UFC Fight Night 15 Thoughts

by Michael Rome on Sep 18, 2008 9:22 AM EDT in News

--Houston Alexander is going to be cut for sure after this performance. He looks to have learned nothing on the ground since his loss to Thiago Silva, and was frankly an embarrassment in the first fight. His refusal to go to good camps that offered him a spot was a huge mistake. The guys training him are clearly clueless, and sabotaged his career.

--Danzig looked sharp with strikes in the first round, but nothing ever really connected, and he just couldn't handle Guida's pace. I think Danzig has a bright future, but he's going to need better wrestling if he ever wants to be a champion.

--Nate Diaz performed very well tonight against a tough opponent. Neer's guard was much better than I remembered, but Diaz countered everything he tried, and just outworked him in the third. Nate's striking actually looked a lot better than his brother's, I'd like to see him fight Clay Guida next.

--Despite three decisions, I thought this was a good show. The main event in particular was a blast, and I hope they don't cut Josh Neer after that performance.

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I don’t know Houston personal life but he does have six kids. Maybe getting hit up with child support, prob cant afford a good camp. If the offer was reasonable, then there is no excuse. I was really rooting for him.

by The Bronzeville Bully on Sep 18, 2008 1:37 AM EDT 0 recs

His sponsors would have probably paid every penny of him training in a good camp.

by steveoc24 on Sep 18, 2008 3:16 AM EDT up 0 recs

I believe that all six of his kids live with him, so paying child support is probably not the problem although I am certain it is extremely expensive to raise all of them on one person’s income.

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 9:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

Agreed

by Epy on Sep 18, 2008 1:51 AM EDT 0 recs

The whole situation with Houston Alexander is sad – sad for everyone involved. With Houston’s back-story (single parent of 6 kids), you can’t help but feel sad about his impending departure from the UFC. However, the only person to blame is Houston. How could he have absolutely zero ground game after the Thiago Silva fight (almost 1 year ago). What has he been working on for the past year? And, going up against a bjj black belt. If Schafer had halfway decent takedowns, that fight would have been over in less than one minute.

It’s also sad for the UFC to be losing a highly marketable fighter with an incredibly compelling story. However, the UFC did their part and continued promoting him even after two embarrassing losses. In fact, I would be willing to bet that if Houston had lost a competitive fight, the UFC wouldn’t have cut him. But after that, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t handed a pink slip on his way back to the locker-room.

If Affliction was smart, they’d snatch Houston up, require him to begin training nothing but ground, and feed him cans for the next year or so. All the while, producing little promotion pieces that evoke more tears than Extreme Makeover Home Edition (Is that just me?).

(formerly TheFightJournal)

by Lucas2 on Sep 18, 2008 2:15 AM EDT 0 recs

Ed Herman sure does have a rough time with close decisions. I thought he won that fight.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard on Sep 18, 2008 2:17 AM EDT 0 recs

I thought Herman shoulda won 29-28 . I just couldnt give 2 rds to belcher..

by Nick Thomas on Sep 18, 2008 7:31 AM EDT up 0 recs

Boring fight...

They both deserve to lose.

by cyph on Sep 18, 2008 9:45 AM EDT up 0 recs

I’m kind of puzzled that you worry about Neer getting cut. The UFC basically never cuts fighters after a single loss any more, much less an entertaining split decision in a main event.

Houston would be a good fit in Adrenaline MMA, I think.

by Michaelthebox on Sep 18, 2008 2:30 AM EDT 0 recs

One loss in a row, that is.

by Michaelthebox on Sep 18, 2008 2:31 AM EDT up 0 recs

Whats with all the talk about Houston? He’s not a MMA fighter!

by steveoc24 on Sep 18, 2008 3:10 AM EDT 0 recs

Had my first UFC experience tonight here. Overall a great show, some quick thoughts.

-Crowd was insane for Houston, seriously thought there was gonna be a riot when he lost. I couldn’t believe he would tap with just 8 seconds to go in his home town, terrible performance.
-Met Dana White, it was awesome how he took his time to take so many pics with fans and actually have conversations with us.
-No way they cut Neer after that fight, I was really impressed with his sub attempts as well as Diaz countering them.

Awesome show, can’t wait to go to another.

by midwestbred on Sep 18, 2008 3:26 AM EDT 0 recs

Forgot to mention...

I heard they didn’t show it on the broadcast but if can find Sakara’s head kick KO video, watch it. Should be KO of the night. Vedepo tried to keep it together but collapsed straight on his back out cold.

by midwestbred on Sep 18, 2008 3:28 AM EDT up 0 recs

You have to make it to a UFC ppv event, there is nothing like it! Omaha definitely represented tonight. Sell out crowd with MMA knowledge.

by steveoc24 on Sep 18, 2008 3:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

He tapped because he had no idea how to defend an arm triangle. If I remember correctly I think he actually facilitated the choke slightly in an attempt to get out.
Also you should try cutting off the blood circulation to your brain sometime, let it hit home what’s happening, and then time yourself how long you let it go on. Maybe then you won’t criticize people for opting out of the experience.

