Last night the UFC presented its first-ever live Fight Night-type event on the FX network, simply called “UFC on FX 1.”
As a first event, it would, of course, have to be good enough to set a benchmark of quality that all other “UFC on FX” shows could be held up against. Going into the event, I personally noted how important it was to see if this was more of a “Fight Night Live” event or a “UFC on Versus” event.
Now I have my answer: This series has the potential to rival and even surpass the “UFC on Versus” events, and become the definitive UFC experience on television outside of the occasional “UFC on Fox” broadcasts.
Here are the full results as well as my early reactions:
Jim Miller defeats Melvin Guillard by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:04 of Round 1.
Josh Neer defeats Duane Ludwig by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:04 of Round 1.
Mike Easton defeats Jared Papazian by majority decision.
Pat Barry defeats Christian Morecraft by TKO (strikes) at 3:38 of Round 1.
Jorge Rivera defeats Eric Schafer by TKO (strikes) at 1:31 of Round 2.
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Kamal Shalorus by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:08 of Round 3.
Charlie Brenneman defeats Daniel Roberts by unanimous decision.
Fabricio Camoes defeats Tommy Hayden by submission (rear-naked-choke) at 4:03 of Round 1.
Daniel Pineda defeats Pat Schilling by submission (rear-naked-choke) at 1:37 of Round 1.
Nick Denis defeats Joseph Sandoval by knockout (elbows) at 0:22 of Round 1.
You guys know by now how I feel about the UFC’s prelims, so let me just say this one more time: It’s action like this that makes me not think twice about naming the prelims my new “dark horse favorite” series even though they’re UFC-branded.
These are fights you need to see, every last one of them, because five out of the six free fights ended in stoppage. Three of those five were first-round stoppages, in fact. It’s starting to become standard fare to go into the prelims not knowing a few faces, recognizing a few faces, and expecting everybody to finish everybody else.
From Nick Denis’ manhandling of Joseph Sandoval to Jorge Riva retiring on a comeback TKO victory, these prelims were simply amazing.
Seeing Pat Barry win and get a big KO again was one of the highlights of the night for me. To be honest, I had the strongest positive reaction of the night when Barry brought the win home. Make no mistake: I want Pat Barry to stay in the UFC as long as he can, because he fights to finish and he’s ridiculously entertaining both inside and out of the cage.
While Mike Easton didn’t deliver the dominant finish I thought he would, he did bring home the win, and I guess that’s all that matters. I can admit that the hype surrounding Easton has cooled a bit after “UFC on FX 1.” He faced a very game opponent and won a very close fight. Hopefully this is a learning experience for Easton.
I didn’t have any strong feelings towards Josh Neer or Duane Ludwig going into this fight, so I honestly don’t have any strong reaction to Josh Neer submitting Duane Ludwig. I’ll say this, though: It was a good fight and a good finish. I’m happy as a UFC fan and wish both men the best.
And in the main event…well, the main event was tough to watch.
I’m happy for Jim Miller, and I’m glad he’s getting back on the right track, because I still think he’s one of the most under-rated Lightweight fighters in the UFC. But it’s just heartbreaking to see Melvin Guillard continue to make the same mistakes he’s always made.
As a fan of the man, I know I should be angry, I should be critical, but right now all I really am is sad. No matter what happens, I wish Melvin Guillard the best and I’ll continue to keep watching him fight.
All in all, the UFC is on quite a role right now. Their first major pay-per-view of 2012 was a fantastic event that set a high benchmark for UFC PPV’s in 2012, and this show did the same thing, except for live television events.
Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.
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