There's been a lot of talk here the last few days since UFC 69 about losses due to being outskilled, outclassed and just being an offnight.
I think we've seen a little of each this past show and actually, over the past few months.
Hughes v. GSP: Hughes has a fantastic record and GSP is a hungry, explosive newcomer. I think Dana was right in stating that GSP is a part of the new breed of UFC fighters. I truly think Hughes is the better overall fighter and simply prey to losing to the better man that night to GSP. On top of that, I think GSP was in such peak form that night and was so hungry that there was no way Hughes was going to come close to beating him, especially when hi didn't bring his A game to begin with. It was no lucky shot, it was GSP scouting him and taking advantage of an opening he saw and thats coming from a Hughes fan.
Franklin v. Silva: I'm a Franklin fan and hadn't been privelaged enough to see much of Silva's fights till that point. However, I think Rich for whatever reason, was just on another planet for that fight. He seemed preoccupied and Silva was just the opposite being focused and more than ready to expose any chinks in the armor. I have really come to respect Silva's attitude and overall demeanor. Confident but not cocky.
GSP v. Serra: I admit that I cheered loudly for that Serra victory but for some of the wrong reasons. As I said earlier, I'm a Hughs fan and have grown tired of seeing so many people write Hughes of for making a bad mistake, a mistake that some of the other greats in MMA have also made. I think that loss was a result of GSP having his head still on cloud 9 in having just won the title and not having that same focused hunger that he had when crushed Hughes in their fight. Unfortunately, Serra DID have that hunger and had nothing to lose thus making him much more the dangerous enemy. The result was a skilled, concise focused victory, GSP was a man about it and his handling of the loss has actually made me more of a fan of his than his past victories.
Diego v. Kos: While it was indeed somewhat of a lackluster fight, the result was indeed a definitive one to me. MMA is not rock em sock em robots or a bar room brawl. The bottom line from any good fighter is to inflict as much damage as you can on your adversary while sustaining as little to no damage to yourself. Kos, knowing Diego's potential and weaknesses, did just that. After Diego's past behavior at the weigh-in and during other instances, Kos made sure to try and punk him while coming out unscathed. And it worked. Sure, he was a little over the top in his post fight promo, but you have to admit that Diego can be waay over the top himself with the whole "look into my eyes" bit he's done and some of his comments discussing his retirement as an unbeaten fighter. I probably would have been over the top to some degree as well. I used to be a Diego fan..but all of his antics leading up to that fight changed that. I also used to *HATE* Kos based on his behavior on TUF but realize that the editing of the show is geared to create "characters" of sorts. Kos is actually a pretty down to earth guy IMHO and deserved that victory. Diego didn't bring it and paid the price. Yes, he took some solid shots, but he didn't make anything happen either.
Couture v. Sylvia: I love Randy and think Sylvia is successful based on size alone, period. I was hoping to feel differently, seeing something new from Sylvia, especially after that piss poor fight against Monson, but alas, it was same old Sylvia. Except this time Randy completely outclassed him and gained the rightful victory. Tim might have skill, but I haven't seen much of it in the last year. I think the belt is actually a bad thing for him.
I know there are many more examples on the Pride side, but I have had not had the pleasure of seeing thise fights first hand and don't feel confident addressing them second hand. I would really like to read similar thoughst from anyone else on that end though.
There are so many variables involved in MMA and human nature overall that contribute to the volatile nature of the sport which is something I hope the UFC pushes in its programming. That will keep the masses interested when a popular mainstay suffers a loss to an underdog in main event matches.
But then you get a monster like Fedor who is another entity entirely, but that's another post for another day
B.
Offnight, Outclassed, Outskilled Losses
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