UFC 175 Retrospective

UFC 175 Retrospective

July 15, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

So UFC 175 is in the books. So it's time for an UFC 175 retrospective. What/Who impressed me? What/Who didn't? What surprised me? What didn't?

Impressed

Chris Weidman- Weidman proves he's no fluke as he put on a great show against former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Machida is no slouch and Weidman won decisively. Unlike the two Anderson Silva wins, Machida was focused and didn't suffer any injuries. There was no controversy as Weidman truly was the better man. Ultimately, Weidman played the perfect game against the Dragon by cutting him off, getting his takedowns, and landing strikes. He prevented Machida from getting his game plan going and scored another impressive win.

Lyoto Machida- Unfortunately for Machida, he didn't get a chance to make history but he got a moral victory if nothing else. He didn't win the belt and lost four rounds to one but he still gave it his all. Even when he was down three rounds, he was still competing and going for the finish. He didn't mentally fold like others would. He also proved he's got a tough chin and great submission defense. He also gave Weidman the toughest challenge of his career by being the first to take the All-American 25 minutes.

Ronda Rousey- The Rowdy one gave her most dominant performance in her career which says a lot given in nine previous fights she was dominant in all of them. For her entire career, Rousey has been accused of being a one-trick pony but no more. In her recent performances, Rousey has clearly been working on her striking and has become a true three dimensional fighter. Rousey was already a wrecking ball in the Women's bantamweight division and now it will be even harder to knock her off her post.

Uriah Hall- Say what you will about Uriah Hall. He's got a world of potential but seems to lack the killer instinct to go far in the UFC. However, the guy is tough. While he didn't put on the best performance of his career, Hall still won decisively and shown toughness. For most of the three round fight, Hall fought with a broken toe but for the most part came off as nothing was wrong. A lot of fighter would freak out or at least let the pain hinder them but Hall remained calm, fought, and scored a decision win. With this, Hall earned a lot of respect from fans and his bosses.

Rob Font- I didn't know much about Font before and I'm still not familiar with him. However, he was put with a veteran in George Roop and made the best of it by scoring a highlight reel knockout. I'm not sure how far he'll go but at this show, he made one of the best impressions.

UFC acting on Stefan Struve pulling out- Forget the 11^th hour. The clock was past midnight when the UFC found out that the returning Stefan Struve would not be able to compete as the pay-per-view portion of UFC 175 was going on. It's rare for a show to lose a fight during the broadcast yet this was what the UFC was dealt with. Yet in spite of that, The UFC handled it very well with Mike Goldberg interviewing the doctor, the show moved along very nicely instead of making a scene, and played prelims to fill time. The UFC deserves credit for coming off professionally instead of running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Not Impressed

Chris Weidman- For the most part, Weidman put on a great performance and defeated an elite fighter but he did make some mistakes. For one, he was leading three rounds to none and started to fade a little in the fourth. While he ultimately pulled off the win, he has to be careful as Machida started to rally a decent comeback and the next time, he could get finished. He was fortunate to have a very good chin and submission defense. This was his first five round fight that went the distance and hopefully Weidman learned not to take his foot off the gas in the championship rounds. Perhaps the biggest criticism is the fact that Machida gave his back up again and again during the fight and Weidman could not capitalize. Machida has good submission defense but it's still something for Weidman to work on.

Lyoto Machida- Once again, like his opponent Weidman, I felt slightly disappointed with Machida. Yes, he lost to the number 1 middleweight in the world but you have to wonder about his performance. Machida obviously went with a gameplan he was familiar with and worked many times. However, that may have cost him. Weidman knew what Machida was going to do and was clearly prepared. While he turned it up and had more success when he was more aggressive it was too late. If he adjusted earlier, he may have won. Machida has adjusted over the years but he still needs to show aggression or at least show more offense since the counterstriking strategy arguably cost him against Phil Davis and now Weidman. We'll never know for sure if it would've worked but you have to wonder what if.

What Surprised Me

Stefan Struve's near fainting spell- I've known of Struve's heart condition but I still didn't see this coming. It's scary for Struve to nearly faint less than a hour before he was supposed to go out and compete. While no one wanted this to happen, it's fortunate it happened in the back. This type of situation is rare in the UFC and I hope the best for the skyscraper.

Ronda Rousey's knock out win- The first ten seconds of the fight seemed normal. Rousey gets close to Davis and takes her down with a judo throw. After that, everybody was expecting Rousey to go for the armbar which is her signature maneuver. Instead, Rousey would lay a barrage of punches down on her opponent and scored the surprising knockout in only 16 seconds. Rousey has looked dominant in the past but never this dominant. The end result wasn't the least surprising. It was getting there that surprised everyone.

What Didn't Surprise Me

Ronda Rousey's dominant win- While the finish surprised me, nothing else did. At this point, unless she's facing Holly Holm or Cris Cyborg, it's safe to say that not only will Rousey continue her iron fist rule on the division but she won't even break a sweat during her reign. So far, no one has had an answer to Rousey or come within a hair's breath of defeating her. It's going to take someone with something elite to defeat her and while Alexis Davis was game, she didn't have the tools that will be needed.

Urijah Faber's dominant win- Like Rousey, Faber's win was seen a mile away. Alex Caceres is like Alexis Davis and that he tried to make the best of a great opportunity but was in over his head. Caceres is solid talent but this was a gigantic step up that he wasn't ready for. Once again, Faber trashes anyone that's not the champion.