MMA Musings

UFC on Fox 6 has several fights to drain the saliva glands of rabid UFC fans.

Quick twitch John ‘The Magician’ Dodson matches his formidable skills against 125 pound champ and owner of the best moniker in fight sports, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.

Mighty Mouse persevered through the flyweight elimination tournament and has recently defeated Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall and Joseph Benavidez by using superior athleticism and making few, if any, mistakes.

Dodson tore through TUF 14 and has shown speed, power, and a skill set to rival if not surpass Mighty Mouse’s. This will be an extremely fast fight, so you may need to TiVo or record and freeze-frame to see all the nuanced action.

In the face of stellar success, the UFC has a credibility problem with many of its fans---especially those fans who’ve watched since UFC 1.

These questions began for me in late 2008 when Brock Lesnar, a former NCAA and professional wrestler, took his unimpressive 2-1 record to a  shot at the heavyweight title. The heavyweight division was thin, and I understood why the UFC would want to raise awareness by bringing in Lesnar’s fans. Also, the Minnesotan looked impressive in the beginning, and has a herculean physique. Still, the move lacked street cred.

Challenger Cain Velasquez proved Junior dos Santos fans wrong at UFC 155 with a smothering attack that would have made Randy Couture proud. In 1997, Couture---a Greco Roman wrestler and former army boxer---stunned UFC fans by defeating feared striker and BJJ black belt Vitor Belfort, whom many thought was on a fast track to the title, with a similar attack that effectively suffocated  Belfort’s formidable striking skills.

Velasquez took JdS down early but couldn’t keep him down, though that didn’t stop him from doing it over and over. He stunned the Brazilian early with a right hand that floored him. The steady, measured, patient attack, which seems to sap Cain of little energy, had dos Santos weary by the end of the first.

Lately, poor ratings for The Ultimate Fighter had UFC president Dana White pulling tricks out of hats to get the show back on track. For up and coming fighters it’s an excellent vault to the big leagues, with quality production, but I stopped watching the show when it was promoted as ‘Live’ last season but came delayed, and when I grew tired of drunken idiocy and antics of the young fighters forced to bunk together for six weeks.

TUF 16 and TUF Australia had their finales this weekend, and they didn’t disappoint. Great match ups and a slew of great KOs and submissions far outnumbered “Meh” performances. Even if fans can’t stomach the show, the wrap-ups are always worth watching, especially if you like to follow talent up the ranks.