UFC on Fox 4 Main Card Recap

The Dragon is back.
Photo by MMAFighting.com

The fourth event that the UFC has held was the most underwhelming on paper leading up to it. It ended up as one of the better events the sport has had in some time. With all of the main card fights being finished and two of them being absolute wars. Not only is this the type of event that you would show to haters of the sport, but also it just happened to be shown on one of the most watched channels in the world. Joe Silva and Sean Shelby knew what they were doing with the matchups on this card.

Possible matchups for Swick: Swick is back, although the first round wasn’t all that great for, now that he has the first fight under his belt, Swick will be much better in his second outing. Thiago Alves is still looking for an opponent in his next fight and Swick’s win certainly put him back up in the upper echelon of 170 pounds.

Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson: After 2.5 years from fighting, Mike Swick finally made his return after a string of nearly career ending injuries. His ring rust wasn’t evident through the first minute of the fight as he was continually rocking Johnson with punches. DaMarques got the fight to the ground and easily won the first round after nearly being finished. Swick came out much stronger in the 2nd and knocked out Johnson after a takedown. Swick followed it up with one of the more emotional post fight interviews as he was in tears asking if we remembered him. Yes we do.

Possible matchups for Swick: Swick is back, although the first round wasn’t all that great for him, he now has that first fight under his belt, Swick will be much better in his second outing. Thiago Alves is still looking for an opponent in his next fight and Swick’s win certainly put him back up in the upper echelon of 170 pounds.

Possible matchups for Johnson: Johnson is undoubtedly close to being released. If he wants to stay with the UFC, he should fight Chris Clements who is also coming off a loss if he wants to keep his job.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner: This fight is easily in the lead for Fight of the Year. Jamie Varner nearly finished Lauzon in the first round more than once but Lauzon came back in the second, which was the round that they swung for the fences. They connected on each other multiple times and the ground game was back and forth as they consistently swept each other. Eventually in an amazing scramble, Lauzon caught Varner in a triangle to finish the fight. The fight was amazing and was the perfect fight to show to millions of new viewers to the sport.

Possible matchups for Lauzon: Lauzon’s cardio looked great in this fight. Typically that is his Achilles heel and this time around, that wasn’t the case. Rafael dos Anjos is also coming off a big win over Anthony Njokuani and this fight would send the winner straight into title contention.

Possible matchups for Varner: This fight is still a win in many people’s eyes for Varner. He looked great and deserves a full fight camp against a top guy. The loser of the Cerrone/Guillard fight would make a lot of sense, especially if it’s Cerrone.

Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader: Lyoto Machida arguably has the most technical striking in all of MMA. He is so masterful and beautiful in his counter striking. This performance was absolutely incredible and that second round KO definitely solidifies a title shot.

Possible matchups for Machida: He is already announced to be fighting the winner of Dan Henderson and Jon Jones.

Possible matchups for Ryan Bader: James Te Huna is the next big thing at 205 and Ryan Bader continues to look like a gatekeeper. That fight would be great and huge fight for Te Huna.

Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera: Shocking. That is the only word to sum this fight up. It’s not only shocking that Vera did so well, almost finishing Shogun in the second, but the fact that it is also a frontrunner for Fight of the Year. I personally expected this fight to be rather boring. It was anything but. Vera realized that this was his fight to lose and he came out with a fire in his eyes. He came out as the old Brandon Vera, the one people considered to be the next champion in more than one weight class simultaneously, and he showed more heart than the average UFC champion. Although they both showed cardio issues, they looked amazing and they both showed why they are considered title contenders. Truly shocking.

Possible matchups for Shogun: The fight that everyone has been talking about is Shogun vs. Alexander Gustafsson as a number 1 contender’s match. Yes please.

Possible matchups for Vera: When Vera originally came back to the UFC, there were talks of him and Thiago Silva having a rematch. If Brandon Vera could come out to that fight the same way he did for this fight, he would most likely win.

Click here for the prelim recap.

UFC on Fox 4 Prelim Recap

The star of the prelims, John Moraga finishes Ulysses Gomez.
Photo by MMAWeekly.com

The fourth event that the UFC has held was the most underwhelming on paper leading up to it. It ended up as one of the better events the sport has had in some time. With all of the main card fights being finished and two of them being absolute wars, the card was an absolute success. Not only is this the type of event that you would show to nonbelievers of the sport, but also it just happened to be shown on one of the most watched channels in the world. Joe Silva and Sean Shelby knew what they were doing with the matchups on this card.

Ulysses Gomez vs. John Moraga: Moraga came into this fight as a decent underdog. Gomez was ranked in the top 10 at 125 and has some great BJJ, but Moraga seemed much faster and much more powerful as he stuffed all of Gomez’ takedowns and eventually finished him with a beautiful combo of uppercuts and elbows. Moraga is the real deal.

