Insert Cliche Here

I was pondering the three top fights on last night's card, and trying to come up with an appropriate cliche. I thought of longshots, David v. Goliath, sniping womp rats, and those adorable south Pacific penguins leaping from frothy seas up to seemingly unreachable rocky shores. They're all stupid. Rampage, Rashad and Mir simply won last night, and won when most people thought they couldn't.
Rampage beat his demons and troubles, and the apparition of loss standing in front of him, with a measure of serenity alongside his ferocious hand. The extra blows while being held by the ref were beyond the pale, in my book. His win is undeniable. While he should be censured for his extracirricular activity, it's nothing more than we've seen in the past. On the flip side, is Wanderlei done? I think he deserves a chance to prove he can still fight. For god's sake give him someone with short arms next time, though. What about Rousimar Palhares?
Rashad Evans did what I thought he would do, but many thought he couldn't. He looked tiny against Griffin, and was clearly losing a close fight til the third round. Rashad's ground and pound was impressive and powerful, and he avoided Forrest's dangerous sub game with seeming ease. Congratulations to Evans, winner of the 2nd TUF season, and new light heavyweight UFC Champion.
Frank Mir did something simply amazing last night, finishing the unfinishable, climbing the unclimbable peak. Stopping Big Nog, in the way he did, blew my mind. I picked Nog to win because I couldn't come up with a reason he would lose. I should have seen his coach. "Striking Unlimited" has been in the media as much as Mir leading up to the fight. For some reason that made no impact on me. I'd like to say two things about this fight: Lesnar-Mir 2 is now officially exciting, and Couture-Nogueira looks like it must happen. Congratulations to Frank Mir on evolving, growing, and most of all overcoming his travails. You are the man.
Overall the card was outstanding. The three main fights were inspiring. The undercards they featured were interesting, except for Hammill-Andy. As MMA Journalist put it: "Reese Andy vs. Matt Hamill is the reason why watching wrestlers box makes me nauseous." There were only two decisions on the card (UFC loves finishes). Yushin won a unanimous D over Dean Lister, and predictably the MMA world is yelling "Yushin is a boring fighter!" Of course Lister falling on his ass trying to get it to the ground the whole fight meant nothing to them. Yushin and Machida are basically in the same boat...they keep winning, and their odds of getting a title shot get no closer. Maybe an "exciting" win over Thiago Silva will get Lyoto his shot, but there's little that Yushin can do.
Pics at NBC Sports