UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz Prelim Recap

Edwards finishing off Stephens.
Photo via MMAFighting.com

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.

Scott Jorgensen vs. John Albert: It’s a real shame that this fight was on Facebook rather than FX. They’re two of the scrappiest and fun to watch and aggressive bantamweights in the UFC. Albert continued to show lots of aggressiveness as he came out hard against former title contender in Scott Jorgensen. Scott negated his forward momentum with a takedown but Albert didn’t stop being aggressive here. He consistently went for triangles and armbars and even at one point swept Jorgensen onto his back and mounted him. Though it was only for a brief period of time, Albert showed great strength and technique. Scott got him back over and was put in an extremely tight triangle. It was mighty close but Jorgensen has a highly underrated ground game and made it out. Albert tried for another sweep but gave up his back in the process. Scott sunk in a rear naked choke and finished Albert with barely a second left in the first round. Albert has shown a lot of promise in all four of his fights in the UFC, but with a losing streak of 3 in-a-row and all coming in the first round by submission, I will be shocked to see Albert back in the UFC.

Possible matchups for Jorgensen: This was a huge, much needed win for Scott Jorgensen. Following two losses in which he was pretty easily dominated by both Eddie Wineland and Renan Barao, this was a make or break fight. Though this was a very impressive win, he needs one more big win before he can get a bigger name. Francisco Rivera is coming off of a brutal first round KO win over Roland Delorme, though it was turned over after he tested positive for a banned substance. This fight would undoubtedly be a Fight of the Year contender and a barnburner.

Dennis Siver vs. Nam Phan: From beginning to end, Siver utterly and completely dominated the underdog in Phan. He picked him apart in the first round with tons of jabs, hooks and spinning kicks. He even took down the black belt in Phan and just battered him with ground and pound and elbows. It was brutal and highly impressive. Siver is definitely a top featherweight after this performance and a handeful for anyone at featherweight.

Possible matchups for Siver: Siver was a top featherweight on almost everyone’s rankings before this fight and this performance cemented why. Chad Mendes was originally supposed to Hacran Dias of UFC on FX 6 but Dias pulled out. They should also pull Mendes off and have him fight Siver later next year in a potential number one contender bout.

Possible matchup for Phan: Phan was just completely outclassed in every sense of the word and every aspect of the sport. He did take this fight on very short notice but it was a big loss. Another man at 145 who just lost a very one-sided fight is Steven Siler. They both have wins over Cole Miller and excellent standup. It definitely has the makings to be Fight of the Night.

Abel Trujullo vs. Marcus LeVesseur: This fight was way different than I expected. Now, I did pick Trujillo to win, but I felt very sure that he would have been taken down at least once throughout the fight. Only once did LeVesseur takedown Trujillo but it was only for a split second. From the very beginning, LeVesseur went for takedowns that consistently were stuffed and went into the clinch. Trujillo brought these positions to his advantage by battering Marcus’ body with elbows and punches. In the second round, he spun LeVessuer around and had him on the ground in a turtled position. Trujillo landed at least 20 nasty, brutal knees to the body and the ref finally stepped in. Props to LeVesseur for taking the fight on one day notice but he could very well be 0-3 in his UFC career, which is a no go.

Possible matchups for Trujillo: Going into his fight with his original opponent Tim Means, I believed it was going to be a really easy fight for Means. Means slipped during his weight cut and couldn't fight the next day. Now I want to see this fight even more. What a fight that could be.

Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez: The best way to make a big statement in MMA is by knocking somebody out. A better way is destroying them up to the knockout. The best way is by doing that but to a guy who is well known for unbelievable durability. Cruickshank did just that against Henry Martinez on Saturday. After nearly finishing him on multiple occasions in the first round, Cruickshank went on to brutally finish him in the second round with headkick knockout. The fight was an absolute slugfest throughout that I personally thought deserved Fight of the Night honors. We also have an extremely exciting new prospect in the Detroit native with his insane accuracy and speed along with power to top it off, Cruickshank has all the makings to a star.

Possible matchups for Cruickshank: Back in October of 2011, Cruickshank and Tristar product Mike Ricci battled it out for 5 rounds in Ringside MMA. Cruickshank would eventually win the fight and the title. Mike Ricci has been blasting through his competition on the 16^th season of TUF and will be fighting Colton Smith in the finale at welterweight rather than his natural lightweight. If Mike Ricci wins that fight and drops back down to lightweight, I would love to see a rematch between these two very promising fighters.

