Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 121

Filed under: UFCThe last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same b…

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The last time I heard a crowd go as crazy as the fans in Anaheim did when Cain Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, they were all getting free cars from Oprah. The fight fans on Saturday night may have had to drive home in the same boring old rides they came in, but after that furious four-minute main event I guarantee you no one was complaining.

But UFC 121 gave us more to talk about than just the main event. All across the undercard careers were being salvaged and lost, and at least one fighter managed to leave the Octagon victorious but still riding a wave of boos.

Let’s break it all down and look at our big winners, losers, and everything in between.

Matt Hughes: UFC Needs a Fighter to Balance Joe Rogan

Filed under: MMA Media Watch, UFCIn almost every television broadcast of almost every sport, one of the commentators is an athlete who has competed in the sport being shown. You never watch an NFL game without hearing analysis from a former football pl…

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In almost every television broadcast of almost every sport, one of the commentators is an athlete who has competed in the sport being shown. You never watch an NFL game without hearing analysis from a former football player, or a Major League Baseball game without hearing the voice of a former baseball player.

But in the UFC, the commentary role goes to Joe Rogan, who’s undeniably knowledgeable about MMA but whose background is in comedy and acting, not in fighting.

Matt Hughes says it’s time for the UFC to add a fighter to the broadcast.

The MMA Hour With Konrad, Schaub, Harris, Camarillo and Meltzer

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, VideosOn Monday’s live edition of The MMA Hour we will look back on Saturday night’s memorable UFC 121 event with MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes. Also:

* We will also be joined by Brendan Schaub, who defeate…

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On Monday’s live edition of The MMA Hour we will look back on Saturday night’s memorable UFC 121 event with MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes. Also:

* We will also be joined by Brendan Schaub, who defeated Gabriel Gonzaga on Saturday night.

* The new Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad, who is also a training partner of Brock Lesnar’s, will also stop by.

* UFC middleweight Gerald Harris will discuss his current winning streak and his upcoming fight against Maiquel Falcao next month at UFC 123.

* Jiu-jitsu expert Dave Camarillo, one of Cain Velasquez’s main trainers at the American Kickboxing Academy, will look back on their title win.

* And MMA/wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer will make sense of Saturday night’s confrontation between Lesnar and The Undertaker.

And of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.

Download this show and previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.

Watch the show below at 1PM ET.

MMA Gif Party: UFC 121 Edition

(The greatest exchange of the entire event, from round two of Sanchez vs. Thiago. You’ll have to provide your own "aaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Props: CampizonE MMA)
(Brock Lesnar doesn’t need police protection, bitch. Props: Caposa)
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Diego Sanchez Paulo Thiago UFC 121 gifs
(The greatest exchange of the entire event, from round two of Sanchez vs. Thiago. You’ll have to provide your own "aaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Props: CampizonE MMA)

Brock Lesnar pushes shoves cop police UFC 121 walkout gif
(Brock Lesnar doesn’t need police protection, bitch. Props: Caposa)

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The MMA Wrap-Up: Post-UFC 121 Edition

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Now that Cain Velasquez has captured the UFC heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar was sent limping back to his Minnesota compound after UFC 121, The MMA Wrap-Up returns to ask some essential questions about what this means for the heavyweight division and for MMA as a whole. Come on, you know you don’t want to miss that.

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Now that Cain Velasquez has captured the UFC heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar was sent limping back to his Minnesota compound after UFC 121, The MMA Wrap-Up returns to ask some essential questions about what this means for the heavyweight division and for MMA as a whole. Come on, you know you don’t want to miss that.

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 121 Edition

(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121’s…

Jake Shields Martin Kampmann UFC 121
(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121‘s other winners and losers are yet to be determined. As usual, we have some brilliant suggestions…

Brock Lesnar: Assuming that nobody really wants to see a Lesnar vs. Mir rubber match, there are a surprising lack of options for the new ex-champ. If Roy Nelson beats Shane Carwin at UFC 125, Lesnar vs. Big Country would make perfect sense. (Lesnar vs. Carwin II is also an option for down the road, considering Carwin never felt like Brock beat him fair and square.) But at the moment, the best available opponent for Lesnar is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who’s coming off his own nasty loss to Velasquez. The fading Big Nog would likely take a beating, but the UFC needs to re-build their most bankable star against a credible name, and letting Lesnar whale on a legend is an effective way to do it.

Martin Kampmann: The first name that comes to mind is Dan Hardy, though the UFC probably wants to avoid the possibility of one of their British stars dropping three straight. So how ’bout this: Nate Diaz. The TUF 5 winner and moneyweight contender is facing Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125. If Diaz wins, Diaz vs. Kampmann is a great matchup between two guys who are on the same upper-middle region of the welterweight ladder. If Diaz gets outgrappled by DHK, then Kampmann gets a rebound against an "easier" opponent. Either way, it’s a scrap.

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