UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez Prelim Recap

Chris Cariaso vs. John Moraga: In a division as shallow as the flyweight division, two finishes in a row is mighty impressive. John Moraga has now won two fights in a row, one by knockout and one by submission. The first two rounds of this fight were a bit slow, more of a feeling out process than anything. Cariaso was throwing a lot of left head kicks and Moraga would try to counter it. That is really the story of the first two rounds. But Moraga came into the third with some urgency. Cariaso clinched and jumped into a modified guillotine. Moraga finished him shortly thereafter.

Possible matchups for Moraga: This huge win now puts Moraga at least one win away from a title shot. Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez are fighting at UFC 156 and the winner of that should fight Moraga in a number one contender bout.

Possible matchups for Cariaso: Cariaso was looking good up until he got caught in the guillotine. I would like to see him fight the winner of Phil Harris and Ulysses Gomez. All three of these guys are very talented but Harris vs. Gomez is a potential loser goes home bout.

Max Holloway vs. Leonard Garcia: This fight was…well… a Leonard Garcia fight. He was overly aggressive while being countered down the middle. He did fight with a lot more technique though, as he used a lot more head movement and more straight punches than usual. Holloway proved to be the more technical and out countered him throughout. Many people are saying that Garcia got robbed but you have to look at it this way: the first could have gone either way, the second was much of the same but everyone is leaning towards Garcia, and Holloway won the third. In other words, it could have gone either way, therefore it wasn’t a robbery. But robbery or not, Leonard Garcia is going to be released from the UFC.

Possible matchups for Holloway: Though this is a win over a pretty big name in Leonard Garcia for Max Holloway, it’s kind of a setback to be totally honest. He was a big favorite heading in but almost lost against a guy whose striking is far inferior to his in many ways. I don’t think Holloway is just yet ready for a step up so I would like to see him fight another up and comer. That fighter is Rony Jason, who is coming off of his TKO win over Sam Sicilia.

Phil de Fries vs. Todd Duffee: This fight went much like I envisioned: Duffee being aggressive and getting the finish early. He clipped Phil early but ended up being takedown and nearly finished. De Fries had him against the cage and was landing several very solid shots to the temple, but right after that, Duffee finished him off quick. There is no doubt that Duffee has a lot of power.

Possible matchups for Duffee: This now makes Duffee 2-1 in the UFC and right back on track. I have a feeling that he is going to be put on the fast track towards a title shot by the UFC. His knockout power and entertaining fighting style can make him a star in the mainstream spotlight. Pat Barry is another fighter that has similar fighting style: extremely powerful and entertaining. And he just happens to be coming off of a KO of the year candidate over Shane Del Rosario.

Possible matchups for De Fries: Though this loss only makes de Fries 2-2 in the UFC, his two losses are both via early KO losses. He should be put in a loser goes home bout next with the loser of Shawn Jordan vs. Mike Russow.

Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury: Right from the start, this fight was Myles Jury. Many people went in thinking that this fight was going to be a mismatch, including myself. Jury was just the better fighter. He controlled him everywhere the fight went, especially on the ground; getting takedowns and battering him with ground and pound. That’s what I envisioned Michael Johnson doing. Going into this fight, Johnson was considered to be a future title contender and many now believe that Jury took his position.

Possible matchups for Jury: With this huge win over Johnson, this launches Jury up the rankings. I was calling for a big name for Johnson but instead he got owned by lesser known prospect in Jury. Mac Danzig is coming off of a very close decision loss to Takanori Gomi, so I think he should fight Jury for either a rebound fight for Danzig or a big stepping stone for Jury.

Possible matchups for Johnson: This was a devastating loss for the Blackzilian product. It will certainly push him down the ladder quite a bit. I’d like to see him fight guy for a rebound like Fabricio Camoes, who is coming off of a decision loss to Melvin Guillard.

Jamie Varner vs. Melvin Gulliard: This fight was exactly as many expected: a barnburner from beginning to end with a great scrambles on the ground. Guillard opened the fight with a bunch of very solid legkicks but Varner ended up countering them with a nasty combo that almost knocked Guillard out. Varner ended up fighting smarter in the second round though, as he began to wrestle with Melvin, who is known to have a very poor ground game. It was a back and forth second round but Varner took it to the ground again. In the third round, Varner fought smart again and out-grappled Guillard. At one point, Varner did a reversed atomic bomb right on Guillard’s head. Yeah, it’s a tad hard to describe in words. It was a generally easy 30-27 for Varner and one of the judges gave it 30-27 to Guillard… Anyway, on to the matchups.

