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| Melvin Guillard pounds on Fabricio Camoes (Donald Miralle/Zuffa, LLC) |
Interesting night of fights with a thrilling finale! The
night started out with 6 straight close decision wins. Super weird. All of them
were close and nothing “big” ever happened. It was like watching the same fight
6 times in a row. But anyway let’s get to it!
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo: Both of these
guys are not quite UFC level athletes. I think that Izquierdo will be cut after
going 0-2 in the UFC. Oliveira has had two stints now in the UFC and both of
them being unsuccessful. He originally went 1-2 in 2009-2010. And is now again
1-2 from 2011-2012. I don’t think there is much for him in the UFC. I think he
should go to Bellator or Strikeforce.
Shane Roller vs. John Alessio: Interesting fight. Roller won
by decision with his grappling being the difference maker. Alessio is a decent
veteran fighter who just has bad luck. He just keeps getting out-grappled. But
the fight was not super exciting and I expected more out of them.
Possible matchups: Shane Roller has been sort of a
disappointment in the UFC. He looked great in the WEC and he is a talented
wrestler but in the UFC he has been subpar. I think he needs to keep fighting
guys on the lower level at 155; possibly against Tony Ferguson. I think Alessio
needs to really figure out how to win at 155 against UFC level competition. He
needs to hone his strengths and defenses. The lightweight division is by far
the most stacked and to stay in it at all you need to be winning. So, if he is
not cut I would like to see him fight another guy on the brink of leaving:
Spencer Fisher.
Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda: Another close fight
that went to decision, this time in favor of Philippou. It ended with Fukuda
giving Philippou one of the worst eye pokes I have ever seen and then kicking
him in the groin. That all sent Philippou into a rage and the end of the fight
was Philippou swinging for the fences out of anger.
Possible matchups: Fukuda is now 1-2 with 3 boring decision fights.
Dana hates boring more than anything so this could be getting close for Fukuda
when it comes to getting the chop. If he sticks around I could see him fighting
Nick Catone next. Philippou is now 4-1 in the UFC but has won his last 4. Philipppou
has fought roughly every 4 months since early 2011. He could use a break but I would
like to see him go up against either Patrick Cote or maybe C.B. Dollaway. Let
him get in some wins against guys who will push him but he still has a good
chance to beat.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Gleison Tibau: Another close one but
Khabib showed that he has the skills to do some big things at lightweight in
the UFC. Tibau is incredibly underrated and the biggest lightweight in the
world but Khabib took the close decision.
Possible matchups: Tibau has been hovering around the top 15
for a very long time. He is a very good fighter and should keep fighting guys
at the higher level. Maybe Tibau could face up and comer Paul Sass. Khabib is a
fighter who is 23 years old and 18-0. His future is very bright. I would like
to see him fight either Mac Danzig or Evan Dunham.
Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes: Guillard took a close
decision here by keeping it on the feet and out striking Camoes. Guillard needs
this win bad because he had lost two devastating losses in a row.
Possible matchups: Camoes is a decent fighter and I would
like to see him fight Jacob Volkmann. Guillard is an excellent fighter who
needs to keep fighting other great fighters. I would like to see him face
Rafael dos Anjos.
Read Main Card Recap here
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