The competition in the UFC middleweight division has been on the rise for the past year, and the main event at Fight Night 50 figured to have a heavy impact on the title picture at 185 pounds.
In the aftermath of Anderson Silva’s reign atop the weight class, the middleweight division has turned into a shootout between talented fighters looking to make their way toward a potential title opportunity. Champion Chris Weidman‘s grip atop the divisional hierarchy has held strong since dethroning “The Spider” at UFC 162 in July of 2013, and the 14 months that have followed have witnessed a host of competitors make stead progress up the divisional ladder.
Both Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza have been battling to earn a title shot, with each man finding solid success inside the Octagon. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has won five of his last six outings with his only setback on his current run coming against former UFC champion Lyoto Machida back in February. “The Armenian Assassin” certainly rebounded quickly though as he earned a dominant victory over Mark Munoz three months later when the organization made its debut in Berlin.
The 29-year-old came into Fight Night 50 looking to make a definitive step toward a title shot, and his opponent standing on the opposite side of the cage was aiming to do the same. Since losing his Strikeforce middleweight title back in 2010, “Jacare” has been on an absolute tear as he’s found success in six consecutive outings, with all but one of those victories coming by way of finish. The Brazilian grappling ace has looked unstoppable inside the Octagon and a win over Mousasi would make a potential title bid difficult to deny.
There was plenty on the line for both fighters when the cage door closed behind them on Friday night, and Souza‘s game plan proved to be unstoppable. The jiu-jitsu ace employed a grappling-heavy attack that Mousasi had no answer for. The first two rounds saw Souza put Mousasi on his back and keep him there. The third round appeared to be heading in the same direction until “The Alligator” caught a fight-ending guillotine choke that forced Mousasi to tap as Souza picked up his seventh consecutive victory.
While the main event typically grabs the majority of the spotlight on any given card, the co-main event at Fight Night 50 demanded its fair share of shine as Alistair Overeem and Ben Rothwell squared off in a highly anticipated tilt. After failing to meet initial expectations under the UFC banner, “The Reem” relocated his camp to the world-renowned Jackson-Winkeljohn gym in Albuquerque looking to make a fresh start.
All accounts coming out of the camp pointed to the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion acquiring a new sense of focus, and Overeem himself told Bleacher Report the results were going to show on fight night. Unfortunately for the former Dream champion, that wasn’t to be the case as he suffered a shocking upset at the hands of “Big Ben.”
While Overeem threw big shots early, that power wouldn’t last. Rothwell rocked him with a big uppercut before eventually dropping and and finishing the Pride veteran with a flurry on the ground. The victory was undoubtedly the biggest of Rothwell‘s career and perhaps the most devastating one for Overeem.
In addition to the two big fights on the card, there was certainly plenty of ruckus to be found on Friday night as the big boys slung leather and fighters up and down the lineup did their best to put on a show. Let’ take a look at the good, bad and strange from Fight Night 50.
The Good
The middleweight division has been rocking and rolling as of late, but there may be no more feared fighter at 185 pounds than Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
“The Alligator” has won seven consecutive fights with his most recent coming at the expense of Gegard Mousasi on Friday night. Souza dominated the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion for two-and-a-half rounds before he locked on a guillotine that forced Mousasi to tap. It was an impressive performance for Souza and he appears to getting stronger each and every time out.
With his victory over “The Armenian Assassin,” Souza has now found victory in seven straight showings, six of which have come by way of finish. That caliber of success will make Souza‘s case for a title opportunity tough to deny and he should be next in line after Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort handle their business later this year.
Speaking of business…let’s take a look at some big business in the heavyweight division.
Ben Rothwell has faced some big challenges throughout his career, but few were as large as what he came up against at Fight Night 50. Not only was the Kenosha, Wisconsin-native facing one of the most feared strikers in the history of the heavyweight ranks, but he was also coming off a nine-month suspension due to elevated levels of testosterone.
That put Rothwell in a position where he had something to prove, and from his heavy underdog status coming into his tilt with “The Reem,” is was a feat few believed he could accomplish. That said, apparently no one told Rothwell he was supposed to lose as “Big Ben” smashed the former Strikeforce champion via first-round knockout.
