4. Lyoto Machida is no longer the inconvenient truth.
Ever since his entry into the UFC, Lyoto Machida was seen as a problem. He created tension because he was a talented fighter fans had yet to embrace because of his counterstrike fighting style. But Machida no longer appears to be an area of concern for the UFC. During weigh-ins and his cage walk, Machida was received like a star. Furthermore, Machida clearly is making an attempt to show more aggression in the cage; his first-round knockout victory at UFC 94 over the previously unbeaten Thiago Silva was anything but boring.
After the event, White felt compelled to guarantee Machida a shot at the light heavyweight title. Should Quinton Jackson lose to Keith Jardine in March, Machida could receive his shot against Rashad Evans by spring. A win by Jackson would mean Machida would have to wait a little longer, but the bottom line is that he's getting the respect he deserves. Hopefully his popularity will continue to increase, because a case could be made that he's the best light heavyweight in the world, and a title reign for Machida could certainly be in the cards.
5. Jon Jones is the real deal.
Admittedly, I am not an authority on amateur wrestling, but some of the throws Jones made against Stephan Bonnar were simply incredible. And as good of a wrestler as Jones is, he might be even more dangerous with his striking. Even though he has been training less than two years and hasn't been fighting as a pro for one full year, Jones already has two respectable Octagon victories over Bonnar and Andre Gusmao. The kid is the real deal and is a star in the making. Don't be surprised when you hear that the UFC has signed him to a contract extension.
6. Karo Parisyan is back, but not really.
Parisyan's decision victory over Dong Hyun Kim was his first win since a second-round TKO loss to Thiago Alves last April at UFC Fight Night 13. He needed the win in the worst way and got it but hardly impressed anyone in the stands in the process. Parisyan is an immensely talented fighter when he's at the top of his game, but he's so far from being that fighter right now, it's scary. His talent allowed him to get by Kim, but against a better fighter, Parisyan might have been exposed. Whatever is preventing him from being the best fighter he can possibly be needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
7. The call not to put Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono on TV was the right one.
I really questioned the UFC's decision to keep Fitch off the televised portion of the card but in hindsight, UFC vice president of talent relations Joe Silva made the right call. The most exciting aspect of the Fitch vs. Gono clash was Gono's decision to enter the arena in drag. Fitch took Gono down at will but was unable to inflict enough damage to cause a stoppage. Parisyan vs. Kim needed to be on the televised portion of the card because the UFC is looking to build its fan base up in South Korea. That left Bonnar vs. Jones as the only logical candidate to be moved down, but had the fight not been shown, hundreds of thousands (and possibly millions) of viewers watching at home would have been deprived.
8. The Northeast is the most overlooked U.S. region for fighters.
Everyone got to see New York native Jones' brilliant performance against Bonnar. But only the live audience was able to see Jersey-based John Howard pull off an upset against Chris Wilson in his UFC debut that was a part of the non-televised undercard. Only recently has the UFC done a good job of recruiting East Coast talent with Howard, Jones, Jim and Dan Miller, Mike Massenzio and Nick Catone recently added to the roster. But there are still plenty of talented Northeast-based fighters being overlooked, such as Zach Makovsky, Al Iaquinta, Jon Murphy, Ricardo Romero, Charlie Brenneman, Matt Makowski, Greg Soto, LeVon Maynard, Mike Easton, Anthony Morrison, Dwayne Shelton and many others who would be in the UFC or WEC right now if they were fighting out of the Midwest or California.
In addition to being a contributing writer for CBSSports.com, Sam Caplan is also the publisher of his own MMA website, FiveOuncesOfPain.com. You can contact him via e-mail at: SCaplan8@comcast.net.
