The first MMA event of 2011 is now over and done with, fans and friends: UFC 125 “Resolution” is now a thing of the past. The event saw several memorable fights and several highlight-reel moments, both on the main card, the preliminary card televised for the first time on network television, and even the untelevised undercard. And in the main event, the two best Lightweight MMA fighters in the world proved many doubters wrong and gave us an early Fight of the Year contender for 2011, even though its decision was mired in controversy . Here are the full results as well as some early commentary for UFC 125 “Resolution”.
Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard fight to a Split Draw. Brian Stann defeats Chris Leben by TKO (Strikes) at 3:37 of Round 1. Thiago Silva defeats Brandon Vera by Unanimous Decision. Dong Hyun Kim defeats Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision. Clay Guida defeats Takanori Gomi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:47 of Round 2. Jeremy Stephens defeats Marcus Davis by KO (Punch) at 2:33 of Round 3. Dustin Poirier defeats Josh Grispi by Unanimous Decision. Brad Tavares defeats Phil Baroni by TKO (Strikes) at 4:20 of Round 1. Diego Nunes defeats Mike Brown by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Daniel Roberts defeats Greg Soto by Submission (Kimura) at 3:45 of Round 1. Jacob Volkmann defeats Antonio McKee by Split Decision.
So much for the “Muhammed Ali of MMA”, it appears as if Antoni McKee was a victim of his own hype… hype that pretty much only existed in his own head. Speaking of failed hype, Josh Grispi looked completely out of his element against Dustin Poirier, it was honestly a downright embarrassing performance. I guess Dustin wasn’t lying when he said that we’d all know his name before UFC 125 is over. I can’t wait to see how Poirier builds off this pretty huge win.
I was very impressed by Thiago Silva’s performance, and I think that this was one of those fights where you can undoubtedly say that the winner is “back”. Silva looked fantastic as always on the feet and seemed to have found new life on the ground, plus he gave Brandon Vera one of the most heinous broken noses ever seen in MMA. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Thiago.
Brian Stann made a gigantic statement at UFC 125, and I think huge things are in store for this man in the future. He’s already incredibly marketable due to his backstory, but being the man to end arguably the hottest hotstreak of Chris Leben’s career immediately puts him into a prime position in the UFC. We might just have seen a possible UFC Middleweight Championship contender emerge at UFC 125.
The main event was wildly entertaining and fully lived up to the amazing potential I just knew it had. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for both competitors, and I think Edgar/Maynard 2 has officially set the quality benchmark for 2011. While I am disappointed that the fight didn’t have a clear winner, I think both men proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re far from boring and are two of the UFC’s absolute best and brightest. I can’t wait to see what’s next for both men.
All in all, I was pretty glad that I tuned in to UFC 125. The event had several memorable fights and several fantastic finishes. I was a bit gutted that some of my perennial favorites like Marcus Davis, Chris Leben, and Nate Diaz would all lose, some of them dramatically, but all in all, I hesitate to call any of the UFC 125 fights bad. The UFC had a pretty good kickoff to 2011, which is already shaping up to be an utterly amazing year.
And what about you, fans and friends? What are your early thoughts on UFC 125: “Resolution”?
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The Edgar/Maynard decision didn’t seem controversial to me. Yeah, I’d have definitely given the win to Edgar because he was the aggressor and winner (by a hair) on the subsequent rounds after the first and because in the U.S. rounds are scored individually. But in a championship fight a tie goes to the champ, and whether they call Maynard’s fight a tie or a loss, it’s a loss.
Ties always go to the champ because the contender has to actually beat the champ, not tie him.
Edgar sure was great, though. I liked him very much in that fight and would be very pissed off at Dana if he made him fight Maynard again right away. If he had to rematch right away would mean that Dana doesn’t want Edgar to be champ and makes him fight everyone twice to keep the belt (which nobody else has to do).
As for Stann, I don’t see what his backstory has to do with anything. I’d like him as a fighter if he wouldn’t try to do the emotional appeal to patriotism. He seemed like a good sport and should realize he can stand on his sportsmanship and skill alone.