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| Gunnar Nelson finishing DaMarques Johnson |
The UFC continues to deliver on their smallest scale of
fight nights on the obscure Fuel TV. This event had brutal knockouts, slick
submissions, big upsets, and the emergence of some extremely promising
fighters. Fuel TV continues to deliver exciting UFC events, which is sad
because no one is really watching these fights. Anyway, let’s head into this
event and take a look at some possible matchups for the winners and losers of this event.
Robbie Peralta vs. Jason Young: There isn’t much to say about
this fight. It only lasted 23 brutal seconds. Peralta went out there and put
his hands on him instantly. He landed a huge right hand and dropped “Shotgun”.
A few punches followed and Young was as unconscious as unconscious gets.
Peralta has emerged as a highly underrated contender at 145 pounds. And with
this, Young is now 1-3 in the UFC, leading to the inevitable pink slip.
Possible matchups for Peralta: Peralta showed on Saturday
that he has some of the best power for 145-pounds. He has a solid ground game that
is overlooked as well. Another fighter who has similar skills, with technical
boxing and a solid ground game, Nam Phan is coming off of a huge win over Cole
Miller, a fight in which he easily outpointed the much larger Cole. This
fight would show who is ready for that big step up in competition.
DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson: Gunnar Nelson’s UFC
debut was one of the most anticipated UFC debuts in years. Many consider him to
be the future of MMA as he sports a highly refined all around mixed martial arts arsenal. His first round submission win over DaMarques Johnson showed exactly
why he is such a hyped fighter. He started out with an unorthodox karate
stance, much to that of Lyoto Machida, and landed a nice headkick in the
opening seconds. He then took him down and slowly worked his way to the back of
Johnson and into a rear naked choke. It was a flawless performance and the sky
is truly the limit of the 24-year-old Iceland native. And sadly, with this
being the third loss in a row in which he was finished, DaMarques Johnson has
to be done.
Possible matchups for Nelson: As I just mentioned above,
Gunnar Nelson is one of the most promising fighters in the UFC today. Sporting
a perfect 10-0-1 record, with the one draw being his MMA debut, Nelson is ready
for a huge step up. Another winner on this card whom has a very bright future
in the UFC is John Hathaway. Hathaway won a highly lackluster bout against John
Maguire in a fight that I have no interest in recapping. Both these guys should
fight and depending on how the fight goes, it will be quite telling on the
future of the welterweight division.
Brad Tavares vs. Tom Watson: This fight was screwed out of
the “Fight of the Night” in my opinion. This was a back and forth brawl between
two highly touted middleweight prospects, including the long awaited debut of
Tom “Kong” Watson. I really felt that going into this fight that Tom Watson was
going to win the standup in this fight and stop any takedowns that Tavares went
for. I, including many others, was wrong and underestimated the skills of the
24-year-old Tavares. Tavares out struck Watson, using pinpoint accurate jabs
and solid combinations with leg kicks and takedowns mixed in. He used a much
more versatile attack that ultimately won him the split decision, although it
should have been a easy unanimous decision, as I scored every round for
Tavares.
Possible matchups for Tavares: I truly believe that we have
found a new contender at 185. Tavares has looked better in every one of his
performances. Now that he is sporting a 4-1 record with the UFC, he could even
be 5-0, he is now ready for the next level of competition. Chris Leben and
Karlos Vemola are fighting at UFC 155 and the winner of that should fight the
ever-improving Brad Tavares.
Possible matchups for Watson: Although he gave a spirited
effort, Watson thoroughly disappointed many hardcore MMA fans around the world.
He had one of the most anticipated MMA debuts, and he fell flat. If he wants to
stay with the UFC, he has to impress in his next fight. One fighter that has
yet to have his next fight set up is Clifford Starks, who is extremely
athletic. Watson would have to win that fight to stay with the UFC.
Andy Ogle vs. Akira Corassani: Before this fight, I really
disliked Akira. After this fight, I vehemently dislike him. He is an extremely
dirty fighter, like a seriously grimy person. Not only that, but Goddard didn't
even warn him on anything. It was enraging. Corassani lands a groin shot, head
butt, highly illegal soccer kick that no one is talking about, and a huge
haymaker that dropped Ogle that was thrown way after the bell. The guy is
gross. And on top of all this, I scored the fight an easy 29-28 for Ogle. Akira
ended up winning by split decision. Enraging is the perfect word to sum up this
fight. Akira didn't deserve this win; Andy Ogle did.
Possible matchups for Corassani: I have no interest in to
where Akira goes. Cool, he has powerful standup, but his ground game and cardio
sucks. Milton Vieira is coming off of a draw to Felipe Arantes. I want Vieira
to go and submit him instantly.
Possible matchups for Ogle: I really hope that the UFC
doesn't release Andy. He really got screwed with this loss. I thought he easily
won. I think a fight with Cole Miller would be really fun.
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jimi Manuwa: Jimi Manuwa was one of the
many fighters making their UFC debut under a ton of hype. He both highly
impressed and didn't. Although the first round was most likely a 10-8 for
"The Posterboy", he was easily out grappled in the beginning of the
opening frame. But once Manuwa made it to his feet, he lit up Kyle Kingsbury so
bad that Kyle looked like Sloth from "The Goonies". It was both
disgusting and hilarious. Manuwa seemed to have gassed out midway through the
second round, so it was probably a lucky break that the fight was stopped after
the second round. Kingsbury's eye was completely closed shut. This is now the
third decisive loss in a row for Kingsbury, it's a shame but he will most
likely receive his walking papers from the UFC.
Possible matchups for Manuwa: It's always a good thing to
start off with an impressive debut over a solid veteran in the UFC. Although
Jimi Manuwa gave us the formula for which you defeat him, take him down and
smother, he still showed some of the best power in the light heavyweight
division. He seems to be he perfect fighter to set up exciting matchups. Igor
Pokrajac is coming off of a submission loss to Vinny Magalhaes and a fight with
Manuwa would be an absolute slugfest.
Main card recap here.
Main card recap here.
