Tim B. takes a look at the real winners and losers from UFC 204 in Manchester.
It’s hard to believe I haven’t written one of these since Holly Holm stopped Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 last November. But here I am now! To be honest, I usually tended to focus on the negatives when I wrote these posts back in the day. In my estimation, most cards seem to have more fighters set back than reaching forward. Tonight’s UFC 204 card wasn’t like that at all though – a bunch of fighters deserve props for their work, and that’s what I’m going to highlight.
Without further ado, here are your UFC 204 real winners and losers.
Winners
Michael Bisping – Remember when Bisping was the guy that couldn’t win the big one? The guy that came up short every time it counted? He’s not that Count any more, that’s for sure. Anderson Silva knocked him out and he still won. Luke Rockhold had already beat him, and he took a rematch on short notice and smoked him. Henderson had him dead-to-rights twice in their title fight tonight, and Bisping persevered. You can say whatever you want about Bisping – he’s cocky, he’s a lameduck champ, Hendo didn’t deserve the title shot – but the man has heart for days, and he’s a warrior. As a person paying for a PPV, can you really ask for more than that? No, you can’t. I think it’s time we give Bisping the respect he deserves. He walks the walk, talks the talk, and you are emotionally invested in him, for better or worse.
He belongs in this column, because he’s a winner.
Dan Henderson – Yes, Hendo came up short. Yes, he’s going to retire without ever hitting the pinnacle of the sport and winning a UFC title. But holy hell did he put on a good show last night. I’m not going to lie – I thought Bisping was going to starch him. Hendo’s like 59. He didn’t deserve this shot. But he went out and used his best weapon – the dreaded H-Bomb – to perfection. I guess you can’t actually call it perfection, because he didn’t win, but he fought a hell of a fight. It was a fitting retirement bout for a warrior that has entertained MMA fans for two decades. Thank you, Hendo. You’re one of the all-time greats, and you went out on your shield.
Gegard Mousasi – Mousasi finally has a signature win in the UFC. This is something he can build off of to get big-time opponents, and hopefully he can maintain his focus and beat those opponents. Is Anderson Silva next? I hope so, because I think that’s a great fight for him right now. And it’s a natural stepping stone coming off of a win over Belfort.
Jimi Manuwa – I never saw Manuwa as much of a contender for the LHW title before. He seemed one-dimensional and a bit limited. Tonight changed that for me. OSP is a beast – he’s well-rounded, tough, and never gives up. While Manuwa’s strategy in the first round seemed a bit strange, it all worked out in the end because he had OSP completely befuddled. His body work in that round was brutal, and the KO setup was beautiful. Overall, he showed a balanced game that I never expected. And if he can implement that gameplan against the top of the division, I don’t see why he can’t be competitive.
Iuri Alcantara – He absolutely blitzed Pickett. Brad gets beat up in all his fights, but this was a one-sided thrashing that could have been stopped due to strikes before the submission was even secured. This was, by far, Alcantara’s best performance in the UFC and even though Pickett isn’t ranked, it should be enough to get him back into the top 15.
Leon Edwards – That came out of left field. While Edwards has shown a well-rounded game in the past, I don’t think many people expected him to come out and outwrestle Tumenov in the first, then get a slick submission victory in the third. After all, Tumenov had some good wins on his record and was ranked. Huge win for Edwards, and it will give him a big boost in the welterweight division.
Losers
Vitor Belfort – Have the mighty finally fallen? Vitor’s hand speed was still there – he was just gunshy. Vitor has a lot of detractors, with good reason, but the man has been utterly dominant over the last few years. He has only lost in title fights and to Jacare Souza. But he didn’t look like the same guy last night – physically, and in the way he fought. There were rumors that he was going to retire after the bout, and I have no idea if that’s true or not. No one likes to go out on a loss, so I suspect there’s enough in the tank for one more “superfight” against a veteran. But it seemed like Mousasi really let the air out of the Belfort fan club float once and for all tonight. And I’m still coming to terms with how I feel about that.
Ovince Saint Preux – I’m really not sure what happened. While I give full credit to Manuwa for the win, OSP just looked…off. Especially in the second round. He was constantly late, and just seemed like he was fighting underwater. Was it the Manuwa body shots that took all of his initiative away? Did he get injured? I don’t know. Nonetheless, you don’t get knocked out like that in the 205-pound division and just continue on your merry way. That was very damaging to Saint Preux’s forward momentum, and he’s going to have to prove that he can hang with strikers once again before he’s back on main cards.
Brad Pickett – Is he done as a relevant fighter in the UFC? The win over Francisco Rivera gave him some lenience, but he is now 2-5 in his last seven overall. And this was by far the worst blowout he has suffered. At 38, after countless wars, has his chin finally caught up with him? I’m sure he’ll get another shot – after all, he’s Dana White’s favorite fighter – but I don’t think we’ll be seeing him fighting ranked fighters any more.