Dana White UFC 121 Video Blog Episode 1

Dana White's first UFC 121 vlog takes us back to UFC 120's fight day last Saturday.

Props: Youtube.com/UFC

Sam Stout on his UFC 121 bout against Paul Taylor

Sam Stout took a break from his training to talk to TapouTVTC.com about his upcoming UFC 121 bout against Paul Taylor.

UFC Division Snapshot: UFC 120 Edition

After every UFC event, TapouTVTC.com takes a look at how each division shapes up. For more information on the Division Snapshot, take a look at our first snapshot

Michael Bisping: +4 (Was 10, now 6) (Middleweight)

This fight was Bisping at his best; outwork, outpoint and wear down your opponent. Bisping was clearly the superior boxer, and Yoshihiro Akiyama never tested his takedown defense. If "The Count" can string together a couple more wins, he may get back into title contention in a suddenly-wide-open middleweight division.

Yoshihiro Akiyama: -7 (Was 33, now 40) (Middleweight)

Akiyama is a razor-thin decision away from being 0-3 in the UFC. While it's nice to be exciting (and three "Fight of the Night" bonuses attest that he is just that), "Sexyama" needs to learn how to change strategies mid-match if he hopes to stick around.

Carlos Condit: +7 (Was 14, now 7) (Welterweight)

Did anyone think that Condit standing and banging with Dan Hardy was a good idea? Apparently it was, as Condit's thunderous knockout pushed his winning streak to three. He could easily be 4-0 and fans are seeing why he entered the UFC with so much hype.

Dan Hardy: -13 (Was 29, now 42) (Welterweight)

Hardy thought he had the fight right where he wanted it and then Condit turned his lights out. Point to Hardy for a charming and funny post-fight interview. Hardy obviously isn't the 42nd-best welterweight, but he is closer to the middle of the pack than he is a top-ten fighter.

Mike Pyle: +4 (Was 17, now 13) (Welterweight)

Most people didn't give Pyle much of a chance in this fight, and most people were wrong. Pyle used his striking to win round one, then his superior ground skills to almost put John Hathaway away in round two. It was an impressive win for the veteran, who would like to make a run at the title before time closes the window.

John Hathaway: -24 (Was 3, now 27)  (Welterweight)

Props to Hathaway for even surviving a brutal top-side triangle/ crucifix/ pounding in the second round, but he mounted virtually no offense against Pyle for much of the 15-minute affair. The question now becomes how will Hathaway bounce back from his first career defeat?

Cheick Kongo: -4 (Was 8, now 12) (Heavyweight)

Kongo cost himself the fight by repeatedly grabbing Travis Browne's shorts and subsequently getting a point deducted. Worse, Kongo is rapidly earning the reputation of a dirty fighter, a label no fighter wants to have.

Travis Browne: -3 (Was 10, now 13) (Heavyweight)

Browne's wild style seemed to confuse Kongo in the first round, but some knees in the clinch slowed Browne and he was unable to maintain the pace he held early. Browne was spared his first career loss due to Kongo's point deduction, but he won't be happy with this performance.

Alexander Gustafsson: +12 (Was 24, now 12) (Light Heavyweight)

Gustafsson bounced back from his first career loss in dominant fashion, blasting Cyrille Diabate on the feet and on the ground before locking in a rear-naked choke. It was such a good performance by the Swede that the bout made the Spike TV broadcast, despite being on the undercard.

Cyrille Diabate: -13 (Was 12, now 25) (Light Heavyweight)

Despite having the better striking credentials, Diabate was dominated on the feet before eventually getting beat up and submitted on the ground. The loss saw Diabate's six-fight win steak snapped.

Paul Sass: Debuts at 18 (Lightweight)

Prior to this bout, Sass had won seven bouts by triangle choke and two of his last three by heel hook. Those were the only two submissions he looked for on Saturday and he eventually locked Mark Holst in a triangle to finish it. Are those the only two moves Sass has in his arsenal, and if he keeps winning, does it even matter?

Mark Holst: -7 (Was 37, now 44) (Lightweight)

Holst is no slouch on the ground, but he had no answer for the "Sassangle." Holst now sits at 0-2 in the lightweight division and is dangerously close to being cut.


Preliminary bouts and full snapshots after the jump...

UFC 120 post-fight thoughts

- New fight camp, same old Yoshihiro Akiyama. I have a hard time believing that the game plan that Greg Jackson set forth for Akiyama was, "forsake your world-class judo entirely and headhunt with your right hand the entire fight." Whether Akiyama chose to ignore the plan or whether the first big shot he landed on Michael Bisping convinced him that he had the striking advantage, he spent the majority of the fight getting out-pointed by Bisping and never really threatened. While it's hard to argue with three 'Fight-of-the-Night' bonuses, the hype train is officially out on Akiyama.

- Akiyama has only been officially KO'd once in his career, and that was to kickboxing great Jerome Le Banner. It was Akiyama's second pro bout, and Le Banner outweighed him by 80 pounds. What I'm getting at is that Akiyama has a good chin, so it wasn't surprising that Bisping could not score the knockout despite landing multiple punches flush. Bisping might never challenge Anderson Silva for the title, but he is in the upper echelon of middleweight fighters.  

- Could Carlos Condit be closer to a title shot than we realize? Consider his body of work since coming into the UFC as the last WEC welterweight champion; a razor-thin split-decision loss to Martin Kampmann (in a match that I scored for Condit) and three straight wins over Jake Ellenberger, super prospect Rory MacDonald and former number-one contender Dan Hardy. Condit entered the UFC with a lot of hype and he is starting to live up to it.

- Many people thought Mike Pyle would be another stepping stone for John Hathaway, but Pyle put his high-level grappling on display, controlling Hathaway and turning in some effective ground and pound from a top triangle position. Before this match, Hathaway had seemingly got past the 'Brits can't wrestle' stereotype, but his performance here did little to contradict that view.

- Cheick Kongo was the biggest loser at UFC 120 and he didn't even lose. Kongo cost himself the match with an inexcusable shorts-grabbing point deduction in the third round. Even without the point deduction, Kongo was hardly impressive and was not able to put away a Travis Browne who was gassed on hobbled late in the fight.  

- Alexander Gustafsson turned in one of the most impressive performances of the night, dominating kickboxing champion Cyrille Diabate on the feet and on the ground en route to a rear-naked choke finish. What really impressed me about Gustafsson was his presence of mind on the ground. When it was clear that Gustafsson did not have the RNC fully locked in, he let go and pounded Diabate in the face, which opened up another opportunity for the choke.. Most fighters would have fruitlessly squeezed away, gassing out their arms in the process.

- Paul Sass is a lot of fun to watch on the ground. If you missed our 'New Blood' article, Sass holds the record for most consecutive triangle choke finishes with seven. When Sass pulled guard on Saturday, everyone on the planet (including opponent Mark Holst) knew that he was looking for the triangle. When you are able to pull a submission that your opponent knows you're looking for, that says something about your level of grappling ability.