UFC on Fox 6 Main Card Recap

Lamas landing a vicious elbow on Koch.
Photo via Sherdog.com

Erik Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas: I don’t believe people are going to doubt Lamas anymore. He has been the underdog in his last two fights, but this time, Lamas was out to really prove a point. The first round wasn’t particularly exciting with Lamas clinching against the fence for a majority of the first five minutes. The second round was a different story though. Lamas slipped about a minute in and when Koch attempted to get on top, Lamas somehow slipped under for a takedown. When on top, Lamas landed some of more brutal elbows that I have ever seen. It ripped Koch’s eyebrow open letting blood poor out. Lamas absolutely demolished Koch, showing he is the number one contender.

Possible matchups for Lamas: I’m pretty sure that this win puts Lamas up for the winner of Aldo and Edgar. How can you deny him the title shot?

Possible matchups for Koch: Even though he may be coming off of a huge loss like this, he is still one of the best fighters at 145 pounds. Dennis Siver and Dustin Poirier are fighting in a few weeks in Japan, looking to move up the featherweight ladder. The loser of that fight should face off with Koch.

Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis: It’s funny how the two fights I had the most trouble in picking were two of the more one sided bouts the whole night. Pettis was using excellent angles, moving in and out with jabs and hooks, not letting Cerrone get anything off. He even threw a little “Showtime” flair, throwing a knee off of the cage in close quarters. And he landed it. Right after that, Pettis landed a hard kick to the body, flattening Cerrone and getting the first round TKO victory.

Possible matchups for Pettis: I’m pretty sure that Pettis should get title shot after this win. Ben Henderson and Gilbert Melendez will be fighting for the lightweight belt at UFC on Fox 7, Pettis deserves the winner.

Possible matchups for Cerrone: So far his two title eliminator fights in the UFC have gone horribly wrong. He has been completely dominated in both those fights and both of those fights were grudge matches. If he ever gets into another title eliminator, he needs it to be against someone he doesn’t hate. I would like to see him fight Jim Lauzon, who is coming off of a fight of the night decision loss to Jim Miller.

Rampage Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira: Rampage has had an amazing career, but this is Teixeira’s time. Rampage showed fantastic head movement and landed a lot of amazing combinations. But while he landed good combinations, Teixeira nearly finished Rampage on multiple occasions with big hooks that would put a majority of the fighters in the UFC unconscious. Rampage visibly gassed out in the second and Teixeira easily beat him to a easy unanimous decision win.

Possible matchups for Teixeira: With this huge win for Teixeira, he has emerged as a very dangerous contender. It’s hard to say who he should fight next but I would like to see him fight Phil Davis if he really wants to prove himself as a top contender.

Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson: When you put a title fight on the Fox network, you want to have an exciting back and forth affair that is exciting everywhere that the fight goes. That is exactly what this fight was. Johnson showed that he did have the slight speed advantage but Dodson instantly imposed his power. With a fast paced feeling out process in the first round, the second was all Dodson. He dropped Johnson about three times, nearly finishing him on the third occasion. Johnson showed amazing heart, the heart of a champion, as he persevered and came back even stronger than he did in the first. Johnson began to batter Dodson with knees and punches throughout the fourth and fifth rounds. It was fantastic show of heart from both fighters. Dodson will get a rematch in the near future.

Possible matchups for Johnson: The flyweight title picture is a tad precarious at the moment following this fight. Will Johnson fight John Moraga next? Or will he fight the winner of Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall? Maybe even a fight with Darrel Montague if the UFC signs him. All of these fights make sense for Johnson and they all have the chance to be a fight of the year.

Possible matchups for Dodson: There is no doubt in my mind that Dodson will get another title shot in the near future. The fight was so close and he showed so much heart that the UFC will grant him another title shot with another win or two. Chris Cariaso is coming off of a third round submission loss to John Moraga and he would make a great matchup for Dodson.

UFC on Fox 6 Prelim Recap

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 1^st 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.

