Tag: Pat Barry

Is Pat Barry the UFC’s Best Losing Heavyweight?

Filed under: UFCOn paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”

Ba…

Filed under:

On paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”

Barry is 3-4 in the UFC, but he could easily be 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3. And I don’t just mean that in the purely speculative, hypothetical sense, the way the flap of a butterfly’s wings could have resulted in the Nazis winning World War II. It doesn’t take a gigantic mental leap to imagine a world where Barry has a winning record in the UFC. All it takes is a look at his losses and a little bit of sympathy.

Fortunately for Barry, it’s the way he’s gone about losing that has earned him the sympathy, which explains why he’ll likely keep his job with the UFC at least a little while longer.

Consider Barry’s first three defeats in the Octagon. After a successful debut at UFC 92, he dropped Tim Hague in the opening seconds of their UFC 98 bout, only to get carried away in search of the finish and ending up in a guillotine choke. He rebounded with a knockout of Antoni Hardonk, then broke his most valuable appendages on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s head before succumbing to a sloppy rear-naked choke.

Then, of course, came his infamous near-knockout (or, if you prefer, actual knockout followed by brilliant recovery) of Cheick Kongo in a bout that ended with one of the most spectacular comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Barry, it also ended with him on his back, looking up at the lights.

You tweak one or two things in each of those three losses — a more patient attack, sturdier bones, the lack of a miraculous recovery — and Barry might be one the most successful UFC heavyweights of the past two years.

In fact, the only one of his losses that you can’t explain away with some minor blunder or bizarre misfortune is his most recent loss via submission to Stefan Struve this past Saturday night. That one was utterly and purely Barry’s fault, and this time inexperience and/or hyper-aggression weren’t plausible scapegoats.

Not that it should matter, at least in theory. There are plenty of UFC fighters who never caught many breaks but still got cut once the losses piled up. Regardless of whether Barry could have won those fights — or even should have — he didn’t. And in the end, isn’t that what counts?

Judging by UFC president Dana White’s reaction, the answer is: sometimes, but not always. Following the UFC on Versus 6 press conference, White explained that he was in no hurry to cut Barry because he “always brings it.”

In other words, he’s a kickboxer with an exciting style and an engaging personality, plus fans like him, so he gets a little more slack. It’s the Dan Hardy rule. Most guys can’t lose three fights in a row and remain on the UFC roster (some, like Gerald Harris, can’t even lose one). But if the UFC likes what you bring to the table, you might get a fourth and fifth chance to halt a losing skid. It’s one more reminder that this sport isn’t just about winning and losing — it’s also about selling tickets.

In some cases, that results in some truly forgettable missteps (see also: Kimbo Slice). But in Barry’s case, it makes for a welcome reprieve. Sure, he has some gaping holes in his game and he’ll never be UFC champion — or, most likely, even a serious contender — but he’s talented and he’s fun. Even when (especially when?) he loses it makes for a memorable night, and he’s always competitive, especially when the UFC is kind enough to keep him away from the heavyweight division’s better grapplers.

If Barry were a wrestler with poor striking rather than a striker with poor submissions defense, he’d be cut by now. It wouldn’t matter how much fun he was to interview or how narrow his defeats were. In that sense, keeping guys like Barry and Hardy around promotes a certain kind of fighting, and it’s the kind the UFC thinks it can most effectively sell to fans.

But Barry (and, to some extent, Hardy as well) is a case where this system actually feels just. He’s not a bad fighter; he’s just unlucky. He needs work on his ground game, but at least he never bores you. Even with a 3-4 record in the organization, he’s the best losing heavyweight in the UFC.

Of course, if he doesn’t want to find out just how much slack the UFC is willing to cut him, he’d better pull to .500 very, very soon. Winning may not be everything, but it’s still the most noticeable thing.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Is Pat Barry the UFC’s Best Losing Heavyweight?

Filed under: UFCOn paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”

Ba…

Filed under:

On paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for “HD.”

