Heavily criticized as a card lacking in both depth and star-power, "UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson" instead turned out to be one of the most entertaining cards in recent memory.
And while Diego Sanchez positioned himself as a future threat in the lightweight division, it was Demian Maia who walked away as the evening's big winner according to many observers.
Maia's impressive win over Chael Sonnen and position in the middleweight division, Josh Koscheck's shocking loss and the success of UFC 95 were discussed in-depth by MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) readers in our latest installment of "The Sunday Junkie."
Check out all the submissions below, and to learn how to submit to next week's edition of our reader-feedback feature, scroll to the bottom of the page.
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DESPITE SMALL EXPECTATIONS, UFC 95 DELIVERED BIG ON RESULTS
When "UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson" was first announced a lot of people were complaining about the depth of the card and lack of a star-studded main event. But UFC 95 turned out to be one of the most entertaining fight cards the MMA world has seen in 2009. Nine out of 10 fights were aired, which was a Spike TV record. UFC 94 and Affliction had the mega-names and big numbers, but UFC 95 came to us for free and delivered more than those two cards combined. We witnessed Josh Koscheck suffer a brutal defeat, and Nate Marquardt and Damian Maia proved to be the best middleweights behind Anderson Silva -- and one of them will get a title shot soon. The main event wasn't the greatest fight of the night, despite earning a bonus as sch, but it was a good three rounds for Diego Sanchez and a preview of what he could do in the lightweight division.
Andrew "Vice" Walters
Coral Springs, Fla.
GREAT FIGHTS, AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT
I really hope that after Saturday's UFC 95 event people in the MMA world will quit talking about fight cards being sub-par. I completely understand that the card at UFC 95 didn't have any top-level fighters, but this card was more than just OK -- it was up there with UFC 91 and UFC 84 as some of the best in recent memory. Plus, it was free. We saw all but one fight on the card and a variety of finishes. TKO? Check. We saw three on the main card plus some from the prelims. Submission? Check. We witnessed Maia subbing another Team Quest member and a nasty inverted hell hook all-but-ending an aged fighter's career. Oh, and a solid main event with two guys closely matched with some very good stand-up. So to recap: Haters stop hating free UFC cards. They almost always end up being great.
Jaime Moreno
Angleton, Texas
DEMIAN MAIA DEFIES THE EVOLUTION OF MMA
Watching Demian Maia climb the ladder in the UFC's 185 division is a thing of wonder. His faith in his discipline is truly something to behold. Where others might be in trouble when their takedowns are stuffed, he voluntarily pulls guard and you get the feeling the fight is already over. He has taken on a great striker in Nate Quarry, a great wrestler in Chael Sonnen and a great grappler in Jason McDonald, and the results were all the same. This single-minded Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner sticks to his guns and wins. Everything Maia does contradicts the evolution of the MMA fighter, yet he remains unblemished because he has the ability to stay composed and implement the principles of his art.
Christian "MMA Messiah" Anger
Sacramento, Calif.
SHARK IN THE MIDDLEWEIGHT WATER
Demian Maia is 10-0 and shows no signs of slowing down. With eight submissions under his belt, he is considered by most to be one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu artists in MMA. But is he good enough to beat middleweight champion Anderson Silva? In a division where building anticipated fights is nearly impossible, Maia gives MMA fans wet lips at the thought of an opponent demonstrating a dominate ground game against "The Spider." Many say Silva has weaknesses on the ground after being submitted by Ryo Chonan and struggling against Travis Lutter. But unlike Nate Quarry, Silva doesn't look like a fish out of water when on his back. A Maia vs. Silva fight could breathe excitement into a rather boring division dominated by one man. Michael Bisping is tied up with Dan Henderson, so let's see if Maia is a shark or a salmon in the great Silva reef.
"Kam300"
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION HAS SOME REAL COMPETITION
Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia have all-but-solidified themselves as the top two contenders in the UFC's 185-pound division. The division has long been considered short on talent -- with champion Anderson Silva being the only real A-level fighter -- but not anymore. Since his lost to Silva, Marquardt has beaten everyone put in front of him (minus the terrible job of judging witnessed during the Thales Leites fight). Marquardt has not only won, but he has looked dominating in doing so. Maia just continues to look like a real threat at 185 pounds, finding very slick ways to get his opponents to the ground and subbing them like it was child's play. Maia is scary good, and I personally can't see anyone being able to win a fight with Maia so long as it goes to the ground. Here's hoping for a match between the two men to see who has Silva next.
