What We Learned from UFC 199: No one is safe. No one
— -- One day after the passing of Muhammad Ali, the mixed martial arts world paid homage to the global icon in the form of a spectacular night of fights at The Forum in Inglewood, California -- the same venue where Ali defeated Ken Norton in a crucial rematch in 1973.
Michael Bisping delivered one of the most improbable wins in UFC title fight history. Dominick Cruz, a self-proclaimed student of Ali, turned in one of the most dominant performances of his career against a longtime rival in Urijah Faber. And Dan Henderson, at age 45 and on the last fight of his UFC contract, produced a knockout for the ages against Hector Lombard.
It was one of the best nights in recent memory, which is saying something, considering the run of historical moments the sport has witnessed lately. Here's what we learned from it all.
No one is safe. No one.
Bisping always had a chance, all right? MMA is very much a sporting event, but it's also not a seven-game series, where mistakes can be atoned for. It's a fight, and anything can happen in a fight.
But with all due respect to Bisping, there was no way he should have won this fight. Two weeks' notice! Against Luke Rockhold! Bisping has a long career that says he doesn't possess elite knockout power. When he does register a KO, it's usually been based on volume and beating a guy to a pulp over time -- not rendering him unconscious with one punch ... in the first round! Bisping called it the easiest fight of his career and even for a man known for hyperbole on the mic, the claim sounded reasonable.
The reactions of everyone in the building spoke to the improbability of it all. UFC president Dana White wasn't even cageside for the bout and presumably wasn't coming into the Octagon, but was so moved by Bisping's performance he changed plans. Bisping's own reaction was one of elation, but also partial bewilderment. As he exited past press row with the belt on his shoulder, he pointed to it and yelled, "What the f---?!"
It's the third-biggest betting upset in UFC history and comes just seven months after the biggest ever, Holly Holm's knockout win against Ronda Rousey last November. Out of 15 UFC main events this year, seven betting underdogs have won. Four UFC titles have changed hands this year and we're only in June! Only one current champion has more consecutive title defenses than two: flyweight Demetrious Johnson at eight.
We're living in a world where Nate Diaz can roll into a fight on 11 days' notice against the hottest fighter in the world in Conor McGregor and submit him less than 10 minutes in. Miesha Tate can lose nearly every second of a five-round fight against Holly Holm, before choking her unconscious in the fifth. Stipe Miocic can blow up Fabricio Werdum, arguably the best heavyweight of the last six years, in one round -- in front of a soccer stadium filled to the brim with hostile Brazilian fans. Anyone and everyone can get hot in 2016. Saturday's main event served as the most incredible reminder.
Dan Henderson deserves a job in fighting that doesn't include fighting
Henderson has faced the retirement music for years now, and he's always shrugged it off -- but now, even he appears willing to admit it's probably the right time. He's finished out his UFC contract. He's coming off an upset comeback victory that featured one of the finest finishes of his career. The southern California crowd saved one of its warmest welcomes for Henderson, and he could continue to draw crowds and pull ratings for an MMA promoter if it comes to that -- but it shouldn't.
The UFC has awarded "ambassador" positions to several of its retired athletes including Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Matt Hughes and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Henderson wants to stay involved in the fight game, and he's universally highly respected. Find something for this man to do, cut him a paycheck and give him good reason to ride off into the sunset on this high. It's legitimately very difficult to envision a scenario that could be any better than this for Henderson to leave on -- even his 28-second knockout over Tim Boetsch last year. That was great, but this came against a far more dangerous opponent.
The UFC knows how to throw a party -- and ruin one.
Again, it's hard to describe how great of a night in combat sports this was. And the UFC deserved credit for it. The matchmaking of this card was outstanding, delivering one closely contested bout after another. It seemed like every fight outdid the one before it, and throughout it all, the UFC rolled out one dedication video after another to Ali, including a very well-done piece narrated by White.
A promotional video for UFC 200 confirmed the return of professional wrestling star Brock Lesnar. Another one confirmed a date for the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz rematch. Diaz was in the building as the fight was announced, and cameras panned to him flexing cageside. The UFC had been able to come to terms with McGregor and Diaz, after the original rematch date of July 9 fell through. It was a promotional triumph, really. McGregor will return. Diaz is happy and apparently getting paid an amount he finds acceptable. The sport was at an all-time high.
But then veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com posted on social media that he had been removed from the event and "banned for life," presumably for reporting the news about Lesnar earlier in the night that the UFC wanted to announce itself. It's necessary to use the word "presumably" because the UFC did not comment on the matter, other than director of communications Dave Sholler saying, "I'm not going to delve into details." White was not present at the UFC 199 news conference and, as mentioned earlier, was noticeably missing from the arena during the main and co-main events.
Two of Helwani's co-workers -- a photographer and videographer -- were also removed from the event. And as someone who was there to witness it, there's no question it soured what should have been a very positive night in UFC history.