Author: Nathan McCarter

UFC on FX 6 Results: Why Robert Whittaker vs Brad Scott Stole the Show

The co-main event of UFC on FX 6 was one-of-two The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes finales. Robert Whittaker picked up Smashes title with a unanimous decision victory over Brad Scott and stole the show in the process. The hype around the card circled around…

The co-main event of UFC on FX 6 was one-of-two The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes finales.

Robert Whittaker picked up Smashes title with a unanimous decision victory over Brad Scott and stole the show in the process.

The hype around the card circled around the opening fight on FX, Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares, and the main event between George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson. However, both fights were largely one-sided affairs.

Whittaker and Scott battled in a back-and-forth competitive fight that got the crowd on their feet for three rounds. Not an easy task.

The undercard featured three finishes as well.

However, all were first-round knockouts. Exciting finishes, but not exciting fights. The only other competitive fight on the card was the second fight of the night that next-to-no-one cared about.

Whittaker and Scott gave fans what they wanted to see: a fight.

In the opening round, Whittaker found his range first. The Australian peppered Scott with his strikes. Scott lost the round, and the home crowd felt like it was going to be an easy victory for Whittaker.

Scott proved them wrong as he came back strong in the second round. He put Whittaker on his back and then tried to get a finish.

Whittaker showed good defense with Scott on his back. Eventually, he would get back to his feet.

In the final minute of the second round, Whittaker again landed some shots, but Scott was far enough ahead in the round to take it on the scorecards.

There was finally a fun fight that was a tossup entering the last round. They continued to deliver.

Whittaker and Scott went back-and-forth in the third round. Each fighting the others’ face with their fists. It looked like it had the potential to send the fight to the sudden-death round, but Whittaker would see that it would not reach those circumstances.

In the back-half of the round, Whittaker landed more often and found a rhythm. He controlled the last couple of minutes and picked up the win.

While the card as a whole produced exciting moments, this was the only fight to give us an exciting matchup.

It was not one-sided and featured both, stand up and ground action.

This fight stole the show and is worth of fight of the night.

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UFC on FX 6 Results: Power Ranking the Main Card Fights

UFC on FX 6 delivered on a quiet Friday night.George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson headlined the card that served as the finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes, where they were opposing coaches.Pearson got the better of the fight. He dropped Sotiropo…

UFC on FX 6 delivered on a quiet Friday night.

George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson headlined the card that served as the finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes, where they were opposing coaches.

Pearson got the better of the fight. He dropped Sotiropoulos numerous times and got the knockout finish in the third frame.

Also on the card from Australia’s Gold Coast, Hector Lombard put on the performance he’d likely hoped for in his previous outing, a loss in his UFC debut to Tim Boetsch. Lombard knocked Rousimar Palhares out in the first round, then called out contender Michael Bisping.

The two Smashes finales were Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke and Robert Whittaker vs. Brad Scott. Parke and Whittaker claimed Smashes titles in their respective divisions.

Here is how the four fights stacked up to one another.

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UFC on FX 6 Results: What We Learned from Robert Whittaker vs Brad Scott

Robert Whittaker and Brad Scott came to fight. The welterweight final for The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes delivered. It was an action-packed, even contest.Whittaker found a home for his strikes in the first round and looked to be on his way to an easy vi…

Robert Whittaker and Brad Scott came to fight. The welterweight final for The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes delivered. It was an action-packed, even contest.

Whittaker found a home for his strikes in the first round and looked to be on his way to an easy victory, but Scott hung around and made it a fight. Scott came on strong in the second. The third was a back and forth a battle, but eventually Whittaker landed more shots in the closing minutes.

Whittaker picked up the unanimous decision victory and the TUF: Smashes title.

 

What we’ll remember about this fight

We will remember how fun it was.

Sometimes these Ultimate Fighter fights leave a lot to be desired, but these two men put on a fantastic fight. Fans cannot ask for much more.

It was constant action from bell-to-bell, but not a brawl. Both fighters were technical in their striking. Scott got the takedown and showed some quality control on the mat, and Whittaker fought back showing his defense.

The third round exchanges were exciting and ultimately gave Whittaker the edge he needed.

 

What we learned about Robert Whittaker

Whitaker is a good young prospect.

He is only 21-years-old and ran through the TUF: Smashes competition.

Whittaker finished each opponent en route to the finale, and put on a quality performance that showed the youngster has skills already.

Over the next couple of years he will be an interesting prospect to watch grow inside the Octagon.

 

What we learned about Brad Scott

Beside his resemblance to former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, we learned that Scott can take punishment and still push the action as he looks for a finish.

Whittaker landed several hard blows, but Scott weathered the storm. Not only that, but he came back to run the second round. He could not finish Whitaker on the mat, but he was looking for his opportunities to do so.

Scott is only 23 himself. TUF: Smashes has given us at least two young fighters with a potentially bright future to add to the UFC roster.

 

What’s next for Robert Whittaker

Even though he won the inaugural season of TUF: Smashes he still is nowhere near ready to be thrown in to the deep end of the UFC’s lightweight division.

Whittaker will need to start from scratch in the division. The UFC needs to build him slowly like they have done with past TUF winners. He is only 21 and has a lot of room to grow and improve as a fighter.

 

What’s next for Brad Scott

Scott falls in the same category as Whittaker.

The UFC should find a home for Scott on Facebook or Fuel prelims for the foreseeable future as he develops his overall MMA skills.

