The thing about promoting conflict resolution through violence: your talent pool is going to take a beating.
Since October, an alarming number of the UFC’s box office attractions have been sidelined due to injury or illness. Anderson Silva had bone spurs removed from his elbow; Georges St. Pierre’s injured groin kept him out of the gym; Shane Carwin is suffering MCL strain; Lyoto Machida needed hand surgery following his last bout; Quinton Jackson is in Hollywood exile; most alarmingly, Brock Lesnar -- the UFC’s single biggest draw, and a peer of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather as the biggest draws on pay per view -- collapsed in Canada. Dana White tells TMZ.com that Lesnar may need “major surgery” to correct an ambiguous intestinal disorder.
In trying to come up with a metaphor for Randy Couture’s current physical abilities, you can’t do much better than a boat anchor. If he gets a lock on your body, he will either drag you down or exhaust you with your own resistance, swimming against the current he creates. It’s an ugly way to go.
Against Brandon Vera Saturday in Manchester, England, Couture clung to Vera while landing few effective strikes. The biggest moments in the bout came only when Vera had the distance to land body shots, which Couture’s creaky reflexes allowed through. Despite Vera delivering the damage of the fight, including a knockdown, judges figured Couture’s lone takedown and pressing Vera into the fence trumped it.
If the fight were scored as a whole, Vera would probably win. As it is, they appeared to split two rounds and stalemate a third. A draw would have made the most sense. Increasingly, we should not expect judges to do the sensible thing.
