Our enduring memory from UFC Fight Night 59 will be Conor McGregor, moments removed from his easy destruction of Dennis Siver, leaping over the Octagon in search of his next foe.
McGregor found him. Jose Aldo, located in the second row—next to McGregor's stunning girlfriend, no less—stood with a smile on his face. McGregor, held back by a security detail that included Dana White's massive personal bodyguard, Kea (no last name needed), screamed at Aldo. In return, the UFC featherweight champion simply smiled. Aldo's daughter, standing in front of him, beamed at McGregor as well. Aldo continued smiling as McGregor climbed back on the cage and made the classic pro-wrestling "I'm taking the belt" motion with his hands.
It was an interesting moment. In McGregor, Aldo must see a chance to finally make the kind of big money he has watched other famous Brazilians bring home but has never quite obtained himself. The loudmouthed Irishman has been selling a fight with Aldo for what seems like ages now. He has constantly ensured that his current opponent was not overlooked but continually reminded fans of the ultimate goal: a championship fight with Aldo.
And now that moment is here—or at least it will be in a few months—and I wonder if Aldo will hold up his end of the deal. He has complained about his pay on a regular basis for quite some time. And there are signs that Aldo understands that he needs to be a little more vocal when it comes to McGregor; he took a photo of himself wearing a robe, crown and scepter while holding a drawing of McGregor as a court jester.
That's clever. It is a good start.
But when given a chance to go in the Octagon and face off with McGregor, to build the fight even more, Aldo demurred, saying that he is superstitious and would only go in the Octagon for an actual fight. It was a promotional failure on Aldo's part.
And while I believe Aldo vs. McGregor has the chance to be one of the UFC's biggest pay-per-view events of the year, it's going to take both parties to create interest. McGregor is a promotional machine, full of clever put-downs and off-the-cuff remarks.
But big fights rarely occur when just one side is promoting. Here's hoping Aldo realizes that he has a big opportunity in front of him and holds up his end of the promotional bargain. If he does not, it will be the biggest wasted opportunity of his career, and he'll no longer have room to complain about his paycheck.
And now, let's take a look at a few more notes from UFC Fight Night 59.
JUDGING SUCKS. WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Poor judging in mixed martial arts is a running joke. It's not a funny one, but it is a joke all the same.
We have seen some terrible decisions over the years. We have become numb to asinine judges who have no idea what they're watching. Which is why it's amazing when judges still have the ability to surprise us by being completely inept at their jobs.
I don't know if Cathal Pendred's unanimous-decision win over Sean Spencer was the worst decision in mixed martial arts history.
Here's what I do know. According to MMADecisions.com, a clearinghouse for judge and media scorecards:
1. Media members unanimously gave the fight to Spencer. Twelve scored the fight 30-27. One scored it 30-28, and three scored it 29-28.
2. Fan scoring saw 70.2 percent of submitted scorecards give Spencer the 30-27 win. Just over 6 percent of fans gave the fight to Pendred, while 1.2 percent scored it 30-27 for Pendred.
The situation is remarkably similar to Diego Sanchez's June win over Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 42. The media unanimously gave that fight to Pearson, and all but one did so with 30-27 scorecards.
Somehow, the Pendred decision felt worse, if that makes sense. Sanchez at least gave the impression that he was fighting; Pendred, moving as though stuck in syrup, was hardly in the fight at all. It was as clear a win for Spencer as you can get without a finish, and yet Douglas Crosby, Eric Colon and David Ginsberg somehow saw fit to award the fight to Pendred. Crosby and Colon handed in unthinkable 30-27 scorecards.
Crosby has a long history of poor judging dating back to 2001. It is not a surprise that he would hand in such a poor scorecard. The surprise is that athletic commissions continue to employ him as a judge when he clearly has no real idea what he's watching. He's one of the longest-tenured judges in the sport, and yet he has learned nothing.
And that's the real shame here. Judges will be terrible, because that is what they do. They make terrible decisions and hand in wrong scorecards. The real blame lies on the good ole' boy networks at the athletic commissions for continuing to use judges like Crosby and others.
And unless real pressure is placed on those commissions by those with enough power to effect change—the UFC, for example—we'll continue to see atrocious judging. We'll keep on shaking our heads and raising our fists, all the while knowing that nothing will be done about it.
THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T FIGHT TWICE IN TWO WEEKS
Donald Cerrone is a man's man. Of this, there is no question. For the most part, he is a promoter's dream, what with his willingness to fight anyone, anywhere at the drop of a hat. I am sure White and Lorenzo Fertitta would prefer a tamer, more subdued "Cowboy" who did not seek dangerous adventure around every corner. But with guys like Cerrone, you take the good with the bad.
We were all thrilled when Cerrone stepped up to face Benson Henderson shortly after dispatching Myles Jury two weeks ago. We'll embrace any opportunity we can to see Cerrone do his thing. And against Henderson? Sign me up.
That was the idea. Until the fight started, at least.
And this is not to say that Cerrone and Henderson turned in a bad fight. They did not. But it was clear that Cerrone was tired before the fight even began. He came out flat and didn't show much fire until the closing seconds of the fight. It wasn't your typical performance from Cerrone, and the fact that he and Henderson are friends made it feel more like a glorified sparring session than a real fight.
We love Cerrone because he wants to fight and because he would rather fight than wait around for title shots that he has already earned. But when Cerrone noted at the post-fight news conference that he would be taking some time off, we breathed a sigh of relief. I know I did. Because it is one thing to get behind a man who just loves to fight and earn paychecks. It is another thing entirely to watch that man perform at a level far below his best because he's not giving his body enough time to rest.
Cerrone now has seven wins in a row in a tough lightweight division. He has done far more than enough to face the winner of the upcoming Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos fight. Instead, it looks like he'll face Khabib Nurmagomedov. It's another tough fight for Cerrone, and it is one he'll willingly accept. But at least this time he'll have some rest before he fights.
LORENZ LARKIN: A TERRIFYING WELTERWEIGHT
And finally, a quick note about Lorenz Larkin, who appears to have found a home at welterweight after three consecutive losses at middleweight left him on the brink of losing his job.
Larkin's first-round destruction of John Howard was incredibly impressive. He was worlds faster than Howard, and it appears he's lost none of the power he possessed at 185 pounds. He was once considered an intriguing prospect in the sport—he came into the UFC with a 13-0 record with one no-contest. But middleweight was never the best place for him. He was soft and small. At 170 pounds, he is ripped, fast, powerful and accurate.
Larkin is just 28 years old. This is a new beginning. Don't be surprised to hear his name bandied about with the best of the welterweight division for years to come.
