UFC 138 review

Well for those of you who didn't know, I like MMA (mixed martial arts) and last weekend I travelled to Birmingham with a couple of colleagues to go to UFC 138, held in the LG Arena. The UFC is the world's premiere MMA promotion and UFC 138 was a historic first as the main event between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz (pictured) was the first ever non-title five round main event. The event also boasted the highest ever LG Arena attendence of over 10,000. This was my first live MMA event so I had a mixture of feelings and it didn't disappoint. Bruce Buffer was there, the 'voice of the Octagon', Joe Rogan was there to interview the winners and the fights themselves were really entertaining. Fan favourites Chris Leben and Thiago Alves were fighting on the main card, as well as up and coming British fighters Brad Pickett and Terry Etim.

Immediately our excitment level spiked as soon as we entered the arena and caught a glimpse at the Octagon. The UFC really knows how to put on a great show! Large screens surrounded the arena on both sides so that no-one missed any of the action. The arena was ideal for a UFC event as no-one's view of the Octagon was obscured. I was very proud of all the British fighters even though they didn't all win. The pre-lims were all very entertaining, the first fight was between Vaughan Lee of Birmingham and the American Chris Cariaso. The first couple of rounds were close with Vaughan getting the upper hand in the first before Cariaso turned it around in the second and third managing to win a split decision. Although the local fighter had lost the first fight it hadn't damped fans enjoyment. The second fight saw another British fighter, Chris Cope, get an impressive 40 second KO of Che Mills, which earnt him KO of the night. The fans errupted in applause as we leveled the score against the Americans.

There were many different fighters throughout the prelims and in the main card including Michihiro Omigawa from Japan who earnt a hard fought unanimous decision over Brit Jason Young with an impressive display of Judo style takedowns and fluid ground control, although his lack of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu hindered him from getting the submission. Onto the main event and fans showed their appreciation for Bruce Buffer's trade mark announcement: "and we're Liiiive!!!" Another Brit opened the show with Terry Etim coming out to thunderous cheers. 17 seconds later and Etim's opponent Faaloloto found Etim hanging around his neck forcing him to the ground followed swiftly by Faaloloto tapping for his life. The crowd went ballistic! The atmosphere was palpable. 

Thiago Alves, one of the biggest names on the card put on a good, crowd pleasing performance against the Swedish Papy Abedi. Alves spent the first couple of minutes finding his range and scouting his opponent before finding his rhythm with some hard Muay Thai kicks that connected to Abedi's body. Before long Alves had rocked Abedi with a good combination of right and left hands that sent Abedi to the floor. Seeing his opportunity Alves picked up his very first submission win as he synched in the choke.

The co-main event won fight of the night honours with Brad Pickett and Renan Barao engaging in a ferocious stand up war. Pickett, an East London native came out to deafening cheers, coolly showboating while reading a newspaper. The fight was intense with Pickett and Barao being fairly evenly matched keeping the fight on the feet and letting their hands fly, the fans fully behind their compatriot with chants of "England". Towards the end of the first round Barao caught Pickett with a knee that sent the Brit to the floor, before Pickett gave up his back allowing Barao to get the choke. Pickett tried resisting but succumbed to the compression and tapped before being choked unconscious. Pickett was visibly disappointed after the fight but had won the respect of the fans for his gutsy performance and never-back-down attitude.

Fans errupted in cheers again as Bruce Buffer exclaimed "It's Tiiime!!!" for the main event: Chris Leben v Mark Munoz. The crowd chanted rabidly for Leben as the pair wrestled for supremacy both on their feet and on the ground, Munoz's wrestling pedigree coming into play as he managed to succeed in taking Leben to the ground, from where he attempted to dominate through his vicious ground and pound. Each time Leben was on the losing end of the exchanges the fans chants got louder, spurring their favourite fighter on. Leben's eyebrow had been cut, by the end of the first round Leben looked tired while Munoz looked relatively fresh. The second round saw the ref step in and attend to Leben's cut as the blood flowed liberally all over Munoz during their clinches against the cage. The doctor asked if Leben could see alright and after being satisfied Leben was ok to carry on, the fight continued. However, at the end of the second round, once Leben had got back to his corner and having his eye examined again, his team decided to pull him out of the fight. It came as a disappointed to the majority of the fans, but personally I think it was the right decision - Leben was losing the rounds to Munoz's superior wrestling and was looking visibly slower and more weary.

All in all it was a great event - the fights were highly entertaining with some excellent striking battles, a vicious KO as well as some well worked submissions. From start to finish the fans got their money's worth with every fighter displaying much grit and determination. The atmosphere of the crowd was amazing at times and the appearances of all the Octagon mainstays such as Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan and the referees made it a really authentic UFC event. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and soaked up the amazing atmosphere, relishing in the slick and professional production of the UFC. I would definitely go back next year if the UFC return and would encourage any fight fan and fan of MMA to make the effort to see a UFC event live.