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The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday graced the Czech Republic with its presence for the first time at the O2 Arena in Prague. UFC Fight Night 145 featured some good, some bad and some ugly.
THE GOOD: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT RESURGENCE
When Daniel Cormier opted to put the light heavyweight division on hold to take the heavyweight crown, it was yet another reason to declare 205 pounds a wasteland. With Jon Jones on a United States Anti-Doping Agency-imposed hiatus and no return date finalized, Alexander Gustafsson on an even longer break, Cormier contemplating retirement and moonlighting up a weight class and Anthony Johnson enjoying a life of growing marijuana and bodybuilding, we weren’t left with much by which to get excited. We were left with challengers like Volkan Oezdemir and Ovince St. Preux, who couldn’t make it over the hump, and aging veterans like Mauricio Rua and Glover Teixeira clinging to the fringes.
Recent months have seen something of a resurgence for the light heavyweights. Add Thiago Santos to the list of names that gives us a slight glimmer of hope for the division. While it still lacks the depth and star power of its heyday, there are a few names that can at least keep things interesting: Santos, Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker. As Jones resumes his massacre of anyone that can make 205 pounds, there is a desperate need for fresh matchups. He has teased a move to heavyweight for years now, but if Jones decides to stay put, he will have at least a few more potential foes assuming he gets past Anthony Smith at UFC 235.
That is not exactly a forecast of the competitive prosperity we enjoyed when Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, among others, consistently offered high-stakes action. The smart money is on Jones continuing to further his legacy on the backs of the newcomers. However, looking forward to title challenges from fresh young faces represents a dramatic improvement.
THE BAD: SKYDIVE
One of the worst parts about the fight game is watching someone cling to past glory in vain attempts to recapture the magic. More often than not, those pursuits have left many fighters concussed and embarrassed while pushing the good memories to the backseat in fans’ minds. It’s always refreshing to see someone elect to call it quits before things get out of control. While Georges St. Pierre’s surprise press conference on Feb. 21 is the most prominent example, add Stefan Struve to the list of men who decided enough was enough.
Struve entered his UFC Fight Night 145 co-main event riding a three-fight skid and boasting mixed results since his infamous walk-off knockout loss to Mark Hunt in 2013. While many were ready to write off the Dutchman, a second glance at his recent record reveals something much more complex. His losses weren’t really that bad. Finishes against hard strikers like Hunt and former champions Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov are nothing of which to be ashamed. His other losses were hard-fought decisions against decent opponents that presented style problems. Before the uneven results, he managed to knock out eventual champion Stipe Miocic in what was easily his most complete performance.
By submitting Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Struve proved what we already should have known: He’s a cut above the rank-and-file fighters that fill up the heavyweight division. Anybody higher than that, it’s anybody’s guess what would happen. That pinpoints why this makes our latest entry of “The Bad.” While it is fantastic that Struve has made it out of MMA in relatively good health and with his brain intact, it makes you wonder. What if he didn’t have the heart condition that derailed his career temporarily and was diagnosed just a few months after the Hunt loss? What if the tallest fighter in UFC history -- he is also tied for the longest reach -- was consistently able to capitalize on his physical advantages in the Octagon? What was Struve’s true ceiling in MMA?
Unfortunately, even if Struve’s exit from the sport doesn’t hold up for long, we’ll never truly know the answer to these questions. To go from nullifying and destroying an extremely well-rounded and crafty Miocic to barely losing a decision to Andrei Arlovski is quite a variance. With health concerns that impact more than just his fighting career and the door closing on his chances to reach the top of the sport, it’s good that he has decided to bow out gracefully. It’s just a shame that his true potential was never realized.
THE UGLY: NOTHING OF NOTE
For the first time since starting this post-fight series, I found it hard to find anything truly ugly about the event. With ESPN Plus broadcasting the main card, there were no pacing issues about which to gripe. Everything flowed fairly smoothly without the slow crawl of Fox Sports 1. Apparently, its airing of the Premier Boxing Championships card this weekend suffered from many of the same problems to which we grew accustomed in the MMA world.
The fights themselves offered a good balance of finishes and closely contested decisions. While the name value was lacking, it’s hard to complain too loudly at what amounts to a largely European centric card in the UFC’s debut in the Czech Republic. Additionally, March 2 will provide what should be one of the premier pay-per-view offerings of 2019.
Having a card air so early for American audiences doesn’t hurt at all, either. MMA fits nicely among my coffee and scrambled eggs for a nutritious breakfast. I don’t want to complain for the sake of complaining, so I’ll accept a good afternoon of fights and not question it any further.