The First Round

Just like a boxer in the 10th round of a championship fight, this blog is picking itself up off the canvas and is ready to make a comeback. The blog formerly known as "Beatdowns, Boxing and Basketball" is back as "The First Round." The blog will be entirely dedicated to the sports of boxing and mixed martial arts. 

After studying the fine art of blogging under the tutelage of Luis C. Medina, (chief blogger at "The Big Dead Sidebar") I feel prepared to run a successful blog of my own. All great blogs include the readers so I will do my best to take suggestions and encourage you to voice your own opinions through the comments. 

Like most weekends, there was a lot of action on the fight scene so I will do my best to wrap up a weekend full of fights that could have world title implications in the future. 

UFC 93: No title fight, no problem

Some big matches with some shocking performances made for a pretty satisfying night of fights considering there was no title on the line. Three different weight classes had significant fights that should lead to interesting matchups down the line.

205 pounds of danger and 205 pounds of disease

If you want to see some of the best of what the light heavyweight division has to offer, watch the Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson main event from UFC 93. If you want to see some of the worst, then watch the co-main event between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Mark Coleman. 

Franklin and Henderson had a great fight that resulted in the former PRIDE champion winning a split decision. Henderson was just crisp enough on his feet for the first two rounds and dominant on the ground. Franklin was great in the third round, but didn't do enough in the first two. Throughout the fight though, there was no lack of technique or conditioning as both men proved why they are considered two of the best fighters in the world. 

Shogun was once considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. On Saturday, he looked like someone who had put on too many of those pounds as he inexplicably gassed halfway through the second round. Shogun needed a convincing performance after losing to Forrest Griffin his last time out and suffering a bad ACL tear. Instead, he was satisfied just toying with the 44-year-old Mark Coleman (who gassed halfway through the first round.) 

Shogun knocked Coleman out with a nice uppercut in the third round, but it looked like he was throwing punches in slow motion. I will cut Rua a break for his showing since it is his first fight back from major knee surgery, but if he wants to be a contender again he will need to do much more. The light heavyweight division is deep and the title seems to change hands on every defense. Rua will get run out of the UFC if he shows up like he did on Saturday. 

Time to recognize "The Talent"

Middleweight Alan "The Talent" Belcher seems like a gatekeeper. He has enough talent to push a fighter to the limit, but the great ones should beat him. It turns out he is better than that. Belcher shocked me yet again Saturday with a slick rear-naked choke victory over highly regarded Denis Kang. Kang dominated the first round and was living up to his anticipated debut, but like always, Belcher remained calm. He came out in the second and the fight hit the ground where Belcher made a beautiful transition to Kang's back and sunk in the choke. 

Belcher has enough Muay Thai skills to knock anyone out and enough patience on the ground to work a submission. I don't see him dethroning the seemingly unbeatable Anderson Silva, but matches against some of the top fighters such as Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt and hopefully Patrick Cote should be on the horizon. 

In other middleweight action, Rousimar Palhares dominated another tough veteran in Jeremy Horn. His jujitsu is some of the best I have seen in the middleweight division and I think he could be a contender in a year or so. It may be a little early, but I would love to see him fight submission ace Demian Maia.

 

Punching a hole to nowhere

Marcus Davis had another great display of boxing en route to his win over former professional boxer Chris "Lights Out" Lytle Saturday. The win pushed Davis' record to 6-1 over his last seven fights. Even though he has wins over tough opponents such as Lytle, Pete Spratt and Paul Taylor, there does not seem to be room for Davis in title contention talk in the competitive welterweight division. 

To be fair, Davis lost his last "step up" fight when Mike Swick took a unanimous decision back in June. I think Davis should get another shot at a top name. Maybe Jon Fitch would be too much, but since Fitch is coming off a loss to Georges St. Pierre, it could be good for both fighters.

The Boxing Scene: A shooting star and a falling star

If you haven't already heard about WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto, then now is the time to watch him rise. The young, promising fighter past the test Saturday. The test that either stops the career of a potential star or vaults that star into the million dollar fights. Berto passed that test with a statement. 

Going into the 11th round with former world champion Luis Collazo, Berto knew he had to win the next two rounds convincingly. The young Haitian dug as deep as he could inside himself and boxed brilliantly in the 11th and the 12th for his second successful defense. When Berto had to leave it all out in the middle of the ring, he did. That quality is not found in a lot of fighters and it makes me think a matchup with the likes of a Zab Judah could be sooner rather than later. 

He's not your "Buddy"

Two-time world champion Buddy McGirt was a great boxer and like in many sports one would think the next generation would continue to build on that legacy. James McGirt Jr, son of Buddy, seemed like he could carry the name into the 21st century. Going into Friday's matchup with Angel Hernandez, McGirt Jr. was 18-1-1 with his only loss coming to the tremendously talented Carlos De Leon. 

The draw on his record was a disappointment as he should have had no problem with Marcus Upshaw, but instead had an embarrassing performance on Showtime that resulted in a draw. McGirt had his chance for redemption with a televised bout on ESPN 2 against the pudgy Hernandez. But McGirt didn't deliver. Instead, the much shorter Hernandez got on the inside and pounded to the body of McGirt the whole fight. 

McGirt probably thought he could unleash a knockout hook to Hernandez, and while he did land good shots, it would have been much smarter to use his jab and keep his range. But at the end of the day Berto is one step away from a huge paycheck and McGirt is one step away from the exit.