The night we’d all waited so patiently for finally arrived yesterday (Saturday July 9, 2016) as UFC 200 went down in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The blockbuster event was rightfully promoted as the biggest UFC card of all time, and it certainly had the potential to be just that. Perhaps in terms of pay-per-view buys it will have been, but outside of the UFC brass and fighters getting PPV cuts those numbers mean little. In measurement of excitement there was plenty on the card, but arguably the preliminary segment had the best fights.
So what exactly happened at UFC 200? Three straight finishes on the Fight Pass prelims got the card off to a great start but, although it’s not all about stoppages, that trio of TKO’s in the opening section of the event was not matched in total by the following nine fights on FOX and PPV. A technical knockout for Cain Velasquez and main event submission by Amanda Nunes on Miesha Tate were the only finishes from the entire card after the Fight Pass prelims, FS1 saw four straight decisions.
But hey, we aren’t ‘just bleed’ fans, we appreciate a good technical scrap and also respect the fact that finishes are of course entertaining, but not decisive in whether or not a card is any good or not. Let’s take a look at the biggest wins and losses at UFC 200, what they mean for their respective divisions and how the card flowed considering its monumental amount of hype, and more.
Cormier vs. Silva
UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier faced Anderson Silva in a very short notice fight at UFC 200. After the sensational failed drug test saga involving Jon Jones was announced mid-week, the interim champ was removed from the card, and in doing so hogged a lot of media attention for all the wrong reasons. The stress that Daniel Cormier was put under for that 24 hours between Jones being pulled and Silva being signed could well have hindered his performance.
As it was he won the fight, Silva once again proved the size of his heart and bravery coming in to face the much heavier man with no camp to prepare. I don’t think either man loses stock from this fight, that said it wasn’t the burner many of us had hoped for, what’s next for both men? Cormier needs to get booked against someone not named Jon Jones, for ‘The Spider’ maybe light-heavyweight is a good fit?
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt
Another fight that maybe didn’t live up to our high expectations, but was a surprise. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returned to face a serious knockout artist after five years away from MMA. What’s even more impressive is that Hunt was not able to get going in this fight, his punches had little effect on Lesnar who managed to wrestle his way to a decision victory.
Stock lost/gained is as follows; Lesnar, should he choose to fight again, would probably have the door open to any fight he wants. Yes, he’s technically not ranked and has no recent history aside from Hunt, but money talks. As far as ‘The Super Samoan’ is concerned, and it truly pains me to say this, but the loss to Lesnar puts a huge dent in his title aspirations, although if anyone can turn it around in five fights its him.
Amanda Nunes vs. Miesha Tate
Once again the women’s bantamweight title has changed hands, this time it sits around the waist of Amanda Nunes after UFC 200. The trend of failed first title defenses continues, and the story of this fight was ‘Cupcake’ getting pretty much destroyed from second one. Nunes connected with heavy strikes, bloodying Tate from the jump and then sinking in a tight choke to end the fight in the first round.
To an extent it looked like Tate was taking too many chances in the stand up, but Nunes was without doubt on fire in the UFC 200 main event. Great performance and now a potential first defense with Juliana Pena has been set up. Stock lost goes to Tate in this one, no shame in losing but she didn’t really get anything going in this fight in the way of offense or defense. For Nunes, well, that gold belt says it all, now she just has to try and avoid the curse from the last two champs.
Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar just can’t catch a break, he was without doubt the most deserving man to face Conor McGregor for the featherweight belt, but circumstances just did not permit. Instead taking on Jose Aldo for the junior belt, much like in their first fight, ‘The Answer’ found himself just beaten to the punch in the majority of exchanges. Looking a little more like his former self, Aldo landed some tidy flying techniques and scored a decision win after five solid rounds.
Does it tell you something when nobody gets a ‘fight of the night’ bonus? Read in to that how you will, and arguably Aldo/Edgar 2 had the prerequisite amount of fireworks to at least be front runner for that $50K windfall. What’s next? Once again Edgar finds himself up sh*t creek, and Aldo has taken his paddle for a second time. He’ll keep fighting, and probably winning, but while Aldo is now aligned for a rematch with McGregor, it’s going to be hard going for ‘The Answer’ trying to get another title shot after this loss. For the Brazilian, it’s McGregor or bust.
Joe Lauzon, Diego Sanchez, Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne
Joe Lauzon and Cain Velasquez scored great stoppage victories in their bouts with Diego Sanchez and Travis Browne respectively, leading to similar questions for both sets of winners and losers. For ‘Hapa’ and ‘The Dream’ it’s another loss to add to a growing tally, and very possibly an indicator as to their future hopes. Sanchez has been in way too many wars now, and that chin is just not able to hold up to the punishment anymore. Perhaps it’s time for retirement for Sanchez, now a 37-fight veteran, or maybe a good vacation and changes in camps could see him rise to another title shot.
Very similar questions for Browne, although he only has four losses, he is surely thinking about where his future in the division will be. After beating Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett, many felt ‘Hapa’ would be primed for title glory, but shortcomings against Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum and now Velasquez could indicate that a title fight is simply too far out of reach. For the ex-champion ‘CV’ it was a strong showing, but he needs at least one more fight without injury before being considered in the title mix. For Lauzon, in a busy lightweight division, two-three more of the same kind of bonus-winning stoppages could see him in a title fight.
UFC 200
Did it deliver? in terms of anticipation met by actual excitement during the fights, well, no. Not really, and it’s sad to say that, but the main card just didn’t have the pop we all had wished for. A historic event no doubt, but the last-minute loss of Jon Jones, the many decisions that became somewhat harder to watch as the night went on, and an overall feeling of the event just seemed off.
That said, we saw a new champion at women’s 135, Aldo with a belt around his waist again, former champions bouncing back and heavy favorites taking knocks.
Maybe we are too fickle?
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