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| Stefan Struve finishing Stipe Miocic |
The UFC continues to deliver on their smallest scale of
fight nights on the obscure Fuel TV. This event had brutal knockouts, slick
submissions, big upsets, and the emergence of some extremely promising
fighters. Fuel TV continues to deliver exciting UFC events, which is sad
because no one is really watching these fights. Anyway, let’s head into this
event and look at some possible matchups for winners and losers of this event.
Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig: This fight was rather confusing.
I thought it would be an awesome standup war, but Mills instantly went in for a
takedown. He softened Ludwig up a little bit with some ground and pound but
Duane got up soon after that. Then, all of a sudden, Duane fell to the ground
waving off the fight. Apparently his knee gave out. Honestly, this is the
perfect sign that Duane should retire. I love the guy but his time in this
sport is done.
Possible matchups for Mills: Despite this weird
"win", Mills is still a very promising fighter with a well rounded
MMA game. Another fighter who is very exciting and looked great on Saturday was
Dan Hardy. A fight between these two guys would fun and would show how far
Mills can go in his UFC career.
John Hathaway vs. John Maguire: Horrible is the only word to
sum up this fight. It was like watching a sparring match between two aspiring
MMA fighters. Hathaway took a decision and we all went "meh".
Possible matchups for Maguire: Despite this boring and
embarrassing loss, Maguire is still one of the most promising welterweights in
the UFC. He needs a rebound fight but if you want to stay promising, fight
another prospect. Kyle Noke is coming off of a huge TKO win over Charlie
Brenneman that instantly made him one of the most promising 170ers in the UFC.
This could be a fun grappling match.
Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman: Paul Sass came into this fight as
one of the biggest prospects in MMA today. There was a monster hype train that
was submitting people left and right with triangles and heel hooks. He came
into this fight as a favorite to win and was fighting one of the most
underrated fighters in MMA today, Matt Wiman. We at CR were very confident that
Wiman would win this fight, and win dominantly. But we had no idea that it was
really going to go the way it did. No one expected Wiman to win this fight by
way of submission. He further proved why he is so under appreciated. The first
round armbar was beautiful.
Possible matchups for Wiman: With this fight, Wiman has
finally cemented himself as a top guy at 155 pounds. Even though it may not be
a fight he would want, another undefeated fighter that holds unlimited potential is Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib is coming off of a really close decision win
over Gleison Tibau that made him a top-20 lightweight himself. The winner of
this fight should most likely face a top-10 guy afterwards.
Possible matchups for Sass: Despite this loss, Paul Sass is
still one of the most promising fighters in the UFC. If he wants to continue to
seem like he has the future we all want him to have, then he needs to fight
another good fighter. Jamie Varner is coming off of a triangle loss in one of
the best fights this year and I'm sure Sass saw a lot of opportunities for some
triangles himself. Jamie Varner would be a huge test for him and if Sass could
win, that would be a huge feather in his cap as Varner has a lot of name value.
Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin: Everyone expected this fight
to be one of the best on the card, and it delivered exactly what we expected,
plus a little extra. Jabouin was looking solid in the beginning of the fight,
getting the better of the favorite to win, Brad Pickett. I was starting to
become really impressed with how well Yves was utilizing his unorthodox
striking to get the better of the Brit. But then, out of nowhere, Pickett lands
a monstrous uppercut that put Jabouin out cold. Brad Pickett finally lived up
to his nickname of "One Punch".
Possible matchups for Pickett: With this huge win, Pickett
should be put in a number one contenders match. Michael McDonald is most likely
still healing his broken hand, but once it heals, those two should fight in what
could very possibly be one of the best fights of the year.
Possible matchups for Jabouin: Yves was looking awesome up
until he got caught with a monstrous uppercut. I think he should still fight a
good fighter, like Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki is fighting Jeff Hougland next,
and win or lose, he should fight Jabouin in what would also be an awesome
fight.
Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah: This fight wasn't exactly the
fight that we hoped it would be, but it did have one pleasant surprise, it
showed a new and improved version of Dan Hardy. I felt that Hardy would have
the advantage on the feet and Amir would have the advantage on the ground, but
it was quite the opposite. Amir was winning that standup, so Dan took it to the
ground almost every round. Weird, right? Dan looked great on the ground and I
look forward to how he is going to use his new arsenal in the future.
Possible matchups for Amir: After two very lackluster performances
in a row, Amir is starting to lose my interest. If he wants to continue to show
everyone why he was a TUF winner, then he needs to beat someone with at least a
little name value. Pascal Krauss is coming off of a decision loss to John
Hathaway and needs a rebound win.
Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic: So many people were doubting
Struve in this fight. Everyone was saying that Stipe would knock out Struve and
become a top guy in the heavyweight division. But Dave and I felt that Struve
would be the more composed fighter and wouldn’t wilt under pressure. We felt
that he would submit him. Although we were partially right, we were also
partially wrong. Stipe won the first round but Struve came out strong in the
second. He started to catch Miocic with some solid jabs and straights that
wobbled Stipe badly. Struve followed that up with some nasty uppercuts and the
fight was finally stopped. Struve is now undeniably a top-10 heavyweight.
Possible matchups for Struve: With this win, Struve is
possibly just one or two wins away from a title shot. He called out Fabricio
Werdum after this win, and I love that fight. That would be a great number one
contenders match.
Possible matchups for Miocic: Stipe is still one of the most
promising heavyweights in the UFC. He has crazy athleticism that is unmatched
by most other heavyweights. One other fighter that is also coming off of a loss
who is also both promising and extremely athletic is Shawn Jordan. This would
be a great fight.
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