Joe Ferraro

The UFC’s debut in Abu Dhabi, the home of their newest partner, was successful at the gate but according to president Dana White, it may have left a sour taste in the mouths of attendees.

White is a firm believer that when the organization holds a debut show in a market, those who attend should get infected with the buzz a UFC show has to offer. In turn, there is the hope that this infection spreads to those who were unable to attend, thus creating a massive demand for the company to return.

But not this time, as he believes UFC middleweight champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva's performance in the main event did far more harm, than good.

As Silva defended his middleweight title against challenger Demian Maia, he showed glimpses of sheer brilliance. In the first few rounds, Silva struck with razor sharp precision while showcasing why he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today. But as the fight progressed, his mockery of Maia had many asking "why?"

Why taint his legacy? Why act in a manner to disrespect the sport of MMA and do so in front of the UFC's newest partners, the thousands of fans in attendance and those who ordered the show on Pay Per View? Why erase all that was forgotten from his bouts with Patrick Cote and Thales Leites with his magical performance over Forrest Griffin?

Why?

White was so incensed in Round 4 that he left his Octagon-side seat and gave the middleweight championship belt to Silva's manager, Ed Soares, while informing him that he was refusing to present the title to Silva upon completion of the bout.

At the post-fight press conference, White stated: "I don’t think I’ve been more embarrassed in the 10 years of being in this business. It’s the first I’ve ever walked out on a main event, given the belt to the guy’s manager and told him to put it on him."

He continued, "This was an historic event for us. The arena tonight was incredible, the energy was amazing and to end it the way we did is an embarrassment. For me, the Fertitta's, the UFC and the sport in general, I apologize and I will, and I don't know how yet, but I will make this up for the fans who bought this (expletive) tonight."

Prior to the bout, Silva had hinted that he would entertain dropping to welterweight where a potential bout with champion Georges St-Pierre would be a no-brainer, but White quickly squashed any idea of this super-fight, insinuating that "The Spider" doesn't deserve a bout with GSP.

Silva appeared apologetic during his post-fight interview, but his tune changed at the post-fight press conference.

Referring to pre-fight comments made by Maia, Silva said: "Demian disrespected me, not as a person, but he disrespected me as a fighter. I take that very seriously. I came here to do my job, which was to beat him up and punish him. That’s exactly what I did."

Silva's actions during the fight and his apparent lack of remorse afterwards may cost him thousands of fans while igniting what may be a personal vendetta from White.

If the UFC president has his way, "The Spider" may be the first champion to fight in a preliminary bout. While I doubt this will happen, moving forward look for the organization to stack the cards that Silva appears on, so as to guarantee Pay Per View revenue and not run the risk of losing buys (and profits) with him headlining the card.

"The Answer" puzzles "The Prodigy"

On paper, BJ Penn should have easily defeated Frankie Edgar, but like Gray Maynard told us on Wednesday, "paper doesn't fight paper."

Frankie Edgar earned a unanimous judges’ decision to become the UFC's new lightweight champion, taking out one of the sport's best pound-for-pound fighters in the process.

Rumours are quickly circulating that Penn was injured during his training and that he was also ill coming into the bout, but this should not take away from a masterful performance by Edgar.

As I watched the bout, I couldn't help but notice Penn was on cruise control and was not his usual self - a fighter who picks apart his opponents and then goes in for the finish the moment it presents itself.

In Edgar, he faced a foe that was relentless with his strikes and with his footwork; so good in fact that going into rounds four and five, many of us who were watching knew Edgar had a great chance of pulling off the upset. As the fight continued, it became more evident that this was going to be "The Answer's" night.

My mental scorecard had the fight very close and I believed it could have gone either way. I immediately stated that I would watch the fight again and re-score the bout on paper (the irony), and then I heard Bruce Buffer's voice state: "And new UFC lightweight champion…"

Kudos to Edgar for putting on the performance of a lifetime, but I do believe judge Douglas Crosby was off with his scorecard; his calculations showed a scorecard favouring Edgar 50-45, a perfect shutout, but I disagree. To wit, I will re-watch the fight and present my own scorecard shortly.

Hughes Takes Out Gracie

This was another bout on paper that easily predicted Matt Hughes dominating Gracie, grinding him into a unanimous judges’ decision. But, Hughes' game plan and Gracie's lack of striking defence proved otherwise.

The American picked apart The Brazilian with low leg kicks, having many of us voicing (out loud) our surprise as to why the latter was not checking any of the kicks. One after another, they pounded away at his legs until in the third round, he began to fall from the abuse.

In the end, Hughes' strategy was a wise one, as he TKO'd the legend, adding another victory to his already stellar MMA record.

Misc.

• UFC 112 was the first outdoor show for the organization, selling out at 11,008 spectators for an estimated gate of $3.5 million.

• $75,000 in bonuses were handed out to Munoz/Groves (fight of the night), Dos Anjos (submission of the night) and Johnson (knockout of the night)

• As mentioned on "The Showdown" radio show, keep your eyes on Phil "Mr.Wonderful" Davis. I said he deserves to be on a main card or at least on Fight Night shows to build him up. He is a true prospect and will be right behind Jon Bones Jones if he gets his striking to catch up with his stellar wrestling.

• The Paul Taylor/John Gunderson bout was pulled off the card due to Taylor experiencing "last minute medical issues."