Quick stoppages and rare submissions: Thoughts on a UFC doubleheader

It was another one of those marathon UFC Saturdays. Two events, two continents, a bunch of fights, and enough time in front of glowing screens to make you feel weird and antisocial. If the UFC were a flight simulator, we’d all have logged enough hours to get our pilot’s licenses by now.

So what did we learn from another full day dedicated to UFC action? Quite a few things, presented here in no special order:

Benson Henderson has a legitimate gripe. Kind of.

Was it a quick stoppage from referee John McCarthy in UFC Fight Night 49’s headliner? Sure, but you can understand how it must have looked from his vantage point.

The left hook dropped an already rattled Benson Henderson in a heap, which creates a troubling visual for the ref. McCarthy moved in to take a closer look at Henderson, who was just then rolling to his side and getting punched some more by Rafael dos Anjos, so “Big John” waved it off.

Had he waited another couple of seconds, we might have seen Henderson mount something resembling an intelligent defense. Or we might have seen him get his head dribbled off the mat like a basketball. I would’ve liked the chance to find out. So would Henderson, from the sound of it, but that’s how it goes sometimes when you get knocked on your butt. All you can do is pick up your toothpick and move on.

Did dos Anjos’ big moment just get spoiled?

This is exactly what RDA needed. A first-round TKO over a former UFC lightweight champ, and in the main event of a cable TV fight card, that should add up to a breakthrough moment for one of the division’s best, least hyped fighters. And yet, no, it probably won’t work out that way.

Instead of talking about how great dos Anjos looked, we’re talking about the stoppage. And instead of getting the spotlight all to himself, he has to share it with the other main event on the other side of the planet. It’s unfair, is what it is. It’s also maybe inevitable.

A big win under strange circumstances for Jordan Mein, and a questionable choice by the UFC.

If an NFL head coach were arrested the day before a game for alleged sexual battery on a hotel housekeeper, you can bet it’d probably get mentioned on the FOX broadcast of the game itself, especially when the camera pans over the sideline and finds the usual man at the helm missing. So why doesn’t it work the same way for the UFC?

I’m not saying we need to dwell endlessly on the fact that Jordan Mein’s father was arrested and barred from the event, but considering the role he plays in his son’s career, doesn’t it seem like it’s worth mentioning?

Not acknowledging it makes it seem like something you’re trying to hide. Then, even after Mein flattens Mike Pyle in the first round in UFC Fight Night 49’s co-headliner, it feels like something has been left unsaid, which is not what you want coming off a great performance in the face of some personal adversity.

No one’s asking for the UFC to go all reality TV and play up the personal drama affecting fighters’ lives outside the cage. But don’t go out of your way to hide it.

However you feel this morning, Cung Le probably feels worse.

The 42-year-old Cung Le proved his toughness in a TKO loss to Michael Bisping in UFC Fight Night 48’s headliner, but it didn’t come cheap. I mean, you saw his face, right?

The fight showed us that Bisping still has some fight left in him, but what about Le? Taking beatings like that is a hard way to get a paycheck, especially if you have other options.

Ben Saunders is back, baby.

It’s rare to see a fighter go straight from a knockout loss in Bellator to a submission win in the UFC. It’s even rarer to see an MMA fight finished by an omoplata, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

As long as he’s flouting the conventional MMA wisdom in one sense, UFC Fight Night 49’s Ben Saunders might as well go all the way with it.

Don’t look now, but Thales Leites is on a bit of a streak.

Thales Leites was once best known for getting clowned by Anderson Silva, but nowthe Brazilian middleweight has won seven in a row, with the past four of those victories coming in the UFC.

Knocking out a guy like Francis Carmont at UFC Fight Night 49 is no small feat. It also earns you some goodwill among fans who were probably just resigning themselves to another long slog of a fight from Carmont right as Leites planted him on his back.

We have a hard time with career comebacks in this sport. As much as we like the thought, it’s as if we can’t quite bring ourselves to believe in them. Leites is still a ways from the top of the division, but he’s climbing. It ought to be interesting to see how far he can go.

Dong Hyun Kim still searching for that middle ground between wild and boring.

Dong Hyun Kim went from a methodical grinder to a wide open wildman, and it’s mostly resulted in a career resurgence and an increase in bonus money for the South Korean fighter.

But against Tyron Woodley in UFC Fight Night 48’s co-headliner, we saw the limitations that come with fighting like an out of control ceiling fan, as Kim spun his way into a powerful right hand that spelled the beginning of the end. It’s nice to be exciting, but there has to be a happy medium.

If Kim can ever find it, he might be a real problem for other UFC welterweights.

Where did you come from, Clay Collard, and where are you going?

Clay Collard stepped in on extremely short notice to take on Max Holloway after Mirsad Bektic withdrew the week of the fight. He didn’t win at UFC Fight Night 49, but he did make an impact, mostly owing to his willingness to block punches with his head and fire them back with great enthusiasm.

The featherweight could stand to improve his defensive skills, but he’s got the toughness part down. Now let’s see what he can do with a full fight camp to prepare.

For more on UFC Fight Night 48 and UFC Fight Night 49, check out the UFC Events section of the site.