UFC 175 postmortem: Where do we go from here?

Photo credit: John Locher/Associated Press 

By: Chris Huntemann, Columnist

In case you already forgot, UFC 175 was last weekend, and it included two showstopping performances from two of the UFC’s premier champions: Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey.

The career paths of those two and others may take an interesting turn following their performances. I’ll share my thoughts on where I think some of their paths will take them.  

Urijah Faber Faber made a rare preliminary card appearance prior to the actual PPV, securing a rear-naked choke victory against Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres. Although Faber was a heavy favorite, Caceres gave “The California Kid” all he could handle. Faber was medically suspended following the show and will be sidelined until 2015. By then he might have the opportunity for a rubber match with his nemesis Dominick Cruz, assuming “The Dominator” gets past Takeya Mizugaki in September. He might also be ready for a title shot against the winner of T.J. Dillashaw/Renan Barao 2 at UFC 177 on Aug. 30.

But, would Faber be willing to fight his teammate for the belt? According to this article, only if asked by Dillashaw. I’d count on Faber being in the mix yet again for a bantamweight title shot by this time next year. If we get Cruz/Faber 3, all the better.

Matt Mitrione/Stefan Struve This fight was cancelled at the last minute when Struve passed out in the locker room. Struve is coming off a long break due to a serious heart ailment, the type of condition that makes any athlete second-guess what he or she is doing. Struve says he’s fine and that what happened isn’t related to his condition. Mitrione has already moved on and is slated to face Derrick Lewis in September. I think after getting his health in order, we’ll see Struve in the new year, maybe against someone like Gabriel Gonzaga.

Ronda Rousey has another bout under her championship belt, and it was another instance of out-and-out domination for Rousey. If there was still any doubt that she is the most dominant fighter in women’s MMA, it was thoroughly eradicated with her 16-second obliteration of Alexis Davis. Now Rousey gets some well-deserved time off, thanks to a hand injury and arthroscopic knee surgery that will keep her on the shelf until next year.

The big news in women’s MMA is not only Rousey’s domination of Davis, but also the fact that UFC signed Holly Holm, long rumored to be the next formidable challenger for Rousey. She will most likely need to win at least one fight before getting a title shot. Rousey’s rumored other challenger, Cat Zingano, makes her return against Amanda Nunes at UFC 178. Cris "Cyborg" Justino is also in the mix now that she is apparently agreeing to terms with Invicta and plans to fight at 135 pounds.

So where does this leave Rousey in the new year? I think if Zingano makes short work of Nunes (which I believe she will), she will finally get her long-awaited title shot, and we will possibly see yet another Rousey domination.  

Chris Weidman: Any belief that Weidman’s two victories against Anderson Silva were a fluke was hopefully erased after his performance against Lyoto Machida. Weidman received all he could handle from “The Dragon,” but he displayed a champion’s mettle and perseverance and battled through. It is definitely Weidman’s division now. So, who will be his next challenge? I think it will be Vitor Belfort. He seems to finally be working through his drug testing-related issues and will finally receive a title shot that seemed to be a lock after he knocked out Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson back-to-back-to-back. Will “The Phenom” be the same fighter without testosterone? I guess we’ll find out. But a battle between Belfort and Weidman will definitely be must-see-TV in the new year.  

Chris Huntemann writes about mixed martial arts in the state of Maryland. He also contributes his thoughts to our site on the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Check out his blog, or follow him on Twitter: @mmamaryland.

UFC Seves Up Two Incredible Cards With Champs Retaining Belts and a Legend Leaving the Cage Behind

By: Rich Bergeron

UFC 175 and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale took center stage at Mandalay Bay this weekend as part of the biggest fight week of the year in Las Vegas.

First up was UFC 175, where the main event saw Chris Weidman (12-0) prove his doubters wrong by dominating Lyoto Machida (21-5) over the first three rounds. Weidman did have to weather a late storm from the Karate expert, who turned on the jets late in the fight and seemed to have Weidman in survival mode by the final bell.  The champion retained his belt, but he told Color Commentator Joe Rogan that he didn't remember parts of the fight. This is concerning to many in the MMA media, but Weidman also tempered those remarks by saying he was just fighting in the moment. It also came to light after the bout that Weidman had one of his worst training camps ever and was still recovering from knee surgery and a camp injury. Either way, it looked like Machida was auditioning for "Dancing With The Stars" in the first few rounds. His style needs to be more aggressive through the entire fight if he wants to stay relevant in the division. Weidman was patient, and it paid off with the judges giving him a unanimous decision by a wide points margin. 

