance for non-title bouts. He performed admirably, blocking every single takedown attempted by Koscheck while punishing Josh on the feet for the entire three rounds. Alves knocked Koscheck down with a hook early in the first round, and buckled Koscheck’s knees with leg kicks several times thought the fight. However Koscheck survived and pressed on, not afraid to trade with Alves and landing some shots of his own. Alves took the unanimous decision: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
Aftermath: Alves asked for a title shot in the post fight interview, and with seven consecutive wins as well as coming off back-to-back knockouts of Karo Parysian and Matt Hughes, followed by a dominant decision over Koscheck, he certainly is the next in line for the winner of the BJ Penn – Georges St. Pierre superfight. Koscheck showed great heart and tremendously improved striking, though his inability to bring the fight to the ground was surprising after Alves was taken down by both Hughes and Parysian in his last two fights. Koscheck was scheduled to face Yoshiyuki Yoshida at the ‘UFC Fight for the Troops’ event on December 10th; if he does not receive a lengthy medical suspension from the Illinois Athletic Commission, there is no reason for this bout not to happen.
Fight grade: 4/5
Champion Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote (185 lbs title bout)
In the fourth defense of his middleweight title, Anderson Silva put in a somewhat anemic performance, reminiscent more of Lyoto Machida’s evasive techniques rather than Silva’s normally aggressive style. Though Silva handily won every exchange he chose to engage in, there were very long lulls in the action in first and second rounds, as Silva circled and danced and deflected Cote’s every attack. Cote was cautious but kept coming after Silva, landing an occasional leg kick and throwing many overhand rights that found nothing but air. Silva landed several powerful-looking kicks, punches, and knees throughout the fight but Cote remained standing. Cote had a single takedown attempt which Silva easily reversed, briefly working from Cote’s guard before letting him up. Cote seemed to injure his leg midway through the second round; and early in the third Patrick collapsed as his right knee gave out. Silva wins a TKO in a very anticlimactic ending to the main event.
Aftermath: Silva appeared to be bored and toying with Cote in this fight. There is clearly no real competition for him at 185 lbs; his next fight is rumored to be back at 205 though an opponent has not yet been named. Cote performed slightly better than expected, and will likely be back in the middleweight title picture once his injury is healed.
Fight grade: 3/5
Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries (185 lbs)
In a preliminary bout that was aired after the main card, Leites was rocked by a hook from heavy-handed McFedries early on, but quickly recovered and took the fight to the ground, where he proceeded to take Drew’s back and force a tapout with a rear naked choke in the very first round. Very predictable fight.
Aftermath: Leites earns his fifth consecutive victory, and solidifies his status as one of the top contenders at 185 lbs. While Anderson Silva makes his forage at 205, I would like to see Thales rematch Nathan Marquardt. McFedries loses his third straight bout, which typically heralds an end to a fighter’s UFC career; however Drew may get another chance as a reward for stepping up on short notice to fill in for the injured Goran Reljic in this bout.
Fight grade: 3/5
Though UFC 90 was marginally better than the last week’s lackluster show, the solid undercard was dragged down by a letdown of a main event, as well as Gray Maynard’s lay-and-pray performance. Thoroughly unspectacular.