UFC 148 delivered fantastic moments, a sad retirement and memorable finishes. But what did we learn?
Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s epic fights.
Melvin Guillard gave himself a lifeline
Melvin Guillard’s back was against the wall going into his fight Saturday night. That wall was the door to the exit from the UFC.
After coming close to a title fight about a year ago, Guillard has failed to deliver inside of the Octagon. He fell all the way to the preliminary’s.
But, with his back to the wall, he defeated Fabricio Camoes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Lifeline given.
Anderson Silva proves his worth
A late submission saved Anderson Silva the first time he locked horns with Chael Sonnen, but this fight was more certain.
After Sonnen found some success early, Silva took over the fight in the second round. He landed some heavy strikes, and Sonnen found himself on the wrong side of a TKO.
No more theories, no more Sonnen can compete with Anderson. He lost not once, but twice. The door has shut.
Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz looked old
Forrest Griffin defeated Tito Ortiz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Both fighters looked old, out of gas and run down.
Griffin came out with the slight decision, and his shelf life in the UFC does appear to have some time left, but both looked old.
Tito Ortiz’s retirement was perfect timing
The “I’m retiring” right after you lose is something I can’t stand. It generally takes a lot of the publicity from the winning fighter.
But in this case, with an aging Ortiz, it was the right time. Hopefully this is it for Ortiz. He doesn’t have much more in the tank at age 37, and his skid of 1-7-1 to conclude his career proves it.
However, he did go down fighting until the bitter end, which is classic Ortiz. It’s sad to see a legend retire, but the time was right.
Chad Mendes’ body blow got the show started
Which one would you take—shot to the face or blow to the body?
Chad Mendes countered a Cody McKenzie kick with a powerful body shot, ending it in only 31 seconds.
I don’t like when fights last under a minute, but this was perfect for UFC 148. We saw six fights that went the distance prior, and then Mendes landed a blow that opened up the rest of the show.
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