MMA PPV: UFC 100

As my love of wrestling slowly wanes as my favorite wrestlers get older and closer to retirement (Shawn Michaels, Mysterio, Jericho, Edge) or die off (Benoit, Eddie Guerrero) and the stale storytelling and booking continues to swamp the company (with some absolutely abysmal years in 2003 and 2006-2007), my love of MMA slowly grew.

It all started with Pride, really one of the first matches that I ever watched in Pride was Fedor Emelianeko vs. Kevin Randleman, in which Fedor was given a suplex (possibly german) that would have hospitalized most men, if not killed them, and Fedor came back to get a submission. It was amazing. That fight along with the fight where Quinton Jackson lifted Rickardo Arona and powerbombed him, started my interest in MMA. It's many years later, with many PRIDE events watched on DVD, including in my opinion the best fight ever in Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson II at PRIDE 28, I've cemented my new love. PRIDE has been bought out, and there's a new king in town, UFC. While that's a completely false statement, UFC probably has always been the king, but I never saw fights that were nearly as exciting as what I saw in PRIDE.

Anyways, last weekend I did watch one of the biggest cards in UFC history, and I highly anticipated it. The show had a lot of hype going in, and in this reviewer's opinion, it fulfilled the hype.

Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Alan Belcher via SPLIT decision (30-27 Akiyama, 29-28 Belcher, 29-28 Akiyama): While others thought this was a good match-up, some proclaiming it match of the night, I really didn't see the spectacle that others saw. While the superman punch was cool, the match wasn't wholly exciting. Both men were pretty even, a little too even, and both men were gassed by the end of the second round. A lot of people are calling an upset here, but I really think it could have gone either way, Akiyama had some great takedowns and some good ground game throughout all three rounds that probably swung the vote a bit, either that or he paid him off.

Dan Henderson defeated Michael Bisping via RD2 (3:20) Knocked the F*ck Out: Put it simply, I'm not a fan of Bisping and I am a fan of Hendo. The fight was really the knockout Henderson needed to put him back on top as a truly devastating fighter and the threatning contender he needed to be to fight Anderson Silva again. I think Bisping is a bit overrated in that he hasn't really beaten anybody big up to this point, quite like Henderson has. Plus it didn't help that he acted like a little shit in the build-up to this fight but really that kind of stuff makes money, and made me really want to see Hendo eat his words, which is what happened. Really a great fight to understand what not to do against Hendo. Hendo has a devastating right hand and Hendo just sat and looked for an opening, as Bisping became more and more panicked.

UFC Welterweight Title Bout: GSP defeated Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45): Watching GSP fight is like watching magic, it's just awe-inspiring. Thiago Alves was touted as his toughest opponent and GSP ran a clinic on him. I never get tired of watching GSP fight, even when it's total domination like it is here, because he's just so freaking graceful, so freaking good. Even after being injured in the third round, he still came back and dominated Alves for a long period. GSP is one of the best fighters in the world. Period.

UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Title Bout: Brock Lesnar defeated Frank Mir via RD2 (1:48) KO: You know almost everybody I know who follow UFC in the mildest sense can't stand Brock. I love Brock! I think he's an awesome force, and him being a dick really adds to the drama of the fights. Overall what it comes down to is money, and Brock being a dick, makes more people pay to see him lose. Also Brock, in so few fights, has already become a good fighter, any which way you put it, the man knows how to use his size, use his strength, and he's learned from past mistakes in the Mir fight and completely shut out Mir.

The comments afterwards had me laughing all the way. Brock's heel promo was great. And honestly, when Mir comes back into title contention, people are going to want to see what happens, because people will believe that Brock and Mir hate each other. Honestly, Brock is good for business and I'll keep watching just to see what Brock does next. It's a good time to be a UFC fan, a strong Light-heavyweight division, an exciting Heavyweight division, and excellent champions in all the other divisions, unless something goes really wrong, UFC should have a strong closing to the year.

Jon Fitch defeated Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28): Crappy match for multiple reasons, like timing, placement on the card, pacing of the match, no interest in either fighter...etc... I was really hoping to see either the prelim match that was a blood bath or Coleman vs. Bonnar on here instead. And no, I didn't really go watch either of them later. Just the way it is.

Great Show. Really great show. Or Maybe it's because all the fighters I wanted to win, won. Boo to the rest of you. Also Brock becomes the biggest heel in the sport, is excellent for both entertaiment and business.