UFC 97 Retrospective

Well the show is over, so let’s take a look at how my picks for UFC 97 did. With a lot of fights going to decision, a horrid, wretched main event, and the biggest star in the history of MMA losing in glorious fashion in what is likely to be his last fight ever.I’m not going to criticize the show here, since that’s not what this site is about. There’s plenty of good MMA sites out there for that. Okay, just one. The rest pretty much suck. I do all my betting at Bodog Sports, where they give you a great deposit bonus that is easy to win back, and I can use my winnings to earn even more money over at the poker room ;)

Denis Kang (-325) vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam (+250)
My Pick: Kang  | Winner: Kang

Kang got the win, but was unimpressive in getting a decision over a guy with no ground game. He was set up to destroy the guy on the ground, but was unable to do so. Sad.

Cheick Kongo (-350) vs Antoni Hardonk (+275)
My Pick: Hardonk (betting on the upset) | Winner: Kongo

The upset didn’t happen this time, as Kongo did take Hardonk to the ground after all, and broke his nose.

Sam Stout (-140) vs Matt Wiman (+110)
My Pick: Stout | Winner: Stout

This went about how I expected, but Handsome Matt was a bit more impressive than I expected.

Mark Bocek (-285) vs David Bielkheden (+225)
My Pick: Bocek | Winner: Bocek

Bocek destroyed him, just as I said he would.

David Loiseau (-130) vs Ed Herman (Even)
My Pick: Herman | Winner: Herman

Apparently Loiseau looked horrible in this fight, and will probably never fight in the UFC again after this undercard tryout.

Nate Quarry (-120) vs Jason MacDonald (-110)
My Pick: MacDonald from a coin-toss | Winner: Quarry

MacDonald stormed into the UFC, but has been unimpressive lately, getting destroyed by Quarry on the ground. Sad, he was fun to watch.

Luiz Cane (-340) vs Steve Cantwell (+260)
My Pick: Cane | Winner: Cane

I didn’t expect this to go the distance, so props to Cantwell for hanging in there. Cantwell looked good for a while there, but clearly the WEC guys have to improve to hang in the UFC.

Krzysztof Soszynski (-155) vs Brian Stann (+125)
My Pick: Soszynski | Winner: Soszynski

This went pretty much exactly as I expected, kimura and all.

Chuck Liddell (-200) vs Mauricio Rua (+160)
My Pick: Liddell | Winner: Rua

As I mentioned before, there were no questions about Chuck – he came into this fight looking like he was in the best physical condition of his life, but he just can’t hang with the top contenders any more. Shogun on the other hand, I wasn’t sure if we would see the fat pig with a bum knee, or, well, a top contender in the weight class. Now we know that Shogun’s knee is working again, so he knocked Chuck out.

Anderson Silva (-675) vs Thales Leites (+475)
My Pick: Silva | Winner: Silva

Yeah…

So overall I went 7-for-10, with my underdog pick not working out this time.

Now let’s put this horrible event behind us, and play some poker while looking forward to the next MMA event!