When Will It End?

Up until the Crocop-Gonzaga fight I thought I was going to get a good card with exciting fights, but unsurprising results. Then Gonzaga dominated Crocop and knocked him out IN THE FIRST ROUND WITH A HIGH KICK. Jesus, that's 3 UFCs in a row where a huge underdog has taken out the favorite in spectacular fashion. Arguably the least surprising of the 3 was Couture beating Sylvia because he did it via decision, although no one saw him knocking Sylvia down in the first.

I was impressed with Gonzaga before this fight, mainly because each time he shows up in better shape and finishes quicker, but I really think he may be the next heavyweight champion. He's definitely a bad matchup for Couture - a big man, with a great groundgame, and now some heavy striking to add to that. The elbows he was throwing against Crocop were awesome - he would grab Mirko's hand, push it down, and then throw the elbow with the same arm. That technique seems almost impossible to stop using a defensive, holding guard. The only thing I can think of is to start working for a sweep or armbar because the arm is extended, which is good for Gonzaga in other ways - at any rate I hope other fighters start using this technique as well.

It's unbelievable to me that we're going to see a heavyweight title fight where both challenger and champion were not even ranked at heavyweight a couple months ago. Except for Fedor at the top, the heavyweight rankings are in chaos - the only real winners from tonight were UFC heavies in general, as two top Pride heavies failed to deliver.

Speaking of which, what exactly was Fabricio Werdum's game plan? I know he can strike a little, and I did worry when he came with those flurries, but he only tried to take the fight to the ground like twice. Did he really think he was going to knock Arlovski out? Andrei did not deliver the riveting performance we've come to expect from him, but he won, he used good tactics, and he stuck to his game plan, which has been a problem in some previous fights. His english seems to be getting better, as he was able to do the interview with no interpretation, so I was happy to see that. Let's just hope he doesn't start sinking into a decision rut like Sylvia has. This is only his second decision in his career though, so there's no need to worry - yet.

Also, how fucked up must Crocop's leg be? Rogan kept talking about his knee, but my guess would be that his ankle is totally screwed. His shin seemed to be in line with his thigh when he was down, but his ankle was turned back 90 plus degrees, as if he'd gotten inverted heel-hooked. The way he went down was eerily reminiscent of the way Silva fell to his high kick several months ago. And why did that kick land like that anyway? It wasn't crazy fast, and there wasn't a whole lot of set up, just a kick and BOOM! Crocop must have had a very off day - aside from that middle kick he didn't have anything in that fight.