by Simco on Sep 18, 2008 3:56 AM EDT up 0 recs

I’m not sure if I agree about Nate’s striking looking better than Nick’s. It was…comical at times.
One thing I noticed is that regardless of his technical ability to pass Neer’s guard (baiting omos and triangles??) Nate’s strength and/or weight needs to go up dramatically if he plans on ever holding position on someone with a remedial ground game. Neer shrugged him off side control almost every single time.

by Simco on Sep 18, 2008 3:59 AM EDT 0 recs

agreed

he’s definitely a super talented, elusive fighter… but if a guy like danzig couldnt hang with a stronger wrestler like guida, i don’t see how diaz can. his submission game is insane, but i feel like that’ll only get him so far.

by woooburn on Sep 18, 2008 7:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

didn't Nate

beat Gray Maynard on the TUF show? Seems like his submissions are a good answer to most wrestlers. And that tai-oshi he kept landing on Neer shows a great counter to wrestling — judo.
Danzig would be well advised to work on his judo. Guida was wide open for similar moves most of their fight.

by Kid Nate on Sep 18, 2008 9:19 AM EDT up 0 recs

Kid

I agree subs are good but we see a lot of these that continuously only do subs end up getting pummeled (Diaz vs Pellegrino). I just get sick of hearing that he is a “great striker” all of the time. Striking is definitely one of his strengths. In every fight I have seen of Nate’s, not one time does his opponent show any fear of his striking. They seem completely content to stand in the pocket with him & let him do his 5 punch tapping on them like he was working on a bag. Subs are great, but just like only striking it can only get you so far.

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 9:30 AM EDT up 0 recs

that seems like a concious choice

that both Nick and Nate have made — to throw pitty pat shots that don’t waste energy or get them out of position. I think they should mix them with power shots more often too.

by Kid Nate on Sep 18, 2008 10:22 AM EDT up 0 recs

Didn’t Nick out box and knock out Lawler?

by mythbuster on Sep 18, 2008 10:33 AM EDT up 0 recs

he did

but since then i haven’t seem him commit to punches like that. his approach against gomi was totally different — but it was also very effective.

by Kid Nate on Sep 18, 2008 10:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

You are probably right, but it never seems to pan out for guys who are basically one dimensional. Barring catching Pellegrino in that triangle he was going to take a real 3 round beating from him. I believe that if Diaz faced Maynard again or someone like him who is a great wrestler with good top control he is going to be in for a long night unless he catches them. I just hate to see guys who really only have one way to win. Typically these other fighters eventually catch up to them & then they are in real trouble.

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 10:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

I dunno

Neer is very well rounded and a very good wrestler and Nate’s use of judo was the big difference.
I’d be astonished if he could catch tyson griffin with a throw like that though.

by Kid Nate on Sep 18, 2008 10:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

That is my point, Neer is a good wrestler with ok striking but he is not on the level of the other top guys in the weight class, but Neer gave Diaz problems. He never came close to submitting him, or effectively striking. He outpointed him, but it was still very close.

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 10:46 AM EDT up 0 recs

Diaz

Exactly, he looks to be a good sub guy, but what is going to happen when he goes against someone who is a strong striker and has good wrestling? He got extremely lucky against Pellegrino & was getting his ass handed to him until he caught that triangle. He apparently punches with the exact same power he uses on the bag during the actual fight, or he just does not have any power. Neer stood there and let him throw punch after punch after punch and never showed any signs that any of those shots hurt. He did not even move

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 9:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

Aside from a second and a half of ground and pound, Diaz defended every single thing Pellegrino had and then capitalized on the first opportunity he got.

Just like he did to Robinson and Assuncao.

by George Lucas on Sep 19, 2008 1:18 AM EDT up 0 recs

Diaz doesn’t put a whole lot of effort into holding a dominant position because

a.) it can waste a lot of energy
b.) he’s got a really fantastic guard
c.) he can defend just about everything thrown at him
and
d.) scrambles give him a lot of opportunities for subs

by George Lucas on Sep 19, 2008 1:24 AM EDT up 0 recs

Nate vs. Tyson should be next

But Tyson is fighting Sherk so who knows. Nate said Tyson keeps ducking him. And I loved the shoutout at the end which basically called Noons a poon. Something I’ve been saying for a while.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by FlyByKnight on Sep 18, 2008 5:13 AM EDT 0 recs

The idea that someone would duck Nate Diaz by fighting Sean Sherk is rather comical.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard on Sep 18, 2008 2:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

I was super impressed by Diaz tonight. The way he’s looking, he’ll overtake his brother in the coming years.

by Benicio on Sep 18, 2008 6:23 AM EDT 0 recs

Houston

can be an exciting fighter, as long as the fight never goes to the ground. There was a post on 411 talking about how he refuses to change camps because apparently the camp he is with will not instill in him how important learning the ground portion of MMA is. His is a great story & I would love to see him learn some new techniques, but he is 36 or 37 & maybe is just not interested in doing so.

by dnevil001 on Sep 18, 2008 9:09 AM EDT 0 recs

Why would Neer get cut? He just signed back with the UFC before his victory over Din Thomas, and he lost a split decision to a really good up-and-coming fighter.

It’s not like he flopped around on the ground asking to be submitted, like a certain one-punch wonder.

by Brett Jones on Sep 18, 2008 9:41 AM EDT 0 recs