UFC 93 Winners And Losers

A look at who the winners and losers of UFC 93 are:

Winners:

Rousima Palhares: Sure, he beat veteran fighter Jeremy Horn soundly, and really who hasn't? I am excited about this win because it seemed like this kid is strong, and I think down the road this kid will be a formidable opponenet for Anderson Silva. He was throwing Horn around like a rag doll. I would love to see someone with the brute strength Palhares has fight Silva. His BJJ is top notch and with a few more fights under his belt he could contend for the title sometime in 2010.

Alan Belcher: Talk about an upset, I didn't give Belcher much of a chance. This was the biggest win of his career and I could also see Belcher being a threat down the road to Silva. At 6'2 he stands the same height as Anderson Silva and a match up between those two would be a strikefest. Sure he hasn't beat the best of the best, but I could see Belcher becoming a guy who cracks through the ceiling and climbs up a notch this year.

Dan Henderson: This was Henderson's first win over a name opponent in the UFC since the Pride merger. This sets him up for a match with Michael Bisping and The Ultimate Fighter reality show will give him the chance to become more well known with more casual UFC fans. With that exposure and a win over Bisping I think a re-match between him and Anderson Silva would draw better than it did the first time around. I think Henderson is the only guy I have seen in the UFC to win a round from Silva soundly,

Losers:

Dennis Kang: I was so excited when he signed with the UFC and really thought he would be ready to go against the top middleweights after a few fights. After getting choked out by Belcher we will have to see if he can make a comeback and get the momentum going again to work his way back up the middleweight ladder.

Mark Coleman: Man, this was sad. I was cringing watching an exhausted Coleman in there with Rua. If Rua was in top form he could have easily got a highlight real knockout of the former heavyweight champ it may not have been a pretty sight. Coleman did show a lot of heart, but I think it is time for him to hang it up. Did anyone else notice how slowly he talked and how jumbled up his words were in his post fight interview? He sounded like he had marbles in his mouth and couldn't string together a sentence. I am glad he never had that match with Brock Lesnar last August. There is no way he could have hung with Lesnar with that kind of cardio. I am worried that "The Hammer" has taken one too many blows to the head. A

Shogun Rua: Yes, Rua won, but it was a less than impressive win. If he goes into his fight with Chuck Liddall in the same shape he was in for this fight he may be in for a long night. This guy was the top light heavyweight in the world two years ago and this performance leads me to think he is going down the Paulo Filho road of exile. Many say that maybe he benefitted from Pride's non drug testing, but I have no proof that ever says Rua was on the juice, so I will withhold saything that is the reason for his sub standard performaces in the UFC. Maybe he is still rusty from his time off, but his cardio needs work and he should have been able to finish Coleman long before the end of the 3rd round. Lets hope Rua comes back in top form for the Liddell fight and we all might be in for a treat.

Rich Franklin: Hard to call Franklin a loser being that it was a close fight. But I think this is the beginning of Franklin becoming a gatekeeper type fighter like Tito Ortiz. He can't fight Silva again and I don't see him being able to fight and beat the top 3 or 4 fighters in the LHW division.

Overall, a somewhat boring PPV, as I always find the European ones to be a little less exciting. Maybe it was being up at noon on a Saturday that caused me to not enjoy this PPV as much as I usually do. Thanks for reading and comments are always appreciated.