Life After UFC 113
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By Scott Heritage
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua pulled off an upset few gave him a chance at and captured the UFC light heavyweight championship in the process. Rather than the back and forth chess match we were expecting, Shogun was able to catch Machida and finish the fight early, giving him revenge for what many feel was a robbery the first time around.
Talk will now no doubt turn to who Shogun will face as his first title defense, and there seem to be three potential men in it. Three sounds like a strange number because it is. The most deserving challenger is undoubtedly the winner of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans, which takes place at UFC 114.
The other challenger making noise about getting a title show is Randy Couture, who next takes on former world champion boxer James Toney. While Couture is still a decent fighter, if he gets the shot his path to the title has been a lot less challenging than any other fighter. A decorated wrestler like Couture should have no problems with a faded boxer with very little ground training. Why Couture wanted such an easy fight at all is not clear if he also wants to win titles.
When fighters get to a certain age or point in their careers in both MMA and boxing, they no longer want to push through the chasing pack and pay their dues to work towards a title shot. Instead they want to take “interesting” fights, which usually means winnable fights. Randy Couture though is trying to have it both ways. Wanting to take on a newcomer to MMA anyway as a multiple weight champion is questionable. Asking for a title shot off the back of it is ridiculous.
A wild card in the light heavyweight division is middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who held back from competing at the heavier weight full time because of his friendship with then champion Lyoto Machida. Now that Machida has been knocked off though, Silva might be considering a light heavyweight run, so long as he gets past Chael Sonnen (R) in his next fight. Depending on whether White and co feel he has made up for his indiscretions against Demian Maia, Silva might have to also go through Vitor Belfort and Jake Shields before they let him have a crack at Shogun.
As for Machida, it will probably be a lengthy vacation and recovery before he thinks about fighting anyone again. The punch that put him out also reportedly shattered his orbital bone, which will require surgery. By that time, Shogun could well have lost the title to one of the many challengers lining up, so Machida might want to get right back in line for another title shot.
Before Koscheck and Daley faced off, my thinking was that it was Kos’s fight to lose. An excellent wrestler who has been known to be drawn into brawls in the past. Luckily Kos’s sense of self preservation was in full effect in this one, and he took a one sided wrestling based decision. The actions after the fight eventually overshadowed what was otherwise an uneventful bout. The one interesting point during the fight was a phantom knee that Koscheck claimed had hit him. The replay showed that it clearly missed his head, and Dana White told him as much backstage after the fight.
One phantom knee might be excusable if the fight was close or if he had any reason to be tired. As it was though, he was controlling the fight with his wrestling and had taken very little damage, meaning needing a breather was a little puzzling. That wasn’t the first time Kos apparently felt something that the cameras showed not to be real though. The same thing happened during his fight with the colossal Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. He might feel like this is a neat trick to pull when he needs a rest, but it isn’t winning him any fans, and he’s already one of the most disliked fighters in the UFC as it is.
After the fight, Daley threw a punch at Kos, using the excuse that he hadn’t heard the bell. He clearly had of course, and was fired immediately after the event was over by Dana White. Daley won’t be out of work for long though, and already has a fight lined up in July in Australia.
Next for Koscheck is a spot opposite Georges St. Pierre as the coach of The Ultimate Fighter season 13, and eventually that title shot he has been working towards for the last few years.
Kimbo Slice moved to 1-1 in his UFC tenure with a one sided loss to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113. The seemingly improving wrestling he showed against Houston Alexander did him no favors against the bigger Mitrione and his gas tank was quickly running on empty. Throw in a few leg kicks and Slice’s arthritic knees and he was left immobile and at Mitrione”s mercy.
After the fight, Dana White said that it was probably Kimbo’s last appearance in the UFC. At time of writing, no official cut has been made, and official announcements are usually made when anyone is let go. More than likely, White and company are waiting to see what the pay per view sales look like. My guess is that if it looks as if Kimbo pushed them up by a lot, then he might be given one last fight.
After all, the UFC is still a business first and a sport second at this point, and the one thing Kimbo is good for is attracting the casual fans. Cutting Kimbo was inevitable at some point, although most thought it would be after his substantial pay checks stopped paying for themselves. If nothing else, Kimbo will draw a crowd against the Tank Abbots and James Thompsons of the world, and the UFC could continue exploiting that for a while longer.
Kimbo’s conqueror Matt Mitrione looked much improved from the sloppy brawler who stumbled around with his hands down and his chin stuck out on The Ultimate Fighter. He now has a shiny new ground game and arsenal of kicks to go along with it. He’s still a little raw around the edges, but if he continues to develop as well as he has been, he just might become a genuine contender eventually.
Either way though, Mitrione is fast becoming a fan favorite, and is a far cry from the escaped mental patient persona they gave him on the show. Talks are already in place for his next fight, which looks to be against another heavy victorious on the card, Joey Beltran.