MMAVu

Check out this quote from Houston Alexander:

The crowd was so loud that I couldn’t hear my corner.  If I heard them and knew, you know, there are 10 seconds left, five seconds left, whatever, I would have tried to hung in there a little longer and survived.  But it was so loud and these people were supporting me so much, I couldn’t hear and I had to tap.

Now I like Houston as much as the next guy, since he is a nice dude and an inspiration. He just doesn’t have it as a UFC fighter.   Seven seconds later, and they would have been peeling him off of the mat.  He would have been out cold in that arm triangle.  The triangle is a hold that cuts off your air/blood supply, and not like an arm bar where it’s just pain and more pain.  Houston may have one more shot since the UFC seems to really like him, but he needs some serious work on his ground game.

In a surprising move, the inked 36 year old light heavyweight Houston Alexander to a 5-fight contract extension, locking-in hard-hitting slugger for the next year or two, should they decide to keep him on their roster according to the wrestlingobserver.com.

The unknown Alexander burst onto the scene in May of 2007 by smashing Keith Jardine in 49 seconds after Jardine had knocked out Forrest Griffin.   For an encore, Alexander smashed Alessio Sakara into oblivion in 61 seconds, sending fight fans into a tizzy.  Some even declared Alexander ready for a 205lb title faght.

In his next fight against Thiago Silva, Alexander was much less impressive, getting mounted by the Brazilian and getting pounded out in emphatic fashion.  Once on the ground, Alexander seemed clueless and could not escape, although granted, Thiago Silva IS an awesome ground fighter.

Next up for Alexander was James Irvin, and Alexander set a record for fasted knockout in the UFC, 8 seconds, the length of a successful bull ride…but unfortunately for him, he was the one getting cold-cocked.

The UFC usually releases fighters on losing skids, not extend them. However, Alexander remains a popular fighter due to his stand-up and bang style; as well, he is a feel-good story himself, being a UFC fighter with one kidney because he gave one to his daughter, on top of being a single dad.

His next fight comes on September 17 against another ground fighter in Eric Schafer at Ultimate Fight Night 15 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.