Possible matchups for Varner: This was an absolutely huge win for Varner. Guillard has a lot of name value so I want Varner to fight a top-10 or top-15 opponent again. I would like to see him fight the loser between Cerrone and Pettis. Cerrone and he have a huge rivalry that goes way back to 2009 at WEC 38. And Pettis vs. Varner would be an instant Fight of the Night.

Possible matchups for Guillard: It’s a shame that Guillard may never actually reach the greatness in which we all thought he could one day reach. I would like to see him fight another guy who is coming off of a decision loss like Mark Bocek. It could go either way with a KO from Guillard or a submission from Bocek.

Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth: Did anyone expect any different? Perez came right out and landed shots, pushing Bloodworth against the cage. After landing a nasty knee to the body and dropping Bloodworth, Perez swarmed and finished him soon after. This makes Bloodworth 0-2 with two TKO losses in the UFC. He’s not UFC quality.

Possible matchups for Perez: There were reasons as to why Perez was so hyped going into his fight and he showed it in his win over Bloodworth. I would like to see him fight the winner between Francisco Rivera and Edwin Figueroa. The winner would deserve a top-10 opponent.

Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland: From beginning to end, Eddie Wineland put on a striking clinic over Brad Pickett, and I have to admit, I was quite surprised. Wineland was just countering and landing with right hands the whole fight, battering Pickett’s face. He looked fantastic, much like his last win over Scotty Jorgensen.

Possible matchups for Wineland: Heading into this bout, there were very big title implications. Wineland dominated this fight so I would like to see him fight the winner of Renan Barao and Michael McDonald. With the technique and power that he brings to the table, he will be a handful for either fighter.

Possible matchups for Pickett: Poor Brad Pickett. He gets to a number one contender match, and loses. This has happened at least two or three times to him now. If he wants to make it back into contention, he should fight Mike Easton. A win over Easton could send him right back into contention.

MMA Flyweight Rankings: September Edition

As we here at CR continue our rankings, we are heading into the UFC’s smallest division: flyweight.

I was ecstatic when the UFC finally announced that they were bringing in the 125-pound division. It holds some of the best talent in the world and they were going unrecognized, that is, until now.

Since starting the 125-pound division, the UFC has signed several of the biggest names with in that weight class including Yasuhiro Urushitani, Jussier “Formiga” da Silva, Ulysses Gomez, and fan-favorite, Ian McCall. There are still a few left that have yet to be signed.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

10. John Moraga – This guy exploded onto the UFC scene. Going into his fight with former top-10 ranked Ulysses Gomez at UFC on Fox 4, he was a sizable underdog and a relative unknown. That all changed within 3:46. He blitzed Gomez and knocked him out in the first round. The guy looked like a world-beater and is definitely a guy to look out for in the coming years.

Look at that afro. Just look at it.

9. Mamoru Yamaguchi – Mamoru Yamaguchi is awesome. Enough said. The guy is one of the flashiest fighters in the world today and he is still a top-10 fighter. He holds a win over Yasuhiro Urushitani and has been fighting the best in the world for years now. He hasn’t fought since his last decision loss to Jussier da Silva back in August of 2011, but no news has reached of his retirement. Let’s hope he fights in the UFC before he hangs ‘em up.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

8. Darrel Montague – Darrel Montague is extremely well rounded. With a record of 11-2, he has 5 (T)KO wins and 4 submission wins. With his only two losses being to Ian McCall and the oversized Robbie Peralta, Montague still has world-class skills. He holds wins over Ulysses Gomez and Jeremy Bolt and has also had championship experience as his win over Gomez got him the belt at Tachi Palace fighting. He is the main guy in which the UFC still has yet to sign.

