UFC 127 Aftermath: Fitch And Penn Draw, Bisping Fouls, Sotiropoulos and Lytle Suffer Upsets

Let’s start with the draw. Jon Fitch did what Jon Fitch does for most of his fight with BJ Penn. Once he got past Penn’s initial takedown-themed offense, he blanketed and pillow-punched Penn for the entire second half of the fight. Penn had nothing to offer Fitch late and was lucky to escape with a draw that probably should have leaned towards Fitch.

After the fight, BJ again opined about the possibility of retirement and only said a rematch was a possibility because, hey, it makes sense. I guess. Every word was said with a shrug and plenty of exasperation. The rematch could end up being for the welterweight title if GSP moves up a weight class after his fight with Jake Shields.

What do we take from this? Does Jon Fitch have lots of trouble finishing opponents or is BJ Penn just difficult to finish?

Rivera never really recovered from the illegal knee. He probably should have stayed down and taken the DQ victory. Instead, he tried to collect himself and ended up getting knocked out in the second round. Bisping responded by yelling at Rivera and spitting towards his corner. For this, Bisping will be punished. After that? Ultimate heel match with Chael Sonnen.

George Sotiropoulos lost for the first time in the UFC. No matter how many guys you fight that you’re supposed to beat, eventually one of them will beat you. G-Sots was on a 7-0 run, but Dennis Siver is more than Brock Lesnar’s Mini-Me. Now Siver has taken all Sotiropoulos’ momentum and he’s now in the mess that is the top of the lightweight division. I can guarantee one thing – next time Stoiropoulos runs of 7 straight wins, there will be a title shot involved.

The free undercard on ION and Facebook was entertaining. Trying to fit three fights in an hour on SpikeTV with commercials was comical.

Congrats to The Mongolian Wolf for opening his UFC career 1-0 with an impressive submission.

Congrats to Nick Ring who has obviously tightened his ligaments. Upon a live viewing, I didn’t think there was any way he won that fight, but you should never leave it to the judges. Having said that, good for the UFC giving Riki Fukuda his win bonus.

And finally, let’s all be happy for Mark Hunt who defeated Brock Lesnar’s boy, Chris Tuchschere (Pictured above). It must have felt great to win KO of the Night and snap a 6-fight losing streak that included Fedor, Barnett, Overeem, Mousasi, Manhoef and McCorkle. Well, the last one probably hurt the most, but still.

[Images via Getty]