Tag: Fight Night 27

The Potato Index: Fight Night 27

That’s some hit, man.   (I’m so sorry.)  PicProps:  Esther Lin / MMAFighting

So BG is gone this week, I assume to yet another wedding, because once he bought the tuxedo he was determined to get the mileage out of it. Seriously, he’s got the whole bit: natty little straight cane with the white tips, monocle, top hat, the whole nine. It’s dashing, but apparently it’s expensive as hell. That or he’s running some kind of scheme where he collects disposable cameras and plastic champagne flutes? What the fuck are you building in there, Goldstein?

So anyway, I’m poking around his office here at CP headquarters, kick over a box of CagePotato Hall of Fame t-shirts, and damn if i didn’t stumble over the ol’ arbitrariest of MMA supercomputers: the Potato Index.

Turns out it’s been hooked up this whole time, so I decided to pull up the numbers on UFC’s Fight Night 27, just for old times’ sake.

The Octagon Girls +16
The new Octagon Girls are lovely. Chrissy Blair is the archetypal California Girl; think Christie Brinkley in a Ferrari, but blonder. And the new brunette one getting tattoos exactly like Brittney Palmer’s was a nice touch.

Kansas City fighters + 42
Zak Cummings [+19] and Jason High [+23] both picked up their first UFC wins with good-looking performances. Jason High had previously lost to Erick Silva in June and Charlie Brennamen back in 2010, mostly because Joe Silva likes to call High on short notice for not-easy fights. The Kansas City Bandit gets a big bump with a quick win.

Abel Trujillo +11
Trujillo picks up the best kind of No Contest: the kind that comes from a foul that is both uber-agressive and debatable. Attacking grounded fighters with knees will always stir the passions; if Trujillo were a savvy marketer, he would start coming to the cage in a Hannibal mask and a straight jacket. A straight jacket covered in sponsor patches. Dana White would get a visible boner.

Roger Bowling -5
Unfortunately, according to (arbitrary) opinion, it’s better to take the loss in the cage and get the NC declared later. But enjoy your short-term memory and normal brain function. (Pussy.)

That’s some hit, man.   (I’m so sorry.)  PicProps:  Esther Lin / MMAFighting

So BG is gone this week, I assume to yet another wedding, because once he bought the tuxedo he was determined to get the mileage out of it. Seriously, he’s got the whole bit: natty little straight cane with the white tips, monocle, top hat, the whole nine. It’s dashing, but apparently it’s expensive as hell. That or he’s running some kind of scheme where he collects disposable cameras and plastic champagne flutes? What the fuck are you building in there, Goldstein?

So anyway, I’m poking around his office here at CP headquarters, kick over a box of CagePotato Hall of Fame t-shirts, and damn if i didn’t stumble over the ol’ arbitrariest of MMA supercomputers: the Potato Index.

Turns out it’s been hooked up this whole time, so I decided to pull up the numbers on UFC’s Fight Night 27, just for old times’ sake.

The Octagon Girls +16
The new Octagon Girls are lovely. Chrissy Blair is the archetypal California Girl; think Christie Brinkley in a Ferrari, but blonder. And the new brunette one getting tattoos exactly like Brittney Palmer’s was a nice touch.

Kansas City fighters + 42
Zak Cummings [+19] and Jason High [+23] both picked up their first UFC wins with good-looking performances. Jason High had previously lost to Erick Silva in June and Charlie Brennamen back in 2010, mostly because Joe Silva likes to call High on short notice for not-easy fights. The Kansas City Bandit gets a big bump with a quick win.

Abel Trujillo +11
Trujillo picks up the best kind of No Contest: the kind that comes from a foul that is both uber-agressive and debatable. Attacking grounded fighters with knees will always stir the passions; if Trujillo were a savvy marketer, he would start coming to the cage in a Hannibal mask and a straight jacket. A straight jacket covered in sponsor patches. Dana White would get a visible boner.

Roger Bowling -5
Unfortunately, according to (arbitrary) opinion, it’s better to take the loss in the cage and get the NC declared later. But enjoy your short-term memory and normal brain function. (Pussy.)

Darren Elkins +14
Elkins survived a vicious body attack in the first and a dangerous grappling attack in the second and third. “Surviving” does not tend to lead to big gains in esteem, as witnessed by Elkins being bounced to the prelims despite a 7-2 UFC record, and minimal gains here.