It was an impressive performance as the former IFL champion stalked Overeem from the opening bell. While he ate a few big shots from the Dutchman, Rothwell walked through each and every one of them as he looked to find a home for his power shots, which he eventually did to devastating results. With a few big shots of his won, Rothwell did the unthinkable and picked up the biggest win of his career.
With the upset victory against Overeem, the 32-year-old has now won three of his past four outings.
*** Anytime a fighter endures a full training camp and shows up to fight, and then doesn’t get the opportunity, it can be a difficult thing to overcome. That is what happened to Matt Mitrione back in July when his scheduled bout with Stefan Struve disintegrated a few hours before they were set to step in the cage. “The Skyscraper” was pulled for medical reasons and “Meathead” was forced to leave Las Vegas without getting a chance to scrap. The Indiana native didn’t have to wait long as surging heavyweight Derrick Lewis called him out and the two heavy hitters collided at Fight Night 50.
Anytime two heavyweights get to handling their business inside the cage, things can end quickly and that’s exactly what happened. Mitrione caught Lewis wading in with a big shot and the impact dropped “The Black Beast” to the canvas. The former Purdue football standout immediately pounced and finished off his opponent with a flurry of punches. With the win, Mitrione has now found success in back-to-back outings and keeps himself relevant in the increasingly competitive ranks of the heavyweight division.
*** Joe Lauzon has spent his UFC career picking up performance bonuses and he most likely added another to his list by defeating Michael Chiesa at Fight Night 50. The two lightweights spent the first round scrapping it out all around the cage and they went right back to it when the second round got underway. During one the exchanges, “J-Lau” landed a big knee that split Chiesa above his right eye that caused blood to come gushing out. The referee asked the cageside doctor to take a look and the fight was waived off shortly after. Lauzon‘s win over Chiesa make it two in a row for the Massachusetts native and puts a bright spot in what has been a tough year for the savvy veteran.
*** In the lead up to his fight with Justin Scoggins, former title challenger John Moraga made “something to prove” his mantra. The MMA Lab product was disappointed in how his most recent outing came to an end, and wanted to make a statement in his bout with the talented young prospect. While “Tank” took the first round and seemed to be off to a great start in the second, the Phoenix native caught a slick guillotine choke that forced “Tank” to tap out to end the fight. It was an impressive finish for the former No. 1 contender and gave Moraga his second win in his last three outings.
*** Al Iaquinta has always been known for his power and he put his talents on display against Rodrigo Damm on the undercard at Fight Night 50. The Serra-Longo product kept the Brazilian on his heels throwing big shots early and appeared to wobble the veteran fighter on multiple occasions during the opening two rounds. It was more of the same in the third as Iaquinta dropped Damm with a huge right hand and then walked away thinking the fight was over. Yet, Damm would get back to his feet and suffer a bit more damage before the Long Island representative finished the task with a flurry. With the win, the 27-year-old has now won four of his last five showings inside the Octagon.
*** Rafael Natal came into Fight Night 50 desperately in need of a victory. The Brazilian had dropped back-to-back showings inside the Octagon and needed to put the brakes on that skid against Chris Camozzi on Friday night. While both fighters had their moments during the tilt, it was “Sapo” who took the split decision on the judges’ scorecards. There is no doubt Natal getting the nod is debatable but the victory puts him back into the win column for the first time in a year.
*** While he was unsuccessful at his bid to win the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris Beal has been all business in his time under the UFC banner. After a devastating knockout in his official promotional debut at UFC 172 back in April, “The Real Deal” came into his tilt with Tateki Matsuda looking to keep his momentum rolling. While it wasn’t the best performance of his career, Beal did enough to get the job done against the promotional newcomer as he picked up the unanimous-decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.
*** Suffering the first loss of his professional career in his UFC debut back in April certainly fired Chas Skelly up and he’s wasted no time in making up ground. The Team Takedown fighter got things back on track by defeating Tom Niinimaki at Fight Night 49 back on August 23, then turned around 13 days later and defeated Sean Soriano via unanimous decision on Friday night. While his performance was far from crisp, “The Scrapper” kept the pressure on and used his grappling to get the job done at Fight Night 50.
