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Courtesy MMA Fanhouse:

Forrest Griffin, $250,000 ($150,000 win bonus) def. Tito Ortiz, $250,000
Josk Koscheck, $106,000 ($53,000 win) def. Anthony Johnson, $17,000
Paulo Thiago, $16,000 ($8,000 win) def. Jacob Volkmann, $6,000
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, $100,000 ($30,000 win) def. Luiz Cane, $19,000
Amir Sadollah, $30,000 ($15,000 win) def. Phil Baroni, $25,000
Ben Saunders, $20,000 ($10,000 win) def. Marcus Davis, $27,000
Kendall Grove, $44,000 ($22,000 win) def. Jake Rosholt, $15,000
Brian Foster, $12,000 ($6,000 win) def. Brock Larson, $26,000
Caol Uno, $20,000 drew Fabricio Camoes, $10,000
George Sotiropoulos, $20,000 ($10,000 win) def. Jason Dent, $8,000

I'm still curious to see what kind of PPV buyrate the show does. The ticket sales were good, not great. With the cancellation of the Lesnar vs. Carwin fight, I wonder if the UFC had enough time or momentum to properly build heat for the contest. We shall see.

HT: Lynchman

HT: Sherdog.com

Ken Pishna, MMAWeekly.com

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One of the most common discussions that analysts, writers, and fans have regarding teams and competitors is the idea that being mentally prepared for whatever competition that an athlete is about to participate in is a key to winning. Confidence is a term that is the most fitting to talk about in the lead-up to any sporting event. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, gymnastics, your Saturday poker game, hell... even curling all require a level of confidence in order to win.

Josh Koscheck's peformance on Saturday night against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was the perfect example of a bout that showed Koscheck's mental stability as a fighter. Despite Johnson being the betting favorite among fans, being the heavier athlete, and having over a 4" reach advantage, Koscheck not only stood with the Sanshou striker, but he proved that his NCAA Division I wrestling skills were still a major part of his game that shouldn't be forgotten.

The most impressive feat from Koscheck was his pre-fight demeanor, and it's been the single part of his personality that has won me over as a fan. While I was one of the many fans who disliked Koscheck from his antics he displayed on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, it's hard to dislike a fighter who backs up all the talk by walking the walk against any opponent put in front of him. Entering the cage, Koscheck wasn't calm, cool, and collected. He was in a quiet rage, hopping around his corner with a dangerous look in his eyes. His confidence was through the roof, and he had the look as if he needed to definitively finish Johnson to end any doubt.

A lot of fighters become a little over-aggressive when it comes to anger. The perfect example was that of Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy at UFC 99 in which we saw a lot of pre-fight footage and heard the stories of Davis' anger during the training camp and at the weigh-ins. It was obvious that Hardy was able to affect Davis' pace and style in the early part of the fight, but Koscheck's patience in the stand-up game and dominance in the ground game against Johnson never gave the impression that he was being impatient or impulsive, two attributes that come along with fighting angry.

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Don't believe the hype.

The idea that Ortiz can never compete with the upper tier or even mid tier of the UFC light heavyweight division is grossly overstated. It is clear that ring rust from inactivity as well as - quite literally - rebuilding physical capability imposes a tax on professional athletes. Too many fighters have been buried in the press as being incapable coming off of injury-ridden layoffs, only to persevere over time. Frank Mir and Shogun Rua, anyone?

The idea that because Nate Quarry made a return a to competitive fighting after undergoing similar surgery that therefore Ortiz should have no problem is poor abstract generalization. The problem with the Nate Quarry analogy is that his return to professional MMA saw him meet Pete Sell, who is unranked insofar as the top 25 middleweights are concerned. By contrast, Ortiz returned not to face a fighter with a skillset manageable enough to handle given the long layoff. He fought a top 5 fighter in Forrest Griffin who has consistently battled top competition as he improved his skillset. Ortiz would have had to fight Mike Nickels or Tim Boetsch for the analogy to be more appropriate.

Ortiz is actually in a similar position to where Kimbo Slice stood in EliteXC. That is, matchmaking became difficult because they had to find a name to fight him that could help sell tickets but that name couldn’t be talented enough to defeat the very green former street fighter. The UFC isn’t going to trot out Ken Shamrock for a fourth fight, so Ortiz is stuck in a position where the only names for him to fight are those at the top of the division who are threats to everyone else competing in the division, much less one who has been absent for the previous 18 months.

