On Saturday night, the UFC made its first visit to Winnipeg—and oh, what a debut it was.
While the original lineup was set to feature a bantamweight title fight showdown in the main event, an injury pushed the bout between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland aside and made way for a collection of the heaviest hitters in the sport to take the spotlight.
Former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans stepped up in a “make or break” moment to best MMA legend Dan Henderson on the judges’ cards via split decision, and Stipe Miocic earned the biggest victory of his young career by derailing surging knockout artist Roy Nelson in the co-main event.
Once action got underway in the MTS Centre, it was just as the John Lee Hooker tracked promo advertised things to be with all the “Booming” and “Banging” fight fans could handle. But as we have all come to embrace, mixed in with the high points a UFC event brings, there are plenty of lows and downright wacky happenings which are threaded in between.
Let’s take a look at the great performances, the bad looks and the eyebrow-raising curiosities of UFC 161. As Burt Watson would say, “We rollin‘ baby!”
The Good
An important tilt in the light heavyweight division headlined the card, and Evans not only kept himself relevant by defeating Henderson, but kept his position in the 205-pound division’s title picture.
“Suga” brought his two-fight skid to an end and could very well spark a much-needed resurgence in his career.
After losing the first fight of his professional career against Stefan Struve back in February, Stipe Miocic rebounded in a major way by defeating Roy Nelson in the co-main event. Throughout the three-round affair, the Ohio native scored with crisp boxing and heavy shots as he took home the lopsided decision victory.
Before the Struve fight, Miocic was on the verge of trading his prospect card, and the victory at UFC 161 will make sure that happens.
In heavyweight action, Shawn Jordan scored a huge victory over Pat Barry to kick off the pay-per-view card. In less than a minute of work, “Savage” dropped Barry with a series of thunderous uppercuts before swarming him with a series of left hands on the canvas.
The Jackson’s MMA fighter has now been successful in four of his past five showings, and the win will guarantee the former LSU fullback a bigger name in his next outing.
It wasn’t anything close to pretty, but Jake Shields made a triumphant return to the welterweight division by edging out upstart Tyron Woodley. The former Strikeforce champion kept the pressure on Woodley throughout the fight, consistently pressing him into the cage. In the eyes of two out of three ringside judges, it was enough to get the victory.
James Krause not only made the most of a short-notice opportunity, but he logged an impressive Octagon debut in the process. The former TUF alum stepped in for an injured Ike Vallie-Flagg to face Sam Stout and defeated the gritty veteran in a bloody, action-packed tilt.
After tagging up Stout and busting him open in the first round, Krause kept his output high and continued the onslaught. Looking to score points late, “Hands of Stone” shot in for a takedown, but Krause was able to lock in a guillotine choke and end the fight.
The win puts additional momentum to the 27-year-old’s current winning streak which he extended to five with the victory over Stout and will land Krause a solid position in the ultra-competitive lightweight ranks.
The Bad
Pat Barry has been struggling to make traction in the heavyweight division for the past three years—and with two huge uppercuts—Shawn Jordan bulldozed any momentum “Hype or Die” had built.
With the loss, the 33-year-old Louisiana native has now lost four out of his past six showings. While his personality and willingness to stand and bang will keep Barry a fan favorite, his hopes of breaking through into serious consideration for contention were dashed at UFC 161.
Did I mention Shields vs. Woodley was difficult to watch?
After losing two consecutive bouts in the welterweight division, John Maguire came into UFC 161 in a must-win situation.
Unfortunately for “The Gypsy,” dropping down to 155 pounds didn’t provide the resurgence he was looking for as he lost a split decision to Mitch Clarke. The loss in Winnipeg puts Maguire down three and could very well put him out of the UFC.
While there weren’t too many entries into this category, easily the worst showing at UFC 161 was the main event battle between Evans and Henderson only being a three-round affair. Both men had their moments in a close-fought battle, and it would have been great to see another two rounds of leather-slinging goodness.
The Strange
Yves Jabouin has built a reputation throughout his career on the strength of putting on exciting performances. Win or lose—the Haitian-born fighter always shows up to throwdown.
That being said, on Saturday night, he spent the majority of the time in his tilt against Dustin Pague getting out of the Team Takedown fighter’s submissions and still managed to get the win. If that’s not strange, I don’t know what is.
If a fighter is going to draw extra attention to their persons, they best be fixing to put on a show inside the cage.
With the ’80s-themed Flashdance-inspired walkout that Maguire rolled out in Winnipeg, he needed to bring the ruckus against Clarke to balance out the attempt at showmanship. Unfortunately for Maguire, he did not.
When your entrance is more impressive than your performance there is a problem, and the Brit did himself zero favors on Saturday night. Maybe he should take a few pointers from Ryan Jimmo—who, despite picking up the victory, didn‘t throw down his signature “robot” dance because he was unhappy with his showing.
While mid-fight acts of camaraderie (bro hug) are frowned upon by MMA diehards, there are few things the mixed martial arts community loves more than a bloody, smiling exchange between fighters.
After Krause split Stout’s dome with a head kick in the opening round, the two lightweights went to the ground where they were happily discussing the buckets of flowing crimson pouring out from the Canadian’s right eye.
In WMMA action, Rosi Sexton may not have won her fight against Alexis Davis, but she earned toughness stripes over the course of the three-round affair. The Canadian bantamweight had Sexton locked up in a tight triangle choke for the majority of the opening frame but somehow the gritty Brit survived the round.
The bad positions continued over the next two stanzas, and while Sexton never gained the upper hand, she proved she’s a difficult fighter to put away.
With one fight remaining on his contract, Roy Nelson stepped up on short notice to add some much-needed star power to the card at UFC 161. “Big Country” was riding a three-fight winning streak before coming out on the business end against the surging former Cleveland State baseball and wrestling standout.
The fight against Miocic fulfilled the former TUF winner’s contractual obligation with the promotion and now the focus will be shifted toward what Nelson will do for the next step of his career. If manager Mike Kogan telling Nelson, “You don’t want to go out like this,” in between rounds is any indication, signs are pointing to the Las Vegas native making an exit from the UFC.
While Nelson has been one of the most exciting heavyweight fighters under the UFC banner for the past four years, his future with the sport’s biggest promotion is in limbo. Then again, maybe that is the way the heavy-handed slugger wanted it all along.
Make no mistake about it: Nelson’s showing was a bad look for the former IFL champion, but few things are ever what they seem where he is concerned.
Strangeness indeed.
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