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| The knockout blow from Cung Le. |
The UFC’s sixth event on Fuel TV and first to China came with mixed
results, but was ultimately a success. It had several great fights, breakouts
of future stars, and a spectacular knockout and comeback. It also showed us
several fighters who don’t have what it takes to be in the UFC. Let’s see what
these fights were and give them some matchups.
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland: Takeya Mizugaki unsurprisingly ran
through the submission wrestler in Jeff Hougland. For the full 15 minutes
Takeya Mizugaki out grappled and out struck Hougland en route to a dominant
unanimous decision win. Hougland is a one dimensional grappler and he was out
grappled by a striker, leading me to believe that he isn’t UFC quality. With
this being his second brutal unanimous decision loss, I would suspect that he
would be released.
Tieqhan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck: I have got to say, I am very surprised as
to how great this fight was. From the opening bell these two slugged it out and
had some crazy scrambles on the ground. Zhang’s standup certainly looked
improved, though it was still very sloppy, but his ground looked to still be on
the same level as before, though he never even attempted a single guillotine. Tuck
was on another level as Zhang had to constantly defend armbars and
triangle attempts from the Guam native. Tuck also showed much more technical
striking with punches down the middle as Zhang was throwing wild haymakers.
Ultimately, Tuck would win a unanimous decision and spoil the Chinese native’s
homecoming. With this loss making Zhang 1-4 in his last five fights, he will
inevitably be released from the UFC.
Possible matchups for Tuck: This guy looks like a stud. He has a great
all around MMA game and I can’t wait to see where he takes his UFC career. I
want him to fight a bigger name (that's actually UFC quality) and I believe I
have found just that man. Mac Danzig lost a close split decision to MMA legend
Takanori Gomi which makes him 3-6 in his last nine, which is less than
impressive. If Danzig wants to stay in the UFC, he should fight the up and
coming Jon Tuck.
Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig: This fight was awesome for more than just
the fact that it was a great fight, but it looked like the return of vintage Gomi. No, not the one that would knockout people like it was nothing,
but the Gomi who actually took his time and planned out combinations rather than
the Gomi that joined the UFC and was trying to knock everyone’s head off. He
would pick shots and stuff good takedown attempts from Danzig. Eventually, Gomi
would squeak by Danzig but not without looking very impressive.
Possible matchups for Gomi: I thought heading into this fight that
Danzig would easily win this and most likely retire Gomi, but that was
not the case. I want Gomi to continue fighting good fighters. Melvin Guillard
and Jamie Varner are fighting at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale in what will
definitely be a Fight of the Year contender. I want Gomi to fight the winner of
that lightweight showdown for what should be another Fight of the Year
contender.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago: I have to say, I am extremely impressed
with Kim’s performance. I really felt as though Thiago was going to win this
fight, but Kim dominated this fight from beginning to end everywhere that the
fight went. Whether it was standing, on the ground, or in the clinch, Kim
controlled this fight. He was clearly on a mission to win this fight and bring
himself back into title contention. I have to say though; I am really disappointed
in how Thiago’s career has played out. I really felt as though he was going to
become a title contender, or at least one of the top welterweights in the
world. But now, he will most likely be released from the promotion. He needs to either make MMA a full-time job, or give it up completely.
Possible matchups for Kim: Following this very impressive win, Kim
started asking for a rematch with Demian Maia. Honestly, now that they are both
coming off of extremely impressive performances, I would like to see this. His
loss to Maia was a crazy accident where he had some bizarre muscle spasm in his
torso where it ended the fight before anything good could even happen.
Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov: This fight was pretty awesome and I was
pretty darn impressed with Nedkov through the first two rounds. He nearly
finished Silva on multiple occasions and came especially close to winning in
the second round. If Nedkov could work on his all-around technique, he could
certainly turn into a title contender. He also desperately needs to work on his
cardio, which was quite evident in the third round. After two strong rounds in
his favor, he was visibly fatigued and Silva took advantage. Thiago took him
down early and eventually secured an extremely tight arm-triangle choke for the
great comeback finish.
Possible matchups for Silva: Thiago Silva is still a contender in 205
pound division, despite not looking all that stellar as of late. Because he
nearly lost this fight on a few occasions, I want to see him fight against one
more up and comer. That person would be Ryan Jimmo, who is coming off of a 7
second knockout of Anthony Perosh. This could be a fight to launch Silva back up
the rankings or it could be a fight to truly show the skills that Jimmo
possesses.
Possible matchups for Nedkov: Despite the loss, Nedkov certainly
impressed many with his dominant first two rounds over Thiago Silva. If he can
work on his overall technique and cardio, he will become a force at light
heavyweight. Another fighter who is climbing his way up the ranks is James Te
Huna. These guys could put on one of the best fights of the year with a crazy
slugfest.
Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le: This fight was shocking. It actually made me
gasp out loud when the finish happened. Not much was really happening for the
first few minutes but Rich kept on throwing leg kicks while leaving his hands
down. There were blatant counters open for Le to capitalize on. He inevitably
did and it put Franklin as unconscious as unconscious gets. It was an extremely
impressive finish from Le. I would like to have both these guys retire, but
that’s wishful thinking.
Possible matchups for Le: With this devastating knockout, Le has become
a legitimate contender in the UFC. Even though most of us probably want him to
retire on such a high note, for a guy like Le, he will most likely want to keep
going. A fighter that is looking to get back into title contention is Mark
Munoz. This fight would certainly bring out fireworks.
Possible matchups for Franklin: I really, really wish that Franklin
would retire after this fight. I wanted to believe him that he could go for
another title run, but it just simply wasn’t the case. If he doesn’t retire, I’m
sure he wants to go out with style. The fighter to do that is Chris Leben, who
is fighting Karlos Vemola at UFC 155 in December. Win or lose, Leben vs.
Franklin would be an awesome fight.
Click
here for the prelim recap.