Possible matchups for Martinez: Martinez is unbelievably durable and this fight showed that, plus a little more. The amount of head kicks that Cruickshank landed was insane and Martinez took them all, minus one. This KO loss puts Martinez on the brink of getting released. He will most likely be put in a loser goes home bout next and the man for that is Al Iaquinta, who is coming off a first round submission loss to Michael Chiesa.

Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor: This was another really fun fight between two prospects with a solid ground game and a quickly developing standup game. Ramsey looked to finish the fight early after dropping the Boston native with a “crane kick”. He got on top and unleashed a lot of ground and pound. Proctor would get up eventually but still looked hurt. Nijem saw this and attacked, but became a tad bit overzealous and was rocked with a nice 3-4 combo from Proctor. The second round was much closer that easily could have gone either way. Nijem came out strong in the third round; he took him down, defended against submissions, and landed bombs. It was another fantastic fight that ended in a unanimous decision in for Ramsey Nijem.

Possible matchups for Nijem: Ramsey Nijem is definitely improving every fight and with this win I want to see him fight a bigger name. Sam Stout is coming off a demoralizing decision loss to John Makdessi and will be looking for a rebound fight. Nijem is looked for a step up and this fight is the one to make for both these guys.

Possible matchsups for Proctor: The Joe Lauzon student certainly showed a lot of promise throughout this fight but it’s definitely a big loss for Proctor. A fighter also coming off a decision loss to a TUF alumni is Tony Ferguson. This fight could definitely be fun standup war.

Mike Easton vs. Raphael Assuncao: This fight was genuinely disappointing. I was expecting a slugfest with great scrambles on the ground, but it was a tentative Mike Easton stalking Assincao as the Brazilian consistently leg kicked and countered his way to a unanimous decision win. It was a lot of technique between the two and it wasn't as bad as the crowd it out to be. It was a huge win for Assuncao who is now 3-0 at 135 pounds and has become a new contender at bantamweight.

Possible matchups for Assuncao: A brand new contender at bantamweight has emerged. Easton was a pretty hefty favorite heading into this fight with a big hype train and that Assuncao took this on two weeks’ notice. I want him to fight a top guy. Brian Bowles is still healing but once he comes back I want to see these two to fight.

Possible matchups for Easton: This was a huge and disappointing loss for a guy many were considering to be a title contender in 2013.Yves Jabouin is coming off of a violent loss to top contender Brad Pickett. This two could put on a barnburner.

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens: Now this fight was shocking. Edwards’ chin has been seemingly deteriorating recently and many believed the combination of that and Stephens’ blistering power would lead to KO for Jeremy, but Yves apparently didn't receive the memo. When Stephens came in with a huge right hook, Yves countered with a right hook of his own and dropped Stephens. He followed it up with elbows to put him completely unconscious. It was an amazing finish for the veteran and a huge loss for Stephens.

Possible matchups for Edwards: I loved this fight. Edwards is the type of guy who is really hard to dislike and it was awesome seeing him get a win like this. John Makdessi, who is coming off a really impressive unanimous decision win over Sam Stout would put on a great standup war with the “Thugjitsu Master”.

Possible matchups for Stephens: This was his third loss in a row and he will be on the brink of a release. But because of his fighting style and talent, he won’t be. He desperately needs a rebound fight if he wants to stay in the UFC. Anton Kuivanen is a fighter to do that, with a 1-1 record, he could definitely be that rebound fight.

Click here for main card recap.

UFC on Fox 5 Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Ben Henderson vs. Nate Diaz: This event is absolutely ridiculous. The amount of awesomeness that it exudes is overwhelming and this is the perfect fight to cap it off. Many people believe that Ben Henderson should not be the champion and I am certainly one of those people, I personally felt it was quite obvious that Frankie won that second fight. But anyways, Nate Diaz has looked insanely good in his last three fights, and I mean like he completely changed as a fighter. After the ill-advised trip up to welterweight, Diaz came back down to lightweight and absolutely dominated his next three opponents. But those weren’t just any opponents, he destroyed Takanori Gomi everywhere the fight went, landed the most significant strikes in a three round fight against Cerrone, and became the first ever person to finish Jim Miller after destroying him for one and a half rounds. Henderson is the type of fighter who is almost impossible to finish.  Diaz certainly has the skills to be able to finish him, but the chances are slim. Diaz has the better technique and striking, but the grappling department is hard to choose. Diaz has the much better submissions and Judo while Henderson is extremely strong with very solid wrestling. This is simply Nate Diaz’ time and he will continue to dominate = Diaz via unanimous decision. My 1st pick for FOTN!

