UFC 127 Thoughts

A phrase that is repeated often is that you "never leave it in the judges' hands". Tonight, we saw 2 examples of why this is the case.

Nick Ring was given a unanimous decision against Riki Fukuda. I use the term given specifically because I don't understand how anybody could have had Nick Ring winning rounds 2 and 3. However, 3 judges disagreed with me, and we have what we have. In the grand scheme of things, this result will not affect UFC plans at all. If anything, it will enhance them, as Fukuda will be given another shot, while Ring will still remain undefeated. There is potential that both could end up as being players in the middleweight division, which would be win/win for UFC. If neither end up doing anything, it will not be because of this fight. It's a slight step back, but ultimately it will not harm them.

The other controversy was in the main event. Most people would assume that BJ Penn won the first round of the fight, and Jon Fitch won the third. It came down to what the judges felt of the second round. As it turns out, one judge felt that Fitch won the second round, giving Fitch a 29-28 win, while two others gave Penn the second round. But somewhat ironically, both judges gave the third round to Fitch 10-8, meaning that the fight was declared a draw two to two judges scoring the contest 28-28. In a sense, this made Fitch whole, as he was looking to end up losing a fight that most people (including BJ Penn) would have walked away from thinking that he had won. But more importantly, it might have set up a golden opportunity for the UFC.

It is generally assumed that assuming Georges St. Pierre defeats Jake Shields at UFC 129, he will move up to the middleweight division and face Anderson Silva. This would leave the welterweight title in limbo, with no champion and no two contenders set up for it. This fight was set to give one person the next title shot. But now there is no number one contender. If GSP stays at welterweight as champion, or if (heaven forbid) Jake Shields wins the title, the next challenger is undetermined.

But what if the more likely scenario occurs? GSP wins, then moves to the middleweight division. The welterweight title becomes vacant, and you have two fighters who just fought to a draw for the number one contender's spot. They could be slotted into a title shot without much argument, and the winner would be the undisputed champion. You would have a clean succession, and more of an opportunity to build up the next challenger for the title.

Sometimes when seemingly poor things happen, there's an opportunity made available to you. In this case, the future of the welterweight title might have become clear thanks to a questionable decision.
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Overall, my picks were 7-4-1, and my theoretical wagers gave me $106.60, which is a net win of $16.60. On the year, I'm 19-13-2, with overall losses of $10.60.