#combat junke

 An all-time crazy brawl

TUF Latin America fighters were supposed to be the bottom feeders of the entire UFC roster. Just as with their TUF China counterparts, a relatively new interest in MMA and an absence of high level preparation (particularly regarding wrestling) in these regions would thwart the UFC’s plans to find any stars that would help them enter the highly profitable markets of Asia and non-Brazil Latin America (in particular, Mexico seems like a big place of interest). And while the brilliance of Yair Rodriguez is a big outlier in terms of pure talent found on the show, Polo Reyes’ bonus-winning performance added to the trend of TUF Latin America fighters looking at the very least like viable fighters on the UFC roster.

Against South Korea’s Dong Hyun “Maestro” Kim, Reyes went to war in one of the craziest slugfests I have ever seen as a mixed martial arts fanatic. Both fighters threw defense out of the window and hurt each other on multiple occasions. In an incredible display of toughness and durability, both Kim and Reyes managed to survive multiple shots that would have put away less brave individuals and somehow reached the third round. Near the two-minute mark of the last round, what felt like the inevitable outcome since the beginning of the fight finally occurred as one of this warriors took one too many shot that sent him crashing to the canvas. It was Reyes who managed to land a flush right hand on Kim that buckled the South Korean’s legs; a follow-up right sent Maestro crashing to the canvas and just like that thirteen minutes of the purest violence we could witness in an MMA contest had come to an end. This fight would end up winning Fight of the Night honors and while it was far from a high-level technical display, the courage and grit of both competitors made for an unforgettable bout.

The takeaway from this excellent bout seems to be nearly the same for both fighters. They both seem to have potent offensive tools in their repertoire and have immense heart and durability; however, the defense-last approach utilized by both of them in this fight is not conductive for a long, successful career in combat sports. I think Kim is kept around as a low-level action fighter for just a bit longer, but with two losses to low-level opposition I do not foresee a lengthy UFC tenure for him. I am a bit more optimistic about Reyes; he has very solid power in his hands and is now training at Alliance MMA where he can develop as a fighter. He remains a low-level fighter at this stage of his career, particularly in the deep lightweight division, but two KO victories in the UFC is nothing to scoff at.

Kevin Casey does Kevin Casey things

The middle of the pack of the middleweight division is home to some of the most underwhelming silliness in the UFC. I encourage you to read Phil Mackenzie’s hilarious picks of middleweight fights to drive home the point and get a good laugh in the process (check out his breakdown of Camozzi vs. Miranda here). No fighter in the division is more representative of this fact than Kevin Casey, who somehow had two no-contests in four UFC bouts coming into this fights. Against low-powered kickboxer Elvis Mutapcic, Casey had a decent showing for the first round and a half, scoring points with takedowns and top control, before his cardio faltered going into the third round. With Casey clearly exhausted, Mutapcic took control in the later part of round two and dominated the third round but failed to put Casey away. The scorecards read 29-28 Casey, 29-28 Mutapcic and 28-28 for a split-draw verdict. Par for the course with the silliness the result was inaccurately announced as a majority decision, and another chapter in the book of Middling Middleweights was written. I scored the bout 29-28 for Casey, but round 2 could have been reasonably scored for Mutapcic, so I would not disagree for a 29-28 Mutapcic scorecard.

On a serious note, Casey was a relative to the Great Muhammad Ali, so he gets my genuine respect for showing up to compete after such a saddening personal loss. As far as what’s next for both fighters, I expect them both to keep hanging around to provide some needed depth in a shallow division. Perhaps Casey and Mutapcic can be used in rebound fights for Vitor Miranda and Antonio Carlos Jr., respectively.

Light heavyweight prospects still have a long way to go

 In a division where most of its top talent is on the wrong side of 30 years old, a young fighter with a decent ceiling is a valuable commodity for the UFC’s light heavyweight roster. Both Wilson and da Silva fit that bill, even if they are not far along in their development as fighters, and they engaged in a back-and-forth bout that highlighted the best and worst of them as prospects. Wilson is a very good athlete with speed and power to put down any fighter in the division; he is however one-dimensional as a striker and his grappling game is questionable at best. Da Silva on the other hand has more tools on his arsenal: solid Muay Thai striking (particularly from the Thai plum) and serviceable ground game make for a well rounded fighter at this stage of his career; on the downside, his athletic ceiling is not very high and defense is not a priority.