Barry is 3-4 in the UFC, but he could easily be 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3. And I don’t just mean that in the purely speculative, hypothetical sense, the way the flap of a butterfly’s wings could have resulted in the Nazis winning World War II. It doesn’t take a gigantic mental leap to imagine a world where Barry has a winning record in the UFC. All it takes is a look at his losses and a little bit of sympathy.

Fortunately for Barry, it’s the way he’s gone about losing that has earned him the sympathy, which explains why he’ll likely keep his job with the UFC at least a little while longer.

Consider Barry’s first three defeats in the Octagon. After a successful debut at UFC 92, he dropped Tim Hague in the opening seconds of their UFC 98 bout, only to get carried away in search of the finish and ending up in a guillotine choke. He rebounded with a knockout of Antoni Hardonk, then broke his most valuable appendages on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s head before succumbing to a sloppy rear-naked choke.

Then, of course, came his infamous near-knockout (or, if you prefer, actual knockout followed by brilliant recovery) of Cheick Kongo in a bout that ended with one of the most spectacular comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Barry, it also ended with him on his back, looking up at the lights.

You tweak one or two things in each of those three losses — a more patient attack, sturdier bones, the lack of a miraculous recovery — and Barry might be one the most successful UFC heavyweights of the past two years.

In fact, the only one of his losses that you can’t explain away with some minor blunder or bizarre misfortune is his most recent loss via submission to Stefan Struve this past Saturday night. That one was utterly and purely Barry’s fault, and this time inexperience and/or hyper-aggression weren’t plausible scapegoats.

Not that it should matter, at least in theory. There are plenty of UFC fighters who never caught many breaks but still got cut once the losses piled up. Regardless of whether Barry could have won those fights — or even should have — he didn’t. And in the end, isn’t that what counts?

Judging by UFC president Dana White’s reaction, the answer is: sometimes, but not always. Following the UFC on Versus 6 press conference, White explained that he was in no hurry to cut Barry because he “always brings it.”

In other words, he’s a kickboxer with an exciting style and an engaging personality, plus fans like him, so he gets a little more slack. It’s the Dan Hardy rule. Most guys can’t lose three fights in a row and remain on the UFC roster (some, like Gerald Harris, can’t even lose one). But if the UFC likes what you bring to the table, you might get a fourth and fifth chance to halt a losing skid. It’s one more reminder that this sport isn’t just about winning and losing — it’s also about selling tickets.

In some cases, that results in some truly forgettable missteps (see also: Kimbo Slice). But in Barry’s case, it makes for a welcome reprieve. Sure, he has some gaping holes in his game and he’ll never be UFC champion — or, most likely, even a serious contender — but he’s talented and he’s fun. Even when (especially when?) he loses it makes for a memorable night, and he’s always competitive, especially when the UFC is kind enough to keep him away from the heavyweight division’s better grapplers.

If Barry were a wrestler with poor striking rather than a striker with poor submissions defense, he’d be cut by now. It wouldn’t matter how much fun he was to interview or how narrow his defeats were. In that sense, keeping guys like Barry and Hardy around promotes a certain kind of fighting, and it’s the kind the UFC thinks it can most effectively sell to fans.

But Barry (and, to some extent, Hardy as well) is a case where this system actually feels just. He’s not a bad fighter; he’s just unlucky. He needs work on his ground game, but at least he never bores you. Even with a 3-4 record in the organization, he’s the best losing heavyweight in the UFC.

Of course, if he doesn’t want to find out just how much slack the UFC is willing to cut him, he’d better pull to .500 very, very soon. Winning may not be everything, but it’s still the most noticeable thing.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Pat "HD" Barry: The Blueprint of an MMA Superstar, Minus One Puzzle Piece

Pat “HD” Barry engaged in a tremendous kickboxing matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center this past Saturday evening.Unfortunately for Barry, this bout took place in an Octagon and was a mixed martial arts cont…

Pat “HD” Barry engaged in a tremendous kickboxing matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center this past Saturday evening.

Unfortunately for Barry, this bout took place in an Octagon and was a mixed martial arts contest in which “HD” suffered his second consecutive defeat when the “Skyscraper” locked up a triangle choke forcing a tap-out at the 3:22 mark of Round 2, once again exposing Barry’s missing puzzle piece to his overall skill set.

