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UFC 99 Review & Reaction

Here are my notes and reactions on this past Saturday's UFC 99 card in Germany...

By now, most of you know the results of Saturday’s UFC 99 in Germany. With that in mind, will give you the quick results with my thoughts on the event and individual fights, as well as whether or not my pre-event pick bore fruit. Look out for Vlog3 to hit tomorrow…I will definitely be talking about the post-99 Cro Crop drama, as well as the felling of the redwood known as Tim Sylvia (http://www.mmaweekly.com/blog/2009/06/ray-mercers-ko-of-tim-sylvia.asp). Without further ado…

Dan Hardy defeated Marcus Davis - split decision: Just as with the Marcus Davis-Chris Lytle fight at UFC 93 in January, the Marcus Davis-Dan Hardy scrap, while entertaining, did not quite live up to the hype. A good solid brawl, and I think Hardy showed class afterwards, but it appears the bad blood is nowhere near squashed. I wouldn’t mind seeing these two go at it again - My prediction of a KO by Davis was incorrect

Spencer Fisher defeated Caol Uno - unanimous decision: Not a terribly entertaining fight (and other reaction I’ve read has been a lot more direct than that), but Fisher got the win. We may see a repeat of the David “The Crow” Louseau treatment for Caol Uno, as in a one-and-done. After being gone for several years, Uno should have made a better second impression. - My prediction of a decision victory for Fisher was correct

Mike Swick defeated Ben Saunders - TKO, 3:47 of the 2^nd round: Saunders was simply overmatched. Facing some of the top competition in the UFC, Swick has gone 14-2 in his career, including 9-1 in the UFC. Yet, he’s still not being mentioned as a title challenger. Perhaps this win will change that - My prediction of a KO win by Swick was wrong

Cro Cop defeated Mustapha al Turk - TKO, 3:06 of the 1^st round: I will be letting my personal feelings show on Cro Cop’s post-event actions, but the fight itself does deserve some commentary. Far from the dominant manifestation of the Killer Croat that I was hoping for, nevertheless, Cro Cop was winning the fight before his accidental eye-poke of al Turk. Unfortunate, but not as unfortunate as Cro Cop’s decision to leave the UFC - My prediction of a Cro Cop KO was wrong

Cain Velasquez defeated Cheick Kongo - unanimous decision: A very good back-and-forth fight put on by both combatants. Kongo’s inexplicable decision to go for the takedown when he had hurt Velasquez on his feet may have cost him this fight, however. Basically, Velasquez showed that he is vulnerable, but that he can also weather the storm and come out on top. Good win for Cain - My prediction of a Velasquez TKO was wrong

Rich Franklin defeated Wanderlei Silva - unanimous decision: Reminiscent of the Wanderlei-Iceman battle at UFC 79, this fight showcased both men’s greatest talents. Both fighters brought their A-game, and it was another hotly-contested bout. Definitely a fitting main event for “Comeback” - My prediction of a Franklin decision victory was correct

Surprisingly, though four out of the six fights went to a judge’s decision (and one of the finishes was due to an inadvertent eye-poke), it was a solid, entertaining event. Minus the Fisher-Uno fiasco, “Comeback” was a good first foray into Germany for the UFC. As I wrote earlier, I will not get into my feelings on the Cro Cop deceit in this article, but you can read about it here by the man who broke the story, Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=An1u0088pqJ2xd.tbfX6PIM9Eo14?slug=ki-ufcnotes061409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Check back for Vlog3 tomorrow…