Look, I’m a student of the game, I love all aspects of MMA, but sometimes the ground game is boring. There, I said it, and you know it’s true (hey, to be fair, some standup fights can get pretty boring, too. I’m an equal opportunity complainer). But guys like Jones, who stay busy, are active on the top or the bottom, and try to finish fights, are the kind of fighters I like to watch. Babalu is probably my favorite guy to watch on the ground because his guard is so busy. Any guy that throws up so many submissions that you know it’s just a matter of time before the other guy’s slapping the mat is ok by me.

I felt bad for Wessel, what with the wife and all, but I’m kind of warming up to Rampage again, so I’m glad he didn’t get swept. I need to ask my boy Heavyweight at the Sports Explosion (which you really need to listen to every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday) just how Marcus has improved because of the show, and since; Heavy and Marcus are training partners at Gracie Tampa. Once I find out, I don’t need to post here because you’ll be listening to the show, of course, but if you’d like to read it over and over, I’ll post it here.

First off, Matt Mitrione is crazy (not disappointing)! I might just believe him about those voices in his head. That dude is a bad dude. He ran Scott Junk right over for the first three minutes, putting together combinations, landing at will and mixing it up. How many times did Mitrione drop Junk? Three? Four? It was a serious, old-school ass kicking until minute four, when Junk pressed Mitrione up against the cage and they just unloaded on each other. I was up and yelling at the TV, thankful that, finally, the Ultimate Fighter is heating up. The last minute was a little slower, but I didn’t mind, I was satisfied by what came before.

Second round bell dings, and then…nothing. Just two more fat guys huffing and puffing and clinching and pawing at each other with their mouths wide open. Who are you, Anderson Silva with your hands down by your waists? Averaged out, that fight was squarely mediocre. The decision was unimportant (Mitrione won), as is the fact that Rampage’s team hasn’t won a fight yet; I just don’t care anymore.

This season was hyped to all hell. Zuffa promised us the world and failed to deliver. They have superstars: Rampage, Rashad, Kimbo. They have solid prospects who’ve fought in big competition: Roy Nelson, Junk, Wes Sims. They have solid prospects, Brendan Schaub, James McSweeny, and four former NFL players. But none of that could save this season from being completely underwhelming.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll keep watching. I just don’t know what I’m looking for anymore.

Boxing’s detractors often accuse the sport of being bloated and corrupt and wrestling fans point to their heroes’ athleticism and dedication. I watch neither so I cannot comment, but the fact that the outcomes in both boxing and MMA are in question, the fact that both are struggles between two men and may the best man win (usually) makes them both sport. Wrestling’s scripted outcome makes it pure entertainment.

When people cry, “The UFC is rigged!” they fail to understand that, as sport, the UFC and all other MMA promotions are regulated by independent bodies. The promotion, in this case the UFC, doesn’t hire referees and judges, the state athletic commission assigns them. The UFC organizes the event and pays the fighters, but they have no say in the outcome. To say that the UFC is rigged is to belie the perception that even fans have, that MMA is more of a spectacle than a sport.

MMA is not rigged, but it is susceptible to poor judging and officiating. The outcome of Machida v. Rua was not caused by corruption, but by a simple difference in opinion between those scoring the fight and those just watching.

Instead of howling that the UFC is rigged, fans should be lauding it for the way both fighters and the UFC brass have conducted themselves so far. Everyone, including Machida, Rua and Dana White, recognize that neither fighter tried hard enough to finish the fight and both still have something to prove. A rematch has not been formally announced, but all three have agreed that one is necessary and are working to make it happen as close to immediately as possible.

I will not defend the judges and I am among those that thought Rua won the fight; theonly round I gave to Machida was round 3. I thought Shogun pushed the pace, outworked Machida and did more damage. It was a reserved, tactical fight on both fighters’ parts, but Rua made Machida look decidedly human. Lyoto was hardly passive and each round was close, so I can’t even be that angry about this decision.

