johng Blog

I was in total shock when Serra knocked out GSP in the first round. It was a colossal upset that nobody but Serra predicted going in. My opinion of how well fighters will fare in their upcoming bouts is usually dictated by how they have performed in the past. Serra barely beat Chris Lytle in the Ultimate Fighter Finals and as such I didn’t give him much of a chance against the guy who destroyed Matt Hughes. Of course this was wrong as Serra whipped GSP on his feet. In other sports usually younger athletes perform the best as they are in their physical prime but in MMA, where experience and confidence are just as important as anything else, the older guys are getting things done. All of the UFC’s champions are over 30 now.

If the start of this year has taught us anything it’s that any fighter can beat any other fighter on any given day. This would lead some to say that unranked fighters, as Randy Couture and Matt Serra were, should not be given title shots. Of course they earned their shots in different ways but they both rose to the occasion and proved that they belonged in that position. Just be glad they are title fights and we are not left with the mess Pride has with Gomi being beaten in non title fights.

It will be interesting to see Serra’s first defence against Matt Hughes. About the only good thing that happened on The Ultimate Fighter 4 was their feud. It never resulted in a match so hopefully they will use all that footage to build the fight. As for GSP I could see him taking on Diego Sanchez or Josh Koscheck. If GSP gets a win there he could easily be back in the title picture and ready to take on the winner of Hughes vs Serra. And with the potential for some Pride fighters being thrown into the mix things get even more interesting.