Late getting my opinion in here, but I needed to talk about last night's card.
I would give the show a thumbs in the middle. This was definitely not a thumbs up show for me. There was no match that was especially memorable to me. It was still far more entertaining than any WWE show since Backlash (which isn't saying much), but there have been far better MMA cards than UFC 73. I was really hyped up for this card, but it did not live up to the title "Stacked."
Nogueira vs Herring - No, this fight was not fixed. Yes, it was questionable that Herring let Nog up, but I understand that Herring is not all that skilled on the ground and wanted the chance to knock Nog out for good on his feet. If there was more time left in the round, it would have been a better decision. Letting him up with only about 30 seconds was not a good move as he could have just pounded him on the ground to finish the round. Then not attacking immediately in round 2 was just a poor decision. I've never liked Herring. He has knockout power, but not much else. I wasn't overly impressed with Nog either (this was the first time I saw him fight). Overall, a pretty boring fight to start the show.
Sherk vs Franca - Sherk is a monster. He is not especially entertaining (as Florian pointed out), but his size in the lightweight division is just too much for anyone to handle right now. How he survived some of those knees to the head is beyond me. I thought Franca was going to choke Sherk out on at least 2 occasions. I don't think Sherk gets the respect he deserves because of his style, but if he beats BJ in November, he will become a real star.
Ortiz vs Evans - Ortiz looked like he was in a different weight class than Evans. I don't know how these two both weighed in at 204.5 because Ortiz looked at least 20 lbs bigger. Going in, I knew this wouldn't be the most entertaining fight because of their styles, and Tito wouldn't allow Evans to get a highlight reel knockout, but I was still disappointed in this fight. I was hoping to see a little more urgency on Tito's part considering how he could not lose this fight. He didn't use his ground and pound much at all. Evans did nothing to impress me in this fight other than having stamina in the 3rd round (I guess that's where climbing the mountain with Jackson helps him). Ortiz was the better man in this fight. Unless Evans significantly changes his strategy for the next fight, I see Tito winning that one as well.
Silva vs Marquardt - Silva continues to impress me. Marquardt didn't do anything in this fight. Silva has it all. Speed, strength, intelligence, technical skills. His knees are sick. Not much more to say about this fight. I'm looking forward to Silva/Franklin II, but I see the same result. I don't see Silva loosing for some time.
Florian vs Robinson - I had never heard of Robinson. Florian is always impressive. However, he can't beat Sherk. I know you have to be confident, but I don't like him taking shots at Sherk considering he lost to him.
So like I said, thumbs in the middle. Enjoyable, but nothing memorable. Time to look forward to B-Hop vs Winky. Too bad that will probably be a snoorefest.