Thumbs way up for UFC 91
Best fight: Gurgel vs. Riley
No Worst fight, everything was great.
You can't ask for a better overall fight card than what was delivered
UFC 91 Feedback
Thumbs Way Up
Best fight: Randy Couture v. Brock Lesnar
Worst Fight: None
Hi Dave
I can't believe how much I enjoyed this show. It did feel by the end like a lot of fights to have watched but none were bad. A lot of the matches could have gotten bonuses on a lot of other nights. I wouldn't want to call any worst match because none were bad. But for pure drama and atmosphere, nothing came close to Lesnar v. Couture and probably nothing has since Jackson v. Griffin.
On a night where there was a crazy uppercut, a number of choke-outs, knockouts and submissions and even a good swift kick to the balls, I would personally still rather take any of those things than have to face Brock Lesnar inside the Octagon. There was so much drama in watching him sucking wind but still putting forth great effort and pulling out the wind. And Randy was so gracious in losing. None of his loss felt like him being older, not prepared or rusty. It was just that Brock was the winner tonight and it could have gone the other way. But I'm glad to see Brock win. His line about Randy having "a lot of balls to take a year off and coming back to face a young buck like me" was great. Even though it was complimentary toward Randy, there was still a cocky delivery in it to the point that he might as well have been Buddy Rogers saying "And to a nicer guy it couldn't have happened". And when he got on top of the cage and looked out over the crowd it was great. Vince McMahon needs to watch this.
Dave Musgrave
Whitby, Ontario
Every fight was exciting and had something special, and we
got to see the entire card by the time the night was done. There was
lots of GOOD ground work (especially Omaplata submission attempts for
some reason) and one KO from Jeremy Stephens that will no doubt end up
on the next Ultimate Knockouts DVD. I was happy to see Brock win too,
and if he can get past Nog, he might be holding on to that belt for a
very long time. (I say Nog because I really don't expect Mir to win,
but a rematch between the two would still be a money fight.)
Peter Elkerbout
Thumbs up. Great show, with lots of exciting finishes.
Ever since Brock and Randy was announced, I was in the "I'm rooting for
Brock but I think Randy will win" camp. Then I saw the two of them in
the staredown in the octagon, and the enormous size differential, and I
knew there was no way Randy was coming out of there with the belt. Even
looking nervous and tentative, Brock destroyed Couture with those
punches. When he gets some real MMA skills, he's going to be one scary
heavyweight champion.
Mike Jenkinson
Edmonton, Alberta
Thumbs way way up.
Best Match:
Gurgel/Riley
Worst Match:
None
This was an amazing show, I can't think of any UFC in recent memory
where we got to see EVERY fight on the card, all NINE of them and
there wasn't a stinker in the bunch.
Every fight was great and only one of them went to a decision, and
that one was the fight of the night!
In my opinion, this was the show of the year, for UFC or any company,
the quality on display tonight was just amazing, a show I could watch
over and over again, Survivor Series and most importantly, UFC 92 are
going to have a hard time following this!
It was great to see Brock win, as I predicted. Never lost faith in my
boy, despite the weigh in fears. I'd like to see him have a nice long
reign atop the Heavyweight division, but with, more than likely Big
Nog around the corner, I don't know if I see that happening. So enjoy
it while it's there I guess.
I don't think anyone that would order the show, hasn't but if so, BUY
THE DAMN REPLAY, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!
Sean Geraghty
Thumbs for this show.
Best fight: Lesnar/Couture (based on anticipation alone)
Worst fight:Matt Brown/Ryan Thomas. (nothing was overly bad here, but the match simply did not flow for me and I couldn't get myself interested.
Mark Bocek/Alvin Robinson was a decent 3 rounder, but I was expecting Robinson to be more dominant.
Jeremy Stephens/Rafael Anjos were having a good back and forth fight that abruptly ended with one of the best upper-cuts in recent memory by Stephens.
This kid was quite excited to claim the victory...enough that he felt the need to run head first into the cage for reasons only he can explain.
