This was a pretty good show that looked great on paper, but in an odd way some of the fights felt — I don’t know, abbreviated. Like the UFC which Barnett vs. Couture headlined, with every fight seemingly ending in the first round. I watched that with friends and it could be difficult to tell people how talented and skilled MMA fighters are, when so many bouts ended in a couple of minutes of striking/GnP.

Maybe MMA needs bigger gloves (like John Peretti discussed with Eddie Goldman last week on his radio show) — to avoid the “eye poking” with the knuckle which put a sudden end to the Irvin/Sakara bout. Maybe we elbows to the head on the ground aren’t such a great idea, so groundwork can better develop.

Sure it’s more “realistic” — but besides any safety issues, as a sport, maybe it’s actually less entertaining as it is now.

Speaking of, man. That was an UGLY late stoppage in the Howard/Daniels bout.