UFC Fight Night 13 proved to live up to what the hype had made it out to be... one exciting show. From the beginning to the end, nearly all of the matchups provided the fans at Broomfield Event Center with spectacular outcomes. The three-hour live event feed on SpikeTV went as planned without any problems, and hopefully gave new fans to the sport a much needed push to get engrossed in the sport as many of us have. After all the great fights, where will everyone end up in the division? Who was impressive and who failed to improve? How did we do on our “crazy” predictions? Let's take a look.
MMA-Analyst.com goes 8-4 in UFN 13 Predictions
I was able to somehow land a huge victory last night with some very obscure picks that differed for much of the MMA community. Picking James Irvin over Houston Alexander put me on top right from the beginning, and I found it odd that Irvin wasn't picked by more blog writers. Alexander has fought Sakara, Silva, and Jardine, but didn't really show unbelievable one-punch knockout power against any of them. Jardine took blow after blow, and Sakara was destroyed more by the knee that Alexander landed that the actual punches. Irvin, on the other hand, has shown one-punch knockout power along with some great knee striking and a dynamic striking game at times. I didn't expect him to put Alexander down in the first flurry though.
Alves over Parisyan was my lock pick of the night. I couldn't stray away from it because I feel Karo doesn't have the finishing abilities to stay away from such a powerful striker in Thiago Alves. Alves's battle with Lytle showed some devastating leg kicks and power punching that was accurate and crushing. Although I felt the stoppage was early, Alves was still putting up a much better standup game than Parisyan.
Nate Diaz has been one of the more impressive fighters as of late. A TUF winner who has been steamrolling opponents isn't that rare when set up with easier competition, but asking for someone like Kurt Pellegrino and then successfully submitted him as he's a BJJ black belt definitely increases your standing. My pick was based on the fact that he's lengthy, holds a high guard, has decent boxing skills, and he has the classic Diaz chin. He's also a gamer, as in he's very tough and will always put up a fight against anyone.
Johnson was my last big win upset. I didn't really see how the fight was even close to be honest. Speer has some power and good wrestling, but Johnson is just flat out explosive, quick, and powerful in one package. Great win for Johnson in very impressive fashion, and he could make waves if he can beat a legitimate name in his upcoming fight.
My four losses were Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Tim Boestch, and Frankie Edgar. Din wasn't a solid pick for anyone, and neither was Lauzon. In fact, Lauzon was an underdog upset pick. Florian was very dominating in that battle, and he proved that he has improved significantly. Tim Boestch disappointed me to an extent, but his gas tank died early and his wrestling isn't as good as Hamill's wrestling. Hamill obviously had a strength advantage as well. Edgar was smaller than Maynard, and Maynard maintained a decent sprawl and brawl for awhile before hitting the floor and nullifying Edgar from doing anything.
Joe Schmitt went 4-8, and a lot of other writers out there picked heavy on the favorites. I'm not into buying the odds, and analyzing styles is what garners good picking skills. Karo hasn't fought a power striker like Alves in such a long time, I thought it'd pay off. Alexander, as I said before, really hasn't proven anything yet other than he has no ground skills. Diaz was just a toss'up pick for me, but I really felt Diaz's impressive performances from before were no joke. He was being smashed, but that Diaz mentality got him through this one.
Parlay of the evening: Alves, Johnson, Diaz, Irvin – I won way too much money on that one.
What's next for these guys?
Houston Alexander could potentially be done in the UFC after being labeled “chinny” by James Irvin's superman punch, but would that be beneficial for the UFC? He doesn't land huge salaries or purses from fights, and his power has the potential to provide crushing knockouts, and he also has weaknesses that can also provide the UFC with a quick finish regardless of which fighters wins, Houston or his opponent. Is his popularity enough to keep him going in the UFC? I think he may get one more fight, but it'll be interesting to see who he gets.
Thiago Alves is going to be an explosive challenge to the top of the Welterweight division. He is always in a fight due to his power, but his ground game is going to be the big test for him. A guy like Jon Fitch or Georges St. Pierre may run a clinic on his ground skills. We may also see a rematch between Karo and Alves as well. The stoppage was premature, and the fight wasn't exactly the most exciting either.
Kenny Florian has continued to impress me with the way he can end fights. We would be led to believe that elbows can't be a factor in nearly every single fight that Florian battles, but in his case, they seem to always be a factor. His top control was dominating, and it could very well prove to be a huge weapon against Penn, but to be perfectly honest, Florian isn't the guy who will give Penn a challenge for 3 rounds.
I want to see who Johnson gets next because he has the complete package in the standup game. To an extent, his striking was similar to Anderson Silva's without the fantastic head bobs and weaving for defensive purposes. He was quick, used his reach, and powerful in those lengthy shots. If the UFC matches him up with a challenge, his ground game will be tested soon.
Who will Nate Diaz get next? It's interesting because he has beaten some great BJJ guys on the ground, and he has a knack for getting the guard because most of his opponents believe they can steamroll over him. It's a huge plus when either a takedown or a guard pull can get you in position. Add in the great chin with some able boxing skills on his feet, he could definitely be a force in the future.
Overall thoughts
It was a great event with the exception of having Alves-Parisyan stopped early. I felt that the venue in Colorado hurt some of the battles. In particular, I think Boestch-Hamill could have went another good round with some nice action, but both guys obviously were gassing. Nearly all of the fights that passed the first round had one or both fighters gassing out, and I wonder if the UFC may stray away from the venue due to the problems. I think Kenny had a good idea in coming down weeks ahead of time to adjust, most of the other fighters should take note.
Mike Goldberg had some interesting contradictions during the telecast that were in the same sentence or segment. Come on, man! Rogan was once again venerable in his analysis of the battles, and there wasn't any problems with the sound going out or video losing quality as the show went forward.
This was one of the more exciting events the UFC has put on in quite some time. I definitely hope they can do something like this again in the future, or hopefully use the same format for UFN cards in the future. Unfortunately, featuring so many matchups and fighters on one card could thin out UFC cards down the line, but then again, their stable of fighters is always increasing. Overall Grade: B+