Perhaps Scott could face another TUF cast member in his next outing to determine who should keep their spot on the roster.

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UFC on FX 6 Results: What We Learned from Lombard vs Palhares

Hector Lombard atoned for his UFC debut with a first-round knockout over Rousimar Palhares.Lombard was measured with his striking. He stalked Palhares around and set up his shots. When he dropped Palhares the first time, he knew that he was not in a po…

Hector Lombard atoned for his UFC debut with a first-round knockout over Rousimar Palhares.

Lombard was measured with his striking. He stalked Palhares around and set up his shots. When he dropped Palhares the first time, he knew that he was not in a position to finish and did not make a crucial mistake on the ground. He allowed Palhares back to his feet, and the fight was soon over.

 

What we’ll remember about this fight

Lombard’s finishing flurry.

He dropped Palhares a second time and then finished him on the mat. The shot that put Palhares out was vicious. Lombard has the killer instinct and knows when to go for it all.

 

 What we learned about Hector Lombard

We learned that his fight IQ is high. With many highly aggressive fighters, that is not the case. Lombard, on the other hand, has controlled aggression.

He walked Palhares down and waited. He knows that with his Judo background, it will be extremely difficult for anyone to take him down. That gives him huge confidence. He can be aggressive and use his monster power. 

 

 What we learned about Rousimar Palhares

We learned that Palhares still has trouble taking a shot. For all of his jiu-jitsu prowess, he is still rudimentary on the feet.

Palhares is deadly on the mat, but he has a hard time fighting anyone who can defend being taken down. He made no attempt to take Lombard down to the mat and was constantly backpedaling. This allowed Lombard to come forward with virtually no worries.

With not a lot of offensive output, Lombard was still able to drop Palhares twice before the fatal blow on the mat.

 

 What’s next for Hector Lombard

Lombard called out Michael Bisping in the post-fight interview, but it is unlikely that he will meet the top contender.

He still commands significant respect in the division, and thus he will likely get a top-10 middleweight in his next outing. If Luke Rockhold joins the UFC in 2013, that would be a great matchup to welcome the Strikeforce champion. If not, Lombard would be an ideal opponent for the winner of Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami. Those two top-10 middleweights meet on December 29 at UFC 155.

 

 What’s next for Rousimar Palhares

After a second consecutive loss, Palhares will go to the back of the line.

Someone like Tom Lawlor would be a good opponent for Palhares. Lawlor suffered a controversial decision loss to Francis Carmont at UFC 154. The fight makes sense for both fighters. Palhares would have his back against the wall in the fight, but it would be a good addition to any UFC undercard.

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TUF 16 Finale: Questions We Have About Melvin Guillard

Melvin Guillard returns to the Octagon for the first time since suffering a knockout loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 150.He will meet Jamie Varner on the main card of the The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson finale.Guillard has already been …

Melvin Guillard returns to the Octagon for the first time since suffering a knockout loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 150.

He will meet Jamie Varner on the main card of the The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson finale.

Guillard has already been in the cage three times in 2012. He is 1-2 in his previous outings. A victory would put him back on the winning track and thrust his name back in to the mix at lightweight. The victory will not come easy against a crafty veteran like Varner.

Here are five questions we have about Guillard.

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UFC on FX 6: Why Rousimar Palhares Will Score the Upset over Hector Lombard

Rousimar Palhares steps in to the Octagon for the third time in 2012 when he squares off against Hector Lombard at UFC on FX 6. The two powerful middleweights will try to pick up an important win in the division. He enters as a moderate underdog agains…

Rousimar Palhares steps in to the Octagon for the third time in 2012 when he squares off against Hector Lombard at UFC on FX 6. The two powerful middleweights will try to pick up an important win in the division.

He enters as a moderate underdog against the ferocious middleweight. If Palhares can pick up the win against Lombard, it will go a long way to erasing the humiliation he received in his last outing versus Alan Belcher.

And he will.

Palhares is 6-2 in his last eight fights. The two losses are first-round TKOs to top-of-the-line competition. That has to be an area of concern against the heavy-handed Lombard. Getting the fight to the ground will be a point of emphasis for Palhares.

Lombard is also coming off a loss. He had a lackluster performance in his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch. The loss snapped a 25-fight unbeaten streak and all the hype he had entering the UFC.

Leglocks are scary. Palhares leglocks are downright terrifying.

Getting the fight to the mat will not be easy. Lombard has world-class Judo that will give him the grappling advantage. However, Palhares‘ brute strength is an asset anytime he is able to be close enough to grab an appendage.

This fight could end up being up similar to Lombard’s debut. A slow, methodical fight that may not live up to the billing. Expect each fighter to be tentative early on. Lombard will be weary of Palhares‘ takedown attempts, and Palhares will want to avoid a deadly strike from Lombard.

The fight will pick up after a couple of minutes. Each fighter will want to erase the last loss of their record and want to do so in impressive fashion. That will open the fight up and leave one fighter making a mistake that will cost them the fight.

Lombard’s overaggressive nature will be the cause for him losing this fight.

The power of Lombard will make Palhares cautious, but Palhares will close the distance and get inside at some point. Once Palhares is able to get a hold on Lombard, he will find a way to get him to the ground. Submitting him will not be easy, but it only takes one chance, and he will do it in the first round.

Watch for another leglock finish by Palhares.

Palhares will submit the fiery Lombard and try to make another run up the middleweight ladder.

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