After a competitive first round, Wilson seemed to gas and got swept by da Silva before surrendering to strikes at the 4:11 mark of the second round. Da Silva is an ok addition to the shallow light heavyweight division and should get to fight another unranked opponent to test how far he can go; perhaps a match against Daniel Jolly or one of those Polish prospects would suffice. For Wilson, he seems very unpolished, but athletic enough to grab a few wins against lower-tier opposition despite his technical shortcomings. I am not sure that the UFC is the ideal place for him at this stage of his career, but since he is already here maybe a matchup with Alex Nicholson would suffice.

Top prospect Tom Breese loses some luster

Tom Breese had been regarded as a top-shelf prospect in the welterweight division as soon as he blasted Luiz Dutra in his UFC debut. As he faces stiffer competition on his way up the UFC ladder, some luster has come off him; coming off a hard-fought victory over Keita Nakamura in which he had more trouble than expected edging the Japanese veteran, this match was an important contest for the 24 year old. As it turns out, we might need to pump the brakes regarding Breese’s ascension, as he was handed his first professional defeat at the hands of Team Quest’s Sean Strickland.

Furthermore, the high-profile bout (Fight Pass featured bout) turned out to be a lackluster affair as both fighters came in super cautious of their opponent’s offense; this resulted in a low output kickboxing match for large portions of the bout. And while the action picked up in the third round, it was too little, too late for both fighters to leave a lasting impression. As far as the decision goes, I had it 29-28 for Strickland but given how relatively inactive fights are harder to judge, I would have no problem with a 29-28 scorecard in favor of Tom Breese. The official scorecards were 29-28 (x2) for Strickland and 29-28 for Breese, thus awarding a split decision to the American fighter.

The lackluster bout will likely keep both fighters on a holding pattern in terms of their promotional standing. Tom Breese’s upside remains high. At only 24 years old and training out of Tristar gym, this is not a devastating loss for his development and he can actually benefit in the long term from a gradual development rather than a quick push to the top-end of the division. As for Sean Strickland, it’s hard to fathom he is only 25 years old himself given that he holds an impressive 18-1 record (5-1 UFC). He is a respectable fighter with good upside of his own, but an inability to get to a second gear in two of his last three fights (this one and the Santiago Ponzinibbio loss) won’t have UFC brass in a rush to push him towards higher profile matches.

A weird twist for BJ Penn vs. Dennis Siver

What was supposed to be BJ Penn’s return bout against Denis Siver ended up being an entertaining, if inconsequential bout between Caceres and Miller. Bruce Leeroy has always been a capable, but inconsistent fighter while Cole Miller’s length and tricky jiu-jitsu game have always made for a fun fight. The first two rounds saw Caceres’ application of offense yield positive results, as he seemed to physically overwhelm the American Top Team product. The third round finally saw Miller come to life with his jiu-jitsu but it was too little, too late, as Caceres had done enough in the previous rounds to nab a decision in the judges’ scorecards.

As I stated before, this was mostly an inconsequential fight for the division and even for the fighters involved. Alex Caceres has always shown flashes of a very good fighter, but the questions about inconsistency largely remain. It does look like going up in weight class to 145 pounds looks like a good move for him, so it’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here. As far as Cole Miller goes, he is a finished product at this stage of his career; furthermore he remains a tough out and a fun fight against most fighters. This keeps him a valuable commodity in the roster as he can be used to test up and coming talents and measure the improvement of prospects, which are not scarce in the UFC Featherweight division.

Jessica Andrade puts a beating on Jessica Penne

Jessica Penne was coming back from a long layoff after suffering a prolonged beating at the hands (and elbows) of Joanna Jędrzejczyk in Germany. Looking to bounce back and get back on the title picture, there are now serious questions about her being able to regain her previous form after yet another beating, now at the hands of the impressive Jessica Andrade.