Taking advantage of Barry’s weakness in the jiu-jitsu game, Struve maximized his strengths as he secured a tight triangle choke, endured a savage power bomb from “HD” and still maintained control for the submission victory.

Now 6-4 in his professional MMA career, outside of the knockout loss by Cheick Kongo in June, Barry’s remaining three defeats were by submission.

Succumbing to a guillotine choke at UFC 98, Barry suffered his first defeat inside the Octagon at the hands of Tim Hague.

Additionally, picking apart his icon Mirko Cro Cop with a flurry of punches and kicks at UFC 115 in June of 2010, Barry controlled the stand-up exchanges with his excellent striking skills, yet was ultimately defeated by a rear-naked choke from the Croatian at the 4:30 mark of Round 3. 

Cro Cop’s submission defeat of Barry was only the second tap-out victory for Filipovic in 39 professional mixed martial arts contests, proving that Cro Cop is not a wizard on the ground.

The blueprint of an MMA superstar includes excellent stand-up skills, the heart of a champion, a tremendous cardiovascular conditioning tank and being well-versed in both grappling and jiu-jitsu.

Barry possesses the majority of this blueprint. A tremendous striker, Barry’s background in kickboxing makes him a lethal threat on his feet.

Delivering brutal leg kicks with a myriad of punches and high kicks, “HD’s” pedigree as a kickboxer is world-class.

Training in the Netherlands with kickboxing legend Ernesto Hoost for more than two years and now honing his skills with another kickboxing legend, Dick Roufus, Barry is one of the sport’s premiere stand-up striking specialists.

At 5’11”, 240-plus pounds, Barry is typically out-sized in his competitions inside the Octagon. Placing any fear aside, this explosive, compact striker will stand toe-to-toe with any fighter of any size, proving that he has the heart and determination of a champion.

Many heavyweights are criticized for their lack of cardiovascular conditioning. And many more have suffered defeats when their aerobic capacity fails them inside the Octagon. To date, “HD” is not one of those fighters.

Granted, competing in only seven bouts under the UFC banner, of which only his matchup with Joey Beltran went the distance, it is hard to gauge just how in shape Barry truly is. However, Barry has shown to be properly conditioned for each one of his bouts.

The remaining facet of an MMA superstar is two-fold. First, mixed martial artists need to be able to defend the take-down and deliver a take-down when necessary.

Surprisingly, Barry possesses a staggering 92 percent defense take-down rate. Not surprisingly, however, Barry has attempted only one take-down inside the Octagon. He was not successful.

Secondly, mixed martial artists need to, at the very least, be able to defend the basic submission attempts, including arm-bars, triangle chokes, guillotine chokes, kimuras and omoplatas. Combining the ability to defend against these common holds in addition to learning a few sweeps from the guard and half-guard is invaluable for a practitioner inside the Octagon.

Joe Rogan used to comically state that excellent stand-up strikers need to just train jiu-jitsu. And I could not agree more.

A glaring weakness of a fighter is easily exposed inside the cage. Struve took full advantage of Barry’s liability on the ground by securing the triangle choke and forcing a tap-out. 

If Barry would only enhance his weaknesses and maximize his strengths by evolving his jiu-jitsu game while continuing to train his kickboxing, he would be an overall threat inside the Octagon.

“HD” would possess all the facets for the blueprint of MMA stardom.

This evolution of “HD’s” skill set would catapult the world-class striker into heavyweight contention talk. There is not a heavyweight within the UFC with whom Barry cannot stand and trade inside the Octagon.

Until he enhances his ground game, however, Barry will remain on the outside of the top five ranked heavyweights within the UFC looking in. 

 

I welcome your comments.

Join Todd Seyler’s circle on Google+, Like me on Facebook and Follow me on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Live Cruz vs. Johnson Results: The Powerbomb and the Sweetest Moves in MMA

In the sixth edition of UFC Live on Versus, UFC fans were treated to a very exciting evening of free fights.  When Pat Barry took on Stefan Struve in the co-main event, it briefly looked like fans may see a rare slam TKO when Barry looked to count…

In the sixth edition of UFC Live on Versus, UFC fans were treated to a very exciting evening of free fights.  

