(via UFC on FOX)
It’s hard to a remember a more meteoric rise to absolute dominance than that of TJ Dillashaw, the TUF 14 runner up who will almost certainly find himself in those ever-coveted “pound-for-pound” talks following his brilliant performance against Renan Barao at UFC on FOX 16 last Saturday.
To think that, a little over a year ago, Dillashaw was being given no chance against the former “pound-for-pound” king when they first clashed in the cage is almost absurd given his pair of performances against Barao. And in the rematch, Dillashaw was arguably even more impressive, eating almost everything his Brazilian rival could throw at him while returning fire with a fury. Dillashaw’s footwork was incredible, his combinations video game-esque, and his accuracy reminiscent of early Anderson Silva. How Barao was able to withstand the final flurry that came in the 4th round was a credit to his chin, his heart, and the abnormally slow hand of Herb Dean.
Elsewhere on the FOX 16 card, Miesha Tate overcame an early onslaught, Edson Barboza and Paul Felder threw spinning sh*t, and Joe Lauzon auditioned for his post-fight career as a referee, so check out all the highlights after the jump.
Miesha Tate may be a notoriously slow starter, but God damn if she doesn’t have resilience in spades. Against Jessica Eye, “Cupcake” appeared to be fighting on a time delay early, eating a hellacious series of right hands and offering next to nothing in return. But then, late in the round, Miesha seemed to decide on a dime that she was capable of doing something other than taking her opponents down. Tate landed a MONSTER right hand that floored Eye and set the tone for the rest of the fight, which Tate dominated both in the standup and grappling departments.
With the victory, Tate has once again earned the opportunity to be thrashed by Ronda Rousey at some point in the future, so, uh, yeah for that.
In the co-co main event of the evening, Edson Barboza and Paul Felder engaged in one of the most technical displays of spinning sh*t ever documented. Though Barboza’s speed advantage and hellacious shot to Felder’s testicles in the first round would ultimately lead him to victory, the fight undoubtedly earned both guys a heap of new fans.
In one of the more interesting moments of UFC on FOX 16, Joe Lauzon kicked off the main card by taking Takanori Gomi down, pounding him out, then doing Herb Dean’s job for him and calling off the fight mid-ass kicking. The resulting memes have been kind to J-Lau.
Oh right, and in judging news, no one still knows what the f*ck they’re doing.
Main card
T.J. Dillashaw def. Renan Barao via fourth-round TKO
Miesha Tate def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision
Edson Barboza def. Paul Felder via unanimous decision
Joe Lauzon def. Takanori Gomi via first-round TKO
Undercard
Tom Lawlor def. Gian Villante via second-round KO
Jim Miller def. Danny Castillo via split decision
Ben Saunders def. Kenny Robertson via split decision
Bryan Caraway def. Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision
James Krause def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (rear-naked choke)
Andrew Holbrook def. Ramsey Nijem via split decision
Elizabeth Phillips def. Jessamyn Duke via unanimous decision
Zak Cummings def. Dominique Steele via first-round TKO (0:43)
The post UFC on FOX 16 Highlights/Results: Dillashaw Puts the Stamp on Barao, Tate Earns Another Shot at Rousey + More appeared first on Cagepotato.