Viewpoint: Setting the Stage

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Actually Chael, we were not all that mesmerized.

No amount of pre-packaged professional wrestling microphone work can change the fact that the UFC on Fox 2 main card on Saturday did not provide the type of transcendent moments likely to convert a skeptical observer into a lifelong fan. A quick perusal of the Internet on Sunday morning revealed as much, with critiques targeting everything from the broadcast team to the action in the cage.

That said, do not blame Chael Sonnen. The 34-year-old Oregonian did what he usually does in taking a unanimous decision against Michael Bisping. He found a way to win. Anyone who has been following the sport for any period of time knows that the majority of Sonnen’s recent wins -- Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, Dan Miller and Paulo Filho, for example -- are decided by the cageside judges.

Unfortunately, many of the viewers who tune in to a national television broadcast do not consider this type of information to be common knowledge. Of course, these are probably the same people who cried foul when Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds in November. The UFC’s debut on Fox demonstrated that, given the unpredictable nature of mixed martial arts, even a great champion can get caught with a punch. The UFC on Fox 2 displayed a different side of the sport: that many of the athletes who step into the Octagon are quite difficult to finish.

Still, it is safe to say more than a few of the fighters felt like Rashad Evans, who outclassed Phil Davis over the course of five lopsided rounds in the main event.

“I’m happy I got the win, but I wanted to do better. I wanted to put on a more spectacular win for the Chicago fans and the Fox fans,” he said during the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t do it like I wanted or I envisioned myself doing it, but, at the same time, I got the job done. I can’t be too overly critical because, [with] nights like this, winning on this stage in the UFC, wins are hard to come by, so I should really just be thankful.”

Whether it is 64 seconds or 55 minutes, some people are bound to be unhappy. Evans is right about being thankful, however, because while the fights themselves might not have been all that enthralling, the end result should make for a pleasing year for both the UFC and fight fans alike.

Evans’ win sets up the long-awaited grudge match with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The former training partners waged a bitter verbal war last year that figures to heat up again as their proposed bout on April 21 draws near. On Saturday, Evans sounded subdued at the prospect of settling the score with the man he once referred to as “Judas.”

“I definitely want to put the rivalry to bed and, more importantly, get a chance to get my belt back,” he said, before later adding “I’ll get my mouth going probably a little later on.”

Theirs is the type of blockbuster bout that -- with the proper promotional push -- can crack the UFC’s all-time Top 10 in terms of pay-per-view buys.

Sonnen predictably had his mouth already going on Saturday, standing by his conspiracy theory that middleweight champion Anderson Silva would rather hide in Brazil than face him.

“I know I’ll do my part in that. Do I think he’ll sign the fight? No, I don’t. We’ll see. I’ve been wrong before. The one thing [the UFC] hasn’t revealed is they’ve offered him the fight four times, and he’s said no four times,” Sonnen said. “Mysteriously, he’s supposed to accept on the fifth.”

It is laughable to think that Silva -- who submitted Sonnen while battling a rib injury at UFC 117 -- is ducking the Team Quest product, but that does not matter. Sonnen lives to antagonize “The Spider,” and their rematch is another budding pay-per-view bonanza.

The point: the UFC got what it really needed on Saturday in Chicago. The format of the Fox broadcast and the matchmaking can be improved over time. The pairing of Jim Miller and Nate Diaz for UFC on Fox 3 suggests the latter is already being addressed. Is there any argument that UFC on Fox 1 could have benefitted from televising Clay Guida-Ben Henderson or that Frankie Edgar-Henderson would have been a perfect fight for the United Center?

Those well-versed in MMA already had an idea that the UFC on Fox 2 main-card matchups all stood a reasonable chance of going the distance. None of the fighters -- Evans, Davis, Sonnen, Bisping, Demian Maia or Chris Weidman -- have forged reputations as go-for-broke finishers. The real intrigue was in the future title implications. Two No. 1 contender’s fights for free ain’t all that bad.

So, no, nobody from the Fox broadcast captured a post-fight bonus. None of the six fighters produced a where-were-you-when it-happened moment. Still, it has to be regarded as a successful and productive night. Evans and Sonnen, two of the most polarizing figures in the sport today, earned significant fights in the months to come. Fans have something to look forward to, and it all happened without the benefit of a sports entertainment script.