Photo via ProMMANow.com

7. Chris Cariaso – “Kamikaze” is insanely under appreciated. The guy was a solid bantamweight and fought fighters much larger than him like Takeya Mizugaki, Michael McDonald, Will Campuzano, and above all, Renan Barao. He beat both Mizugaki and Campuzano and his fight with McDonald was extremely close, no one would have argued if Cariaso won. After his win over Josh Ferguson in his flyweight debut, Cariaso should be only one win away from a title shot.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

6. Yasuhiro Urushitani – Although his UFC debut was far from impressive, Urushitani is still one of the best fighters in the world at 125. He holds wins over Yuki Shojo, Mamoru Yamaguchi, John Dodson, and two draws with Shinichi Kojima. He has amazing Muay Thai that should never be overlooked and although he lacks finishing ability (only 5 finishes in 19 wins) he has the skill to put anyone away at any moment.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

5. John Dodson – Although his last win over Tim Elliott wasn’t particularly spectacular; John Dodson is still one of the best in the world in his division. He’s beaten Tim Elliott, TJ Dillashaw, and John Moraga. With his incredible hand speed that also holds a ton of power, Dodson is one of the top guys up for a title shot. His next fight against Jussier da Silva is undoubtedly a top contender fight.

4. Jussier da Silva – When the news broke that Jussier da Silva was signed to the UFC, hardcore MMA fans around the world were saying to themselves, “finally”! Everyone expected him to be in the tournament that they held instead of Urushitani. He easily holds the best BJJ at 125 including wins over Michael William Costa (twice), Alexandre Pantoja Passidimo, Jose Maria Tome, Shinichi Kojima, Danny Martinez, and Mamoru Yamaguchi. His only loss in his 15-fight career is a decision loss to Ian McCall.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

3. Ian McCall – The former number-1 flyweight in the world, Ian McCall is quite a character. With the best mustache in MMA, possibly the world, Ian McCall’s skill is right up there with his mustache. He holds wins over Coty Wheeler, Dustin Ortiz, Darrel Montague, and Jussier da Silva. In his first fight with Demetrious Johnson, many people believe that he won, showing that he could also hold a win over the former number one contender at 135. With his only losses to the aforementioned Johnson, Charlie Valencia, and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Ian McCall is still one of the best fighters in the world at 125.

Photo via FightLink.com

2. Demetrious Johnson – Although his first fight with McCall was very controversial, the second meeting wasn’t. Johnson wasn’t necessarily very dominant, but Ian McCall was the number-1 guy at flyweight and Johnson beat him. His next fight with the number-1 guy will show who is the first flyweight champion in UFC history.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

1. Joseph Benavidez – Now, although Johnson did beat the number-1 guy at 125, his performance wasn’t extremely impressive in either fight. Benavidez was unbelievably impressive in his flyweight debut. Yasuhiro Urushitani was arguably top-3 and Benavidez dominated him and knocked him out at 11 seconds in the second round. Benavidez will be fighting Demetrious Johnson at UFC 152 for the first ever flyweight title in UFC history.

So what do you guys think? Let us know in the comments on what agreed or disagreed on.

Don't Look Past These Guys: UFC Dark Horses

As the UFC continues to add to their already dense roster, there are a lot of mid-tier fighters that are being overlooked and not being given the respect they deserve. Every division has several dark horse title contenders and several constant underdogs.

These guys are starting to prove to us that they aren’t who we really think they are, but actually a force to be reckoned with. I have personally chosen my dark horse title contenders in who I believe will be challenging for the title as everyone else overlooks them.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Heavyweight: Stefan Struve -  “Skyscraper” is really starting to find his grove in the MMA world. After his KO loss to Travis Browne at UFC 130, people started to write him off as a wasted talent.  People knew he had an immense amount of potential, but we never saw it come into fruition, until now. 

After his loss to Browne, he decided he is now going to fight smart. Fight IQ has been his biggest opponent since his UFC debut against Junior dos Santos. With extremely slick BJJ and technical striking, Struve has what it takes to be a future champion, but his chin has been saying otherwise.

Now riding a 3 fight win streak against Pat Barry, Dave Herman, and Lavar Johnson, he’s looking for a rematch with the champ but he’ll have to get through top heavyweight prospect in Stipe Miocic.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

Light Heavyweight: James Te Huna – This New Zealand born knockout artist has been making statement after statement in the UFC. With a record of 4-1 under the UFC banner, with his only loss to title contender Alexander Gustafsson, he is riding a 3 fight win streak with wins over Ricardo Romero, Aaron Rosa, and a fight of the year candidate against Joey Beltran, including a TKO win over Igor Pokrajac in his UFC debut.