Possible matchups for Moraga: His original opponent for this fight was Ian McCall, which confused a lot of people at the time. Now, after this performance, I would absolutely love to see that fight, because I believe that Moraga will be challenging for the title sooner rather than later.

Possible matchups for Gomez: When the flyweight division was originally added, people wanted Gomez in as soon as possible. His debut was a huge disappointment but he still is a top-15 flyweight. Josh Ferguson still hasn’t been officially released by the UFC and I’m sure that Gomez is itching for a rebound fight.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Michihiro Omigawa: This fight was great. Omigawa came out very strong in the first and even rocked Manny with some of his powerful short punches. Gamburyan came back, though, and almost finished Omigawa himself. The fight was very back and forth and Gamburyan ultimately took the unanimous decision, leading to the very likely release of Michihiro Omigawa.

Possible matchups for Gamburyan: Manny is still a very solid fighter with some of the best Judo at 145 pounds. Him and both Darren Elkins have wins over Omigawa and the winner would certainly get a solid step up in competition.

Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson: This fight’s first round was horribly sloppy and terribly boring as it was reminiscent of the infamous Cheick Kongo/Shawn Jordan fight. De Fries eventually rocked Thompson badly and finished the fight with a face crank in the 2nd round. With Thompson now 0-2 in the UFC, he will most likely be cut, as both his losses were finishes as well.

Possible matchups for De Fries: Shawn Jordan is coming off of a loss and they are both two of the bigger prospects in the heavyweight division. A win for either man would be huge.

Rani Yahya vs. Josh Grispi: Never, have I ever seen a bizarre nickname more apt to a fighter. Josh Grispi was once considered to be the next big thing, he even had a title fight lined up against Jose Aldo in what was going to be the first ever featherweight title fight. Once Aldo hurt his neck, Grispi has never been the same. He lost to both Dustin Poirier (UD) and George Roop (TKO). People were scratching their heads at just how quickly his career disintegrated right in front of our eyes. His nickname is “The fluke”, have you ever heard of such a perfect nickname? Anyway, Rani Yahya proved to us why he has one of the best ground games in all of MMA. He choked out the former number 1 contender with a north/south choke that wasn’t even fully locked in. It was slick, and beautiful. Grispi is most likely gone after losing 3 in a row.

Possible matchups for Yahya: Rani Yahya is one of the more underrated fighters in the UFC. A lot of people were picking Grispi, and I personally thought that was just plain crazy. Grispi has some of the worst fight IQ in the UFC and it was shown as he threw a kick at Yahya when he should have just boxed with him. Hacran Dias is one of the more hyped fighters presently in the UFC and Yahya would show us just how good Dias truly is.

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado: Prado was looking very good against a top 10 light heavyweight. He was backing Davis up when Phil accidently scraped Prado’s eye with his finger. The ref then stopped the fight when Prado said he was seeing double, even though Prado can’t really speak English. It was really disappointing because Prado was looking solid and it was absolutely heartbreaking as he was screaming “WHY?!” at the top of his lungs as he watched his months of work and his dream get flushed down the toilet in a no contest.

Possible matchups for Prado and Davis: Looks like that toilet is giving it back to Prado. The rematch is already being set up for UFC on FX 5.

Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan: This fight would have been FOTN on most other cards, and yet it came in 3^rd. These guys put on a war for 3 rounds with some beautiful boxing, mainly on the part of Phan. He showed some of the best boxing combinations that I have seen in a really long time in the UFC. I was shocked by the split decision. I thought that it was a very clear 29-28 for Phan.

Possible matchups for Phan: Nam Phan is highly underrated, his performance Saturday further proved just how good Jimy Hettes is. Jonathan Brookins is coming off a tough loss to Charles Oliviera and these guys would certainly put on an awesome fight wherever that it goes.

Possible matchups for Miller: Cole Miller has a ton of potential, but he still has yet to find it. The only time that we had a sneak peak in what was to come was in his win over Ross Pearson when he dominated the standup, rocked him, and submitted him. Miller is close to being released. Him and Cody McKenzie are both close to being released and are very tall, lanky featherweights.

Click here for the main card recap.

UFC on Fox 4: Shogun vs. Vera Predictions

UFC on Fox 4

Sam's Picks
Main Card

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Brandon Vera: The fact that the UFC made this the main event of a Fox card is just plain bizarre. The last time that Vera won against anyone who was anywhere near close to be considered a title contender was an out of shape, just recovered from a major motorcycle accident, and nervous Frank Mir. That was back at UFC 65 and he won via first round TKO. After that, he went 4-5 and if you want to count the Thiago Silva fight: 4-6. Shogun’s career himself is winding down and isn’t near a title shot in most people’s opinion. Shogun literally has the advantage anywhere this fight goes: the ground, striking, and the clinch. And when I think about it, Vera doesn’t have the power for a puncher’s chance; therefore, there is quite literally no chance for him to win. It would be awesome to see him win though to resurge his career = Shogun by 4^th round TKO.  My pick for KOOTN!

Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader: This fight is tough to pick. Bader has looked very good since his last loss to Tito and Machida looked like the old Machida in the first round against Jones back at UFC 140. Although, Bader’s last win wasn’t all that impressive due to the fact that it was a unanimous decision win over an extremely under motivated Rampage Jackson, it was still a win over a former champion and that certainly counts for something. But the one thing that I haven’t seen anyone talk about yet is the fact that this fight may have title implications on the line. Machida’s sole purpose in life is to be a champion, if this fight has a title shot at the end of it for the winner, then Machida is going to be one of the best fighters in the world due to motivation = Machida by 3^rd round TKO.

Jamie Varner vs. Joe Lauzon: This fight is another hard one to pick because Varner looked amazing in his last performance and Lauzon showed that he is capable of being KO’d in his. If Varner can come out with the same aggressiveness that he did against Barboza, then he should be able to win this one. Lauzon fights like such a veteran though. He’s patient and always finds a way to win. I really want to go with Varner but Lauzon is the much more careful pick = Lauzon by 2^nd round submission (choke). My pick for SOTN and 2^nd for FOTN!!

Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson: I am super happy to finally see Swick making his comeback. After two and a half years of absence, he is returning in a big fight. The first fight on Fox is extremely important and both Johnson and Swick are highly entertaining fighters that love to bang. I see Swick winning this fight wherever it goes = Swick by unanimous decision.  My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Prelims

Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan = Miller by 1^st round submission (triangle choke)

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado = Davis by 1^st round submission

Josh Grispi vs. Rani Yahya = Yahya by 3^rd round submission

Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson = De Fries by split decision

Manny Gamburyan vs. Michihiro Omigawa = Gamburyan by split decision

Ulysses Gomez vs. John Moraga = Gomez by 2^nd round submission (RNC). My 1^st pick for FOTN!

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Brandon Vera: This fight is weird and makes no sense in a lot of ways. Shogun has been fighting big names and 3 fights ago he was a champion. Vera is 1-2 in his last 3 but also lost a fight to Thiago Silva, but that was turned into a no contest when Silva tested positive for steroids. Vera has had a weird and up and down UFC career. However he finds himself in a title contender match against a guy who does not deserve one himself. Everyone is making a big deal that Vera should not get a shot at the title; well I am saying Shogun should not either. Shogun is only 4-4 in the UFC and is coming off a loss. Shogun beat Mark Coleman (8 years past his prime) in one of the sloppiest fights ever. He then beat Chuck Liddell (2 years past his prime). Then received a title shot and lost a close decision. Then KO’d Machida in an instant rematch for the title. Then lost the most one-sided title fight in which the champion lost that I have ever seen in MMA. Then he KO’d Forrest Griffin (2 years past his prime). Then he lost to Dan Henderson. What about this plus beating Vera equals a title shot? I don’t understand it. This fight might be fun or boring based on Shoguns aggressiveness. But I see Shogun being able to dominate in the clinch but I wouldn’t mind seeing resurgence in Vera. = Shogun by unanimous decision.

Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida: Now this fight will be a fun one. Bader is going to have a hard time getting this to the ground. I think Bader is a tailor made opponent for the elusive Machida and I see Machida winning a decision that hopefully turns his career back around. = Machida by unanimous decision.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner: This fight will be a ton of fun. Both of these guys go for it from bell to bell. I think Lauzon will have the advantage on the ground but Varner will have the advantage standing. I think if Varner can get out of the first round and wear Lauzon down he can take 2 out of the 3 rounds. = Varner by unanimous decision.  My Pick for Fight of the Night!

DaMarques Johnson vs. Mike Swick: If Swick didn’t miss two and a half years due to injuries then I would pick him to win in a heartbeat. Swick is faster, stronger and has better striking. Johnson might have the advantage on the ground. He looked good grappling against John Maguire before getting submitted. This one is hard to pick for me but I am going with Swick because he comes from a great camp with training partners that are much better than Johnson = Swick by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan: Miller by unanimous decision.

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado: Davis by unanimous decision.

Josh Grispi vs. Rani Yahya: Yahya by unanimous decision.

Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson: De Fries by unanimous decision.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Michihiro Omigawa: Omigawa by split decision.

Ulysses Gomez vs. John Moraga: Gomez by split decision.