Filed under: UFC
The lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried UFC Fight Night 25 in the headlines, but there were no shortage of ups and downs in New Orleans on Saturday night.
It’s time again to look at the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the UFC’s most recent offering.
Biggest Winner: Jake Ellenberger
A 53-second TKO win over a guy who hasn’t been finished in over a decade? Yeah, that’s pretty huge, especially since that guy went five rounds with the champ in a losing effort just five months ago. But now what do you do with Ellenberger? He’s won five straight in the UFC, with only one of those fights going the distance, and yet he’s had trouble gaining traction in the contender conversation at welterweight. This win should change that, but how much? The only people who were surprised to see Ellenberger win this fight were those who hadn’t followed his career before now. He’s a superb athlete, a well-rounded fighter with no glaring weakness, and — maybe soon — a top contender.
Biggest Loser: Jason MacDonald
With the loss to Belcher, “The Athlete” fell to 1-2 in his latest UFC run. Even worse is that he did not look good doing it. MacDonald’s plan seemed to be to get Belcher to the mat however possible, even if he had to pull him straight into his guard. But as soon as Belcher stung him with a couple elbows from the top, MacDonald looked like he might be considering other ways to spend a Saturday night. There’s no shame in losing to a quality middleweight like Belcher, but when you don’t put up much of a fight it makes people wonder: does MacDonald still really want to be doing this for a living, or is it just the best idea he can think of at the moment? If you’re not all the way in this sport, there are plenty of guys who can help you all the way out — but they aren’t going to be nice about it.
Most Sympathetic: Jake Shields
We could argue over whether his loss had anything to do with him fighting just a few weeks after the death of his father (who was also his manager), but it doesn’t matter. The mere fact that he didn’t drop out of this fight, that he kept going to the gym and walked in that cage when his name was called tells you a lot about his character and his determination. I don’t know how he did it, nor do I know if, in the end, it was such a good idea. I just hope the UFC appreciates the kind of person and fighter they have here. A lot of the guys on the roster wouldn’t have done what he did, and nobody could have blamed them. Shields stepped up and got beat, but no one can question his mental toughness. At least now he’ll get some time to go home and grieve.
Best Prospect: Erik Koch
He’s now won four straight dating back to his WEC days, and two in a row in the UFC. The solid takedown defense he showed against Brookins compliments his stand-up game well, even if you’d still like to see him get a little more aggressive with his striking when he’s finding his target as easily as he did on Saturday night. Still, he’s got a ton of potential and he’s not yet 23 years old. I don’t know where Duke Roufus finds these lumps of clay to mold to his liking, but he has something worth developing with Koch.
Not Quite Ready for Primetime: Jonathan Brookins
It’s fine to go into a fight planning on taking it to the ground. But when you can’t get it, you eventually have to change strategies. Brookins didn’t, and after getting out-struck when the fight stayed at a distance, he had to know he wasn’t going to win that decision. On one hand, maybe it’s encouraging that he can stick to a game plan so well. On the other, when you can’t get past step one of that game plan, it’s time to look for a different path. Takedowns and top control might have been good enough to win TUF, but he’s got to find something else to threaten people with if he’s going to find success at the next level.
Least Affected by a Layoff: Alan Belcher
I admit, I was a little worried about how Belcher would look after being gone from the cage for the last 14 months. That’s a tough chunk of time for a 27-year-old fighter to lose, and some need to ease back into action more than others. But as he was putting a serious hurt on MacDonald in the first round, Belcher looked as though he’d never left. We didn’t get to see much of his timing on the feet, but his aggression and finishing instincts are still clearly intact. That’s reassuring, because Belcher seemed like he was just finding his groove when those sudden eye issues halted his progress. Now that he’s back, look out.
Stealthiest Ascent: Court McGee
It’s got to be hard to know what to do with McGee, who is quietly stacking up wins. Nearly a year went by between his first post-TUF UFC bout and this decision win, and that time is critical when you’re riding that fickle reality TV show fame. In his fight against Yang, as in his previous fight against Ryan Jensen, he started a little slow but showed impressive resiliency down the stretch. It’s almost as if he needs to get nailed with a good shot before he steps his game up and gets serious about his offense. He’s now 2-0 in the UFC since winning the reality show, but those two wins were stretched out over eleven months, so it’s not as if there’s a real groundswell of fan energy behind him. Maybe the best thing is for the UFC to keep gradually increasing the level of competition, hoping that he can stay healthy enough to stay in the picture. At least that beard makes him difficult to forget.