Jaime Moreno
Angleton, Texas
A NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION
UFC President Dana White often talks about how Anderson Silva has cleaned out the UFC's middleweight division as a reason for Silva to possibly make the move to the light heavyweight. Forget the light-heavyweight division, it looks like there is a new middleweight division for Silva to try and clean out. First he will fight Thales Leites, who in my opinion shouldn't be much of a challenge to Silva's crown. It's the people that come after Leites that have me excited. It is likely that the winner of Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson will get the next title shot. But I am hoping that someone else gets a shot first, and that person is Demian Maia. The guy was amazing again Saturday night, winning his fourth "Submission of the Night" in five UFC fights. Another good opponent for Silva that really impressed me last night was Nate Marquardt. His emphatic finish of Wilson Gouveia has gotten me really excited about a possible rematch with Silva.
Simon "Castellammarese" Stevenson
Widnes, England, U.K.
EARLY STOPPAGES
After watching Josh Koscheck hit the mat and the referee immediately stopping the bout, it makes me ask, "When did things change?" These guys are fighters; let them finish a fight so that there are no excuses. It seems up until the last few years the fights weren't stopped until someone was completely out and there was no doubt of the winner. They may eat a couple extra punches, but if you can't take the punches you shouldn't be fighting. The early stoppages will only lead to a standing eight count just like boxing and even more fighters crying foul.
Wayne Brown
Crossville, Tenn.
MMA FANS NEED TO FIND A MIDDLE GROUND
Several people have complained that Saturday's bout between Paulo Thiago and Josh Koscheck was stopped too early. I would like to remind you all that at UFC 92, when Cheick Kongo was pounding Mustapha al Turk, just as many complained about the late stoppage because some one was going to get hurt. Also at UFC 92, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was criticized for hitting Wanderlei Silva two or three times after he had been knocked cold. In the Koscheck fight we had a perfect example of a fighter clearly being knocked out, a fighter in Thiago who knew he was knocked out and showed class and respect by not cracking him again, a ref that jumped in and saved Koscheck from being completely knocked out -- in short, everything we were looking for two months back. Yet people say the stoppage was terrible and Thiago should have finished him. MMA fans need to find a middle ground and need to stop arguing just for the sake of arguing.
"Iceman22"
Connecticut
PAULO WHO?
I like to look at video of fighters I've never heard of before they fight, and I did just that when the UFC announced that some dude named Paulo Thiago was fighting Josh Koscheck. What I saw did nothing to impress me. He looked like the typical Brazilian with limited striking and some solid submissions but nothing else. Like everyone else I thought the bout was an easy win for Koscheck, but man was I wrong. Who could have possibly seen Thiago's knockout coming? Thiago's hands looked sloppy and Joe Rogan was dead on when he noted how Paulo dropped his left hand after he threw a jab. I was waiting for the overhand right by Koscheck when 'boom goes the dynamite.' Koscheck can complain all he wants, but that uppercut and left hook combo was stupid good and he was out. Koscheck will be back, but man, what a knockout.
Jaime Moreno
Angleton, Texas
THE FINE LINE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE
With MMA fighters as talented as they are today, proper gameplanning has becoming a dominant factor in winning fights. Nate Marquardt exhibited the results of a successful game plan. Making Wilson Gouveia chase him for two rounds and delivering a steady diet of taxing leg kicks created a gassed opponent for Marquardt to take advantage of in the third round. Joe Stevenson, on the other hand, showed the effect of a flawed game plan. Instead of attempting to take down and drain the energy of a dehydrated new 155 pounder, he turned the fight into a boxing match --which played to the strengths of a lighter and quicker Diego Sanchez. The lesson to be learned? Skills don't mean a thing if you can't utilize them in the most intelligent way possible.
Christian "MMA Messiah" Anger
Sacramento, Calif.
DOS SANTOS' WIN MAKES WERDUM'S ABSENCE GREATER DISGRACE
The UFC's decision to release heavyweight Fabricio Werdum should be an eye-opener for any fighter in the UFC. Werdum, who was on his way to being a top contender in the heavyweight division, was released by the UFC after failed contract negotiations following his first-round loss to up-and-coming heavyweight Junior dos Santos. Werdum came off two impressive knockout victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, but fell short of becoming the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight championship after the disappointing loss to dos Santos. In a division where the talent pool appears to be the thinnest, MMA fans assumed that Werdum would just have to shake off the loss and make another run for the title in the upcoming future. The last thing fans expected is what the UFC saw as a solution. This decision should be a wakeup call for any UFC fighter that finds themselves on the short end of the stick.