An undersized fighter at Women’s Bantamweight, Andrade made a big impression in her Strawweight debut; pressuring Penne up against the fence to rip her to the body with combinations of looping hooks that would make the early 2000’s Chute Boxe academy proud. At the end of the first round, Andrade’s body work seemed to have piled up, as Penne collapsed from the body shots right before the bell rang. Saved by the bell but with no apparent answer to the swarming attacks of Andrade, Penne came out to fight round two. The result would be no different than the first round as Penne was reduced to covering up until referee Jason Herzog stepped in to save her from further punishment. The end of the match came in at the 2:56 mark of the second round.

There is a new contender in the Women’s Strawweight division in Jessica Andrade. The move down in weight class seems to have given her new life, and she has retained her energy, power and aggressiveness; now that she won’t be at a big size disadvantage, she can enter the depths of a strong division. A match up with the returning Michelle Waterson would be interesting. As for Jessica Penne, she has taken a lot of damage in her last two fights and there is a question if those prolonged beatings will have a lasting effect on her performances. While I am not ready to write her off, a rebound fight against an unranked opponent is in order for her.

Beneil Dariush gets angry

Beneil Dariush spoke about redemption after his fight with James Vick was over, and he certainly got some Saturday night. Coming off an upset loss to the streaking Michael Chiesa, the Kings MMA rep was fighting to prove he could not only hang with the murderer’s row that is the top end of the UFC Lightweight division, but that he could actually be a contender in the division. Against the undefeated Vick, he delivered a signature performance that will sure propel him back to big matchups in the promotion’s deepest division.

For his part, James Vick looked ready for a step up in competition after compiling a five-fight winning streak, mainly feasting on young prospects. And while the Team Lloyd Irvin (ugh) fighter possesses all the physical tools to be a threat in the division, he had shown some holes in him game in his previous fights that could be exposed by more seasoned and tougher opposition. This was the case Saturday night, as Dariush finally made Vick pay for his habit of exiting combinations with his chin held high in the air. This was not the usual Beneil Dariush performance though; always a technical, crafty and patient fighter, Dariush took exception of Vick’s habit of sticking his fingers in his opponent’s eye and unleashed a barrage on him to the point of nearly gassing himself out looking for the finish. While Dariush regained his composure moments later, he continued hunting for the knockout, which materialized not much later. A crushing overhand left knocked Vick out cold, and within a round Dariush had gotten his redemption.

While Vick is not a ranked opponent, the dominant performance of Beneil Dariush puts him right back in the mix for a crack at the top 10. As it has been the case for the past few years, there are a ton of interesting matchups at lightweight, but a bout against Al Iaquinta or the streaking Dustin Poirier would make sense from a rankings perspective. I am not the biggest James Vick fan in the world (mainly because of his Lloyd Irvin ties and his tendency for eye pokes) but his talents are undeniable. A fight with Hawaiian scrapper Yancy Medeiros should be a fun one for the fans.

Ortega finds lighting in a bottle, yet again

Brian Ortega looks every bit like a future contender in the white-hot Featherweight division. Equipped with an elite jiu-jitsu game (particularly from the guard) and unorthodox, long striking techniques, T-City has been pegged as a future contender in the division. He received a step-up in competition against Clay Guida on UFC 199, and he made the most of it… sort of. In many ways, Guida seemed like the perfect foil for Ortega at this stage of his career: a fan favorite with enough name recognition to boost T-City’s profile who also has enough veteran savvy to test him, but is slowing down enough to give Ortega a clear path to victory.

For the first half of the fight the bout did not go according to script, as Guida rocked Ortega several times and there was no attempt from T-City to take the fight to the ground. While Ortega seemed to find his range at the latter stage of the second round, it appeared that he would be down two rounds going into the third. Even though he was scoring points in the stand-up phase, it was baffling to see Ortega thwart Guida’s takedown attempts, particularly after the Carpenter had been submitted after going for a takedown in his last fight. Be it as it may, late in the third round, T-City timed a perfect knee as Clay Guida ducked down for a takedown that landed flush on his jaw, putting him to sleep right away.