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Shogun Rua: This fight is fairly easy to predict in my opinion. Shogun looked horrible in his last fight against Brandon Vera while Gustafsson has barely shown a blemish in his last 5 victories. Shogun’s gas tank has shown to be pretty terrible in his last few fights while Gustafsson hasn’t shown much of a problem in that department. I see Gustafsson picking Shogun apart from the outside while his much longer reach en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory = Gustafsson via unanimous decision.

BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald: I am so pumped for this fight. It’s great to see BJ come back for one last fight before calling it quits to one of the greatest careers the MMA world has ever seen. But the main thing I am looking forward to in this fight is how Rory will do against the very best fighter he has ever fought. Many people could argue that the best fighter he has fought is Carlos Condit, but that was the fight before Condit really turned up his game and became a top welterweight. BJ has shown unbelievable motivation for this fight and looks to be in the best shape of his entire career. MacDonald will certainly have his hands full but he will simply be the hungrier, stronger, and larger fighter = MacDonald via unanimous decision.

Mike Swick vs. Matt Brown: BARNBURNER ALERT – Now this is the way to kick off this Fox card. Matt Brown never disappoints in putting on barnburners and Fight of the Night contenders and with a similar fighter in Mike Swick, this will be even better. If this fight stays standing I personally believe that Brown will win this fight, but once it goes to the ground Swick has a significant advantage. Swick’s last performance wasn’t very good for a reason, he had been out for over two years. Now that he has most of his ring rust gone, he will look much better in this fight. This will be a war from the beginning and I see Swick securing a late guillotine for the finish = Mike Swick via 3rd round submission (guillotine). My 2nd pick for FOTN! MY pick for SOTN!

Prelims

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens = Stephens via 3rd round KO.

Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton = Easton via unanimous decision.

Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor = Nijem via unanimous decision.

Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez = Cruickshank via unanimous decision.

Marcus LeVesseur vs. Abel Trujillo = Trujillo via 3rd round TKO.

Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver = Siver via 2nd round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Scott Jorgensen vs. John Albert = Jorgensen via 3rd round submission. My 3rd pick for FOTN!

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Ben Henderson vs. Nate Diaz: Wow what a fight! I rarely pick against champions. The two most recent times were JDS over Cain and Frankie over Ben Henderson. So I’m 1-1 recently when picking against champions. Here I hope to make it 2-1. I truly think Nate Diaz has perfected his game and has entered into his prime. The way he tore apart Gomi, Cerrone and Miller blew my freaking mind! He made it look easy! He has become an elite killer and I have to pick him here. Diaz’s takedown defense is not great but his grappling skills are ridiculous and I think Henderson will have to be on top of his submission defense. This is how the fight will go: Diaz is beating Henderson on the feet, Henderson gets the takedown and is almost submitted a few times. He decides he rather try and land that one big bomb instead of being submitted. Diaz continues to win on the feet and takes it by a close decision. = Diaz by unanimous decision. 

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Shogun Rua: Another amazing fight. This pick has a lot to do with Shogun’s last performance. Shogun barely won a fight against Brandon Vera. Gustafsson is infinitely better than Vera. Gustafsson will use his reach and technically superior striking to stay out of Shogun’s range. But never ever count out Shogun. He has enough power to KO anyone at 205 but I think Gustafsson is going to own this match and take a huge step in his career. = Gustafsson by unanimous decision. 

BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald: And another crazy fight! I agree with Sam that this will be Rory’s hardest fight to date. I think he will struggle in this one more than any other fight. I know that BJ’s name alone with scare Rory a little bit but nothing he can’t handle. I think BJ will have the better standup, I really do. But Rory is so rangy and hard to control. I think Rory’s best bet to win is to get the takedown and stay out of trouble. BJ never submits anyone off his back so I think Rory will be ok. Rory is a big welterweight and I think he will be able to get the takedown after a couple attempts. Luckily Rory has great coaching and they will once again find a way for one of their fighters to win against Penn. = MacDonald by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Mike Swick vs. Matt Brown: Another fun fight. I think this fight will be crazy close. I think Brown is better on the ground and has more power in the striking department. But Swick is more technical and much faster. He will have to use that speed in a major way but I think Brown can make it an ugly fight and drag Swick to the ground and grind it out. = Brown by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens = Stephens by KO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton = Assuncao by unanimous decision.

Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor = Nijem by unanimous decision.

Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez = Cruickshank by unanimous decision.

Marcus LeVesseur vs. Abel Trujillo = LeVesseur via split decision.

Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver = Siver by unanimous decision.

Scott Jorgensen vs. John Albert = Jorgensen by unanimous decision.

MMA Bantamweight Rankings: September Edition

As we at CR continue our rankings, we now head into arguably the entertaining division in MMA: bantamweight.

After the UFC merged with the WEC, the 135ers have headlined multiple UFC cards, including a couple PPVs. Let’s look at where the best in the world rank:

Photo via MMACarnivale.com

10. Tyson Nam – Eduardo Dantas was a consensus top-10 bantamweight and Tyson Nam knocked him out in 1:40 of the very first round. Being number 10 is the lowest spot he deserves for his most recent win. Unfortunately, Tyson Nam is in a bit of a limbo as he is facing a lawsuit from Bellator. There is hashtag on Twitter which says #FreeTysonNam. Everyone should go and try to make this trend. This lawsuit is rather unfair to say the very least.

9. Bibiano Fernandes – So close. The UFC was so close to signing the best bantamweight outside of their 135-lb division. Bibiano Fernandes has been that one guy who UFC fans have been waiting to come over to the world’s largest MMA promotion. With wins over Antonio Banuelos, Masakazu Imanari, Joachim Hansen, and Joe Warren, there is no wonder as to why everyone wants to see him fight in the UFC. He decided to sign with the Asian promotion ONE FC instead.

Photo via FiveOuncesofPain.com

8. Scott Jorgensen – Although he may be riding a two fight losing streak to both Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland, Scott Jorgensen is still immensely talented and one of the best bantamweights in the world. He has wins over the likes of Brad Pickett, Jeff Curran, and Takeya Mizugaki. He has incredible power and is always extremely entertaining.

7. Brad Pickett – “One Punch” has been one of the constant stable mates as a top contender at 135. Never failing to entertain, this Englishman is the type of fighter that the UFC salivates over. He always puts everything on the line and poses as a threat to every fighter at 135.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

6. Eddie Wineland – Wineland was on a two fight losing streak after hard fought and close decision losses to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez. He retaliated with a brutal and shocking 2^nd round KO over Scott Jorgensen. Wineland dominated that fight from the beginning. Renan Barao, the current interim bantamweight champion, couldn’t even do what Wineland did. This showed that Wineland is looking for one more shot at the belt before he decides it’s time to hang up the gloves.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

5. Michael McDonald – 21 years old. How often do you see someone barely old enough to drink and one of the best fighters in his division? Almost never. That’s why McDonald is one of the most promising young fighters in the UFC right now. He has insane power for 135. His KO win over former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres was incredible. It’s terrifying to think that he is only 21. When Jon Jones was 21, he made his UFC debut. Yikes.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

4. Brian Bowles – I love Brian Bowles. I mean, how can you not? He’s unbelievably entertaining, always slugging it out every fight, and he’s a really nice, quite country boy. He is mainly known for his wild standup, but his ground game is solid, considering he was a successful collegiate wrestler. Although he hasn’t fought since his UFC 139 loss (due to constant hand issues), his next fight should be against a big name.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

3. Urijah Faber – Say what you want about Faber constantly being given title shots, but the guy deserves every single one. He is a true legend of the sport and will undoubtedly become a Hall-of-Famer. Sure, his loss to Renan Barao might have dashed his hopes of becoming a UFC champion for a while, but until he loses to a non-champion, he will remain a top-5 fighter,

2. Renan Barao – 31 fights. 29 wins. And only 25 years old. Absolutely incredible. What else can you say about the interim champ? His dominating wins over Chris Cariaso, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen, and Urijah Faber speak for themselves. The kid is easily going to be Dominick Cruz’ hardest test to date, and if he can win, he will be champion for some time to come.

1. Dominick Cruz – One of the most dominate champions, Dominick Cruz easily slides into number one. Hate all you want on his lack of finishing ability, but the guy is truly amazing. His footwork is mesmerizing. What else can you say about it? The guy is a master of footwork and it shows in every one of his performances. He only has two real tests left and if he can get past both of those guys, I don’t really see anyone beating him.

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