UFC 109: Relentless Review and Thoughts

Relentless could be used to describe the UFC in general these days. From one pay-per-view every six months or so in 1994 to today, where we'll see three pay-per-view events and two free events before the end of April.

Relentless could also be used to describe the ageless Randy Couture. After losing the Heavyweight crown to Brock Lesnar in November 2008 it looked like Couture might slow down and take a lighter schedule as Couture did not fight again until August of 2009. It seems to be quite the opposite though, as Couture has had three matches between August 29, 2009 and February 6, 2010. This marks his most active period in many years.

Here's a match by match breakdown of the card:

Matt Serra def. Frank Trigg by TKO in the 1^st Round

Synopsis: Largely billed as a "loser-leaves-town" match up by internet fans. A case could be made for either to bid farewell to their UFC days given a loss. Unfortunately for Trigg, it seems that he'll be the one moving on. Serra looked surprisingly crisp and effective for having such a long layoff (Serra hasn't fought since UFC 98 in May 2009) and not fighting more than once a year since his upset victory over Georges St. Pierre some time ago.

Frank Trigg was knocked out (earning Serra a nice $60,000 bonus) in the first for the second time since returning to the UFC in September. Back to back losses usually mean you're about to be cut, but two back-to-back KO's because you don't properly defend yourself is just begging for the unemployment line.

Reprecussions from this fight

For Serra: Matt Serra put in a perfectly fine performance that should rebuild some interest in him. If he fights again soon against a decent challenger, Serra could find himself once again relevant.

For Trigg: Time to beg Dana White for a move up to Middleweight, where Trigg had been toiling before returning to the UFC. His chin doesn't seem to be holding up that well and Trigg might be wise to call it a career.

Demian Maia def. Dan Miller by Unanimous Decision

Synopsis: Maia's boxing looked much improved over previous outings and if he continues to work on it Maia could be an especially dangerous threat to the UFC Middleweight division. This fight did a lot to erase the bad press that surrounded Maia after being destroyed by Nate Marquardt in August.

Reprecussions from this fight

For Maia: Maia showed that the Marquardt fight was a fluke and that anyone can get caught. More work on his boxing to supplement his already stellar ground game could make him the next champion.

For Miller: Miller proved that he can hang with the big kids at Middleweight and even though he lost, two judges gave him one round against a top contender. It could be a while before anything big comes from him but Miller is still young.

Paulo Thiago def. Mike Swick by D'Arce Choke in the 2^nd Round

Synopsis: This match was a huge surprise. While Paulo Thiago should not be taken lightly by anyone, Mike Swick was fresh off a title eliminator fight and has been regarded as a future title contender. This fight legitimizes Thiago in a huge way as some saw his KO victory over Josh Koscheck as a fluke and had some trouble keeping newcomer Jacob "Christmas" Volkmann at bay in their November bout.

Reprecussions from this fight

For Thiago: The logical next step is a rematch with the man who defeated him (as well as Koscheck and Swick's American Kickboxing Academy teammate) Jon Fitch. With Fitch set to face Thiago Alves in March, it could be a while. Another win would likely find Thiago fairly close to title contention.

For Swick: Back to the drawing board. In his third UFC weight class, there just seems to be no winning when Swick nears a title opportunity. Re-evaluating his training and getting an fight with some lesser contenders could help boost his confidence and regain his place near the top.

Chael Sonnen def. Nate Marquardt by Unanimous Decision

Synopsis: This fight was the biggest surprise of the night. Marquardt was easily the number two Middleweight in the world after Anderson Silva and many figured Marquardt to be a guarantee for the next title shot. Chael Sonnen had other plans and proved he deserves the position. Sonnen's last fight prior to this one was a victory over (at the time) the consensus number two Middleweight in the world in Yushin Okami.

With such impressive victories it's hard to argue Sonnen as a legit contender. Marquardt did have moments of brilliance in the fight, including a beautiful flying knee and a very nice guillotine attempt late in the third. If this was a five round fight, Marquardt probably could have won as Sonnen sported a couple of nasty looking cuts after the fight.

Reprecussions from this fight

For Sonnen: A title shot against the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. Anderson has proved to have a weakness against strong wrestlers in the past (see his fights with Travis Lutter and Dan Henderson) and Chael could likely prove a difficult opponent. With that said, every fight that Anderson has puts more and more doubt that he will ever be on the losing end again.

For Marquardt: It would be hard to say that he should train harder because he is well known to be a very hard worker. The best move for Marquardt would be to start racking up wins as soon as he can and get back to the top of the contention list.

Randy Couture def. Mark Coleman by Rear Naked Choke in the 2^nd Round

Synopsis: Couture entered the cage to the sounds of Stranglehold and it was pretty apparent where his mind was at going into this fight.

This fight would have been much more interesting ten years ago when both were strong wrestlers creating the ground-and-pound prototype for the current generation of fighters. Coleman has long been stuck in his original form and that was his downfall. Couture over the years has evolved nicely and has one of the best clinch games in the entire sport to go with world class wrestling and underseen boxing and submission skills.

It was really just poetic justice that Couture actually choked out Coleman in this fight, which should be viewed as equivalent to Babe Ruth pointing to right field before slugging a homerun.

Reprecussions from this fight

For Couture: Some sort of superfight. It's amazing that at 47 years old Couture may only be a fight or two away from earning another title shot. Interesting opponents could be a fight with Anderson Silva if he decides to venture back to Light Heavyweight or Rich Franklin.

For Coleman: Dana White has said that Coleman is likely done in the UFC, but there is still money to be made in a potential Coleman/Ortiz bout that fell through for UFC 106 (especially after Coleman and Ortiz's little altercation during the post fight interview).