Ortega seems to have all the tools to make his way to the top of the division, yet it has been the second time in a row where he has come back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. At some point as he moves up the ladder, he is not going to be able to just turn it up in the third round while opponents surrender leads; top opponents do not surrender leads like that. Anyway, while some adjustments need to be made, he keeps moving on up and should get another ranked fighter. A matchup with fellow top prospect Mirsad Bektic could be interesting, but a fight with “Do Bronx” Charles Oliveira would bring fireworks. As for Clay Guida, he seems to be slowing down with age but HE remains a beloved fighter and should stick around to reap the fruits of the many wars he’s had in the form of fun fights against elder statesmen (a space currently shared by fighters like Diego Sanchez and Jim Miller). In fact a bout with the loser of Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon at Lightweight would be a fun UFC Fight Pass featured bout for the hardcore fans. A bout with cult hero Tatsuya Kawajiri could fulfill that role as well if Guida chooses to stay in the Featherweight division.

A lightweight contender is born

Dustin Poirier seemed to be just a step below contender status as a Featherweight, always looking good but losing on high profile matchups with the Korean Zombie and a guy named Conor McGregor. A move to Lightweight has revitalized him, as he looked sharp as ever in his previous three outings, upending stiff opponents in Carlos Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros and Joe Duffy. Still the question remained on whether he could break the proverbial glass ceiling bestowed upon him; the Diamond answered that question with an emphatic and violent yes after he blasted Bobby Green in the first round, announcing his arrival as a legit contender in the Lightweight shark tank.

His trademark aggression as present as ever, mixed in with a newfound laser focus that allowed him to remain unfazed at Bobby Green’s trademark antics were the key ingredients to this statement making performance. The technical improvements on Poirier are also noticeable, particularly in his boxing in the pocket, and the power seems to have translated just fine into a higher weight class; he is ready to be in the mix of contenders. As I stated earlier, a fight with Beneil Dariush could work out just fine, but a matchup with Michael Johnson would also be a stiff test that gives Poirier the chance to keep climbing up the rankings.

For Bobby “King” Green, this was a disappointing performance after a long layoff from injuries and personal issues. While Poirier might just be that good, I expected Green to put up much more of a fight. It might have been the ring rust or a bad matchup, but it seemed to me that King was never in the fight from a mental standpoint. His theatricals are certainly entertaining, but they do not work against top tier talent and were part of his undoing in this particular fight. He still has value for the promotion and I would love to see him succeed given his personal history; therefore I would like to see him matched up in a winnable fight next time around to see if there is still something to be built around him. A fight with Ross Pearson would be a nice stylistic matchup and a winnable fight for Green.

Dan Henderson turns back the clock

Dan Henderson is a national treasure. People have (justifiably) counted him out for years; he’s too old, he cannot take punishment anymore, all he has is the overhand right, he can barely move. All of that may be true, but also true is the fact that he is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time; and that dose of greatness will never leave Hendo even if his body cannot perform in the way it used to. Against the scary Hector Lombard, pundits and fans alike expected Henderson to go down after the first shot from Lombard landed. Yet, it was Hendo landing the first big shot on his stalking opponent, buckling the legs of the hard-chinned Cuban. After the small H-Bomb landed, the universally gloomy prediction of Henderson seemed to be well on its way to fulfilling itself; Lombard came back and hurt the legend with a grazing shot and then followed up with a violent throw, looking to move to the mounted crucifix position. Surprisingly, the first round expired without a finish, yet the downfall of Henderson still loomed largely as a forgone conclusion. Alas, it was not to be, not this time: Henderson landed a head kick that rocked Lombard once again and as soon as the Cuban grabbed Hendo’s leg, the H-Bomb materialized in the form of a back elbow to Showeather’s dome that shut his lights off. A pair of vicious follow-up shots put the stamp on the knockout; the follow-ups were not necessary at all; Lombard was out cold as soon as the H-Bomb landed. Vintage Dan Henderson.

A lot of people do not like Hector Lombard; I am not one of them yet it is hard to label his UFC run as anything other than disappointing. The man who was supposed to contend for the Middleweight title as soon as he was signed now holds a 3-4 (1) record in the UFC. Furthermore, after going for more than a decade without being stopped in MMA competition he has now suffered back-to-back TKO/KO stoppages; one of which was a prolonged beating and the other one was a brutal knockout. I don’t think he is done, but he is closer to the “Legends” circuit than relevant divisional matchups. A fight with Vitor Belfort would fit that description nicely.

