Opinion: Exploring the UFC 199 Narratives

What a night. Usually I’m more loquacious than that, but UFC 199 was so busy an intersection of storylines that it’s hard not to arrive at some clichéd platitude. The event in its entirety was one of the best pay-per-view cards in recent memory, and it was as great as it was with only a modest amount of star-power behind it. There’s something refreshing about the fact that a fight card can still stand out on its merits of fighting more than anything else, especially given the various change-ups UFC 199 experienced in the last few weeks. Each of the main card’s winners built themselves up in meaningful ways, and while I usually like to stick to a single theme for these columns, such a night warrants a bit of exploration for each of the narratives that emerged.1. Poirer’s Resurgence In his 17th Zuffa appearance, Dustin Poirer had never looked better. He tied his Ultimate Fighting Championship winning streak record (four) with his first-round TKO victory over Bobby Green, and he has finished three of those four fights within a round. It’s not only a testament to the benefits of a less drastic weight cut — this run started when he returned to lightweight — but also speaks to his maturation as a fighter. As a featherweight, Poirer lost in each of his high-profile matchups. He was submitted by Chan Sung Jung in a title eliminator, handily defeated by Cub Swanson when he was working his way back up the ranks and of course knocked out in the first round against Conor McGregor. To be sure, Green, who barely cracked the top 15 in the UFC rankings, is not the same caliber of fighter as those three were at the time, but Poirer has been looking better against stiffer competition. He’s certainly ready for a step up in competition, and while title hopes may still be premature, he’s at the very least cementing himself as one of the lightweight division’s premier action fighters; and that’s always a good reason for recognition.2. Hendo’s Last Hurrah June 15 will be the 19th anniversary of Dan Henderson’s professional MMA debut. It will also be the three-year anniversary of the last time “Hendo” was in a fight that went to the judges, as he lost a thin split decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 161. Since the Evans fight, he has gone 3-4 in the Octagon, and all seven of those fights concluded within 14 minutes of fighting. Henderson has compiled one of the finest careers the sport has ever seen, with major wins at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Against Hector Lombard, the longtime veteran showed his craft and guile in knocking out the heavy-handed Cuban with a head kick-elbow combination after nearly getting knocked out in the first round. It went from hard-to-watch to must-watch in record time. On the back of such a win, it may be weird to say, but this seems like the perfect time to bow out of the sport. He clearly still has enough to compete and occasionally win against solid opponents, and it isn’t my place to try and tell a fighter when to hang up the gloves. Yet retirement …

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