The judges were wrong, and the man that won the fight didn’t win the fight. It is obvious that there are judging and officiating problems that the athletic commissions need to address. But MMA is not rigged and this time, the UFC will probably see that justice is served.

Kicks were the name of the game in the main event, with Machida and his opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua landing devastating kicks to each other’s body and legs throughout the five round fight.

Machida, with his trademark low-handed karate stance, opened the action with a Thai clinch and some knees, and a kick on the breakaway. The first round was fairly uneventful, with leg and body kicks and a failed shot attempt from Rua, and combination right-left counters from the 31-year-old Machida. Most of the fight followed this pattern.

Round two was more of the same, with Rua coming forward. Machida landed a solid knee that prompted a takedown attempt from the 2005 PRIDE middleweight grand prix winner, but the 27-year-old Rua might have hurt “the Dragon” with a vicious body kick and a hard right during a flurry toward the middle of the round.

Round three saw Machida pick up the pace a bit but Rua continuing to land kicks. The two fighters slugged it out on the cage toward the end of the round, with Machida getting the better of the exchange.

Both fighters, now having felt and being wary of the other’s power, were more cautious to begin the fourth round. The crowd chanted Machida’s name, but Shogun seemed to pour it on, coming forward with multiple punch combinations in vintage Shogun style and continuing to land body and leg kicks. Both fighters’ ribs were raw and angry-looking by this point.

The crowd chanted again in the fifth round, this time calling out “Shogun.” Rua looked fresh to begin the round, effectively putting the cardio questions to bed. This round looked similar to the four previous, with Shogun pressing the action and Machida countering.

After the fight, both men held their arms up. The scores were announced; all three judges scored the fight 48-47 for Machida and the Staples Center erupted in boos.

In post fight comments, Machida noted that all three judges scored the bout the same way, and that he was happy with their decision. When asked if he would consider a rematch with Rua, Machida replied “Whenever he wants.”

Rua, the clear fan favorite, was magnanimous in defeat.

“I feel like I won this fight,” he said through a translator. “But it’s a fight; what can I do?”

With the win, Machida keeps his undefeated record at 16-0, while Rua falls to 18-4.

In the co-main event, Cain Velasquez showed why he is a top heavyweight prospect when he stopped former IFL heavyweight “Big” Ben Rothwell at 0:58 of Round 2.

Velasquez, giving up more than 20 lbs, controlled the contest from the start, using his superior wrestling to hit single leg takedowns and put Rothwell on his back at will. From top position, moving from guard to half-guard to mount to side control, Velasquez delivered serious ground and pound, mixing it up with elbows, hammerfists, and punches. Between rounds, referee Steve Mazzagatti warned Rothwell to defend himself more proficiently.

Rothwell tried to start the second round with a kick, but Velasquez took him down with another single. The two-time All American wrestler took Rothwell’s back and delivered heavy shots. Rothwell got to the fence and was on his way up to his feet with Mazzagatti stepped in and called the fight. Rothwell was livid, and Joe Rogan called it “a terrible call.”

Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau entertained in a fast-paced catchweight bout. Neither man was able to make the 156 lb limit, with Neer over by half a pound and Tibau missing by one and a half.

From the beginning, Tibau showed excellent wrestling, using his double to take “The Dentist” down at will and with ease. Tibau was unable to keep the fight on the floor, however, with Neer scrambling back to his feet almost immediately every time, and able to stuff some takedowns by the third round. On the feet, Neer stalked Tibau and both men had a high work rate, but neither was able to do any significant damage. Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Tibau.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson won his second fight in a row after losing to Diego Sanchez in Febuary 2009 when he stopped a game but overmatched Spencer “the King” Fisher in the second round.

Stevenson showed excellent footwork and improved boxing in the win, opening a cut over Fisher’s right eye with a big left hook. Between rounds, Fisher told his corner “I can’t see,” and referee Herb Dean took a look at the cut before beginning of the second round.

Stevenson continued to showcase his boxing in the second round, but looked for one cross at a time without setting it up. After Fisher missed a combination, Stevenson took him down. Fisher stayed busy with elbows from the bottom, and Stevenson went for a leglock, to no avail. Stevenson was able to pass to mount briefly before trapping Fisher’s arm and raining down elbows. Fisher tapped with his foot, signaling Herb Dean to jump in at 4:03 of the second round.

“My little sister and big sister used to do that to me when I was little,” said an elated Stevenson of the crucifix trap. “That’s some anger management stuff right there.”

UFC 104’s main event started violently, with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson needing only 41 seconds to starch Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Johnson, looking enormous and over the 170 lb. welterweight limit by six pounds, hunted for the knockout from the start, throwing big punches and backing the much smaller Yoshida up to the fence. A huge right hand landed and put Yoshida down for good.

“I saw a big face in front of me and I decided to hit it,” said Johnson during the post-fight interview.

The 25-year-old Johnson, who claimed to have been suffering from a foot injury, apologized to UFC brass and to fans for his inability to make weight. It was rumored that Johnson started his training camp at 220 lbs.

Both of those guys came to scrap. Schoonover landed the best combination this season up against the cage, and Jensen extracted himself from a guaranteed ambulance ride with a decent takedown and followed it up with some heavy ground and pound. That was an ugly triangle; you can’t tap someone without the arm in because there’s too much space, and I’m not sure why Jensen kept it on him long enough to get his arm trapped, but it was a good showing from both those guys.

These were two guys I was really pulling for. I hate seeing people get bullied, and it just goes to show you that the quiet types might just surprise you with an ass-kicking. I used to get picked on as a kid because I was small and nerdy, but I started wrestling and karate at a young age, and after pulping the faces of the a few tormentors, people eventually left me alone.

Rampage is the biggest bully of them all. Pulling out of his December fight with Rashad has tainted the whole season; he’s acted like such an incorrigible prick and we won’t see him get his comeuppance. Instead of worrying about his next fight, he’s worried about his next joke, but at 0-6 he’s the biggest TUF joke in ten seasons.

Speaking of 10 seasons, that’s 160 meatheads acting like idiots, and I think I’m about done. This last fight (not episode, I could care less about meatheads acting like idiots; I went to college and I’ve been to frat parties) has kept me barely, just barely, holding on.

If there is a TUF season 11…I’ll still watch it because I’m a spineless hypocrite, but I’ll bitch about it the whole time.

“Fighting out of the blue corner, this man is a freestyle fighter/mixed martial artist/muay Thai fighter, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu expert and wrestler…”

Hi, welcome to 2009, where everyone does everything and if you don’t crosstrain, you’re getting your ass kicked.

Case in point: Anderson Silva is a muay Thai expert..but is also a BJJ black belt. BJ Penn is a BJJ black belt…but is also an excellent boxer. Randy Couture is a an Olympic level Greco-Roman wrestler…but beat the living shit out of Tim Silvia standing. Lyoto Machida is a Shotokan karate black belt, and might just make my fucking head explode.

Seriously, if you feel the need to be known by your fighting style, prepared to be triangle choked by Royce Gracie, Brazillian jiu jitsu.

And Rampage? Shame on you! What do you mean, “I can’t believe he got tapped with an Anaconda choke”? It’s not like he took a shitty shot, left his head hanging, and got caught in a guillotine when he damn well knew better. Schaub made a good move and caught Rogers. It happens. Maybe the episode was, shall we say, creatively edited, but Rampage looked like a terrible coach and a big baby.

Side note: good fight that episode. Schaub is just a serious, serious dude, very focused. The word is “game.” He likes to fight, he wants to fight, he’s there to fight, and he doesn’t care who he fights. Rogers also looked very solid. He just seemed a little jumpy and jittery, but he’ll relax more as he gets more experience. That fight did enough to keep me watching next week.