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| Lamas landing a vicious elbow on Koch. Photo via Sherdog.com |
Erik Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas:
I don’t believe people are going to doubt Lamas anymore. He has been the
underdog in his last two fights, but this time, Lamas was out to really prove a
point. The first round wasn’t particularly exciting with Lamas clinching
against the fence for a majority of the first five minutes. The second round
was a different story though. Lamas slipped about a minute in and when Koch attempted
to get on top, Lamas somehow slipped under for a takedown. When on top, Lamas landed
some of more brutal elbows that I have ever seen. It ripped Koch’s eyebrow open
letting blood poor out. Lamas absolutely demolished Koch, showing he is the
number one contender.
Possible matchups for Lamas:
I’m pretty sure that this win puts Lamas up for the winner of Aldo and Edgar.
How can you deny him the title shot?
Possible matchups for Koch:
Even though he may be coming off of a huge loss like this, he is still one of
the best fighters at 145 pounds. Dennis Siver and Dustin Poirier are fighting
in a few weeks in Japan, looking to move up the featherweight ladder. The loser
of that fight should face off with Koch.
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony
Pettis: It’s funny how the two fights I had the most trouble in picking were
two of the more one sided bouts the whole night. Pettis was using excellent
angles, moving in and out with jabs and hooks, not letting Cerrone get anything
off. He even threw a little “Showtime” flair, throwing a knee off of the cage
in close quarters. And he landed it. Right after that, Pettis landed a hard
kick to the body, flattening Cerrone and getting the first round TKO victory.
Possible matchups for Pettis:
I’m pretty sure that Pettis should get title shot after this win. Ben Henderson
and Gilbert Melendez will be fighting for the lightweight belt at UFC on Fox 7,
Pettis deserves the winner.
Possible matchups for Cerrone:
So far his two title eliminator fights in the UFC have gone horribly wrong. He
has been completely dominated in both those fights and both of those fights
were grudge matches. If he ever gets into another title eliminator, he needs it
to be against someone he doesn’t hate. I would like to see him fight Jim
Lauzon, who is coming off of a fight of the night decision loss to Jim Miller.
Rampage Jackson vs. Glover
Teixeira: Rampage has had an amazing career, but this is Teixeira’s time.
Rampage showed fantastic head movement and landed a lot of amazing
combinations. But while he landed good combinations, Teixeira nearly finished
Rampage on multiple occasions with big hooks that would put a majority of the
fighters in the UFC unconscious. Rampage visibly gassed out in the second and
Teixeira easily beat him to a easy unanimous decision win.
Possible matchups for Teixeira:
With this huge win for Teixeira, he has emerged as a very dangerous contender.
It’s hard to say who he should fight next but I would like to see him fight Phil
Davis if he really wants to prove himself as a top contender.
Demetrious Johnson vs. John
Dodson: When you put a title fight on the Fox network, you want to have an
exciting back and forth affair that is exciting everywhere that the fight goes.
That is exactly what this fight was. Johnson showed that he did have the slight
speed advantage but Dodson instantly imposed his power. With a fast paced
feeling out process in the first round, the second was all Dodson. He dropped
Johnson about three times, nearly finishing him on the third occasion. Johnson
showed amazing heart, the heart of a champion, as he persevered and came back
even stronger than he did in the first. Johnson began to batter Dodson with
knees and punches throughout the fourth and fifth rounds. It was fantastic show
of heart from both fighters. Dodson will get a rematch in the near future.
Possible matchups for Johnson:
The flyweight title picture is a tad precarious at the moment following this
fight. Will Johnson fight John Moraga next? Or will he fight the winner of Joseph
Benavidez and Ian McCall? Maybe even a fight with Darrel Montague if the UFC
signs him. All of these fights make sense for Johnson and they all have the
chance to be a fight of the year.
Possible matchups for Dodson:
There is no doubt in my mind that Dodson will get another title shot in the
near future. The fight was so close and he showed so much heart that the UFC
will grant him another title shot with another win or two. Chris Cariaso is
coming off of a third round submission loss to John Moraga and he would make a
great matchup for Dodson.
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