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey (10-0) took just 16 seconds to bulldoze over Alexis Davis (16-6). After a few punches were exchanged, Rousey executed a phenomenal Judo throw, holding onto Davis in a tight headlock as both fighters hit the ground. Rousey rained down at least seven straight shots to the face of Davis before the ref jumped in to save the day. Still, Davis fought on in zombie mode, first clinging to Rousey's waist and then trying to take the referee down before realizing what happened.

There was more to talk about in the post fight interview process there, as Rogan relayed a question from "the truck" in reference to the possibility of Rousey fighting at UFC 176. She replied that she'd have to talk to her team, but Dana White then appeared to berate Rogan after apologizing to Rousey for the suggestion. Obviously White and the truck weren't on the same page.

Further adding injury to insult was a backstage scene in which Rousey had to have her hand stitched up due to a knuckle injury she left untreated. A cyst developed in the previous cut that split open again in the fight. Rousey will also undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, which she said is already scheduled. She previously stated she wanted to take a long break after this fight, so we probably won't see her back in the cage until late this year.

Uriah Hall (9-4) weathered a broken toe to beat Thiago Santos (9-3) in one of the most gutsy performances of his career. Hall earned the unanimous decision despite the doctor almost stopping the fight when Hall came back to his corner after the first round with his toe just about twisted off his foot.

"The California Kid" Uriah Hall (31-7) appeared for the first time in a long time on the undercard Saturday night against a game Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (10-6, 1 N/C).  Caceres gave Faber some trouble early on with his awkward style, but Faber used his wrestling and jiu jitsu to maintain control of the fight until he sunk a picture-perfect rear naked choke to end the fight at the 1:09 mark of the third round.

In Other Results:

Russell Doane (14-3) won a split decision against Marcus Brimage (6-3)
Kenny Robertson (14-3) earned a unanimous decision victory over Ildemar Alcantra (20-7)
Bruno Santos (14-1) edged out a split decision over Chris Camozzi (19-8)
Rob Font (11-1) demolished George Roop (15-11-1) with a knockout win at 2:19 of the first round.
Luke Zachrich (14-3) earned a unanimous decision win over Guilherme Vasconcelos (3-2)
Kevin Casey (9-3) made quick work of Bubba Bush (8-3) with a series of elbows to earn a 1st round KO


Sunday night featured another series of phenomenal fights headlined by the final fight in BJ Penn's career. The third bout between Frankie Edgar (17-4-1) and Penn (16-10-2) cemented Dana White's statements about "The Prodigy" needing to retire. Penn pulled guard for most of the fight, looking more like he was a break dancer working on his backspin than an MMA fighter trying to go out on top.

Other than a series of upkick attempts and some ineffective punches and elbows from his back, Penn looked hopeless in his final fight in the Octagon. Edgar used his superior wrestling and striking to stop Penn for the third time in the Hawaiian's career. Elbows and punches opened Penn up late in the third round with Referee Herb Dean stepping in to save Penn from further damage at the 4:19 mark of the round.

Penn told Rogan after the bout that he should not have even been in the cage for this fight, and it was time to call it quits. He's had a fantastic and memorable career, but unfortunately he may be most remembered for refusing to realize his time was up. Penn only managed one victory over the course of his last six fights, including the other two losses to Edgar for the lightweight title. To add insult to injury, none of Team Penn's fighters made it to the finale except for Dan Spohn, who was beaten soundly by Patrick Walsh earlier in the night.

Corey Anderson (3-0) earned his first official UFC win and The Ultimate Fighter trophy for this season's 205 pound class with a dominating performance against Matt Van Buren (6-3). Ironically, Van Buren said in the montage leading up to the bout that he was going to hit Anderson harder than he'd ever been hit in his life. It turned out the opposite way with Anderson unloading some heavy punches to quickly force his opponent's back against the cage. Anderson blazed forward with bombing lefts and rights, dropping Van Buren to the mat. Though Van Buren appeared to be covering up well on the ground, he did not fight back enough to keep the fight going. The fight lasted just one second over a full minute, and Van Buren never really had a chance to showcase any of his best skills in the bout.

Eddie Gordon (7-1) made the best of his time working with Matt Serra and Ray Longo after leaving The Ultimate Fighter house. Dhiego Lima (9-2) didn't have a chance to lock up one of his slick submissions thanks to an immediate attack from "Truck" to start the bout. In only took Gordon ten more seconds than Anderson to get the finish and earn his own trophy and become this season's Welterweight winner. He also used a blitz of punches to finish his opponent.