Hatsu Hioki -27
Attacking Hatsu Hioki on the ground, with a leg lock, should be like picking a fight with Iron Man while wearing your own home-made power armor. But that’s exactly what happened, after Hioki had failed to put away a visibly hurt Elkins in the first round. Hioki is now 0-3 in the UFC, so don’t expect to see him before the organization returns to Japan.

Brandon Thatch +38
There’s a first appearance, and then there’s a debut. One you need to look up, and one just stands out. In 1 minute and 23 seconds of full-blown Tekken button-mashing mode, Thatch introduced himself to a whole bunch of new people.

Justin Edwards: -23
Poor Justin Edwards. Where previously he was always being mentally associated with this guy, now people are always going to mentally associate him with 82 seconds of gloriously violent interpretive dance. Expect Edwards to get another chance to redeem himself, but that’s a harsh beating to take.

TUF 18: Rousey vs Tate: +8
The latest incarnation of the Ultimate Fighter competition show continues to draw buzz with its first female inclusion, while Cat Zingano [-4] has been effectively forgotten. At least the UFC has a legitimate challenger after Tate suffers her second disarticulation loss.

Dylan Andrews: +18
Andrews looked to be losing a grappling match until he uncorked an economy three-pack of Aussie brand Uppercut that tucked Papy into Abedi in the third round. [Ed. note: The computer is unable -or unwilling – to apologize for this.]  Carrying that kind of power late into the fight, even when injured, makes Andrews a scary opponent.  Andrews lost points for calling his uppercut his “money shot”, because human fluids are disgusting.

Papy Abedi  -11
Abedi kept his grappling attack entertaining, with some slick trips and a high-amplitude slam.  His chin looks to be suspect, but that shouldn’t stop him from getting a call again, particularly when friend Alexander Gustafssen is on the card, or the UFC is visiting Europe.

Brad Tavares  +17
Tavares showcased some powerful strikes without going complete Manhoef, possibly pacing himself for a tough fight.  It was a good performance in that it showed potential, but it was outshone by a card packed with stoppages.

Bubba McDaniel  -19
If your name is Robert, but everyone calls you “Bubba”, you have to be a tough SOB and you have fight to scare people [See also:  “Tank”, “Barbie”].  McDaniel is not living up to expectations – late rally notwithstanding – and he’s only a couple of wins away from being “Rob”. If he taps to strikes he goes straight to “Bobby”.

Takeya Mizugaki  +17
Mizugaki gets a bigger bump than the judges would indicate, with an intelligent performance that affirms his place in the bantamweight elite.

Erik Perez  -6
No shame in a loss to Mizugaki, but it will slow the hype train.  Perez stayed predictable enough for Mizugaki to counter sharply, and this should be an excellent learning opportunity for the 23 year old Perez.

Court McGee  +5
Reports of McGee’s demise are greatly exaggerated.  He is still very much alive and active, and earned a slim split decision in a very close fight.  This fight is notable in that scores vary wildly from all sources, including the official judges, who scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 27-30.  The notable aspect is that none of these official scores are indefensible.  It is a curious, aberrational result that indicates a different scoring protocol should be investigated.

Robert Whittaker -5
Whittaker was on the losing end of a  curious, aberrational result that indicates a different scoring protocol should be investigated, so now would be an opportune time for someone to approach him with a petition.  The close result would seem to make the two interchangeable in the rankings for the near future.

Kevin Gastelum  +36
Gastelum steps out at welterweight for the first time, and steps up on the Index with a convincing showing of boxing offense to augment his touted wrestling base.

Brian Melancon  -21
Melancon was a late replacement for Paulo Thiago, which is enough to by him enough goodwill for another fight.  That said, anybody at 170 pounds (always a packed division) that came from Strikeforce is on thin ice to begin with.

Rafael dos Anjos  +34
Any winner over Cerrone puts the division on notice.  A matchup against a convalescing T.J. Grant has been suggested, and seems entirely appropriate later this fall.

Donald Cerrone  -16
Donald Cerrone has solidified his role the gate keeper at 155, which is not terrible by any stretch.  He’s solidly in the Top 10, and he’s 584% more entertaining than a “You must be this _______ tall to fight the champ” sign.