UFC on Fox 6: Johnson vs. Dodson Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson: Speed; the one word that is surrounding this whole title fight. Who will be the faster one? Who will have the advantage on the ground? These are two most important factors entering the fight. And the man to have the advantage in both is the champion, Demetrious Johnson. He has the better footwork, wrestling, and submissions. Dodson has the power to knock anyone at featherweight and under on their butt, but overall, Johnson is the more well-rounded fighter. Keeping distance away and moving in and out of Dodson’s power punches with some takedowns mixed in should be Johnson’s gameplan. It will be an extremely close fight, but Johnson’s superior skills will earn him the nod = Johnson via unanimous decision (48-47). My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Rampage Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira: I really try not to fall into hype trains, and mostly fail, but I don’t think that Teixeira is a hype train. He is a legitimate contender and can defeat almost anybody at 205. A year ago, I would have picked Rampage hands down, but his lack of motivation is a turn off. He said he was motivated heading into his fight with Bader, but he was dominated. His heart just isn’t in it anymore, and Teixeira is just heading into his prime = Teixeira via unanimous decision (30-26).

Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis: BARNBURNER ALERT: When having two of the most entertaining guys in MMA facing off, it typically leads to an amazing fight. When you add in the fact that they really dislike each other and that there’s a title shot on the line, you have yourselves a fight of the year in the works. That is exactly what this fight is. Possibly the most interesting variable heading into this fight is the fact that both of these guys are really good off their back. They love the triangle and are very good at sweeps. One of Cerrone’s last outings against Jeremy Stephens was arguably the most impressive Donald Cerrone that we have ever seen, and he fought with a horrific intestinal problem. If you compare the difference in both Pettis’ and Cerrone’s last fights with Jeremy Stephens, it’s completely different. Pettis arguably lost to Jeremy and Cerrone absolutely destroyed him. Though this is MMA and anything can happen, but Cerrone is just too hard to bet against = Cerrone via split decision. My 1st pick for FOTN!

Erik Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas: I really, really hope that this is a number one contender’s bout. Lamas derailed Hioki’s title hopes with a shocking (though not to me) decision win over him. Koch is one of the more promising fighters in MMA today, possessing rare finishing ability for a featherweight. Koch’s one blemish to his record comes at the hands of Chad Mendes, a very strong wrestler. Guess what Lamas is. Yep, a very strong wrestler, and arguably stronger than Mendes. Lamas could possibly be the strongest featherweight in the UFC. Lamas’ last three wins are much more impressive than Koch’s. Koch has beaten Francisco Rivera by 1st round TKO (a bantamweight), Raphael Assuncao by 1st round KO (also a bantamweight), and a debatable win over Jonathan Brookins (who is semi-retired at the moment). Lamas murdered Matt Grice by 1st round TKO (a decent wrestler, nothing insane), demolished Cub Swanson by second round arm triangle (who is on a three fight win streak all by (T)KO) and an upset over former number 1 contender in Hatsu Hioki. Also, Koch hasn’t fought in 15 months = Lamas via unanimous decision.

Prelims

TJ Grant vs. Matt Wiman: I’m having a lot trouble picking between these two guys. Both have looked fantastic lately against very solid competition. It’s fun to see two of the more underrated guys in the UFC fight to finally become someone relevant in the title picture. When breaking down the aspects of MMA, Grant has the advantage overall. His striking is improving rapidly and looked great against Evan Dunham, his wrestling is better and his submission game is very dangerous. Wiman is a bit of a wild card though; he takes everyone by surprise, he certainly did against Paul Sass in his last outing. With them being such similar fighters talent-wise, I’m leaning towards the stronger fighter = Grant via split decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

Hatsu Hioki vs. Clay Guida: I don’t really see as to why people are having so much trouble predicting this fight. The last person that Hioki fought was Ricardo Lamas, a strong and powerful wrestler with solid striking. Guida is a strong and powerful wrestler with fantastic striking. Hioki has looked terrible in the UFC thus far (minus his fight with Palaszewski, he looked fantastic) and Guida is almost a better version of Lamas = Guida via unanimous decision.

Ryan Bader vs. Vladimir Matyushenko: I love Matyushenko but his days are quickly coming to an end. He can’t hang with solid fighters anymore. Bader is still a contender and he will rebound from his last loss to Machida with a violent KO, or a grinding decision = Bader via 1st round KO. MY pick for KOOTN!

