UFC 93 has come and gone, and although the card wasn't what one would consider "stellar", it certainly didn't disappoint (well, almost). So for the first time, I've decided to start handing out MMAHotStuff awards for each UFC event. Here we go!
MMAHotStuff "MVP" Award- The Irish fans. European fans never disappoint. There's really nothing cooler than hearing the entire crowd break into song while the fight is going on. If I were a fighter I wouldn't be able to contain a smile. I'm just amazed that they break into song all at once and with the same song. How do they know what song to sing? How do they all jump into it at exactly the same time? It's not like when one poor section of the stands at a baseball game tries to start a "wave" and it takes a good 5 minutes of pathetic attempt before they get it going. It's like all the entire crowd at UFC 93 was a big group of drinking buddies that knew each other. Amazing... MMAHotStuff loves the Irish fans!
MMAHotStuff "Corner Man of the Night" Award- Without a doubt, this goes to Phil Baroni for his work in Mark Coleman's corner. Coleman was on the verge of collapse at the end of the first round, and Baroni probably knew it. Telling Coleman to "slip the jab and counter" or "set up your shots with some punches" probably wasn't going to get him anywhere, so Baroni stuck with the inspiring "great fucking fight... this is a great fucking fight!", which actually seemed to work. He would sprinkle in a few comments like "I know you're tired, he's tired too", but mostly he just kept saying "this is a great fucking fight". At first I was perplexed with this approach, but then I began to find it actually somewhat endearing. Great fucking job Baroni!
MMAHotStuff "This is painful to watch" Award- Hands down, Shogun VS Coleman. They easily snatched this award away from Horn VS Palhares who were the early front-runners. I'll give Coleman some leeway here as it was his first time down in the 205 lb class, and it couldn't have been an easy cut for that monster of a man, but Rua has no excuse. I know he states that he was sidelined for many months due to knee injury, and that fighting is different than training, but could he really not come in shape? And how many chances did he need to put Coleman away before he finally did? Rua's inability to put Coleman away when Coleman looked as gassed as an obese 3rd grader after running his first mile in PE class was pathetic, and only prolonged the agony of the fight. This was about as tough to watch as Dick Clark on his annual NYE Celebration show. Perhaps Shogun could take a lesson from Ryan Seacrest on how to jump in and put an end to the agony.
MMAHotStuff "Did he see the same fight I saw?" Award - This award goes to judge Chris Watts, who scored the fight 30-27 Franklin, giving all three rounds to Franklin. Now I wouldn't necessarily disagree if Franklin had been given the victory because it was a close fight, but to give all three rounds to Franklin??? What fight was he watching? By the way, judges, you know you did a bad job scoring the fight if the fighter you just gave three rounds to rolls his eyes in confusion when your scoring is announced.
So there you have it... the first ever "MMAHotStuff Award" presentation. What do you think? Any awards I missed?