"Showdown"
Kansas City, Mo.
IS MMA READY FOR THE SHOT-CLOCK ERA?
About a year-and-a-half ago I read an article by "Big" John McCarthy about standing up a fight that has been on the ground, and I've really been thinking about it ever since. Recently during the aftermath of the Nate Diaz and Clay Guida fight I have been thinking about a way to force fighters to improve position. How about a time clock? McCarthy stated that in the full guard it is considered to be a neutral position. If neither fighter is improving or trying to finish a fight he gives them 45 second to a full minute, then the action is restarted on the feet. Why not have a time clock as a warning system for fighters? If a fighter is stalling, give him a 30 second time clock or get the fight back on the feet. Who knows, it could work.
Jaime Moreno
Angleton, Texas
TERRY ETIM'S TIME IS COMING
Liverpool's Terry Etim went into his UFC 95 fight as a favorite to beat the late replacement of Brian Cobb. However, nobody predicted Etim to win by a TKO head kick followed by strikes within the opening seconds of the second round. At six-foot-one and a solid 155 pounds, Terry Etim is a legitimately skilled fighter in the stacked UFC lightweight division. The skills that Etim demonstrated in his victory on Saturday night proves that he should indeed be fighting the upper echelon of the division as Joe Rogan alluded to. As all the U.K. fans will agree who attended the UFC live event, Terry Etim's name can be added to the growing list of British talent alongside Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy and Paul Kelly. Very soon it will be Terry E's time.
Jason Chiumiento
Coventry, England
MY FAVOURITE FIGHT AT DREAM.7
DREAM.7 is just around the corner, and I am really excited to see the featherweight grand prix. But the fight that excites me the most is Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura, which is not part of the grand prix. Nick_Havok in the MMAjunkie forums said it best when he wrote, "After seeing Daisuke's recent matches, I am as much looking forward to seeing him perform at DREAM.7 than I am anyone else." Ishida is an amazing wrestler and Nakamura has an excellent ground game. This fight, on paper at least, should be an amazing ground fight. Nakamura is on a nine-fight win streak, with two of those wins coming by flying arm bar. Yes, I said flying arm bar. His last fight at FEG's FieLDS DYNAMITE!! 2008 against Hideo Tokoro was easily my favorite MMA fight on the card. I just can’t wait to see him fight again.
Simon "Castellammarese" Stevenson
Widnes, England, U.K.
UFC 94 GREASING CHARGES GETTING OUT OF CONTROL
The fact that B.J. Penn is making the allegations that somehow Georges St. Pierre cheated is as Nate Marquardt said, laughable. I watched the video put together by Penn's camp that show how they believe St. Pierre cheated. It showed how Penn's legs were continuously slipping off of St. Pierre. What that video didn't show was Penn getting punched in the face repeatedly. It also didn't show how he was outworked in every single area of the fight game. Penn lost, and Vaseline isn't the reason why. Was St. Pierre slippery? Maybe. However, that isn't what won the fight for St. Pierre -- his superiority in all areas did. And the fact that St. Pierre's former opponents are coming forward with similar comments doesn't prove St. Pierre is a cheater. It proves people are searching for a reason why they lost, and to why St. Pierre is so good. Jealousy and envy can make a man do and say crazy things.
Ryan Meleedy
Middleboro, Mass.
THE MACHIDA DIVIDE
Although this title has been thrown around far too much, it is incredible how much it can tell you about a fan's reasons to love the sport and that person's general preferences. The fans that cherish Machida's fighting style generally love the technicality of his dominant stand-up and methodical and effective grappling. They will be more inclined to appreciate if a decision is unanimous and the fighter demonstrated beautiful technique. The fans that hate on his style generally love to see devastating knockouts, blood and injuries. Whatever attracts you to this wonderful sport, then power to you for supporting its growth. But please show some respect for the most talented of the current generation of fighters. Machida will be to first of many professionals to showcase an effective system of elusiveness and calculated aggressiveness. He is a glimpse of the future.
"Kuruption"
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
ROLE MODELS START AT THE TOP
With all this talk about fighter antics and them going over board with their comments in pre-fight and post-fight interviews, I think there needs to be an evaluation on the leadership of the "top" organization. How can we expect professionalism from the fighters when UFC President Dana White is consistently launching into profanity-laden tirades? Lets get it together. If we want MMA to be mainstream then we need to make sure the whole organization handles themselves with professionalism.
"Toogr82h8"
San Diego, Calif.