Henderson was fighting the last fight of his contract, which lead many people to believe that it would be the last time he would be seen competing in the octagon. That may still be true, but Henderson was noncommittal about it in his post-fight comments. As an observer, it is hard to envision a better way to go out for ol’ Hendo, which is why I would like to see him hang up his gloves after that performance. Yet, Henderson loves competing so much that I realistically see him taking maybe just one more time. He holds a vicious KO victory over the reigning Middleweight champion after all. What a crazy world.

#blessed, and ready for a title shot

Max Holloway is on a roll; winning eight fights in a row, he was looking to put the stamp down with a signature performance at UFC 199, and boy did he deliver. Against the toughest opponent in his young career “Blessed” put on a show for the fans, getting the best of the stand-up exchanges and stuffing all the takedowns of the dangerous Ricardo Lamas. The culmination of the fight was the most memorable moment of it, as both fighters threw defense out the window and started throwing bombs in a crazy brawl. Holloway has improved leaps and bounds ever since dropping a decision to current Featherweight champion and box-office sensation Conor McGregor, and that rematch seems as interesting as ever. It is hard to deny a fighter on a nine-fight winning streak a shot at the title, yet the Hawaiian is caught up in the headwinds of the promotional behemoth that is the Notorious One. With Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar scheduled to fight for the interim title at UFC 200 and McGregor officially tied up with Nate Diaz for UFC 202, Holloway could find himself waiting for a title fight until 2017 should he decide to wait and see how the division plays itself out. As we found out with Tyron Woodley, sitting out to wait for a title shot is not the ideal route, neither promotionally nor as a competitor. Yet, any fight for “Blessed” that doesn’t involve Edgar, Aldo or McGregor involves far greater risk than reward for him at this point. If I am Holloway, I am staying in fight shape in case a fighter drops out of either the currently scheduled fights or the projected FW title unification bout for later this year. As for Lamas, he is on that tough spot of being just a tick below the elite of the division, which means he will keep testing streaking fighters for the time being. A bout against Jeremy Stephens could work out just fine given that Stephens is coming off the highest profile win of his career.

Yet another virtuoso performance

Dominick Cruz is on some next level ish. In a vacuum, Saturday’s performance was an incredible display of MMA technique; the footwork is mesmerizing, the wrestling is timed perfectly, he blends them both effortlessly, he adapts to situations, he hurts his opponents, he is one of a kind. Once you take into account the fact that he returned from the game after three ACL tears and a layoff of over two years, you get one of the greatest comeback stories in any sport, let alone combat sports. He is also an amazing trash talker and articulate analyst to boot; this is the Dominator’s world and we are just living in it. Against his longtime rival Urijah Faber, Cruz did what Cruz does evading any shots from the Team Alpha Male leader and hurting him multiple times during the bout; Faber got dropped and outclassed, it wasn’t close. Faber’s best chance was supposed to be on grappling scrambles; Cruz engaged him on those terms in the first round and beat him at his own game as well. The bantamweight division is heating up with prospects and some new contenders coming up; yet Cruz seems simply on another level. It will be fun to see if he can go on a Demetrious Johnson-type run or if any of the surging fighters can actually provide a challenge to him. The winner of TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao seems like the logical choice for the next title challenger, particularly if it is Assuncao (I am not a big fan of rematches), but Mr. Miesha Tate, Brian Caraway could talk his way into a title shot. Last but not least, the seeds for a Cody Garbrandt vs. Dominick Cruz fight have already been planted, although I would like to see “No Love” develop a little bit further before challenging for the title.

After the match and at the post-fight press conference it felt like the end of the road for the California Kid. This was almost certainly his last shot at UFC gold and at 37 years old he is understandably slowing down. The fact that he is still competing at the highest level at that age in a lower weight class is a testament of how skilled he is, but I am not sure if it is in his best interest to hang around as a gatekeeper given the great career he’s had. I do not like the “Bridesmaid” narrative for Faber one bit; he was arguably the best Featherweight in the world for a period of time when the UFC had not instituted its lower weigh class divisions yet. Be that as it may, he goes down as one of the best fighters in the lower weight classes, UFC belt or not and will remain an influential figure in the sport through his work developing young talent at Team Alpha Male. Just after this heartbreaking defeat he plugged his protégé Cody Garbrandt the same way he plugged TJ Dillashaw after losing against Renan Barao. He may have his flaws but I admire Faber as a positive influence for the sport.

