Upon further review . . . UFC on Fuel 5
England's Dan Hardy is interviewed by Joe Rogan after making weight at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., in advance of his UFC 111 fight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. (March 26, 2010) Credit: AP
Some thoughts that ran through my brain Saturday and Sunday after UFC in Fuel 5 wrapped up in Nottingham, England.
- He is still somewhat raw -- even after 34 pro fights -- but when Stevan Struve grows into his 7-foot, 250-plus-pound heavyweight body, he could be unstoppable. He has unmatchable size and if you do manage to get inside to take him down, he can wrap those 12-foot long Dutch tree trunks he calls legs around you for a submission.
- I recall Dana White's comments from UFC 111 when Georges St-Pierre beat Dan Hardy in March 2010. He said If you're going to fight Georges St-Pierre, you better bring some takedown defense. Well, it seemed from Saturday night that Hardy has developed quite a solid ground game. He hit three of his seven takedown attempts on Amir Sadollah (and stopped both of Sadollah's_ and used good ground and pound. No more pure stand-up striking wars for Hardy?
- Amid all the recent card alterations and cancelations, Matt Wiman and Paul Sass reminded us how outstanding a BJJ bout can be. They flipped and rolled like two little kids at the local Gymboree, and it ended with the submission specialist (Sass) losing by submission.
- No major names on the card, but instead you got five knockouts/TKOs and two submissions. Seven finishes out of 11, what else do you want for free?