When Pat Barry took on Stefan Struve in the co-main event, it briefly looked like fans may see a rare slam TKO when Barry looked to counter a triangle choke with a rarely seen, but always appreciated, powerbomb.  

Struve absorbed the brunt of the impact with his right forearm and still miraculously managed to finish the choke for the submission victory. 

What are some of the most aesthetically pleasing maneuvers for fans to see executed in the cage? Let’s take a look inside.  

Begin Slideshow

‘UFC Live: Cruz Vs. Johnson’ Aftermath: Those Cats Were Fast as Lightning

After weeks of height-related gags, Struve still wasn’t done rubbing his length advantage in Barry’s face. (Photo: Tracy Lee via Yahoo Sports!)

Sandwiched between two marquee UFC cards, last night’s UFC Live flew under the promotional radar. It’s understandable that Zuffa would focus more on two stacked pay per view cards than a Versus broadcast, but in a time when fights are hyped for months only to fall short when the bell rings, it’s rare to see a card that delivers so much action from Facebook to the main event. Add to the mix that there was gold on the line and the lack of promotion for this event is borderline criminal. Only two fights on the card were decided by the judges—though just as many were decided by the referees—and either of them could have earned FOTN honors. We’ve got a lot to cover, so hunker down.

First off, I’d like to welcome back an old friend. Elbows, we’d nearly forgotten about you, but last night you were ushered back into society like the queen of a violent debutant ball. Bored with simply working on teeth, “The Dentist” performed a full-facial extraction via elbow on Keith Wisniewski during the Facebook broadcast. Cut stoppages aren’t my favorite, but these ‘bows we’re seeing from the clinch are brutal, damage inflicting blows that you’ve got to stop before they stop you, and I like them. Speaking of which…

After weeks of height-related gags, Struve still wasn’t done rubbing his length advantage in Barry’s face. (Photo: Tracy Lee via Yahoo Sports!)

Sandwiched between two marquee UFC cards, last night’s UFC Live flew under the promotional radar. It’s understandable that Zuffa would focus more on two stacked pay per view cards than a Versus broadcast, but in a time when fights are hyped for months only to fall short when the bell rings, it’s rare to see a card that delivers so much action from Facebook to the main event. Add to the mix that there was gold on the line and the lack of promotion for this event is borderline criminal. Only two fights on the card were decided by the judges—though just as many were decided by the referees—and either of them could have earned FOTN honors. We’ve got a lot to cover, so hunker down.

First off, I’d like to welcome back an old friend. Elbows, we’d nearly forgotten about you, but last night you were ushered back into society like the queen of a violent debutant ball. Bored with simply working on teeth, “The Dentist” performed a full-facial extraction via elbow on Keith Wisniewski during the Facebook broadcast. Cut stoppages aren’t my favorite, but these ‘bows we’re seeing from the clinch are brutal, damage inflicting blows that you’ve got to stop before they stop you, and I like them. Speaking of which…

Mac Danzig and Matt Wiman opened the broadcast with an outstanding rematch that saw both men fighting for the finish. Much of the bout was spent in the clinch with Wiman throwing heavy elbows with bad intent. Danzig answered with combinations and body shots, but Wiman got better of the exchanges. The action didn’t lull when the fighters hit the mat, and though Wiman attempted a few close submissions in the second round it was Danzig who nearly ended the fight with a guillotine as the final bell rang. Wiman got his hand raised, but both men earned the $65k “Fight of the Night” bonus.

For most of his 2:49 second bout, Charlie Brenneman got his face grated against the canvas and bombed on from all angles, and that was the high point for “The Spaniard”. Johnson bullied Brenneman around like his kid brother, securing a dominant position off of a stuffed takedown and landing shots at his leisure. When he scrambled back to his feet, Brenneman was greeted with a head kick that sent him scrambling back to the mat. Once back on wobbly legs, another head kick sent him tumbling backwards. It was a forceful, undefended blow to an already-rocked opponent, but Mario Yamasaki made the decision to stop the fight while Brenneman was in mid-air. Had he waited a second longer, he may have seen that “The Spaniard” braced himself on impact with the mat and was prepared to defend himself. A tough call to make in the moment? I’m sure it is, but that’s what we expect of high-level officials, and where was his concern for fighter safety earlier in the evening? It certainly wasn’t a knockout, but it was the “Knock Out of the Night”.

