Author: Tim McTiernan

UFC Fight Night 49 Results: 3 Fights for Jordan Mein to Take Next

Jordan Mein squared off Saturday night against Mike Pyle in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 49. Pyle was ranked No. 13 going into the fight, while Mein was unranked. That didn’t matter in the end, as Mein scored a TKO in just 72 seconds and won Pe…

Jordan Mein squared off Saturday night against Mike Pyle in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 49. Pyle was ranked No. 13 going into the fight, while Mein was unranked. That didn’t matter in the end, as Mein scored a TKO in just 72 seconds and won Performance of the Night.

Mein is now 3-1 in the UFC, with two victories by TKO and a Fight of the Night bonus. Back in Strikeforce, Mein went 2-1 with a TKO over Evangelista Santos and a split-decision loss to Tyron Woodley. Woodley got a shot at the Strikeforce welterweight title in his next fight.

Mein will likely make the jump into the Top 15 rankings now, which opens up a whole wealth of potential fights for him. Let’s take a look at three possibilities.

 

Rick Story-Gunnar Nelson Winner

Rick Story is currently ranked No. 15 in the division, and Gunnar Nelson is ranked No. 12. These two are set to square off at UFC Fight Night 53 on October 4. Gunnar Nelson is 13-0-1 and is 4-0 in the UFC with three submission finishes.

Story has alternated wins and losses since June 2012 and is 4-3 in that time. He has scored two finishes and was only finished in one of his losses.

The winner of this fight will likely make a good matchup for Mein to test himself against, as both are established veterans.

 

Dong Hyun Kim

Dong Hyun Kim also fought on Saturday, although it was much earlier in the day. Kim faced off against Tyron Woodley and was knocked out in just 61 seconds. Before that, Kim had been on a four-fight win streak, including two in a row by knockout. In those two fights, he also earned a Fight of the Night bonus and a Performance of the Night bonus.

Kim was ranked No. 10 before his loss, so he will likely be in the bottom five of the rankings along with Mein. Both fighters enjoy striking, so this one would definitely be entertaining with a high potential for a knockout finish.

 

Rory MacDonald-Tarec Saffiedine Loser

In early October, top welterweights Rory MacDonald and Tarec Saffiedine will be headlining UFC Fight Night 54. MacDonald has won two in a row and is ranked No. 2 in the division. Saffiedine is ranked No. 9 and is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion but has had only one fight in the UFC, which came back in January.

The winner of this fight will likely be in contention for the next title shot, but the loser will be looking for a solid win to get back on track.

Adding extra intrigue to this potential fight would be the fact that Mein lost his professional debut to Rory MacDonald. 

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UFC Fight Night 48 and 49 Results: Grades for All Main Card Fighters

Saturday was quite a day for UFC fans. In the morning, UFC Fight Night 48 went down in Macau with a headliner featuring Michael Bisping against Cung Le in a middleweight matchup.
The co-main event was a welterweight tilt between two young contenders in…

Saturday was quite a day for UFC fans. In the morning, UFC Fight Night 48 went down in Macau with a headliner featuring Michael Bisping against Cung Le in a middleweight matchup.

The co-main event was a welterweight tilt between two young contenders in the division, as former Strikeforce welterweight standout Tyron Woodley faced Dong Hyun Kim.

Then, on Saturday night, UFC Fight Night 49 happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a lightweight matchup between former champ Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos.

Read on to see grades for all 20 of Saturday’s main card fighters.

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UFC Fight Night 49 Results: 3 Fights for Rafael Dos Anjos to Take Next

Rafael dos Anjos pulled off a huge upset Saturday night with his first-round TKO over former lightweight champion Benson Henderson.
Dos Anjos was ranked No. 5 in the division going into the fight, and Henderson was ranked No. 1. This win is sure to mov…

Rafael dos Anjos pulled off a huge upset Saturday night with his first-round TKO over former lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Dos Anjos was ranked No. 5 in the division going into the fight, and Henderson was ranked No. 1. This win is sure to move dos Anjos up in the rankings, possibly into the top three.

