For anyone who is the kind of viewer that tunes in for the main card of major events but ignores the prelim action, on Saturday night you missed an all-out war between featherweights Matt Grice and Dennis Bermudez, who is an early front-runner for Fight of the Year honors.
The fight was so incredible that amid a UFC firing spree, Dana White was quick to assure the world that Grice would keep his job, despite the loss.
When you turn on your TV set and you put down your money or you buy a ticket, that’s what you expect to show up and see. As a fight fan, those are the kind of fights you want to watch. And those are the kind of fights where guys won’t get cut. It’s pretty easy—pretty simple.
Depending on how you scored the first and third rounds, this bout has been scored everywhere between 28-28 (via MMAfighting.com) and 29-27. Because of the epic nature of the brawl as well as the extremely close scoring, “rematch” is the word that is on many lips inside the industry.
Early in the contest, Bermudez was able to mount Grice and began unleashing a series of hammer fists and short elbows that could have ended the fight were it not for Grice‘s commendable heart.
Grice would battle out of the tough position and some feel that his crisp striking and spinning back kicks stole the round, despite his early trouble.
After Grice won a fun second frame, it all came down to the third round.
When the final round began, it looked as if Bermudez was going to quickly wrap up the fight, as he dropped Grice and swarmed in hopes of a finish. Once again, Grice displayed incredible heart and returned to his feet, where the two men slugged it out.
Herb Dean looked ready to step in and stop the fight during standup exchanges on several occasions as Grice was out on his feet in a couple of moments. It was the kind of round where everyone is wondering exactly how it’s possible that Grice was still standing.
As displayed by MMAdecisions.com, the most common scoring given to this fight by pundits was a 28-28 draw. And all draws need resolution.
What do you think? Who did you score the fight for? Would you like to see this fight one more time?
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