Should “Cro Cop” hang up the checkered shorts?
It’s a sad day when one of the most violent fighters of any era is reduced to an immobile punching bag, but there’s nothing in Mirko Filipovic’s current run to indicate he can course-correct. Against Junior dos Santos, he pushed instead of punched, backpedaled instead of advanced. It’s not even an issue of going into pocket and getting the worst of it: Mirko simply isn’t engaging anymore. And that’s true on multiple levels.
Is it time to get excited about Paul Daley?
Maybe. He was able to stuff Martin Kampmann’s takedown attempt, but Kampmann isn’t exactly Dan Gable: against Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck, or Georges St. Pierre, Daley will have a much harder time remaining upright.
Should Frank Trigg get scratched?
Trigg’s resurgence came at middleweight, where he was able to retain some mass while dealing with the slightly slower pace. He should probably get a tryout there before packing his things.
Etc…
At the post-fight press conference, the UFC announced a $2.4 million gate and 17,428 attendees in Dallas, setting a new sporting event record for Mark Cuban’s American Airlines Center; the Floyd Mayweather/Juan Manuel Marquez fight in Los Angeles drew 13,116 fans. No gate figure has been released, which could mean that there may not be much to crow about…Pay per view numbers won’t be circulated for awhile -- and since they often come from promoters themselves, can’t always be verified -- but Mayweather’s celebrity status from pro wrestling stints and “Dancing with the Stars” may have put him over…Prelim status doesn’t always have to suck: Rick Story collected Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses totaling $130,000. Belfort collected Knockout of the Night honors…. Per MMAWeekly, the shoulder injury suffered by Steve Lopez “popped back in” backstage and it does not appear to require surgery…Not for nothing, but one of Mayweather’s bodyguards during an episode of HBO’s “24/7” was sporting a Tapout shirt. Maybe we can get along after all.