Mike Russow vs. Shawn Jordan: Even though Jordan’s last fight with Kongo was truly one of the worst fights that my eyes have ever beheld, he is still an exciting prospect. He is crazy athletic for a heavyweight, which is always a plus in MMA. Russow is a very different fighter though. He isn’t particularly athletic, but he knows how to get the job done. His superior grappling will grind Jordan out to a decision win. I just hope the UFC keeps Jordan around to show his potential = Russow via unanimous decision.

Pascal Krauss vs. Mike Stumpf = Krauss via 1st round submission (armbar). My pick for FOTN!

Rafael Natal vs. Sean Spencer = Natal via 3rd round submission.

David Mitchell vs. Simeon Thoresen = Thoresen via unanimous decision.

Dave's Picks

Main Card

Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson: This will be the fastest fight any of us will ever see. These guys might be the fastest fighters in MMA, but I think this fight will be pretty similar to Johnson vs. Benavidez. I see Johnson outwrestling Dodson due to being the faster fighter and having the better wrestling. I do think Dodson will be stronger and have more punching power but other than that I think Johnson has every advantage. This will be close, just like every Johnson fight, but the champ will take it due to superior wrestling and speed. = Johnson by unanimous decision.

Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira: This fight should be a brawl. Glover is going to kill Rampage and it’s going to be awesome. Rampage has been easily handled in his last two fights and hasn’t fought in 11 months. Glover hasn’t lost since 2005…and is coming off of two huge wins in the UFC. Be prepared to see a legend of the sport get totally outclassed on the feet and on the ground. This will be brutal and if you are a Rampage fan, this is the fight for you to go to the kitchen and grab another slice of pizza until you hear Goldy say “It’s all over!” = Glover by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis: Definitely my pick for Fight of the Night! These guys are elite kick boxers and good on the ground. This fight will be incredibly fun to watch but very hard to predict. Pettis has shown a weakness to strikers and wrestlers who are aggressive and have good submission defense. (Stephens, Guida, Ben Henderson, Palaszewski). Cerrone can struggle against strikers who are diverse in their attacks (like Ben Henderson, Nate Diaz) and Pettis is incredibly diverse in his attack. Pettis hasn’t fought in almost a year and Cerrone’s camp (Jackson) has been studying Pettis for some time now. This is so hard to pick but I’m going with the Jackson camp. = Cerrone by split decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Erik Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas: This is another possible Fight of the Night candidate. Sam and I were the only people picking Lamas against Hioki and he ended up beating him handily. Koch has his work cut out for him due to the fact that Lamas is one hell of a wrestler. Koch’s only loss is to a wrestler (Chad Mendes). My only concern in picking Lamas is that his two loses have been by KO. Koch has the ability to KO anyone at 145 pounds. I think the safer bet is to always go with the fighter most likely to control the fight then it is to pick the fighter that might have a chance at a KO = Lamas by unanimous decision.

Prelims

T.J. Grant vs. Matt Wiman: This fight should be an awesome one as well. Grant should have the better wrestling and striking but Wiman definitely has the better submissions and fight IQ. I think Grant can use his superior size advantage to bully Wiman for 3 rounds but I wouldn’t be shocked if Wiman found a way to win. Both of these guys are highly underrated and I can’t wait to see this one. = Grant by unanimous decision.

Clay Guida vs. Hatsu Hioki: This fight depends solely on Hioki’s takedown defense and submission offense. I see Guida pushing the pace and roughing Hioki up against the fence while Hioki tries to find a submission. This is a very hard fight to pick but I just have not been impressed with Hioki at all since he joined the UFC = Guida by split decision.

Ryan Bader vs. Vladimir Matyushenko: This fight should be exciting. I am a huge fan of both guys. I think Bader will just be too big and strong for Vlad. I think that Vlad has the chance to KO Bader but I believe Bader will out wrestle Vlad for a decision win = Bader by unanimous decision.

Shawn Jordan vs. Mike Russow = Jordan by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Pascal Krauss vs. Mike Stumpf = Krauss by unanimous decision.

Rafael Natal vs. Sean Spencer = Natal by split decision.

David Mitchell vs. Simeon Thoresen = Thoresen by unanimous decision.