Dos Anjos finds himself in a difficult position now, as there are few fighters ranked higher than him that he could fight next. He will likely have to face an opponent ranked lower in the division, but there are plenty of options that could make for great fights.

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Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Benson Henderson: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

This Saturday, former lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, faces off against the No. 5-ranked lightweight, Rafael dos Anjos.
Henderson is 2-0 since losing the title to Anthony Pettis in 2013 and is 9-1 overall in the UFC. He is ranked at No. 1 …

This Saturday, former lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, faces off against the No. 5-ranked lightweight, Rafael dos Anjos.

Henderson is 2-0 since losing the title to Anthony Pettis in 2013 and is 9-1 overall in the UFC. He is ranked at No. 1 in the division, and a win over dos Anjos could earn him another shot at the title.

Dos Anjos is 6-1 since 2011, including a win over Donald Cerrone, with the lone loss coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is ranked No. 5, but many aren’t talking about him as a real title contender.

A win for dos Anjos will truly cement him as an elite lightweight and will get him some serious consideration for a title shot.

Let’s check out a head-to-toe breakdown for this lightweight matchup.

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Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

On Saturday, the UFC returns to Macau, China, for UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le. The main event features a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Cung Le. However, the co-main event is arguably more interesting.
The co-main event is a welte…

On Saturday, the UFC returns to Macau, China, for UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le. The main event features a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Cung Le. However, the co-main event is arguably more interesting.

The co-main event is a welterweight matchup between No. 4-ranked Tyron Woodley and No. 10-ranked Dong Hyun Kim.

Woodley is 3-2 in the UFC but lost his last fight by unanimous decision to Rory MacDonald. Prior to that, Woodley had beaten Josh Koscheck and Carlos Condit, both by (T)KO.

Meanwhile, Kim is on a four-fight win streak, including two knockout finishes in his last two fights, both of which earned post-fight bonuses.

Kim’s stock is quickly rising in the welterweight division, while Woodley is hoping to get back on track with a win in this fight.

Let’s check out a head-to-toe breakdown of this important welterweight matchup.

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UFC Fight Night 47 Results: Jussier Formiga Is Not Ready for a Title Shot

When it was announced that Chris Cariaso would be getting the next title shot in the flyweight division, many were surprised—and rightfully so. There were several fighters close to a title shot who were to fight soon, including John Lineker …

When it was announced that Chris Cariaso would be getting the next title shot in the flyweight division, many were surprised—and rightfully so. There were several fighters close to a title shot who were to fight soon, including John Lineker and both Jussier Formiga and Zach Makovsky, who faced off Saturday night.

For the first two rounds of their fight, Formiga exhibited control on the ground, taking Makovsky‘s back several times and attempting a rear-naked choke in the second round.

The third round was very different, though, as Makovsky ended up on top of Formiga and was able to keep his control throughout the round. Formiga didn’t do much of anything in the third round, and Makovsky easily took it.

However, it was too little too late. Formiga would win the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29-28 from all three judges.

Formiga is now the highest-ranked fighter in the flyweight division who hasn’t already been beaten by the champion, Demetrious Johnson. After Johnson fights Cariaso, Formiga will probably be the next one to get a title shot. Unfortunately for him, he’s not even close to ready for it.

In the UFC, Formiga is 3-2. His wins have come against Scott Jorgensen, Makovsky and Cariaso. His losses have come against No. 1-ranked John Dodson and No. 2-ranked Joseph Benavidez. If he wasn’t able to get past Nos. 1 and 2 in the division, how is he going to have any chance against the champion?

In addition, back in 2011 while fighting for the Tachi Palace Fights organization, Formiga lost to Ian McCall, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the division.

Formiga wasn’t overly impressive Saturday against the No. 9-ranked fighter in the division. Throughout the first two rounds, he was able to take Makovsky‘s back several times, and he worked for submissions, but that was about it.

Formiga spent the majority of the third round on his back, and he was either coasting, knowing he had won the first two, or he was too tired to do anything else.

Either way, if he couldn’t go full speed against Zach Makovsky for 15 minutes, there’s no way he would be able to last 25 minutes against the top flyweight in the world.

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