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| Rory landing a vicious headkick on BJ. Photo via sportsnet. |
From top to bottom, this card was one of the best in UFC history. With several “Fight of the Night” contenders, three vicious knockouts and a great submission, fans are unbelievably lucky to have been able to receive this event for free. Every fight but one was on network television for millions to witness an amazing night of fights.
Mike Swick vs. Matt Brown: This was exactly how the UFC wanted to start
off the best fight card in network television history. And we may just have a new
contender at 170 pounds. Brown started off this fight in typical Matt Brown
style with lots of aggression and even landed a takedown and cinched up a D’arce
choke, but he didn’t exactly know how to finish it as he went on his back and
pulled guard rather than on his side with his butt scooted out. Swick ended up
getting out of it because of that but Brown went right for a really tight
triangle choke. Swick defended well and slipped out. In the second round,
Brown came out and landed a two punch combo that put Swick stiff and unconscious. It was a shocking and brutal finish.
Possible matchups for Brown: Wow, I am seriously impressed by Matt
Brown’s performance. His submission game and standup looked better than ever
and I really look forward to see how much more he can progress. A fight with
Siyar Bahadurzada would be one of the best fights of the year. It would
certainly produce a barnburner.
Possible matchups for Swick: This was a terrible loss for Swick. He was
looking to continue his career comeback on a good note but that was a no go.
Perhaps a fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama could be a good fight for both men.
BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald: MacDonald impressed on so many levels in
this fight, the potential that he holds is truly insane. Like the skills that
he could one day possess is almost incomprehensible. I felt that going into this
fight Penn would have a significant standup advantage but MacDonald completely
and utterly dominated the legend. From beginning to end Rory landed jabs, body
punches, and head kicks and easily won the biggest fight of his career over one
of the best fighters to ever live. Thanks to BJ for an amazing career and all
the amazing moments in his UFC career.
Possible matchups for MacDonald: This fight puts the 23 year old in the
top-5 in my opinion. After the fight, he called out the former interim
welterweight champ, Carlos Condit for a rematch. Now that is a matchup that I
love. MacDonald has matured as a fighter and as a person since their fight back
at UFC 115.
Shogun Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson: I was pretty confident in my
prediction of Gustafsson going into this fight, but Shogun made me nervous on
several occasions. He landed a lot of huge overhand rights to the temple of
Gustafsson, but those made me more impressed by Alex for a great chin. We haven’t
really seen his chin tested before this fight, it certainly was this fight,
and it looks solid. In the second and third round, it was a different story.
Gustafsson dominated the former champion en route to a unanimous decision win.
Possible matchups for Gustafsson: Before this fight, Dana announced
that the winner would receive a title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs.
Chael Sonnen. Gustafsson undoubtedly deserves a title shot after this fight.
Possible matchups for Rua: Time is definitely starting to close in on
Shogun, but he is definitely still one of the top guys at light heavyweight.
Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson are fighting in a number one contender bout
themselves at UFC 157. Shogun should fight the loser for either a rubber match
with Machida or a rematch to one of the greatest fights of all time. Either
way, the fans will be happy.
Ben Henderson vs. Nate Diaz: I was extremely confident going into this
fight that Diaz was going to handily defeat Henderson. Not only did the champ
prove me wrong, he made me look stupid for picking Diaz. From the beginning of
the fight, to the last bell, Henderson out grappled, out struck, and even
dropped the durable Diaz on multiple occasions, both with leg kicks and
punches. There was only one time that I remember where Diaz was in control was
when he had Henderson’s leg and was working both a heel hook and a toe hold. But
other than that, Henderson completely dominated the younger Diaz brother for
all five rounds, even to the point that one of the judges gave it a 50-43 for
the champion.
Possible matchups for Henderson: I feel that it is pretty clear that
the winner of Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis at UFC on Fox 6 will be a
number one contenders bout. Either a rematch to Anthony Pettis or a third fight
with Cerrone will make an amazing fight.
Possible matchups for Diaz: Now that Diaz has finally received his
title shot and lost very definitively, it’s time for him to take a step back.
Even though technically Gray Maynard is 1-0 against Diaz, Diaz had a win over
Maynard on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter by submission. I’m sure
that they feel they are 1-1 against each other and I’m sure they would love a
rubber match.
Click here for prelim recap.
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