He reminded me of Chuck Liddel in his heyday after winning a match, but without the headbutt.
Jorge Gurgel/Aaron Riley was entertaining with Riley taking a heck-of-a-beating Pretty much throughout at least from what I saw of the match due to the live feed stalling on two seperate occasions.
I was actually anticipating the Dustin Hazelett/McCrory matchup just as much as the Lesner/Couture seeing that Dustin is actually one of my neighbors.
I have watched this guy slowly climb the UFC ladder with a lot of heart, determination and skill, and I think tonight more than ever people are really starting to take notice that this guy has the potential to be be something very special in the business with his unique style.
I predict a championship in the not so distant future for Dustin, and I think it says a lot about what Dana White thinks of him by putting him on this major PPV tonight.
Not bad for a kid that was picked on in school eh?
Ben Stiller aka Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson was decent with Stevenson having Florian in a couple of bad predicaments only to allow him to quickly rebound.
I think Stevenson simply ran out of gas as opposed to being outmatched.
The poll on Lesnar/Couture was a little lopsided (54-46) compared to the Observer poll that had both guys in an almost dead heat.
Crowd was hot for Couture and who could blame them?
He's just a heck of a humble guy that always keeps his cool and always entertains when he fights.
He's like the Clint Eastwood of the Octagon.
I was actually cheering for Couture especially after Brock made the remark that he was "too damn old" to be fighting at 45.
I took exception to that seeing that I'm 45 myself.
Couture definately taught Brock a few things during their moments together, and Brock never made Randy look inferior in any way. (of course with size being the exception)
I would love to see these two fight again, and I think Couture proved that he can hang with the big guy so as long as he doesn't get put on the ground which is unfortunatally what happened.
Doesn't matter who you are or how old you are when a monster like Lesnar has you down repeatedly introducing his fist to your head.
That was the very thing that Couture needed to avoid, and I believe had he been able to avoid that knockdown by Lesnar then he would probably have beaten him in the end.
Couture's endurance and skill against a winded Lesnar would have easily spelled victory for Randy if he had not been knocked down, but the key word is "if", and he WAS knocked down by Lesnar, so if does not apply.
Tonight Brock was the better man.
This should bring a new level of excitement to UFC as Brock is now the hunted.
Overall a good PPV with a short, but more than worthy main event.
Jeff Bartram
Louisa, Ky
Wow. THAT was a PPV and will go down as one of the best I've ever seen. The only
problem I had was that I was hoping Brock/Randy would go 5 rounds. Otherwise, My thumb
can't go much farther up.
Best match - I would say it's a tie between Brock/Couture, Florian/Stevenson,
Hazlet/McCrory, Maia/Quarry, and Stephens/Dos Anjos.
For sentimental reasons, I'll give it to Florian/Stevenson. I like Florian and can't
stand Stevenson. Hey, sorry, it's my vote. Stevenson needs to just shut up and fight
already. He whined about being the underdog and then took it up the ass the whole fight.
Brock's win will have historic implications but it wasn't epic. But what can you say
about that fight? Incredible performance by both guys and I'd pay $45 tomorrow to see a
rematch. As it stands, you can just see Dana White thinking about how he's going to
spend all that money he's going to make off Brock.
Hazlett got an amazingly slick submission that JJ gyms across the world are going to be
using for weeks. Stephens not only got the Sean Salmon Award for KO of the night (with a
literal slobberknocker!) but got the Honorary Gus Frerotte Celebration in as well!
And I've seen a couple of Maia's matches now and I'm by no means an expert, but within
two years, that guy is going to have one HELL of a fight with Anderson Silva, and one
I'll love to watch. Can you do a US vs. UK Ultimate Fighter with a Brazilian coach?
Maybe it can be UK vs. the Americas?
Matt Brown continues to entertain and as long as he can do that, he'll be around a while.
But Jesus, the guy looks about 10 years younger without the beard.
Worst match - Bocek/Robinson. It looked like Bocek was trying to give a class to someone
who wasn't listening to him. Like Robinson wasn't clear on what he was supposed to be
doing, you know?