Both fights were more explosive and exciting than any of the experts predicted they would be, and both were also far better than any performance the winners displayed while on the show. Both fighters won a customized Harley Davidson motorcycle in addition to a cheesy crystal trophy. Can't the UFC afford something better for these guys considering what they go through to win the tournament?

Both Anderson and Gordon are sure to become serious contenders in their respective divisions. They both seem to realize now that dynamic striking is what keeps their fans and their bosses entertained.

Patrick Walsh (5-1) wound up getting a win in the preliminaries by almost entirely abandoning his hands-down approach to striking. He dominated the bulk of the first two rounds against Daniel Spohn (8-4) with his superior wrestling, all the while working to submit Spohn with a Kimura. Spohn looked doomed until the referee stood the two fighters up late in the third round. Walsh kept his hands up this time, but he also positioned them a bit too far away from his face. Spohn split the uprights and gave Walsh reason to panic with a series of heavy handed punches and elbows. It could have been curtains for Walsh if Spohn didn't make the mistake of trying to sink a guillotine choke, which Walsh always escaped from on prior attempts. Walsh escaped yet again, bleeding from a gash on his forehead. He rode out the final seconds in top control and earned a unanimous decision by 29-28 scores across the board. Congrats to Walsh, a fellow Massachusetts native and recent guest on our FNU Combat Sports Show.        

In Other Results:

Derrick Lewis (11-2-1) scored a first round KO of Guto Inocente (6-3) at the 3:30 mark.
Dustin Ortiz (14-3) won a split decision against Justin Scoggins (9-1).
Kevin Lee (8-1) used smart defense and striking to edge out a split decision against Jesse Ronson (13-5)
Leandro Issa (12-4) pulled off an incredible comeback to submit Jumabieke Tuerxun (14-3) in the 3rd
Adriano Martins (26-7) knocked out Juan Manuel Puig (11-3) at 2:21 of the first with punches
Sarah Moras (4-1) notched a unanimous decision win over Alexis Dufresne (5-1)
Robert Drysdale (7-0) led off the card and made his UFC debut count with a Rear Naked Choke submission of Keith Berish (5-1)

UFC 175: The Start of a New Era, Again?

By Chris Huntemann, Columnist

 

Remember “The Machida Era?” 

Think back to UFC 98 when Lyoto Machida’s punches to Rashad Evans’ face crumpled him to the mat and landed “The Dragon” the light heavyweight title. No sooner did Evans hit the mat that we heard Joe Rogan proclaim “Welcome to the Machida Era.”

Well, it didn’t last very long. A controversial title defense against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua followed by a rematch and first-round knockout loss to Shogun ended “The Machida Era” before it really began. Machida had a chance to bring his era back to life against current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 140. But this time it was Machida’s turn to crumple to the mat, courtesy of a guillotine choke.

Since then, Machida moved to middleweight and hopes the third time is the charm as he takes on Chris Weidman for the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 175 in Las Vegas. Will “The Dragon” roar once again? Or, will Weidman prove his two victories against the seemingly unstoppable Anderson Silva were not a fluke?

I’ll get to the main event fight in a moment. 

First, let’s take a look at the other fights on this Saturday’s main card:

Marcus Brimage vs. Russell Doane (Bantamweight – 135 lbs.)

Brimage is a veteran of season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter (Team Michael Bisping vs. Team Jason “Mayhem” Miller, for those who don’t remember), where he showed great promise and power in his hands. That led to a three-fight win streak for Brimage before he helped launch the career of featherweight Conor McGregor by losing to him in April of last year.

Doane’s lone UFC fight resulted in a triangle choke victory against Leandro Thomas Issa at the UFC Fight Night: Lim vs. Saffiedine card in January. His record is rife with submission victories, and I like him to do the same here in an upset against a TUF veteran.

Prediction: Doane by submission

Uriah Hall vs. Thiago Santos (Middleweight – 185 lbs.)

Everyone knows who Uriah Hall is. He was pegged for stardom on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, when he viciously knocked out every single one of his opponents, and Chael Sonnen himself said he could have been a number one contender for the middleweight title right on the heels of the show.

Given Chael’s current situation, we’re not sure how much stock to put in his words. It also didn’t help that Hall seemed so timid in losing the final of TUF to Kelvin Gastelum and then lost again to John Howard. He rebounded somewhat by sending Chris Leben into retirement last year.

