UFC 137 served up some excellent action but the event will most likely be remembered for the Diaz drama and major retirement announcements.
By Fergus Ryan
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone threw himself into the lightweight title mix with a dominating victory over Denis Siver. Having dismissed the German’s highly rated kickboxing skills in pre-fight chatter, Cerrone showed why he did after dropping Siver twice before securing the fight finishing rear naked choke. Scott Jorgenson and Jeff Curran put on a three round grappling clinic that may have not provided a finish but showed where a fighters ground game needs to be to succeed in MMA today.
And last, but certainly not least, the main event served up a three round war that showcased exactly why the UFC are introducing 5 rounds for non-title fights. BJ Penn looked like the fighter of old taking the first round, only to get battered from pillar to post for the remaining 10 minutes. Say what you like about Nick Diaz, he is a good fighter and deserves a title shot if he can keep from upsetting UFC brass.
The Diaz drama started with him missing six flights resulting in a couple of no-shows at press engagements. The UFC duly pulled him from the main event title fight with Georges St. Pierre. An injury to GSP saw Diaz re-installed as main event for his fight against BJ Penn.
Having just beaten Penn, Diaz taunted GSP for a title shot. GSP, who was seated ringside, was expected to face Carlos Condit next (who was due to replace Diaz till GSP got injured) but was so upset with the Diaz taunts that he sought out UFC president Dana White to beg for a fight with Diaz. White announced the two would finally meet Superbowl weekend 2012, the same card that Chael Sonnen is hoping to stage his lower leaves town fight with Anderson Silva.
UFC 137 was also notable for the swan songs of two of MMA’s favourite sons:
Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic
Having racked up 45 amateur boxing fights, 16 K-1 kickboxing fights and 40 MMA fights, the career of Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic was brought to a close. Having debuted as a 22 year old he went on to defeat some of K-1’s biggest names including Jerome Le Banner, Mike Bernardo and Remi Bonjasky.
He transitioned into MMA and cemented his status as a legend during his time in Pride Fighting Championships at the height of the Japanese promotion’s popularity. Having come up short against ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko in Pride heavyweight title fights, Cro Cop figured he would retire after the 2006 heavyweight grand prix, unless he won it.
With an MMA title finally achieved Cro Cop arrived in the UFC under a weight of expectation. Unfortunately, with his best behind him he went 4-6 across his 2 stints in the UFC.
BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn
BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn was so good he was a UFC champion that he hardly ever trained. His talent for fighting materialised quickly as he became the first non-Brazilian to win a BJJ world championship after only training in the sport for three years. He backed this up with wins in his first three fights, which catapulted him to a lightweight title shot.
Though unsuccessful in his first title tilt, Penn would go on to be the UFC’s second champion (after Randy Couture) across two weight classes (lightweight and welterweight). For a brief period he fought outside the UFC at welterweight, middleweight and lost a decision to Lyoto Machida in an open-weight match (Penn weighed 190lbs and Machida 220lbs). After losing to GSP and Matt Hughes at welterweight on his UFC return, Penn rededicated himself to becoming a champion. For Penn the change was easy, “I asked myself why am I at the bar 4 nights a week when I should be training?”
Penn 2.0 went on to become a 4 time lightweight champion. The manner of his recent defeat saw Penn declare “I have a daughter and another daughter on the way, I cant keep going home looking like this” as he tried to exit the octagon. Penn then released a statement saying he would take some time to consider his future. Whether Penn continues or not, he has certainly done enough to establish his legacy.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
