UFC 102: Maia vs Marquardt

Within 21 seconds of the 1st round of their fight, Nate "The Great" Marquardt was able to put a stop to Demian Maia. Previously undefeated, Maia more or less walked into an incredible right hook thrown by Marquardt. Seeing that his opponent was not only knocked out but probably seeing a multitude of stars and birds, Marquardt could be seen pulling back and not taking advantage of Maia's vulnerable state and throwing more blows. That's what good sportsmanship is about. Many other fighters would have landed a few more punches to insure the job was done. The ref called the fight 21 seconds in and there you have it folks - - Nate proved why he's so great by being named the winner.

To see the knockout:



And if seems that Marquardt's nice guy demeanor oozes out of the cage and into interviews as well. Catch his post-fight wrap up:

UFC 102: Jardine vs Silva

One of the most anticipated fights of UFC 102 was Jardine vs. Silva. I was not rooting for Jardine. Call me crazy but there's something very "Southern Clansmen ready to string you up to the back of his pickup" about him. Even after hearing his interviews and learning of his 1 black friend, fellow fighter Rashad Evans, I still didn't feel warm and fuzzy about him. I was team Silva all the way.

I glanced away for a second and had missed everything - - their fight was over before it even started. I had to rewind and witness the devastating left hook that caught Jardine sending him to the floor and then cringed as Silva unleashed multiple blows to his dome. On the flip side, one of the joys of having Silva win the fight included seeing his trademark throat slit. Gosh, something about the cocky swag he exudes as he walks up to the camera and does his signature throat slit sends a chill down my spine.

* The videos keep getting removed from youtube so I'll have to put together my own recap to share with my blog family...