Carlos Condit   +37
A convincing win that completely erases any previous loss, Condit is riding high.  Future Twitter fights or a well-phrased YouTube video could cause another slide on the Index, however.  Like Cerrone, Condit is a perfectly-placed yardstick at 170 pounds — there doesn’t appear to be anyone not named St. Pierre* better than Condit.

Martin Kampmann -21
Look at Kampmann’s face when Dean waves the fight off.  He’s not arguing, he’s bewildered – Kampmann’s just hoping someone got the license plate of that low-flying gang of ninja monkeys that just attacked him.  (His face after the fight wasn’t much better.) Expect the Danish Hitman to come back with a vicious win after this, possibly rocking a different look going forward.

 

 

*Or Hendricks, as reader Scott Johnson rightly points out. Clearly, the Potato Index Super Computer IS BUGGY AFTER NOT BEING USED FOR SO LONG GAH. Asshole.

 

[RX/CPPISC]

‘Fight Night 27: Condit vs. Kampmann II’ Aftermath: Wednesday, Bloody Wednesday


(“Listen up, old man. You’re *going* to give me those Six Flags tickets, whether you want to or not.” Photo via Getty.) 

Despite the fact that he was defeated via a close split decision in the pair’s first meeting, former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit was the odds-on favorite heading into his rematch with Martin Kampmann at Fight Night 27 last night. It wasn’t hard to see why — Condit had dropped his past two contests, sure, but they were close decision losses to the the division’s long-standing champion and its current number one contender. Kampmann was also coming off a loss to said contender, but let’s just say that his loss was a little more…demoralizing.

In the early going, it looked as if Kampmann would attempt to mirror the strategy that led him to victory in the pair’s first meeting. Understandably hoping to avoid being shot out of a cannon by another left hand, “The Hitman” constantly pressured his lengthier foe and mixed up a few takedowns to keep Condit off balance. It’s a credit to Condit’s otherworldly cardio that he seemed to only grow fresher as the fight progressed, especially considering the amount of energy he expended defending Kampmann’s grappling-based attack in the first.

But there Condit was in the second and third, utilizing his reach to slowly pick Kampmann — who I’m convinced is only so pasty because he loses roughly 2 pints of blood per fight — apart before finishing him with a brutal series of knees and punches in the fourth. Even in defeat, the Dane once again proved that unless you have a fist made of granite, you are not putting him away easily.

With the victory, Condit claimed not only redemption but a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. With four FOTN and two KOTN awards in his last seven bouts, it’s safe to say that Condit is not only one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, but a perennial contender for the welterweight title. The ridiculous myth that the former WEC welterweight champ is a “Natural Born Runner” has been officially debunked — just don’t tell that to the hardcore Nick Diaz fans still struggling to cope with his loss to Condit at UFC 143. Unbridled ignorance is truly the hamster that keeps their wheels spinning, if ever so slowly.


(“Listen up, old man. You’re *going* to give me those Six Flags tickets, whether you want to or not.” Photo via Getty.) 

Despite the fact that he was defeated via a close split decision in the pair’s first meeting, former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit was the odds-on favorite heading into his rematch with Martin Kampmann at Fight Night 27 last night. It wasn’t hard to see why — Condit had dropped his past two contests, sure, but they were close decision losses to the the division’s long-standing champion and its current number one contender. Kampmann was also coming off a loss to said contender, but let’s just say that his loss was a little more…demoralizing.

In the early going, it looked as if Kampmann would attempt to mirror the strategy that led him to victory in the pair’s first meeting. Understandably hoping to avoid being shot out of a cannon by another left hand, “The Hitman” constantly pressured his lengthier foe and mixed up a few takedowns to keep Condit off balance. It’s a credit to Condit’s otherworldly cardio that he seemed to only grow fresher as the fight progressed, especially considering the amount of energy he expended defending Kampmann’s grappling-based attack in the first.

But there Condit was in the second and third, utilizing his reach to slowly pick Kampmann — who I’m convinced is only so pasty because he loses roughly 2 pints of blood per fight — apart before finishing him with a brutal series of knees and punches in the fourth. Even in defeat, the Dane once again proved that unless you have a fist made of granite, you are not putting him away easily.

