Ultimate Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer went pretty much as I expected it to. Although the main events did not come to decisive finishes, both fights maintained a quick pace and were exciting to watch for the entire 15 minutes.

Here are some of my post Fight Night thoughts.

Houston Alexander:
I really, really like Houston Alexander. The guy is tough as nails and comes in to each match ready for a war. The problem is that Thiago Silva exposed Houston Alexander way back at UFC 78 and his opponents have been exploiting his ground game ever since.

In my opinion, the UFC is dropping the ball with Alexander. It’s obvious the guy will never be a UFC champion. He is too one-dimensional and does not learn from his mistakes. He does, however, come into the cage ready to put on an exciting fight. If the UFC really wanted to start off a card with a bang, they would put Alexander against other tough strikers and just let them maul each other to a finish. It’s purely cosmetic, but it’s also entertaining and would set the right mood for the rest of the card.

Never the less, I am sure EliteXC is willing to scoop Alexander up if the UFC releases him. EliteXC seems to favor the stand up brand of mixed martial artist.

New Jersey reps hard
UFC newcomers, and New Jersey natives, Dan Miller and Mike Massenzio both scored wins in their debuts, and spent a combined 2:55 seconds in the cage. That is pretty impressive. Both fighters scored submission victories. I look for Dan Miller to a force in the middleweight division. This guy has some serious submissions. He is also the last reigning IFL middleweight champion, so keep an eye out for him.

Mac Danzig
Mac Danzig’s stand up was really impressing me in the first round, but once Guida was able to find his range, it was take down city. Danzig had no answer for the pace of Clay Guida. I am happy to see Guida win because the guy is a workhorse and often finds himself on the bad end of split decisions.

Josh Neer
Neer is an exciting,intense fighter, but he came in with a terrible game plan. Why try to take Nate Diaz down? Anyone who chooses to go to the ground with either of the brothers Diaz better have some serious submissions, because these guys will submit you six ways from Sunday. Neer should have stood up and traded blows with Diaz; he might have landed something solid.

Nate Diaz
Another impressive win for the younger Diaz. It’s absolutely incredible how similar the boxing styles of Nate and Nick Diaz are. They will hit you with punches in bunches, connecting almost every single time. It seems as if fighters are having a hard time finding an answer for this striking style.

Another thing that impressed me was Nate’s Judo throws. Neer had no answer for them. As soon as Nate was able to lock up a standing Kimura, Neer knew he was getting tossed. It’s a nice weapon to have in your arsenal.

All in all, I really enjoyed Ultimate Fight Night.

Now we wait until October 18th, and hopefully Chris Leben will be able to put a stop to Michael Bisping’s ego at UFC 89.

(Photos Courtesy of UFC.com)