For a more technical in-depth breakdown of Dominick Cruz’s brilliance I encourage you to read Patrick Wyman’s article on Dominick Cruz (link here)

The culmination of a long journey

Coming into UFC 199, it felt like Michael Bisping’s short-notice title shot was a lifetime achievement award. He had been a warrior and a soldier for the company for 25 fight and 10 grueling years. The spearhead of MMA’s expansion into the UK, Bisping had battled through brutal losses and devastating injuries yet always remained a willing promoter and tough as nails fighter. At 37 years old, he had finally gotten the signature win of his career last February when he defeated the greatest fighter of all time, Anderson Silva in front of his home crowd. In a way, that Anderson Silva fight encompassed Bisping’s career in 25 crazy minutes; after a very strong start the Count was all but down and out after eating a flying knee from the Spider at the end of round three; somehow he managed to survive and fight back adversity, through toughness and heart he prevailed in the end, even if he was worse for wear after the fact. Four months later, opportunity struck for Bisping, and he finally found that elusive title shot on 17 days notice. Storybook endings almost never happen in combat sports and most people didn’t expect one in this fight. While not as charismatic or endearing as the Count, Luke Rockhold was just too good; he was stronger, faster and more powerful. He had submitted Bisping just a couple years ago without much trouble and without proper notice for the Count the outcome was universally expected to be the same. Bisping had different plans.

The bout started looking much like their first encounter, Bisping holding his own in the stand-up exchanges while Rockhold looked to time a perfect check right hook or a signature left kick to end the bout on an instant. Yet there was a smugness about Rockhold in this fight that would spell his demise later on; walking with his hands down, chin held up high showing no respect to Bisping’s abilities. Even as a veteran in the game, the Count has continued to add weapons to his offense, particularly the left hook, and it was one that landed flush on Rockhold’s chin that changed the narrative for the Brit forever. Rockhold overextended on a jab, which allowed Bisping to capitalize on a counter that buckled the champion’s legs. Smelling blood, the Count landed another hard left that knocked Luke out cold. Up against the fence, Bisping landed a couple of academic shots on an unconscious Rockhold until Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout at 3:36 of the first round. What a journey for Bisping; he was the new middleweight champion. I encourage you to watch Luke Thomas’ Monday Morning Analyst podcast for a technical breakdown of this fight; it is truly an excellent watch if you are interested in technical MMA breakdown. (link here)

The options are endless for Bisping right now; ever the promoter, he continued the trash talk on the fallen champion at the post-fight press conference, planting the seeds for a potential trilogy with Rockhold. The UFC loves immediate rematches and given that the outcome was a huge upset, it is probable that the promotion would lean towards a trilogy with Rockhold for the newly crowned champion. While this matchup has its merits, I am not the biggest fan of it being booked right away; let Bisping have his moment and keep the division fresh with new matchups; Rockhold too can benefit from it, collecting some big-name scalps to boost his profile before he challenges for the title again. For the new champion, matches with Chris Weidman, Ronaldo “ Jacaré” Souza or the returning Yoel Romero all make sense on some level. Hell, even another fight with Anderson Silva could work just fine given the controversial outcome of the first bout. Each one of this matches have its pros and cons: an Anderson Silva is likely the biggest money fight for Bisping, but it has the least merit from a competitive perspective. Yoel Romero is a super dangerous match up for Bisping, and he is a natural heel to play foil to Bisping’s newfound fan support; on the downside, he is coming off a suspension for banned supplements that make some people pause. Chris Weidman is promotionally the most viable opponent for the U.S. local market and is a former champion but he is injury prone and is hard to build a division around an inactive fighter. Jacaré is in my view the deserving contender for the title; I think he won the Yoel Romero fight and is coming off a big win against Vitor Belfort; while he is not a big talker (he doesn’t speak much English and is soft-spoken anyway), Bisping is more than capable of carrying the pre-fight buildup on his own. This is the fight that should be booked in my opinion. Seriously though, who wouldn’t love Bisping vs. Henderson II for the title?