UFC 199- Pathetic

Once again, I called it. And not because the events were obvious on paper, but because reading the outworking of the fight game has become much like anticipating a WWE script. I couldn't care less about the outcome of Faber vs Cruz. I like Cruz a lot, and I knew Faber was on the downside of his career, so there was no need to manipulate anything in that match.

 However, in the title fight between Bisping and Rockhold, I called the outcome way before the weigh in, and I knew it didn't make any sense, but that it was going to be a Bisping win by UD or KO. I knew it, even when I watched interviews about how his kids even thought he was going to lose. In the end, it's all about a betting game. The odds don't get much wider than they do in that kind of a fight. Bisping has always been a fighter I followed and admired from a basic stand point. But in reality, his days of being at the top level are several years, and KO losses behind him. He was submitted by the same Rockhold he beat tonight, and KO'd by Henderson and Belfort. While those were suspect losses due to PED usage, his body has taken a toll over his career.

  He was even KO'd mid fight in his ridiculous win versus Silva earlier this year. Anyone with fight knowledge would know that Weidman would annihilate Bisping right now. And Anderson would probably kill him in a rematch. Rockhold was on a tear, showing himself to be at the top of the division after leveling Weidman. He also took shots from Weidman in their first fight that showed he was the real deal, before stopping Chris Weidman brutally. Under no sky, does Bisping possess the offensive power or output to wobble or hurt Luke Rockhold. But Bisping has been lobbying for a title for over 10 years. His career is looming towards being the "could have been" story. He had to lift the belt for that, and more importantly for the millions who bet money on him beforehand. Even to watch the KO was comical. It's like watching a tiny kid play fighting with their dad and knocking him down and out with their infantile fists. The way Luke crumbled and went completely out cold in the 1st round against a Bisping who has never been able to severely hurt fighters, even when landing clean, looked so beyond staged. This is a guy who has never been able to generate stopping power. He struggled to stop an over the hill Cung Le, and couldn't put Anderson in trouble even behind a full-bodied right hand. Luke actually kept his hands down and tried to look rocked by the softest left hooks you will ever see, after missing a right hand. Bisping couldn't even look sharp enough to be convincing in this win. It was pathetic.


  If you thought his win over Anderson looked ridiculous, this one took the cake. I always saw the talent in Bisping from his early career, but he is at a stage where the field has developed beyond him, and he doesn't have enough left physically to  compete. To see him be gifted a title shot, and then a title fight win like this is just an insult to the entire sport.