Not a lot of people are talking about Te Huna and the title picture, but that time is certainly coming sooner, rather than later.

With immense KO power in his hands that also hold technical prowess, Te Huna may be the next guy to beat at 205, and I see a top-10 opponent in his next fight.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Middleweight: Francis Carmont – Training out of a place like Tristar gym can get you immediate attention, especially when you’re an up and comer, but there is one man that is starting to hog the spotlight from the other up and comers. His name is Francis “Limitless” Carmont and this 30-year-old Frenchman is really starting to turn some heads, and showing that his nickname is rather apt.

Although his standup is not technically sound, but rather powerful, his ground game is his bread and butter. With 19 professional wins with 10 by submission, he is the type of fighter where you want to avoid his ground game.

After coming off a spectacular submission win over Karlos Vemola, who is a Czech national wrestling champion, Carmont is looking to take a step up in competition against the charismatic, Tom Lawlor. If he passes, he could be looking at a top-15 or even top-10 opponent.

Photo via MMA Sun

 Welterweight: John Hathaway – At only 25 years old, Hathaway has a ton of time to improve his all around game, which is quite scary considering he has already beaten Diego Sanchez (who was coming off of a title shot), Rick Story, and Paul Taylor. His only loss is to Mike Pyle, who absolutely dominated the fight, but that is simply a learning experience for the young Hathaway.

Following his two lackluster bouts with Pyle and Kris McCray, Hathaway made a strong comeback against submission specialist, Pascal Krauss as UFC on Fox 3.

This young man has an insane amount of potential and it has yet to be tapped into, perhaps we will see it against John Maguire on September 29^th.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Lightweight: Tim Means – This one might come as a surprise to many. Tim Means has only had two fights in the UFC and against relative unknowns in Justin Salas and Bernardo Magalhaes. But, don’t be mistaken, Tim Means is immensely talented. His standup is insanely accurate and his takedown defense is great. His finishing ability is also fantastic as he has 13 (T)KO, 3 submission, and only 2 decision wins. His crazy reach and height can’t hurt either and Tim Means is continuing to make a name.

Although his next fight is against UFC debutant, and relative unknown, Abel Trujillo, Tim Means deserves recognition and with a win over Trujillo, he may finally receive some.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Featherweight: Antonio Carvalho – Going into UFC 149, Carvalho was expected to be rather easily disposed of by Daniel Pineda. It didn’t exactly go that way. Carvalho blitzed Pineda and knocked him out with a beautiful head kick followed by a barrage of punches in only 71 seconds. Although this only makes him 1-1 in the UFC, this win showed that he clearly had a bad case of the UFC jitters heading into his fight with Felipe Arantes.For a guy who is known for his ground game, Carvalho’s standup looked pretty fantastic against Pineda. 

Believe it or not, Carvalho actually has a win over Hatsu Hioki back in 2007. Even though it was only a split decision, a win is a win and that win is huge. If Antonio Carvalho can continue to look as good as he did against Pineda, we are looking at a potential champion at 145.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

Bantamweight: Alex Caceres – Alex Caceres, or otherwise known as Bruce Leeroy, has looked great since his drop down to 135. After losing his first two bouts to Mackens Semerzier and Jimy Hettes in the UFC, he decided it was time for another drop. And it’s done wonders.

He won his bantamweight debut against former WEC featherweight champion in Cole Escovedo, and he won dominantly. He ended up losing his next fight to Edwin Figueroa, but it was highly controversial and it was a bizarre fight overall. He ended up easily submitting former WEC star, Damacio Page, in the second round with a triangle choke. With his extremely well rounded MMA game, Alex Caceres is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC today.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Flyweight: Chris Cariaso – Cariaso is another one of those fighters that simply hasn’t received enough praise. The guy is a very good fighter. His ground game is strong and his standup is underrated. With wins over Takeya Mizugaki, Vaughan Lee, Will Campuzano, Josh Ferguson, and a very close fight with a top-5 bantamweight in Michael McDonald, Cariaso is for real.

I think his fight with McDonald truly speaks to his skill. That fight was extremely close throughout the fight and Cariaso had a huge disadvantage in the size category, giving up 5 inches in height. He stayed in there with McDonald and actually won some of the standup.

After his successful 125 pound debut against Josh Ferguson, Cariaso is just one win away from a title shot. He has what it takes to really give any 125er a run for their money.