For me, this fight was the highlight of the last UFC. I love it when a fighter that I've never seen before shows up and turns out to be an amazing fucking talent.
I probably should have heard of Kim. He's 10-0 for christ's sake. But I'm just getting back into mma. I've been a fan since UFC 3. I watched UFC and Pride religiously for several years. But then there was a period when the UFC really sucked. Their talent pool was so shallow that a fighter would lose a fight for the title, win his next fight and be up for title contention again the fight after that.
Also, while I was away at school, it was difficult to get access to pay-per-view. A friend and I watched a couple events at a sports bar, and it was not an experience that I was eager to repeat. One event featured Tank Abbott, a brawler with a huge gut and no skills, but with vicious power in his punches. His small string of gruesome knock outs and copious shit-talking made him the hero of fratboys and rednecks everywhere. Everyone else in the sports bar cheered as he entered the ring. My friend and I were the only ones cheering when he lost. Awkward.
I'm having a blast following the sport again and becoming acquainted with a new generation of fighters. Hopefully, this will allow me to feature fighters in this space who aren't old and/or retired. Of course, I'm posting a fight from UFC 84 the week after UFC 85, so I'm "following the sport" from a respectful distance. As soon as the French post the videos, I'll put one on the blog.