The Bad
Mixed martial arts is a game of serious highs and lows and Alistair Overeem is certainly on the bottom of things right now.
Where “The Reem” was once considered to be one of—if not the most feared heavyweight on the planet—those days are long gone. The Dutch striker was once poised to get a shot at Junior dos Santos and the heavyweight strap, but a failed drug test for elevated levels of testosterone put him on the sidelines with a lengthy suspension. And he hasn’t looked the same since (no pun intended).
In the four fights he’s had since his return, the former Strikeforce champion has been defeated. While all losses end up in the same column, not all are equal as Overeem suffering three brutal knockouts has caused substantial damage to his profile. The most recent of these drubbings came at the hands of seasoned veteran Ben Rothwell at Fight Night 50, in a fight “Big Ben” had been asking the UFC for since 2012.
Once the action got underway, the reason for his request was clear as Rothwell‘s chin had zero issues holding up to whatever Overeem threw at him. Unfortunately for the former K-1 champion, things weren’t the same on the other side of the coin as Rothwell crumpled him with a big shot before he finished things off on the canvas. It was a huge upset and will bring a stark reality directly to both the UFC’s and Overeem’s doorsteps.
With his hefty price tag and deflated status, it will be difficult to justify keeping him on the roster. For whatever reason, Overeem just doesn’t have what he once did and it is painfully obvious in the aftermath of yet another knockout.
Keeping with the theme of tough breaks, Chris Camozzi is dealing with a rough patch of his own.
The Ultimate Fighter alum came into his bout with Rafael Natal at Fight Night 50 in a must-win situation. Where the Colorado native was once on a four-fight winning streak coming into 2013, things have gotten rocky in a hurry as the 27-year-old came into his bout with “Sapo” carrying a three-fight skid. With his roster spot most likely on the line, Camozzi needed a victory in Foxwoods and needed to do so in a big way.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things would shake out. Despite pressing the action and appearing to at least take the final two rounds, the two of the three judges sitting cageside awarded the bout to Natal. While the outcome is certainly debatable, the reality is that Camozzi has now lost four consecutive bouts, and few fighters under the UFC banner have ever kept their job wearing that dubious number on their profile.
*** Being a 22-year-old fighting in the UFC means there is plenty of room to grow, and it appears Justin Scoggins is certainly going to need some time to develop. Granted, he’s already competed four times inside the Octagon against top-notch competition, but with his most recent loss to John Moraga on Friday night, larger cracks in his game are beginning to show. Unlike the first loss of his career against Dustin Ortiz back in July, “Tank” was dominating the action against the Arizona native. That said, he allowed Moraga to get a hold of his neck while in top position, and tapped to a tight guillotine shortly after.
There is no doubt Scoggins is a talented fighter and has a bright future, but back-to-back losses in the early stages of his run under the UFC banner is a tough look.
The Strange
The subject of fighters cutting weight has always been a hot-button issue in mixed martial arts and the process has certainly come under more scrutiny as of late.
With No. 1 contender Renan Barao and promotional newcomer Henry Cejudo both failing to make weight and being pulled from their scheduled bouts at UFC 177 last weekend, the topic of cutting weight has been the subject of heavy debate throughout the MMA community. Those matters won’t fade away anytime soon as featherweight Charles Oliveira became the most recent fighter to miss the weight limit then be scratched from the card for medical reasons.
While “Do Bronx” suffering a viral infection is nothing to shake the proverbial stick at, his failure to make weight then falling ill is a bad look on a streak where bad looks have become the norm. If Oliveira was ill heading into fight week, then a decision should have been made to remove himself from the bout with Nik Lentz, but the fighter pressed on and the end result was nothing short of nasty.
Just like Barao the week prior, the UFC announced Oliveira would not be paid for his removal from the card at Fight Night 50. While things happen and such a punishment may seem harsh from the UFC, the promotion is apparently sending a strong message that you either show up in condition to fight, or you don’t show up at all. Those words haven’t officially come from the organization, but the sending of the scratched fighters home empty handed is certainly what it implies.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.
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