After watching the UFC 132 fights last weekend, it led me to think a couple things.
First of all, Faber and Cruz put on an exciting main event. Those guys in the lighter weight classes are extremely exciting to watch, always fighting at a fast pace. But one thing they lack is that one-punch knockout power you see in the higher weight classes.
They hit each other with such hard punches, but because they're only 135 pounds, I don't really get the sense that at any moment someone is going to get their head ripped off like you used to with Chuck Liddell.
The fight played out the way I thought. Urijah had a hard time finding Cruz to punch him or take him down. Faber landed a few punches, but not many because Cruz doesn't sit still and comes at such different angles. He almost gives me a seizure watching him the way he's constantly moving.
But the main thing I want to talk about is the semi-main event between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben, and what it got me thinking. Here's my thing -- and a lot of people are going to roast me for this -- but I really believe you're going to see a changing of the guard in the next 8-12 months. The older fighters are going to be pushed to the wayside and replaced by the younger generation.
I'm talking about Wanderlei, Leben, Tito Ortiz, Shogun Rua, Forrest Griffin, Sean Sherk, Chris Lytle, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Stephan Bonnar, Jorge Rivera, Nate Quarry as well as myself and even Anderson Silva.
We saw it happen to Chuck. A lot of older guys are one or two fights away from being done, whether it's battling injuries or just the wear and tear of being in the sport.
Sure, Ortiz just got a big win over Ryan Bader. It was his first in five years. But let's be realistic, he's still nearing the end of this career and only a fight or two away from being gone. I know these guys still have big fan bases and some of you out there are going to be irate with me.
But here's my question: where do these guys fit into the division? Where does Tito go now? Does he go to fight Jon Jones? The UFC is paying Tito $500,000. Do you think they're going to continue to pay him that kind of money to fight lesser-calibre guys? I could see that when he was headlining fights but these guys are getting older.
I'm not bad-mouthing them, they're legends, and many are hall of famers. It's just that they're coming to the end of their careers and the young studs in the division are going to replace them. I'm talking about Jon Jones, Phil Davis, Charlie Brenneman, Carlos Condit, Melvin Guillard, Brian Stann, Mark Munoz, Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson, etc.
I include myself in this list of the old guard. I'm not looking five fights ahead anymore; I'm just going one fight at a time. Leben alluded to this in his pre-fight interviews. He was thinking about big fights people want to see, not being a title contender anymore. These are his words, not mine, so don't jump all over me.
I know I'm very near the end of my career. I'm thinking I'm only going to fight a few more times, win or lose. I'm hoping for a good performance against Alan Belcher in September -- of course I hope to win -- and then just a couple more before calling it a wrap.
I'm 36 years old and I have to make a decision on if I'm going to go back to work as a corrections officer in January. I've been on leave for what will be six years in January (I was allowed to take a five-year leave of absence when my daughter Jett was born up until she starts school, and it was extended one more year because my contract allows for a one-year unpaid leave of absence one time in my career.)
I'm coming to a crossroads. I have to make some decisions for my career and for my family. Fighting, running a gym and my own fight promotion brings some money in but it's month-to-month. Doing shows all depends on ticket sales - whether you make money - and with the gym, I can have a good month and a couple slow months. I wouldn't be comfortable going forward not having guaranteed income to provide for my family. So I really think it's just a couple more fights and then I'll likely be calling it a career.
Some final thoughts on UFC 132:
-- Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller: In this fight it just seemed like it was one fighter fighting in slow motion, and the other in fast forward. With Guillard’s speed, he’s going to have an advantage over pretty much everybody in that division. He’s right up there in contention, but still a long ways off from a title shot in the lightweight division. I think there’s still some unfinished business there. First there’s Edgar-Maynard III. We have to see it to the end. I’d like to see the loser of that fight take on Guillard.
-- Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim: Condit has looked pretty sharp lately. He even beat Jake Ellenberger, whom a lot of people are talking about getting a title shot if he beats Jake Shield. An argument can be made for Condit to be more deserving to be the No. 1 contender.
-- I’m not sure why Cruz is getting such a bad rap and getting booed all the time. Firstly, he is an exciting fighter. You never know what he’s going to do at any moment, if he’s going to throw a kick or a punch or a takedown. He won the title and has defended very well. I understand that he was fighting Faber, who has a big fan following, but I don’t understand all the hate for Cruz. He’s been pretty respectful. He and Faber had a beef, and they trash talked, but I haven’t heard him talk bad about other fighters. I don’t know what else you want out of a guy. He fights non-stop, bell-to-bell, isn’t laying on guys to ride out decisions. I think he’s got a bad rap for no reason.
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