Well, I thought the fights were pretty good. I thought the Main Event fight between Nick Diaz and BJ Penn was a tough fight for BJ Penn. I didn’t expect BJ to keep the fight on the feet. His strategy should have been to take the fight to the ground as soon as possible. However, BJ stayed on the feet going toe to toe with Nick Diaz for most of the 2nd and 3rd round. Which, of course, favored Nick Diaz as his boxing skills and cardiovascular conditioning were much greater than that of BJ. Even though Nick did not throw very hard punches, he kept a steady pace and kept throwing punch after Punch. And by doing so, he basically broke BJ mentally by the middle of the 2nd round. BJ never looked the same after the 2nd round and I think he broke down mentally.  The fight lasted 3 rounds with Diaz winning a unanimous decision on the cards.  After the fight Nick called out George St Pierre saying that George wasn’t really injured and that he’s afraid of fighting. BJ penn told Joe Rogan that he was retiring because he did not want to go home to his kids with his face all messed up. He was very emotional when he made this announcement so we’ll see if he is really serious about retiring or not. On his way to the locker room, he was met with Vitor Belfort who showed his respect.

Above is a picture of Nick and BJ in the locker room after their 137 showdown.  Nick and BJ made peace after their prefight trash talk. I feel bad for BJ but his time is up and he knows it. I wish him luck.

Cheick kongo and Matt Mitrione

The previous fight was between Cheick kongo and Matt Mitrione. I felt like Matt waited to much and didn’t let loose on Kongo. This gave Kongo more and more confident as the fight went on. Finally, Matt’s ground game was proven to be weak when Kongo took Matt down not once but twice and just dominated him on the ground with good old ground and pound in the 3rd round. The last couple of minutes of the fight were spent on the ground. I think Matt needs to work on his ground game and learn to keep his hands up more. He can not come in all wreckless with higher skill leveled fighters like Kongo. Kongo won the decision.

Mirko Cro Cop vs Roy Nelson

This was  a do or die fight for Mirko Cro Cop. Since moving to the UFC from Pride he has not had much success. Roy Nelson took Mirco down for a little bit in the first ground but Mirko got up and did catch Nelson with some really good upper cuts. In the beginning of the 2nd round Mirko unleashed some heavy punches against Nelson. However, he wasn’t able to put Nelson away. I think Mirko used up a lot of energy by going all out on Nelson here in the beginning of the 2nd round and for the rest of the 2nd round seemed kind of tired. Roy took Mirko down later that round and did some good ground and pound on Mirko.  By the beginning of the 3rd round you could tell that Mirko seemed very exhausted. Roy Nelson took Mirko’s back mid way into the 3rd round and punched Mirko on the back of the head with some heavy punches and the ref stopped the fight. Giving Roy Nelson the victory by Knock Out. Anyway, Big Country Roy Nelson seemed much improved and seems like he’s lost a lot of fat and has improved his physique. He has a very strong chin and a tough neck. Very hard to knockout. Mirko said he is retiring after the fight. I will always love Mirko and the fights he put on for us in Pride. I think he hasn’t been the same for a few years now. Sad to see him go but nothing lasts forever. I guess we all have our days numbered in everything in life. Mirko said he was “treated like a King” and was very humble in his “fair well” speech.

Tagged as: bj penn, Cheick, Cheick kongo and Matt Mitrione, crocop, kongo, Matt, Mitrione, nelson, nick diaz, ufc 137