Wasn't thrilled with Gurgel/Riley, but it was in the WWE Diva match spot so I don't think
it had much of a chance. Gurgel better hope Franklin never retires so Gurgel can keep
his spot.
Mike DeGeorge
| Hi Dave, Thumb Up! Best Fight: Gurgel/Riley Worst Fight: None 8 finishes out of 9 fights and the one fight without a finish is Fight of the Night. Can't do much better than that. The 2 fights that I took to be squash matches were exactly that as Maia and Gonzaga did what they were supposed to do in quickly dispatching their respective opponents. I don't look at that as a bad thing b/c they ended the fights in quick, descisive fashion and made themselves look really good and ready for bigger challenges in the future. When I saw Gonzaga during the ring entrance I thought to myself "he's back" as he looked really focused. He had the same look that he did when he fought Cro Cop. The uppercut by Stephens was a very nice punch. I can only imagine what kind of damage it would've done had he another inch or 2 on that punch as he 'just missed him.' Lesnar looks like he's ready for the next challenge. His next fight will provide that challenge as clearly jits fighters are the ones that will give him the most problems right now. I really liked how Brock was using his knees in the fight in the clinch, especially true in the first minute of the fight. Only negative of the night was that Florian grabbing the cage changed the course of the fight with Stevenson as he was able to negate any damage coming from the slam that Joe was about to deliver and he was able to put himself in a much better position than he would've been in had he not grabbed the cage. MMA and UFC needs to do something about that as just issuing a warning is not enough. Should be at least 1 point - on the first time they do it (i.e. no warning). I wouldn't even be against issuing a DQ right away. I doubt they ever make the penalty that harsh (DQ), but a point I think is more than fair for a penalty. They should also reposition them in the way 'they would've landed' had the cage not been grabbed. I know that's opening up a can of worms b/c you are asking the ref to use their judgement. Rishi Malhotra Toronto |
| Huge Thumbs Up for this show. It's only the 2nd UFC PPV I've ever ordered. I was curious to see how Lesnar would do against someone as well rounded and tough as Couture. Best Match: Hazelett vs. McCrory - Hazelett put on a clinic in that fight. Worst Match: None - not a bad match on the card Lesnar did so much better than I thought he would. I would have considered it a victory if he didn't do something stupid in the match. He didn't look great striking, but it was enough to be effective and win the belt. He has a TON of potential and if he learns submissions, look out. Too bad he couldn't have finished him with an F-5 for old time's sake... Dan Graulich Shapleigh, ME |
Thumbs way up
Best match: Couture Lesnar
Worst: Maia Quarry, only because I expected more from Nate.
As much as I love Couture, I couldn't help but root for Lesnar. I thought he looked very nervous coming to the octagon.
Much love for Hazelett.
PPV of the year so far. Dec 27 will have to be tremendous to top it.
Dean Jenkinson
| Thumbs way up Best Fight: Couture vs. Lesnar Worst Fight: Florian vs. Stevenson I feel this is the show of the year. Great show up and down the card. Florian was setup as a legitimate contender for BJ Penn. The main event delivered and I believe Nogueria vs. Lesnar could draw a big buy rate in 2009 if Nogueria handily defeats Mir and the Pride footage is shown of him coming back and finishing larger opponents is beaten into the minds of the fans. Hazelett, Gonzaga, and Maia all were helped by their efforts tonight and they seemed to be elevated as bigger stars. Anthony Pape |
Thumbs up.
Best match: Lesner-Couture
Worst match: Stephens-Des Anjos
From the beginning, Lesner clearly had a massive size, age, and power
advantage. A few good moves by Couture, butone-sided. Randy needed
Lesner to run out of gas before Brock could take him out, but that clearly
didn't happen, and the cut also didn't stop Lesner.
Nice job by the announcers and UFC in setting up the importance of most
of the matches; the participants; the stats. Live crowd seemed hot for the event,
and that translated well on the broadcast.
Most of the undercard was good, albeit no need for judges.
-- Mike Omansky
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