The Ultimate Finale (spoilers)

[traz]

Holy smokes, did any of you watch this tonight? I just wanted to say that it was pretty awesome.

The fight between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin was simply INCREDIBLE. The most amazing fight I've ever seen.

I was also impressed with Diego, I think he'll be a solid fighter. His opponent was supposed to be a Blackbelt in BJJ, but he didn't look very solid on the ground during the series, or during this fight.

I must say though, I was quite disappointed with Shamrock...he fell twice lol.

But all in all, it was a good show.

Some of you may be wondering why I made a thread out of this...but if you saw the Bonnar vs Griffin fight...whew, I'm still thinking about it haha.

[Grenadier]

Bonnar vs Griffith was the best UFC fight I've ever seen. I'll say this much: Griffith is one tough SOB. He took a lot of shots squarely on the head, that would have sent most people to dreamland. I still thought that Bonnar should have won by a slight margin.

The president of the UFC did the right thing in giving both Bonnar and Griffith, contracts. They earned it.

As for the middleweight division, Diego Perez obliterated his opponent very handily.

It seems that today's fighters have fewer weaknesses than their predecessors did. I still remember the original group of folks, where Dan Severn was a terriffic grappler, but had trouble finishing off people that he couldn't suplex to death, since he couldn't strike worth a darn. There was also the rotund one, Joe San.

I also remember the lesser trained folks that relied more on sheer brutal force and strength, such as David "Tank" Abbott, or Scott Ferrozo. While they were able to overpower a good number of opponents, both of whom were whipped easily by Vitor Belfort (200 lbs soaking wet).

[G95champ]

Both Bonner and Griffith will be good UFC guys. Great fight.

I also like Deigo. Way back in the first shows when it came on I told my cuz he was the best in it.

I think we will see a few more of those guys in the UFC before long. The guy Bonner beat to go to the final will be in 185 weight and will be solid. Also look for the red headed nut to show back up Chris something. Then Josh K. has plenty of ground skill but needs a year to work on his hands.

Great show I hope the UFC lands on regular tv spot

[Bleeding Lion]

Great show I hope the UFC lands on regular tv spot

That would be awesome indeed...

the light heavyweight fight was the best ive seen in a very long time. they both deserved it but i think bonnar won by a very slight margin. it doesnt matter anyway as they might meet in the UFC next.

I have no idea how kenny florian made it to the final, he was lucky. it should have been diego vs chris l. but i think diego was the best fighter of the group anyway.

[Armbar]

Yeah, the second fight was awesome! Absolutely the best match I've ever seen. Anyone who didn't catch it the first time around MUST see the encore. You'll regret you didn't if you like full contact fighting. That was an amazing fight!

Shamrock has made his mark on the world of MMA, but i think its time he starts thinking about retirement. He isn't as young as he was ten years ago. He'd make a great coach.

[Gumbi]

I was also impressed with Diego, I think he'll be a solid fighter. His opponent was supposed to be a Blackbelt in BJJ, but he didn't look very solid on the ground during the series, or during this fight.

Hold on right there.

What some people need to understand is that even at the black belt level, there can be matches where one guy overwhelms the other. It happens quite frequently in top notch tournaments such as the Mundials or the Pan Ams.

Realize that Diego is a top notch submission wrestler, and has an impressive resume of wins over quality opponents (Pablo Povovich to name one). The fight unfolded the way it did not because Florian isnt a skilled submission fighter, but because Sanchez was simply a much better skilled submission fighter.

Many people feel that if someone's listed as BJJ blackbelt, then they're obviously going to dominate the ground work when the fight goes to the ground, but if both fighters are excellent BJJ fighters, then one of them has to get beat doesnt he?

[traz]

True, but my comment also spawns from his fight with Chris Leben, if you happened to catch it.

Chris Leben is noted as a heavy striker, and Kenny is supposed to be a BJJ blackbelt...but yet he decided to slug it out with Chris instead of take him down. He didn't even TRY to take him down. So based on that, and the last fight, he hasn't proved any worth on the ground.

[Gumbi]

"he hasn't proved any worth on the ground."

Perhaps, but you've only seen him in action in two fights.

[Bleeding Lion]

imho black belt level (shodan) sometimes doesnt mean much in fights that are not strictly in that art.

there is so much more to think about, to do, to defend. i guess thats what happened with florian. yes, i was also surprised that he seemed never to try using his skills advantage.

[Mr Pockets]

What!? Diego's a chump! He did so many things wrong, or just didn't do so many things in his fight with (whoever that black guy with the blonde hair was) it was almost embarassing.

Anyway, while a black belt in BJJ is very impressive (makes you one hell of a grappler) the whole dynamic is changed when you add strikes and become NHB.