With the victory, Condit claimed not only redemption but a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. With four FOTN and two KOTN awards in his last seven bouts, it’s safe to say that Condit is not only one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, but a perennial contender for the welterweight title. The ridiculous myth that the former WEC welterweight champ is a “Natural Born Runner” has been officially debunked — just don’t tell that to the hardcore Nick Diaz fans still struggling to cope with his loss to Condit at UFC 143. Unbridled ignorance is truly the hamster that keeps their wheels spinning, if ever so slowly.

In the night’s co-main event, a somewhat sluggish Donald Cerrone saw himself similarly outgunned by moderate underdog Rafael Dos Anjos. The Brazilian not only accomplished what few have done by dropping “Cowboy” in the first, but surprisingly managed to outwork Cerrone in both the stand up and the grappling department as the fight progressed. This was no doubt thanks to the fact that Dos Anjos is more machine than he is man these days, but a win’s a win and with five straight, it’s time to give Dos Anjos a #1 contender fight. When T.J. Grant is healthy again, expect to see these two mix it up. Not bad for a dude who was best known for eating Jeremy Stephens’ uppercut from Hell in his UFC debut.

Elsewhere on the main card, TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum made short work of late replacement opponent Brian Melancon, stunning the Texan with some B-E-A-utiful inside boxing before snatching up a fight-ending rear naked choke just two and a half minutes into the contest. Gastelum’s improbable run in the UFC can perhaps best be summed up by Derek Brunson:

Gastelum’s quick submission was not enough to earn him a SOTN bonus, however. That award went to fellow TUF 17 contestant and alien in poorly-fitting human skin suit, Zak Cummings, who collected his first UFC victory by way of an incredibly slick Brabo choke over Ben Alloway in the first round (gif here via Zombie Prophet).

Twas an exciting night of fights, for sure. The closely contested slugfests that were Takeya Mizugaki vs. Erik Perez and Court McGee vs. Robert Whittaker would have arguably secured a FOTN bonus on a lesser card (UFC 163, for instance). In the former, Mizugaki’s unbreakable chin held up against the early and often furious onslaught of Perez, who seemed to fade as the two continued to trade heavy leather for three straight rounds. With the win, Mizugaki improved to 5-2 in the UFC; here’s hoping he continues to get main card fights because the man is entertaining as hell to watch.

In the latter meeting between TUF winners, McGee — who overdosed on heroin once, just in case you guys didn’t know — improved his welterweight record to 2-0 by outgunning Whittaker en route to a split decision victory. While Whittaker may have landed the harder shots, it was McGee’s octagon control and feverish pace that earned him the judges’ nod. However, the fact that the final scores were 30-27, 27-30 and 29-28 furthers the theory that MMA judges have either given up entirely or are handing out sympathy points these days. Of course, it really didn’t help that the judge who scored it for Whittaker wrote in crayon.

What’s left? Ahhh yes, the KOTN award, which went to newcomer Brandon Thatch for his first round destruction of Justin Edwards. The finish was Thatch’s ninth straight victory to come in the first round and a performance that will likely give Brittney Palmer nightmares for weeks to come. Standing at 6’2″, Thatch towers above most of the welterweight division and could pose some legitimate threats down the line. That being said, he might want to start keeping his hands a little higher when he kicks or he is going to get plastered by a better striker.

The full results for Fight Night 27 are below.

UFC Fight Night 27 Main Card on Fox Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET)
-Carlos Condit def. Martin Kampmann, TKO (Round 4, 0:54)
-Rafael dos Anjos def. Donald Cerrone, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Kelvin Gastelum def. Melancon, submission (Round 1, 2:26)
-Court McGee def. Robert Whittaker, split-decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
-Takeya Mizugaki def. Erik Perez, split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Brad Tavares def. Bubba McDaniel, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Fox Sports 2 Prelims (6 p.m. ET)
-Dylan Andrews def. Papy Abedi, TKO (Round 3, 1:32)
-Brandon Thatch def. Justin Edwards, TKO (Round 1, 1:23)
-Darren Elkins def. Hatsu Hioki, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Jason High def. James Head, submission (Round 1, 1:41)

Facebook Prelims (5 p.m. ET)
-Zak Cummings def. Ben Alloway, submission (Round 1, 4:19)
-Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo: No contest (Bowling KO’d by illegal knee in Round 2)

–J. Jones