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| Rony Jason finishing Sam Sicilia |
This event that was almost a weak catastrophe went on to
become one of the best events in MMA history. From beginning to end this event
held fantastic submissions, slugfests, and several “Fight of the Night”
performances. The undercard and PPV main card were packed with them. We can
only hope that every event is like this.
We also learned two things: Anderson Silva is not a human
and Fernando Yamasaki is the worst referee in MMA not named Kim Winslow.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi: After re-watching this
fight the second day, there is no doubt in my mind that Madadi won the first
two rounds. He staggered Marcello a solid five or six times in the opening two
rounds! If that doesn’t win you a round, I don’t know what does. This was a fun
standup war, when it really should have been a grappling match. This fight was
hometown judging at its worst.
Possible matchups for Marcello: Even though it was a win, a
controversial decision such as this one doesn’t exactly help your stock.
Another fighter with a low stock but is also coming off of a win is Anton
Kuivanen. This could be a fun back and forth grappling match that could show us who
is UFC caliber or not.
Possible matchups for Madadi: Reza Madadi is a fun fighter.
There is no doubt about that. He always goes for the finish whether it’s on the
feet or on the ground. I’m excited to see where he can bring his career in the
UFC. Henry Martinez and Daron Cruickshank are fighting later this year of the 5th
Fox card. Madadi should fight the winner of that fight.
Luiz Cane vs. Chris Camozzi: What happened to Luiz Cane? He
was once considered the next big thing at 205 but has just absolutely fallen to
pieces lately. Throughout this entire fight, Camozzi easily kept him off with
the jab en route to a unanimous decision win. The fight wasn’t very good, but
it was certainly an impressive performance from the Denver native. This is now
Cane’s fourth loss in his last five, there is no doubt in my mind that he will
be cut from the promotion.
Possible matchups for Camozzi: With this upset win over a a
formerly highly touted prospect, Camozzi also becomes an exciting prospect in
the 185 pound division. With a technical standup game and an underrated ground
game, Camozzi is ready for a step up in competition. Another one of the more
exciting prospects at middleweight is Ronny Markes, who hasn't fought since his
fight with Aaron Simpson back in February. The winner between Camozzi and
Markes could show a possible new contender.
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte: This wasn't a very good
fight. A striker vs. grappler fight with one fighter hardly either one of
those. Forte had barely any striking skill and his ground game was nowhere near
the match of Sergio Moraes. Forte gave up his back midway through the third and
was submitted soon thereafter. This was Forte's UFC debut following TUF, and
typically when a fighter loses there debut following TUF, they are released.
Possible matchups for Moraes: Even though his standup
abysmal to say the least, but his ground game is masterful. Moraes could go
somewhere in te UFC if he plays smart and takes it to the ground as quickly as
possible. If he wants to fight a stiff test at 170, Claude Patrick has yet to
have his next fight set up.
Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino: Even though it wasn't
necessarily against someone who had a name, this was a huge win for Brandao.
Gambino is a highly touted prospect fighting out of Tristar and Brandao easily
ran through him, but Gambino showed an amazing chin and heart from the opening
moments of this fight. Brandao clipped him with a head kick just a few seconds
into the first round. The rest of the fight was much of the same. On several
occasions, Brandao dropped Gambino with both punches and kicks en route to a
unanimous decision win. With two very decisive losses under the UFC banner in a
row, Gambino will most likely be released.
Possible matchups for Brandao: Now that the TUF 14 winner
has received his first post-TUF win, Brandao is going to be looking for a step
up in competition. The mid-tier level of the UFC's featherweight division is
very stacked. Lots of former contenders and future contenders looking to make
their way up the ranks. One of those former contenders is Manny Gamburyan. A
fight between the former and the latter would be a great fight for two guys
looking to get a crack at the top-10.
Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo: Before I start to talk
about this fight itself, I want to know how in the world that either of these
guys can make it down to 155 pounds. They both look like middleweights, and
have the strength of one. Anyway, this fight was the most surprising on the
topic of entertainment. This was an awesome fight. The first round was close
but Tibau definitely won. The second round was a completely different story.
Trinaldo rocked Tibau and quickly took his back like a monkey. He had a rear
naked choke in that I thought for sure would finish the fight, but nope, Tibau
showed both heart and excellent submission defense. But once he got out of the
submission, Trinaldo started to unload on him with ground and pound. I actually
thought it was a clear 10-8 round for Francisco but the judges thought
otherwise. Tibau came out strong in the third and ended up with a 29-28
unanimous decision win across the board.
Possible matchups for Tibau: This has been the second
prospect in a row for Gleison. The guy is an elite lightweight in many people's
opinion. I think it's time for him step back up and fight stiffer competition,
despite the fact that he lost one and the other was very close. Jamie Varner is
coming off of the FOTY candidate with Joe Lauzon and is looking to get back in
there. These two could definitely put on a show.
Possible matchups for Trinaldo: The fact that he almost
defeated a guy like Tibau in only his second showing in the UFC leads me to
believe that he can definitely accomplish a lot in the sport of MMA. I think he
should continue fighting guys who are right in between high to mid-tier at 155.
Terry Etim has yet to come back from his injury and it would be an exciting
fight between two lightweight prospects.
Rony Jason vs. Sam Sicilia: The first ever TUF Brazil winner
came in with a lot of hype at UFC 147 and he didn’t live up to any of it
despite winning a unanimous decision. But this fight showed the reason he had
the hype in the first place. His standup looked a lot better in this fight. It
wasn’t as wild as his UFC debut. Not only did he look better but he also put on
an awesome fight. This was a back and forth slugfest and Jason eventually
dropped Sicilia in the second round. It was huge win for him and I can't wait to
see who the UFC gives him next.
Possible matchups for Jason: Speaking of who the UFC should
give Jason next, I want to see him fight a really hard opponent. A similar
fighter who is a also a young Brazilian and future contender is Charles
Oliveira. How awesome would this fight be?
Possible matchups for Sicilia: With this TKO loss and his
last win being very unimpressive, if he loses again, I see a pink slip
forthcoming. Cody McKenzie is also a fighter on the brink of receiving a pink
slip and these two should fight in a loser goes home fight.
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