Santos secured a TKO victory against Rony Markes – who’s no joke himself – in his last fight. But I think Hall continues his climb up the middleweight ladder with a TKO victory of his own.

Prediction: Hall by TKO

Stefan Struve vs. Matt Mitrione (Heavyweight)

Matt Mitrione is a curious case. He came across as a weirdo on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, but he proved his doubters wrong when he embarked on a five-fight win streak following his time on the show. Then he suffered a two-fight losing streak before alternating wins and losses in his next three fights.

Struve is fighting for the first time since having his jaw rearranged by Mark Hunt. More importantly, it's his first time competing in the cage since the discovery that he suffers from a serious heart ailment. I watched Struve fight in person when he submitted Pat Barry on the UFC Live 6: Cruz vs. Johnson card in 2011. Mitrione has serious power, and Struve has been knocked out before. But I like Struve to be methodical in his approach and use his reach advantage to set up strikes while avoiding Mitrione’s loaded fists.

Prediction: Struve by unanimous decision

Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis (Women’s Bantamweight Title – 135 lbs.)

I’ve said this before, but I don’t think Ronda Rousey will ever lose. To anyone. However, I said the same thing about Anderson Silva, and we saw what happened. But unlike the men’s middleweight division, I don’t believe the depth of talent is there yet in women’s MMA, even though it has been an exciting addition to the UFC. Ronda is clearly the best female fighter in the sport, and I don’t think any other woman even comes close to matching her incredible talent.

Ronda showed vastly improved striking in her latest bouts, and she ended her last fight thanks to a vicious knee to Sara McMann’s liver. Still, I like her to go back to Ol’ Reliable to successfully defend her title yet again. Once she gets a grasp on an opponent's arm, there's no escape.

Prediction: Rousey by submission

Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida (Middleweight Title – 185 lbs.)

There are those who claim Weidman’s victory against Anderson Silva and subsequent title defense were flukes – a product of Silva’s arrogance in the first fight and a freak broken leg in the second. I’m not sure I agree with that assertion for the first fight. Yes, Silva was trying to clown Weidman. Yes, Silva dropped his hands, which is a cardinal sin in MMA. But Silva tried clowning other fighters and dropped his hands against other fighters before.

The difference? Weidman didn’t take the bait. He stepped up his aggression, which is what the best fighters do. Machida won’t clown Weidman like Silva tried to do, but he will do his patented stick-and-move and basically play keep away from Weidman the entire fight. It’s up to Weidman to close the distance with Machida and give him no breathing room.

I think Weidman will do just that. Machida will avoid being finished, but he won’t avoid being ground into the mat by the master wrestler and ground-and-pound specialist Weidman. It looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to see the rebirth of “The Machida Era.”

Prediction: Weidman by unanimous decision

Let's open up the comment section for fan predictions and see how many folks agree or disagree with my picks. 

Fight Network to Air Extensive UFC 175 Fight Week Coverage

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release TORONTO (July 1, 2014) -- Fight Network, the world's premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, will broadcast extensive UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale fight week coverage, including live weigh-ins, press conferences and exclusive pre and post-fight interviews on the scene from Las Vegas. Fight Network's live coverage will be broadcast on Cablevision's Optimum TV in the U.S., nationwide in Canada, as well as internationally as part of Fight Network's expansion on ZON in Portugal, Telenet in Belgium, D-Smart in Turkey, ZAP in Angola and Mozambique, and OSN across the Middle East and North Africa. Premiering on Wednesday, July 2, at 7 p.m. ET, Fight News Now: MMA Edition will break down the UFC's doubleheader in Las Vegas, including previews, features, predictions and much more. Additional fight week coverage will be featured throughout the week during Fight News Now Extra, highlighting the official media day, UFC Fan Expo festivities and pre-fight interviews. On Friday, July 4, at 7 p.m. ET, Fight Network will air a live broadcast of the official weigh-ins for UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida, as all the fighters tip the scales ahead of their fights on Saturday night. Weigh-ins will include original commentary and analysis from Fight Network's studios. The live weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale take place on Saturday, July 5 at 4 p.m. with headliners B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar weighing in for Sunday's trilogy bout. Immediately following Saturday's pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 175, Fight Network will broadcast a live post-show that includes the official post-fight press conference, interviews from the winners, fight highlights and analysis. Finally, on Monday, July 7, at 7 p.m. ET, the premiere of 5 Rounds will showcase a full recap of both cards, including a look ahead to what the future has in store for the winners and losers. For a full listing of Fight Network's broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com and follow on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.