10 Things We Learned from UFC 133

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The key UFC 133 talking points


RASHAD EVANS 2.0

The former light heavyweight champion joked about being a new version of his old self during the UFC 133
Countdown show, and again during the events leading up to Saturday's
fight. When he got into the cage, he showed his reinvention was no joke.

Everything about Evans
looked better. He appeared to be in the best shape of his life, and his
once cocky demeanor was replaced by a fierce intensity that suggested
the days of nipple tweaks and Redd Foxx staggers after wins are over.
Instead of pawing with his jab and taking the pick-and-poke approach of
old, Evans went after Tito Ortiz hard, delivering a thunderous slam in the first and bringing the fight to the "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" in the second.

The finishing moments of the fight speak volumes about the changes in
Evans' approach and attitude. Where he used to look to land one clean
punch, he waded into exchange with Ortiz, confident in his hands and the
ability to make a finish happen, rather than waiting for that lone
opportunity to counter. His crushing knee to the sternum of Ortiz was a
thing of beauty.

Prior to this fight, I had my doubts about whether Evans could hang with Jon Jones. Those doubts are gone; Evans will be a handful for whoever he faces next, mark my words.

MORE TO COME FROM ORTIZ

There is never any shame in losing to the top contender in the
division. There is especially no shame in losing to the top contender in
the division when you take the fight on three weeks notice. Ortiz has
nothing to hang his head about, and should definitely be given an
opportunity to continue his resurgence before the year is out.

Ortiz had a couple quality moments in this fight. While it wasn't
ever really close, his guillotine attempt had everyone thinking a sequel
to his win over Ryan Bader
was on the way. He landed a couple stiff shots early, showing continued
development in his hands. He was just beaten by a better man Saturday
night.

A return to the top of the light heavyweight division may not be
realistic, but after ripping through Bader and stepping up against
Evans, Ortiz has earned the right show there is still something left in
the tank whenever he's ready to return to the cage.

CONSISTENCY THE KEY FOR BELFORT MOVING FORWARD

Did Vitor Belfort look good on Saturday night? Absolutely; his first-round finish of Yoshihiro Akiyama brought back memories of the Belfort of old.

Is Belfort crazy for thinking the win puts him right back in the middleweight title mix? Yes, indeed he is.

Instead of wanting to revisit Anderson Silva's foot connecting with
his face, Belfort needs to focus on string together a few performances
like the one he delivered Saturday night, and he needs to do it against
better competition too. Beating a guy on who came into the bout on a
two-fight losing streak with a penchant for taking punishment is good,
but Belfort needs to show he can hang with the top-end guys in the
division before he starts talking about title shots again.

SPEAKING OF SEXYAMA

The welterweight division is calling and Akiyama needs to pick up the phone.

Having now lost three-straight and arguably dropping his debut to Alan Belcher at UFC 100, a move down in weight is the only real option Akiyama has at this point. When Dana White talks about how he's begged you to drop down in just about every interview he does after the fights, take the hint.

His fight fire with fire style is entertaining and endears him to
fans — and White — but he just doesn't have the size to compete with the
heavy-handed sluggers of the 185 pound ranks. He could be dangerous in
the 170 pound ranks, as his takedown defense would serve him well
against the wrestler-heavy division, and we know he's got some pop to
his punches. It's just a matter of whether or not he's willing to cut
the way to keep himself in the UFC.

The only way I can see him sticking around the middleweight ranks is if the UFC manages to put together a fight with Wanderlei Silva for their planned trip to Japan early next year. Outside of that, it's welterweight or bust.

MY TAKE ON DENNIS HALLMAN'S BRIEFS

I laughed when I saw Hallman
strip down to his minimalist attire. I honestly thought he was going to
pull a pair of traditional shorts on over top of them. I personally
don't care that he didn't, but I can understand why Dana White would.

Listen — this isn't me blindly defending the UFC and its President.
I'm not worried about my credentials. I'm thinking from a rational,
business perspective. That's all.

What happens if Hallman's genitalia slips out during the bout? To me,
that's a reason for concern, and it's one that doesn't exist with
Georges St-Pierre's skimpy shorts. It's not a matter of what is left up
to the imagination; it's worst case scenario thinking and completely
understandable.

Censors would go ape if this happened, and Hallman could be seriously
hurt depending on the situation. His wardrobe selection has already
become one of the main talking points from this event; imagine how much
more attention they would be receiving if he had a wardrobe malfunction
mid-match?

Does Dana have to choose his words better? Absolutely; saying he was
"disgusted" holds a certain connotation and makes it ambiguous as to why
he's upset. But the fact that White needs to articulate his thoughts a
little better doesn't diminish the fact that there are legitimate
concerns that come up because of Hallman's choice of trunks.
EBERSOLE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Lost in the discussion about Hallman's attire is another solid performance from Brian Ebersole.
The 30-year-old with more than 60 fights has now won two straight in
the Ocatgon over a pair of solid veterans, cementing his place in the
welterweight division for the foreseeable future.

While he garners more attention for the "hairrow" he sports in the
cage, his efforts on Saturday night showed he has the talent to be a
potential dark horse contender in the division. Ebersole worked through
an early mistake that left him with Hallman draped on his back. Once he
escaped, he turned up the intensity and put a beating on "Superman,"
raining down elbows and hammerfists through the finish.

He's got a good wrestling base and a world of experience to go with
his quirky personality; he's also won nine straight and 13 of his last
14 fights too. Don't look now, but the weird dude who debuted in
Australia and likes to throw cartwheel kicks might not be just a novelty
act after all.

END OF THE LINE FOR RIVERA?

Having spoken with Jorge Rivera heading into his fight at UFC 133, I'm pretty sure his split decision loss to Costa Philippou
will be the last time we see the middleweight from Milford, Mass.
inside the Octagon. If I'm right, I offer a tip of my cap to "El
Conquistador" and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

Rivera is a candid guy with a realistic view of himself and the opportunities being a fighter has afforded him. He's loved every minute
of his journey, and if this is the end of the line, he'll walk away
without any regrets or second thoughts. That's something not a lot of
fighters could do, and something that makes me respect Rivera even more.

ANOTHER CANADIAN WELTERWEIGHT MONSTER

For those who weren't convinced up until now, Saturday night showed that Rory MacDonald is for real. Even though he's had a trio of impressive outings inside the cage to date, his crushing victory over Mike Pyle served as the coming out party for the young Canadian.

MacDonald deserves the comparisons to GSP and could indeed surpass
the achievements of the current UFC welterweight champion. He's
manhandled his last two opponents, and just keeps getting better. Many
may still consider him a prospect at this point, but I'm no longer one
of those people. I now see him as a bona fide contender, and someone who
is going to make all kinds of waves in the welterweight division in the
next 12 months.

Heavy.com

I still think that one of Tito's big problems is that he does not train in a camp that he does not control. He is training the same way in the same style with limited room for growth and development. A lot of these old school guys do this and you have to wonder if thats the problem. Or one of the problems. I want to see him fight again.

Vitor reminded me of the 96 Vitor... I love this guy.

The MacDonald thing? Dont push too hard and too fast... let the guy develop before you assign him the roll of Messiah.

Yeah, one has to assume that always being the top dog the same old camp isn't going to help you progress. Its the same deal with Fedor.