UFN 16: Best of 2008?

Despite it's lack of big names, last nights UFN may have been the UFC's best show of 2008 and subsequently a hard act to follow as the year closes out.

I realize this thought process may not be the most popular, but I stand by it. I can't remember having so much variety and action on a UFC fight card. Nearly every fight was fast paced and intense with only one of the televised events ending in a decision, and even that fight was an exciting bout to watch.

The evening started off with a high intensity battle between Matt Wiman and Jim Miller. Although it was pretty clear who was going to win the fight early on, as Matt Wiman was on the wrong side of an ass whoopin', he refused to give up. Jim Miller threw everything but the kitchen sink at him and he still powered on. I tip my hat to Matt Wiman for being such a warrior.

Next TUF alumn Tim Credeur force fed young buck Nate Loughran a fist sandwich for 2 rounds. Loughran finally threw in the towel in between the 2nd and 3rd round, but who could blame him? Tim's standup has greatly improved since we last saw him and I am excited to see him in the octagon again.

The next fight was a little bit of mixed feelings for me. It was a bout between 2 UFC newcomers, reigning WEC Light Heavyweight Champ Steve Cantwell versus Razak Al-Hassa, a virtual nobody. Razak seemed to be holding his own in the standup game early on until the fight went to the mat. That's where things got ugly. Cantwell managed to put Razak in one hell of an armbar and well, there is a reason they call it "foolish" pride. Razak refused to tap and ended up with a nasty broken arm. Cantwell immediately stood up and paraded around the ring screaming, "I broke that shit!" During his interview with Joe Rogan he admitted that he "always wanted to do that". Not once did he check to see if his opponent was okay, which he obviously wasn't. Cantwell is a great fighter and a poor warrior.

Not that I am a fan of Razak, because as I pointed out, I never heard of him. However, any man worth his salt would have gone over and said something to his downed opponent, but instead he felt it was necessary to brag about it. Any respect that he would have earned from me for a solid victory was lost when I saw how much of a poor sportsman he was. I look forward to Cantwell fighting some real competition in the UFC's light heavyweight division and moreso I look forward to him getting his ass handed to him. The only blemish on the night for me.

The next fight was grudge match between TUF alumn Mike Swick against Lord of the Ring's, Gollum. (Wait, what? That wasn't Gollum from Lord of the Rings?) Okay, I keed, I keed. Swick was actually battling it out with Jonathan Goulet who just happens to resemble the creepy character from LOTR. Never the less, Goulet was KTFO after a mere 33 seconds of the first round. I actually think Gollum would have lasted longer.

As expected with quick knockouts, the UFC then broadcast a fight from earlier in the evening between yet another TUF alumn Ben Saunders and his opponent Brandon Wolff. Wolff spent 1 minute and 49 seconds eating vicious knees from Saunders. By the time the ref called the fight, Wolff's forehead had a knot the size of a Hostess cupcake on his forehead; and by the time Joe Rogan had finished interviewing Saunders on his victory, the knot on Wolff's head was eating the first row. Very sad.

The main event of the evening had yet another TUF alumn, Josh Koscheck, pitted against Japanese Judo expert Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Koscheck wasted little time in the ring and made short work of his opponent with a hard straight punch, knocking Yoshida out on his feet, followed by a hook punch that sealed the deal. No doubt Koscheck is a force to be reckoned with despite his loss to Alves just 46 47 days ago.

Another poster commented that it took a Japanese national to turn Koscheck into a fan favorite. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say he is now a "fan favorite" but I can say that I dislike him less now. Not by much though. I still think he's a douche.

Overall, an absolutely fantastic night of fights. The UFC outdid itself this time and it was all free for the fans and in the name of a good cause. I hope this weekend's TUF Finale is half this exciting and I pray that the upcoming pay per views, with the hype machine in full force behind them, will pleasantly surprise me as this show did.