Within 48 hours, the UFC held two cards in which everyone was saying were going to be two very lackluster cards due to the fact that they both lacked star power. Fans really need to stop saying that cards aren't going to be good just because of the lack of star power because these last two cards have been absolutely outstanding. Nine finishes? Check. Six knockouts? Check. Three submissions? Two wars? Check. A heartfelt cap off the TUF season? Check.
Seriously, this card was awesome.
Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathan
Brookins: This was one of the best one round fights of the year. Poirier came
out a bit cocky and Brookins’ improving standup took complete advantage of that
and started to attack. They literally stood toe-to-toe and swung for the fences
for almost a minute straight. It was absolutely nuts. When they finally took a
break, Poirier caught Brookins off guard with a solid straight punch that
dropped him. Brookins went in for a very sloppy takedown and ran right into
Poirier’s favorite submission, the D’Arce choke.
Possible matchups for Poirier:
This was a huge win Poirier, who was looking for a rebound win after his Fight
of the Year submission loss to The Korean Zombie. Hacran Dias, who was supposed
to fight Chad Mendes at UFC on FX 6 but injured himself about a week beforehand,
is definitely looking for a fight once he heals. I would love to see him fight Poirier
in a fight that would lead the winner into a number-one contender’s bout.
Possible matchups for Brookins:
With this being Brookins’ second loss via submission in-a-row, there is a good
chance that his next fight could possibly be a loser goes home bout. I would
like to see him fight the winner of Cody McKenzie and Leonard Garcia which will
be held at UFC 155.
Pat Barry vs. Shane del Rosario:
What a comeback that was for Pat Barry. Not only in the fight, but career wise
as well. After a few minutes of feeling each other out with kicks, Shane took
down Barry and almost submitted him on multiple occasions. In the second, Barry
was on a mission and hurt del Rosario with a body punch. He followed it up with
a huge left that backed him up to the fence. Barry finished him off with a
monstrous right hand that put del Rosario as unconscious as unconscious gets.
Many were considering this to be a loser goes home fight, and I think that’s exactly
what’s going to happen.
Possible matchups for Barry:
This guy will always be a fan favorite as long as he is with the UFC. After
this huge win for him, I would like to see him fight the winner of Phil de
Fries and the returning Todd Duffee.
Colton Smith vs. Mike Ricci:
Man, I am seriously impressed with Colton Smith. As Joe Rogan said, “This was
the Colton Smith Show”. He reminds me of GSP in the way that he just smothers
you with his top game and never lets you get up. He never gave Ricci a chance
to ever capitalize on anything. He just completely dominated him from beginning
to end; no breathing room was sparred. A judge even gave it a 30-26 in favor of
the army Ranger.
Possible matchups for Smith:
Now that Smith has entered the prestigious group of Ultimate Fighter winners,
he will be thrown through the fast track. Now he did state that he was thinking
about dropping down to lightweight, which I personally think would be a
brilliant idea. But I’m going to say he isn’t going to drop down. I would like
to see him fight Sean Pierson, who is coming off of a decision win over Lance
Benoist at UFC 152 and I’m sure he’ll be looking for revenge for Canada.
Possible matchups for Ricci:
Mike Ricci was a very hefty favorite heading into this fight and lost in demoralizing
fashion. But he is a natural lightweight, so that certainly took a big part in
his performance. I would like to see him fight Rafaello Oliveira, who is coming
off of a decision win over Yoislandy Izquierdo.
Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione:
This was really disappointing. Matt Mitrione was looking really good, landing
body kicks and moving in and out really well. Nelson was having a lot of
trouble closing the distance to try and land his signature right hand. That is,
until two and a half minutes in. He landed a huge uppercut that stunned
Mitrione and followed it up with a right hand on the temple that dropped him.
He finished him off with ground and pound to ultimately win by TKO.
Possible matchups for Nelson:
With the heavyweight division being almost as thin as the flyweight division,
it’s very difficult to find matchups that make sense. If Shane Carwin doesn’t retire
and heals up sooner rather than later, I would love to see these two finally
settle their rivalry.
Possible matchups for Mitrione:
With this now being Mitrione’s second loss in-a-row, he needs to take a step
back in competition. A fight with the loser of Mike Russow and Shawn Jordan
makes sense for it would be two heavyweights on a two fight losing skid.
No comments:
Post a Comment