The Weekend Report Card

by Ariel Helwani, MMARated.com

Quite the weekend in the world of mixed martial arts. If you were sad and lonely at home but just so happened to have an interest in the sport then this was the perfect weekend for you.

But the (obvious) big question is: who scored the highest on our weekend report card. Let's have a look-see...

D: Fighting and Entertainment Group:
I know I should be thankful that I am getting to see DREAM for free via HDNET, but, seriously now, those broadcasts are just way too long. I like my MMA telecasts just as much as the next guy but I am not down with spending five hours watching an event especially when a collective two hours are spent looking at a wide shot of the Saitama Super Arena while Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice talk about lord knows what. Let me be clear in stating that I know this isn't HDNet's fault but more so FEG's since they are the ones booking all these ridiculously long shows. And, for the record, I was not left as enamored with the show as others were. Sure, there were some great fights but I think the fact that it dragged so much killed it for me.

Honorable mention: Ian Freeman's new-found physique

C: Jason "Mayhem" Miller:
I have always enjoyed Mayhem's antics in-and-out of the ring/cage. I love fighters who don't take themselves too seriously and no one does it better than Mayhem. However, for some reason, his shtick got under my skin yesterday. Basically, he made Frank Shamrock look like the most sportsmanlike competitor around. His behavior probably had something to do with the fact that this was his first time fighting in Japan and, surely, he wanted to make a good first impression. The entrance was cute, the wink during the stare down was funny but all the other stuff was completely unnecessary and quite disrespectful to Shibata. Was that the warrior spirit he likes to talk about? I should probably give the man props for a dominating and convincing victory too.

Honorable Mention: Ross Pointon - Welcome back to the win column!

B: Nick Diaz:
That was the first convincing Diaz victory in a while (the Gomi fight was a little too back-and-forth to be considered one-sided, so probably since his victory over Gleison Tibau in November 2006). Certainly, things haven't gone as planned since he signed with Elite XC last year but hopefully, for his sake, he can get back to his winning ways starting with yesterday's dominating performance over Katsuya Inoue. Up next is a tough battle against up-and-comer Muhsin Corbbrey (8-2) so let's sit back and count how many times that fight gets postponed and/or cancelled.

Honorable Mention: Caol Uno - Will yesterday's victory over Mitsuhiro Ishida revive a once-brilliant career? If his performance was any indication all signs would point to yes.

A: Eddie Alvarez:
Is there any other fighter out there who continues to improve every time he competes quite like Alvarez does? Well, sure there are but the Philly-native is definitely establishing himself as one of the true rising stars in this sport. By the way, I think he should definitely stick to the lightweight division and get first crack at the winner of Diaz vs. Edwards in June.

Honorable mention: Ryan Ford - I know he's only 6-0 but I just have a good feeling about him.