Going into this card I wasn't very excited, but since it has been a few weeks since the last big show, and had a free night Saturday, I was really interested in checking it out. Silva fights are always newsworthy and I was interested to see how he would rebound after his fight with Chael Sonnen last year.
This was also the first time I tried to get my girlfriend to watch the countdown show before watching the fight. She has been a trooper going to a few bars with me to watch the fights and has enjoyed the atmosphere of a big fight night, but I don't really think she cares about the fights at all.
Saturday morning we made pancakes and I DVRed the countown show. We watched it and by the end of it the countdown show did for the casual viewer what it's supposed to do. She watched it, she knew the names of the fighters and she picked who she wanted to win. She went with Rich Franklin because she found Forrest to be annoying, she liked Silvia, which surprised me the way they played up Vitors family in the countdown show. She also liked Jon Bones Jones, but I think mostly because of his nickname.
We went to the local BW3 in Dulles, VA to watch the fight, free cover, every tv shows the fight. It was awesome. I wish I could say the same for the actual PPV.
The first two fights on the pay per view were literally putting me to sleep. It wasn't a good way to start the show, especially when you'd like your girlfriend to hang out to watch more of them with you.
-This match opened the show and it was a brutal unanimous decision. Antonio Banuelos all 5"6 of him came out and attempted to look intimidating but he didn't even look like he was trying. It was a dull stand up fight. I'm sure Miguel Torres did what he was told and won the fight and continued keep himself in the discussion for the bantamweight title.
Jake Ellenberger def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
-The fact that this one went to the ground in the first round was the biggest thrill out of this. No big KO nothing. Just a split decision victory for Ellenberger.
By this time in the PPV I was getting a little annoyed and was hoping for one of the big 3 matches to come through.
Jon Jones def. Ryan Bader via submission (guillotine choke)
-I didn't hate this fight, I just think I had better expectations. I blame the countdown show for it. I came into the fight really wanting Jones to get the victory, but I did think Bader would put on a better display than what he did. It still amazing sometime so see guys that are so jacked up just get picked apart. I'm sure Jones reach advantage had a lot to do with that.The guillotine choke seemed to come out of nowhere and assured Jones is the new up and coming star of the division. The bar had a nice reaction to the announcement that Jones would face Shogun for the Light heavyweight title.
-Side note, when they showed Donovan McNabb at the fight on the screen at the bar, everyone Booed him! Harsh crowd here in the Washington DC area.
Forrest Griffin def Rich Franklin via unanimous decision
-Another disappointing match to me, I expected Franklin to show me more in this fight and he seemed to just go with the motions. Forrest was able to keep the pressure on as Franklin didn't do a thing on offense. He seemed to just try playing catchup the entire fight. Griffin should have some meaningful fights in his division in the future, where as Franklin is stick in light heavyweight purgatory.
-The KO kick was great. It ended early, but I do have to think that anyone with a brain knew this was not going to be a fight that Vitor was going to win. In my opinion Belfort is just an old UFC name that comes up and you see him on a show and it garners interest. Like Tank Abbott when he made his UFC comeback. Silva now has 13 victories in a row, and amazing record. I do believe the only thing left is to pair him with 15 pound heavier George St. Pierre and give us the match we are all waiting for.
Overall I was disappointed in the show, maybe because I wanted a good night of fights that my girlfriend would enjoy going to for the environment. I thought the depth of this card would be a good opportunity, but it failed me in the end. I'll probably be watching the BJ Penn fight from the house instead of heading out for it.
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