Saturday night marked my 3rd UFC live experience with UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones. While the night did slow down at times (5 decisions in a row at one point) the atmosphere alone was giving me chills all night. On top of that the card was stacked from top to bottom with results that reach every spectrum of emotion. Here is what made my UFC 128 experience the best UFC live event I've been to yet...
When I first arrived I stood outside of the Prudential Center in line waiting for the doors to open. While waiting I got to talking to two guys who made the trip to Newark, NJ from Toronto, Canada. They said the drive was 10+ hours and that they were also going to be attending UFC 129 when the UFC visits Toronto for the first time ever. Interestingly enough, they actually paid for their entire trip by buying floor seats and then re-selling them on StubHub. I have to give them credit for their methods, especially since it got them to 2 events in a row, but it's a shame that people who don't join the Fight Club to get presale tickets ultimately have to settle for overpriced tickets.
After getting in I immediately grabbed a beer and headed to my seat. My ticket cost me $250 in total and had me about halfway down. During the fights themselves I could watch the cage during stand-up portions, but I had to settle for watching the screen when things went to the mat. I was there by myself as I couldn't convince any of my friends to shell out the money, but I lucked out with the people sitting around me. The guys sitting to my left actually lived right down the road from me when I was living in North Carolina, small world. Three quarters of the row behind me was empty, so myself and the guy to my left switched off sitting back a row to give everyone a bunch of room. There was a row of drunk idiots sitting in front of me, but they were replaced (once they realized they were in the wrong section) by a set of guys all decked out in Cro Cop colors and Croatian flags.
Erik Koch vs. Raphael Assuncao: Great KO to start the night off. Assuncao was out cold and didn't move for several minutes. I love how the Roufus guys are doing well as it's showing that they aren't just a punch of kickboxers.
Nick Catone vs. Constantinos Phillapou: Not much to report on this one. Catone was the big fan favorite here and he pretty much control the fight with his top control and ground and pound. Catone landed some good knees in the clinch as well.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland: I had high hopes for this fight, but it ended up being the disappointment of the night for me. Neither guy really seemed to find their rhythm which just led to a bunch of sloppy exchanges.
Gleison Tibau vs. Kurt Pellegrino: Had Pellegrino not been gassed out by the third he could have won the fight. He had Tibau rocked in the second, but Tibau stuck to his plan and mixed in tight boxing with good takedowns.
Mike Pyle vs. Ricardo Almeida: This was my bathroom break fight, but from what I saw I thought Almeida won the fight. I'd have to rewatch it to give it a fair assessment, but it was boring enough the first time around.
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani: I was super excited for this fight, and while it didn't bring about the fireworks I had hoped, I still enjoyed the fight thoroughly. Barboza looked really patient and poised in the 1st, but Njokuani really came back strong in the 2nd. The 3rd round was relatively close, but Barboza really sealed the deal with a takedown and a spinning heel kick to the face at the close of the fight.
Luis Cane vs. Eliot Marshall: I'm a big fan of Cane, so I was really hoping to see him bounce back from consecutive losses and boy did he ever. Marshall's takedown attempts failed and he was quickly dropped and pounded out by the Brazilian. I'm hoping to see Cane continue with the success and would love to see him fight Thiago Silva.
Brendan Schaub: First of all, I have to say that it was an absolute honor to have the chance to see Cro Cop fight in person, but with that being said, I think it is pretty obvious that Cro Cop needs to start heavily considering retirement. Cro Cop looked lazy with his punches and pretty much just ran into the clinch for the entire fight. He did throw his patented left high kick a few times, but he never tried to set it up with anything nor did he mix his attacks up. Schaub's wrestling and takedowns looked great and he delivered on his promise when he knocked Cro Cop out cold.
Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller: Solid performances from both guys in this fight. Nate looked good on the feet and had some nice takedowns, but Miller constantly threatened with submissions and connected in some of the exchanges on the feet as well.
Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus: Miller dominated the fight from start to finish and became the first person to defeat the Prince of Persia. Also, I refuse to believe Kamal's wrestling hype until I actually see him use it. With Pettis being promised the next shot at the LW title should he defeat Clay Guida, I think Dan Miller could very well be next in line should Guida defeat Showtime.
Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland: Good win for Faber, but I think the most impressive part of the fight was Wineland's takedown defense. I think a lot of people expected Faber to run right through Wineland, but Wineland hung tough and made Faber earn that win. It was very cool to see Faber come out to "California Love" and see the crowd go nuts for him.
Shogun Rua vs. Jones: The crowd seemed like they were split between the two fighters throughout the night, but when it came time for Buffer to do his thing, the ENTIRE arena booed Shogun. I couldn't believe how so many people could boo a current champion who has accomplished so much in the sport and couldn't be more of a class as. The only thing I can say about the fight itself, though, is holy shit that was an absolute ass kicking handed to Shogun by Jones. At no point did Shogun look like he was in that fight and Jones simply did whatever he wanted.
All in all it was a great night and I really enjoyed the experience. From seeing Jon Jones start his reign as UFC LHW champ to watching Cro Cop compete in what could very well be his last fight ever, it was surely a night to remember.
Finally, here are the pics I took last night (the better ones at least).
(Image from MMANEW.COM)
