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| Ryan Bader sinks in a guillotine on Vladimir Matyushenko. Photo via MMAConnected.com. |
Simeon Thoreson vs. David
Mitchell: This was a surprisingly good back and forth ground battle
throughout. I had a feeling heading in that Mitchell’s strength would play a
huge part in this fight, and it did. Being a six foot tall welterweight can
really help during grappling exchanges. Mitchell pretty easily won the first
two rounds but the third was much closer for Thoreson. Good showing by both
guys but Mitchell was just too strong.
Possible matchups for Mitchell:
Mitchell’s stature and grappling abilities could carry him to a decently successful
UFC career. If he wants to continue his rise, he should fight someone with a
big name but at the same level as him. Yoshihiro Akiyama is riding a four fight
losing streak but is still considered a solid fighter. If Akiyama wants to stay
with the UFC he needs to beat Mitchell, and if Mitchell wants to continue up
the ranks, he should beat Akiyama.
Possible matchups for Thoreson:
This is now two straight losses for Thoreson, which will give him a loser goes
home bout his next time out. If he wants to stay with the UFC, he should fight
another fighter riding a two fight losing streak. That man would be Papy Abedi.
Rafael Natal vs. Sean Spencer:
For a guy taking a fight on about two weeks’ notice, Spencer did a fantastic
job in this fight for what he was given. Natal is a very solid fighter, which
was shown throughout this fight. Though Spencer had his moments in the first
round, Natal was able to control this fight from beginning to end with his much
superior grappling. Spencer showed intense toughness as he somehow escaped an
Americana that should have snapped his shoulder. Natal eventually synched up
the arm triangle and finished from the mount in the third.
Possible matchups for Natal:
Following his KO loss to Andrew Craig, Natal was ready to rebound from the
devastating loss. He did so successfully with this win over Spencer. Thiago Bodao,
a semi-finalist on the first season of TUF Brazil, has yet to make his return
after his TKO win at UFC 147 over Leonardo Mafra. These two should fight
sometime in the spring.
Possible matchups for Spencer:
With his entertaining fighting style and extreme toughness, Spencer is a welcomed
addition to the UFC’s middleweight division. Though he was finished in his
debut, he deserves another shot in the UFC, as he not only took this fight on
short notice but he put up such a fight. Caio Magalhaes, a talented grappler,
is coming off of a decision loss in his UFC debut against Buddy Roberts back in
June of last year. A bout between these two could prove to be a fun fight, but
would ultimately lead to the release of the loser.
Mike Russow vs. Shawn Jordan:
Well, we have an early favorite for comeback of the year with this fight. In in
the first round, Russow absolutely obliterated Jordan with shockingly good
standup as he nearly finished the Jackson’s MMA product on almost three
occasions. Going into the second round, Jordan easily took the fatigued Russow
down on multiple occasions and softened him up with some violent ground and
pound. Eventually, Jordan got Russow’s back and pounded him out with violent
ground and pound for the finish and great comeback. Russow has looked terrible
in his last two fights despite looking great in the first round against Jordan.
I predict a pink slip forthcoming.
Possible matchups for Jordan:
Despite his extremely lackluster loss to Kongo and poor first round against
Russow, Jordan is still one of the more promising heavyweights in MMA. Todd
Duffee, an even more promising heavyweight prospect, is coming off of a 1st
round KO victory over Phil de Fries in his return to the octagon. A fight
between Jordan and Duffee could very well be slugfest in the making.
Ryan Bader vs. Vladimir
Matyushenko: I think it’s time for Matyushenko to retire. At 42 years old
and riding a two fight losing streak, Vladimir should hang up the gloves. Bader
came out hungry and aggressive, landing a left hand that dropped Matyushenko
and then choking him out with a guillotine choke. The fight only lasted 50
seconds and is now the fastest submission win in the history of the UFC’s light
heavyweight division.
Possible matchups for Bader:
Despite this huge win, I’m not going to consider Bader a title contender just
yet. He needs one more win over a fellow up and comer if he wants to be
mentioned in the title picture. James Te Huna and Ryan Jimmo will be fighting
in the near a future and the winner of that should fight Ryan Bader in a fight
that will launch the winner into title contention.
Pascal Krauss vs. Mike Stumpf:
Right from the get-go, Krauss easily out-struck Stumpf. Krauss landed tons of
quick combinations throughout, even throwing something I’ve never seen before:
a superman uppercut. Both times he threw it he landed it very solid. Stumpf did
take Krauss down on a few occasions, but Krauss was able to get up and destroy
Stumpf on the feet. This now makes Stumpf 0-2 in the UFC against mid-tier competition;
he will be released shortly after.
Possible matchups for Krauss:
With a very solid all-around game, Krauss is one of the more exciting prospects
in the UFC’s welterweight division. Another fighter who is an exciting
welterweight prospect is Ben Alloway, who is coming off of a first round front
kick KO over Manny Rodriguez at UFC on FX in Australia. Both of these fighters bring
a very dynamic standup game but Krauss brings in the better ground game.
Clay Guida vs. Hatsu Hioki:
It seems as though Guida is quickly starting to lose his “insanely entertaining”
persona. This was a very close grappling match right from the start but Hioki
was the more aggressive on the ground, despite being on his back the whole
time. Guida took him down on multiple occasions but Hioki consistently
threatened with submissions, leading many to believe the Hioki won the fight.
It was such a close fight that the last two rounds really could have gone either
way. Guida did take the split decision much to the chagrin of many grappling
fans.
Possible matchups for Guida:
With this huge win in his featherweight debut, Guida is now instantly put into
title contention. With solid striking and powerful wrestling, his fighting
style is very similar to that of Chad Mendes, who is fighting Manny Gamburyan
at UFC 157. The winner of that bout should fight Guida in a potential number
one contender’s bout.
Possible matchups for Hioki:
A two fight losing streak is never good for anyone, even if you are a title
contender like Hatsu Hioki. He desperately needs a rebound fight against a
solid competitor. Pablo Garza is coming off of a dominant decision upset win
over former title challenger in Mark Hominick. If Hioki wants to stay in the
UFC, he needs a win over Garza.
TJ Grant vs. Matt Wiman: In
the fight I was having the most trouble in predicting and saying it was going
to be very close, turned out to be a one sided beat down. Grant just absolutely
destroyed Wiman with superior striking and takedown defense. Grant continually
caught Wiman with hooks and elbows whenever they got in close. Eventually with
only about 10 seconds left, Grant dropped Wiman down and knocked him unconscious
with ground and pound.
Possible matchups for Grant:
With this huge KO win over Wiman, this puts Grant right into the top of the UFC’s
lightweight division. I would guess that he is only about 2 wins away from a
title shot. I would like to see him fight Gray Maynard and the winner of that is
put into a number one contender’s bout. Grant poses a lot of problems for the
former title challenger in Maynard.
Possible matchups for Wiman:
This was a devastating loss that plummets Wiman down the lightweight ladder.
Another fighter who is coming off of a brutal loss is Mark Bocek. Bocek is
probably still healing after the brutal beat down that he received from Rafael
dos Anjos. Both these guys should fight for a fun lightweight affair.
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