Freakshow bouts are a roll of the dice, and outside of its wild finish the Barry-Struve bout did not deliver. Both fought a cautious first round, with “HD” trying to work his way inside and Struve largely content to keep him at bay with front kicks. When the two finally clinched up in round two, Struve nicely transitioned from standing darce attempt to a guillotine to a deep triangle. Barry’s Rampagesque counter was exciting, but the power bomb only served to tighten up the choke. Struve earned his fourteenth submission win and “Submission of the Night” honors. This was Barry’s second consecutive stoppage defeat.

After being put into a heavyweight-induced coma last week, Cruz and Johnson gave us a clear reminder that the lighter weight classes are where the action is. This was billed as a fight between MMA’s fastest fighters, and as predicted it looked a lot like one of those cartoon fights that takes place in a cloud of smoke with only the occasional limb popping out. For a full twenty five minutes their bout exhibited the sort of wild transitions and blazing speed that only my exes can fully appreciate. Johnson’s hustle and pressure forced Cruz to abandon his herky-jerky footwork, but the champion adapted and put on an incredible display of grappling superiority, landing two picturesque German suplexes and ten total takedowns throughout the bout. This marks Cruz’s fourth consecutive title defense, all the more impressive considering he broke his hand in the first round.

Full results (via TheMMANews.com):

Main Card (Versus)

Bantamweight Championship bout: Dominick Cruz def. Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-45)
Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve def. Pat Barry via Submission (Triangle choke) – R2 @ 3:22
Welterweight bout: Anthony Johnson def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (Head Kick) – R1 @ 2:49
Lightweight bout: Matt Wiman def. Mac Danzig via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card (Facebook.com/UFC)

Lightweight bout: Yves Edwards def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO (Punches) – R2 @ 2:44
Lightweight bout: Paul Sass def. Michael Johnson via Submission (Heel hook) – R1 @ 3:00
Catchweight (138 lbs) bout: Mike Easton def. Byron Bloodworth via TKO (Knee-Punches) – R2 @ 4:52
Lightweight bout: T.J. Grant def. Shane Roller via Submission (Verbal Submission) – R3 @ 2:12
Welterweight bout: Josh Neer def. Keith Wisniewski via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) – R2 @ 5:00
Bantamweight bout: Walel Watson def. Joseph Sandoval via TKO (Kick/Punches) – R1 @ 1:17

 

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC on Versus 6

Filed under: UFCIt’s not often that we see a title fight on free TV. As expected, Saturday night’s bantamweight contest at UFC on Versus 6 provided the full 25 minutes, and maybe showed some fans the difference between the lumbering heavyweights at the…

Filed under:

It’s not often that we see a title fight on free TV. As expected, Saturday night’s bantamweight contest at UFC on Versus 6 provided the full 25 minutes, and maybe showed some fans the difference between the lumbering heavyweights at the top of the MMA food chain and the swift little hummingbirds in the lighter divisions.

The 135-pounders may not be long on finishing power, but at least they keep coming without slowing down. They don’t overwhelm, but they also don’t run out of gas halfway through. Either you appreciate that or you don’t. After the performances of some of the heavyweights last weekend at UFC 135, I’m guessing a lot of fight fans do.

But now that another one is in the books, it’s time again to sift through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC on Versus 6.

Biggest Winner: Anthony Johnson
He said he wanted an exciting finish to silence the critics who weren’t too pleased about his strategy in the Dan Hardy fight. Kicking Brenneman in the face until he fell down was a good way to go about that. Fight fans have short enough memories that a good TKO win will make them forget all about the time you promised a slugfest and delivered a wrestling match instead. All it took was him placing his foot across another man’s face in as violent a fashion as possible. A very simple and reliable formula for changing public perception if there ever was one.

