I hate to be so negative, but I didn't think either guy looked particularly great in the main event last night. Shogun gassed out in about three minutes, and--not to make any excuses--but to my eyes looked a whole lot more like the guy who got choked out by Forrest Griffin and barely beat Mark Coleman of all people than the guy who put on good performances against Liddel and Machida. I don't really know what he was thinking on the ground either. He kept trying to grab Jones' left leg, either to try and transition into a leg lock attempt or to try a half guard sweep, but it was just so obvious that with Jones' length and wide base there was no way he was going to even come close to having enough leverage to go for either of those from that position, so i don't know why he kept trying it.
Jones looked better, but it's hard to look bad going up against a guy who's just standing in front of you, completely exhausted, not really even trying anything. I love the improvisational skills, but his striking fundamentals still aren't there, and to be honest I thought he tired out himself pretty early which isn't particularly reassuring considering that he was basically able to control the entire pace of the fight. Maybe it was nerves, the short turnaround after the Bader fight, or some combination thereof, but he just didn't look as dynamic as usual, and it didn't seem like it had anything to do with anything Shogun was offering up.
Honestly the whole night was pretty full of uninspiring performances. I made a lot of money betting on Brendan Schaub, but I thought he looked about as bad as one can in a one-sided knockout win, and I thought he regressed from the Gonzaga fight.
The only guy who really impressed me was Jim Miller. He's just such a well-rounded guy, and is dangerous in every position. I still think he loses to Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, but he really deserves a shot to prove me wrong. I guess Eric Koch looked pretty good as well. Hopefully he can get a shot at another top featherweight pretty soon.
|