The Nation's capital had to make a little room Saturday night for at least one more top dog. Dana White brought the UFC to Verizon Center, and Washingtonians turned out in droves for the show. While they didn't sell out the Verizon Center they did set the record for the highest UFC Live event on Versus with a reported attendance of 9,380. Dana was right out in front, walking the edge of the Octagon, posing for pictures with happy fans. Uriah Faber, Mark Munoz and Jon Jones were also cage-side, and glad handing the crowd.
Inside the cage folks weren't quite as friendly, but there was no shortage of physical contact.
Local warrior, Mike "The Hulk" Easton made his Octagon debut after almost two years since his last fight. Mike caught the attention of the world in a highly contested decision victory over Chase Beebe at UWC 7 in Fairfax Virginia. There was nothing to contest this time as Mike ended his fight with a TKO towards the end of the second round.
Several of the refs call were protested by the crowd during the evening. Mario Yamasaki's brother Fernando returned to the Octagon to referee, but earned the crowd's ire when he stopped the T J Grant / Shane Roller match when Roller was locked into an armbar. Roller was probably behind on the cards, but claimed he never tapped. The crowd also felt the stoppage was premature booing Fernando even when he returned to referee another match later in the night.
More experienced referee Mario Yamasaki also had some questionable calls, letting Rafaello Oliveira take a prolonged beating by Yves Edwards when most of the crowd felt he was not defending himself, and then stopping the Johnson/Brenneman fight after Johnson landed a solid kick to Charlie's face, but the tough Spaniard sat right up to protest that he wasn't out of the fight yet. He probably should have thanked Mario for saving him another thumping as Johnson was on his way to a solid 10-8 round. In all three cases, there isn't much doubt that the calls impacted the outcome of the fights, but the crowd was quick to criticize.
One thing the crowd had no criticism for was the rematch between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig. It was a tough call who to root for personally. I've met Matt several times in Atlantic City where he and his corner-man Beau "One Man Army" Taylor were always quick to say hi and shake hands. but Mac came out to Astro Zombies by the Misfits and my allegiance to all things "Glenn" Danzig made it tough to choose sides. Luckily I didn't have to. They both fought their hearts out and the crowd roared in approval. Somebody had to lose, and when Wiman took the decision the crowd was mixed with cheers and boos, but when Dana handed out the bonuses, they both came out winners with well deserved 65 grand extra in each of their pockets. Their FOTN victory was a close thing though as the main event of the evening came close to stealing the show.
The Champ Dominic Cruz and the challenger Demetrious Johnson went to war, and while Cruz controlled the fight with takedowns and wrestling, Johnson never looked defeated. Johnson came out as explosive and energetic in round five as he did in round one and Cruz had to wonder if anything could stop this tiny dynamo. Known for a ridiculously fast pace himself, Cruz looked like the more weary fighter early in the showdown, but he never let the hectic pace stop him from implementing his game plan. My sympathy goes out to whoever they put in the cage at 125 pounds with that tiny tiger.
As with their last visit to Fairfax Virginia, the UFC did what they do best and the crowd in attendance left satisfied. It was great to see local mainstays like Fernando Yamasaki refereeing and Doctor Greg Banks at the side of the Octagon. Hopefully the UFC will return soon, as fight fans in DC are always hungry for more MMA.