Biggest Loser: Charlie Brenneman
Fresh off his big win over Rick Story, he gets TKO’d by “Rumble” Johnson in a fight he was never really in. He can complain all he wants about the stoppage, but even before he got kicked in the face he was on wobbly legs, clinging to the fence rather than guarding his head. Maybe he could have fought on, but he wasn’t doing much fighting when he took a foot to the grill. I can’t blame a referee for watching that scene unfold and then deciding Brenneman was done. Now he goes from late-notice hero to just another welterweight in a crowded field. The fall was only slightly quicker than the rise, but looked far more painful.

Most Perfunctory Title Defense: Dominick Cruz
Okay, so it wasn’t the most dominant or impressive victory of his career. He looked mildly vulnerable at times and, most shockingly, even a little bit tired. Still, Cruz controlled the fight down the stretch and did what he had to do, so he goes home with the hardware. Was it a breakout performance that will make him a huge star? Probably not, but any night you leave with the title that you showed up with is a good night indeed. Cruz remains the best 135-pounder in the world, and he showed that he can dig down and gut one out when he needs to. In fact, the only thing he lacks at the moment is fresh, compelling challengers. Unfortunately for him, there’s not a lot he can do about that.

Worst Use of a Reach Advantage: Stefan Struve
While the fight stayed standing, he did very little to keep Barry at a distance. Despite having arms and legs that were about the size of Barry’s entire body, he just kept letting the smaller man walk him down. In fact, of all the problems Barry had in the fight, getting within striking distance seemed to be the least of his troubles. It was only once the fight hit the mat and Struve was on his back that he managed to put his long limbs to good use, locking up a triangle choke that Barry really should have seen coming. Again, Struve’s submissions game continues to sneak up on opponents, though it honestly shouldn’t. He’s won more fights that way than he has by any other method, so when will people stop thinking that it’s a good idea to grapple with him? As long as he uses his range so much better on the ground than he does on the feet, there’s little reason to take the Dutchman down.

Mr. Consistency: Paul Sass
I’ve heard MMA trainers say that what they really want is not a guy who can pull off every submission in the book, but a guy who has one or two good ones that he can nail on command. Sass has the triangle choke and the heel hook, and he doesn’t need anything else. With his heel hook of Michael Johnson he remained unbeaten in twelve pro fights, and he’s ended with a submission in eleven of those. You’d think that any opponent would be able to take a quick look at his record and know what to watch out for, and you’d be right. The fact that he keeps pulling those moves off anyway tells you just how good he is.

Most in Need of a Ground Game: Pat Barry
He’s a great kickboxer and a likeable guy, but at times it seems he can be finished by the merest suggestion of a submission. I don’t care how vicious your leg kicks are, if you can’t defend against a triangle choke any better than that you have a very limited future in the UFC. Barry’s had plenty of time to develop his overall game, and he has improved. Just not enough. The UFC has been somewhat kind to him in terms of matchmaking, largely keeping him away from the better grapplers in the heavyweight division, but still he finds ways to get submitted. It’s a shame, because he’s a lot of fun to watch when he’s in his element. It’s when he’s not that it gets ugly in a hurry.

Most in Need of an Ice Pack: Demetrious Johnson
He showed a lot of heart and did much better than most expected, but he’s still going home with a lump the size of a cueball in his face. That’s not something you can cover with a pair of sunglasses, either. All it takes is for you to roll over on it once in your sleep and your whole night is ruined. Though of course, losing a title fight probably has a similar effect.

Narrowest Margin of Victory: Matt Wiman
Watching him bounce around while the decision was read, I had a flashback to Wiman’s mini-freakout after the judges sided with Dennis Siver over him at UFC 132. That night he bolted from the cage like he’d left his car running out front. If the decision had gone the other way this time, he might have taken off through the streets of D.C. and been halfway to Florida by now. Fortunately for Wiman, he got the nod from the judges, but just barely. A guy who can’t take it when a squeaker doesn’t go his way should really learn to stop leaving it up to the judges. Or if he is going to go the distance, he could at least make it a little clearer who the winner and the loser was. Keeping it that close is a good way to go home disappointed.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments