UFC Still Amazes - TCrouch's Blog

TCrouch's Blog

UFC Still Amazes

Posted on May 27, 2009 at 02:37 PM.

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So it's been a week, and I keep waiting for the warts to show themselves. I have yet to get annoyed by this little gem.

Online, offline, career, exhibition, etc...I continue to have a blast.

For the record, I started a heavyweight with the intention of developing a lethal standing striker/GnP practicioner. I succeeded, rattling off 9 straight victories to start his career.

Then I had consecutive losses once I squared off against Andre Arlovski and Cheick Kongo. Both fights were close, but I got out-lasted and KO'd when my stamina dropped. I hit the training sessions like a man possessed, raising my cardio until I felt I had overcome that weakness.

I rang off several more fights without losing, even knocking out Arlovski in a rematch. I crawled back up into the top 5 of the rankings, and I was able to rattle off some impressive combos with my kickboxing/judo fighter.

Then I ran into Fabricio Werdum.

I got Muay Thai knees in the face and submitted at 1:23 of the first round. Never had I felt so overwhelmed. I decided to pour points into submission defense (which I had been neglecting) and fought Minotauro Noguiera two fights later. Submitted again, rear naked choke.

At this point I'm something like 14-4, so I start burning every available point on defensive attributes: clinch striking D, clinch grapple D, ground grapple D, submission D, etc. It felt so much like training for real fights that it was staggering.

Once I felt my submission defense and general defense skills were up to the task, I climbed the ladder once more. When I had gotten back up to 19-4, it turns out that my title shot was against Werdum again.

All that training paid off, as I was able to win the war on our feet and then ground and pound him from the mount to end it in the first round. I had no hope in the first fight as a deadly striker, but mediocre defender. It wasn't until I really paid attention to other aspects of my game that my career combatant became champ.

The climb to the heavyweight belt felt incredibly rewarding, and each title defense so far has been equally awesome. From trying to keep out of that Goliath Lesnar's reach to avenging my loss to Kongo, UFC continues to impress.