But this is, ostensibly, what Ortiz asked for. I will give him credit for playing EliteXC, Affliction and Strikeforce like violins over the course of 18 months to keep his name in the press and his visage in the public eye. However, by signing with the UFC – and by proclaiming loudly he wanted to be in the UFC so he could, in fact, fight the best – he assumes responsibility for meeting those challenges. One is never certain where Ortiz’s promotional shtick ends and his candid opinions begin, but in this case it’s irrelevant. Even if he took the UFC deal for substantive financial gain and to make use of their considerable promotional ability, the other end of the deal is the requirement he face exceptionally tough challengers. No debate, no dodging. Just performance.

The problem with Ortiz is not a lack of ability. He may never be champion again, but he is a capable fighter. His real problem is his semi-career/life slump which is being exacerbated by his defensive posturing from attacks about said performance. Consider the circumstances:

Think about this: In less than 40 days, it will be 2010. Ortiz has not won a match since 2006. That is a lot of history, over 1,100 days since Ortiz's hand was raised in victory. Since then, he's lost three times, had a draw, been frozen out of the UFC, had back surgery, had twins with his girlfriend Jenna Jameson, flirted with other organizations, rehabbed and returned.

That's a lot of life lived between wins, and a lot of age to overcome. He turns 35 in two months, and now admits he still has a bad back. In a division with sturdy, well-rounded veterans like Lyoto Machida, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans, surging youngsters like Jon Jones, Thiago Silva and Ryan Bader, the ageless legend Randy Couture and even an occasional appearance from Anderson Silva, this is not a weight class with any gimmes. And it is not a weight class with an easy roads towards the top.

So when Ortiz whines his face is broken, that other fighters could only hope to do what he did off of back surgery or that - via Hail Mary logic - the judges robbed him of his rightful win, he only worsens the impression that he's a fighter on the skids who can't compete with the rest of the division.

What this event demonstrates is that Ortiz accrued huge sums of positive equity with fans and insiders in the early to middle stages of his career, yet has spent quite a bit of it to cover for mediocre or ill-fated performances. Some of his misfortune is inopportune timing or career squabbling not entirely of his doing. But some of his problems are self-generated and worse, self-perpetuated. Ortiz is still a serious media figure, but must admit his career has finally taken a hit.

The good news for Ortiz is that he has not reached his credit limit just yet. The other takeaway from this fight is that a win - a dominating, clear victory - for Ortiz would do wonders for his career. The energy and enthusiasm for Ortiz is there, but it's slowly over the last few years ossified into fan apathy or disdain for disappointing performances. Yet, Ortiz is still the center of attention. He cannot recapture lost glory, no. But future resurgence is not out of the realm of possibility either. He's got the raw material to build himself back into not what he was, but to something new and compelling.

His cries of robbery are obvious nonsense, but they do retain some measure of utility. There's opportunity cost as the protests from Ortiz look unprofessional and desperate, but desperation isn't unhelpful in promoting fighters in combat sports. If Ortiz can generate enough interest in his future fights by claiming injustice against Griffin, he can continue to rebuild and hone his skills in the interim. If the UFC can provide more manageable opposition in future opposition, Ortiz can work towards a legitimate challenge .

Need proof? Look no further than Shogun Rua. After a disappointing performance against Forrest Griffin, Shogun was given an easier contest in Mark Coleman (yes, Coleman is still dangerous, but let's not point to that fight as evidence) only to get a subsequent fight against a diminished, if more capable Liddell. This allowed Shogun to buy time in his recovery such that at the moment he arrived at the Machida fight, he was actually ready to take on serious challenges. Point blank, Ortiz has not been afforded the same opportunity.

It's no guarantee Ortiz returns to any semblance of an old form. Any future success hinges on changes he's willing to make and performances he has to turn in. But the door is still open. There is still a window of time to be relevant. Not the relevancy of before, but something new. The choice to take advantage of that opportunity belongs only to Mr. Ortiz.

Your move, Tito.

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