Making the Grade: Passes/Fails from UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway
The final card for the UFC in 2014 went down on Saturday night in a sweltering hot arena in Brazil with Lyoto Machida taking out C.B. Dollaway in the main event.
The show also featured former bantamweight king Renan Barao as he triumphantly returned to action with a third round submission victory over Canadian Mitch Gagnon.
We already know the results from Saturday night's card so let's dig a little deeper and hand out the last passes and fails for the year from UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway.
PASSES
You've Been Thunderstruck
The most sickening -- and yet amazing -- sound in all of mixed martial arts has to be a good kick landing somewhere on the body. Whether it's the firecracker snap that happens when a leg kick connects to the fleshy part of the thigh or that thud that resonates when a shin lands flush like a baseball bat to a side of beef, kicks are one part of MMA that has a grimacing sound effect unlike anything you'll hear in the next Hollywood action blockbuster.
Last night in Brazil, Lyoto Machida added onto his own legendary status with a body kick that rang out like a gunshot in the middle of an arena when he shattered C.B. Dollaway's main event dreams (and likely a couple of ribs for good measure) just under a minute into the first round.
Since dropping down to middleweight, Machida has managed to pull off a bonus worthy performance in each of his four fights including a head kick knockout over Mark Munoz in his 185-pound debut and then his vomit inducing stomach crusher unleashed against Dollaway last night.
Machida remains one of the deadliest men in the world whether he's fighting at middleweight or light heavyweight and now you can add crippling body kicks to his growing resume of weapons. The rest of the division, beware.
503 Fights (in a row?)
While the conversation about oversaturation in the fight market is a real concern the UFC should have in the long run, the fact that 2014 closed last night with a total of 503 bouts taking place in a calendar year is pretty incredible.
Part of the reason why that number is so unbelievable is because 2014 was a year plagued by Murphy's Law -- whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Fighters get injured all the time, but the litany of big matchups cancelled this year was at an all time high. Not to mention entire events getting scrapped due to injury (hello UFC 176, I'm looking at you) or main events changed on 24-hours notice (welcome to the UFC, Joe Soto!).
In the end, the UFC still pulled off a record year when it came to shows and fights and while there's a good chance the higher ups at the promotion would rather focus on a much brighter 2015, there's still plenty to look back on with admiration in 2014. Championships changed hands, other legacies were cemented, and Conor McGregor happened.
Also a special shout out to UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. Chances are if you heard their names this past year it was probably somebody complaining about one matchup or another being made and why that particular fight shouldn't happen, but when it's all said and done, these are the two guys responsible for keeping this great big UFC wheel turning day to day. When a fighter falls out injured, who do you think gets the call? When a last minute fighter has to be signed for a fight card, who do you think gets the call?
It's a rather thankless job, but in 2014 Silva and Shelby earned their money's worth and a whole lot more.
My God This UFC 182 Promo
Not to take away from some great performance in the Octagon on Saturday night, but it must be stated that we are now officially two weeks away from Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in Las Vegas. This fight has been years in the making and ever since these two threw down in the MGM Grand hotel lobby back in August, there probably hasn't been a bigger fight on the radar of every fan than this battle between Jones and Cormier.
The UFC production staff went all out on the promos and commercials for this fight, but one particular video that aired a bunch on Saturday night deserves special recognition. Typically a promo video is one that you watch a single time and move on. This UFC 182 hype video is the kind that you watch over and over and over again because it just never gets old.
Jones vs. Cormier happens in two weeks, kids. Get your popcorn ready.
FAILS
Baron Gets a Bonus?
The UFC performance of the night bonuses get handed out at every event and for the most part there's little to quibble with when it comes to the choices, but one has to be called out from Saturday's card in Brazil.
Renan Barao took home a $50,000 award for his third round submission win over Mitch Gagnon in a fight where he enjoyed the largest odds of the entire fight card. Barao was around a 7 to 1 favorite over Gagnon so the fact that he won shouldn't surprise anybody. What should be a bit of a shock is the fact that Barao had to go until the third round to put Gagnon away.
Maybe even more surprising is the fact that Barao looked listless and not all the engaged for a guy fighting in front of his home country audience for the first time since joining the UFC. He got the win after what was probably the worst moment of his career back in August when he missed weight and was forced to drop out of his title fight rematch against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 177. Good for Barao that he was able to bounce back, but he didn't deserve a bonus.
Meanwhile, Rashid Magomedov put on a fantastic performance against Elias Silverio on the main card and while he was already up on the scorecards, the Russian refused to stop until he got a finish. The knockout came at 4:57 into the third round, which accounts for the latest finish in the history of the lightweight division. Magomedov deserved credit for his incredible performance and he probably should be going back home with a big bonus check. Instead, Barao is laughing all the way to the bank.
Timeout!
Antonio dos Santos was doing pretty good last night for a guy making his UFC debut on a main card against a tough fighter like Daniel Sarafian. Then he made a huge mistake after his finger popped out of socket in the second round when he motioned to the referee that he needed an injury timeout.
The finger looked like a twist tie that you would normally use to hold a bag of bread closed, but be that as it may, there are no timeouts in MMA. Sure, fighters will get away with it occasionally (Jamie Varner at WEC 32 in 2008, look it up), but looking at the referee and asking for a timeout is generally not a good idea.
It's an even worse idea to then tell them that you're injured. Was it likely dos Santos could continue after fixing his mangled digit? Probably. Did he learn the very hard way that you just yank the finger back into place and never tell the referee a thing? Definitely.
Ground Control to Major Tom?
There's some hesitation in putting this topic as a fail because what resulted from a technical difficulty was one of the most hilarious moments in recent UFC history, but just before Renan Barao and Mitch Gagnon took to the Octagon, the satellite feed from Brazil got cut off in transit to the United States. FOX Sports 1 was forced to scramble and without explanation, the intro video to UFC 173 started playing and promoting T.J. Dillashaw taking on Renan Barao in the main event.
As it was revealed at the post fight press conference, the technical snafu only affected markets in the United States and that's probably a good thing for Barao's psyche going into his first fight since losing to Dillashaw back in May. Imagine that poor guy getting ready to walk to the Octagon, his triumphant return to Brazil, and then he has to watch Dillashaw lay waste to his title reign just seconds before hitting his walkout music.
Thankfully, signal was restored and the fights went on without a hitch. Still, a funny random moment to help close out 2014.
EPIC FAIL
It's Getting Hot in Herre
At the start of the fights last night, UFC on FOX commentator Jon Anik noted that inside the arena in Brazil it was 96-degrees with over 80-percent humidity. Now this isn't the first time that the UFC has held an event at an arena in Brazil where temperatures are somewhere north of unbearable, but this is getting a little bit ridiculous.
Do the arenas in Brazil have issues with air conditioning? Is this like some kind of torturous endurance test for the fighters? And what about poor Anik and fellow commentator Brian Stann sitting there stewing in sweat for the better part of six hours in suits? Do they get hazard pay?
Curious how hot it was in Brazil last night?
Brazil seems to be a major market for the UFC and will continue to be so in 2015, but something has to be done about these arenas. It's not like the Amazon is going to suddenly get cooler so install some A/C units or at least get some industrial fans going because closing in on 100 degrees with that much humidity isn't just uncomfortable -- it's flat out stupid.
