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John Moraga (Yes, THE John Moraga) to Face Demetrious Johnson Next at the TUF 17 Finale in April

(Aaaannndd in the blue corner, fighting out of…uh…parts unknown, and sporting a professional record of…*cough*teen and one…Juan Mordana!)

Right now, the UFC’s flyweight division consists of less fighters than there are students in the average Introduction to Genetics and Evolution class at Kentucky Mountain Bible College. And while this doesn’t exactly provide fans with a plethora of matchups to get excited about, it does provide several of the division’s fighters with a short path to a title shot. Take John Moraga, for instance, the flyweight fighter sporting a 2-0 UFC record who was announced earlier today as the next challenger to Demetrious Johnson’s throne. Moraga will be given a chance to shock the world in the main event of the upcoming TUF 17 Finale, which transpires from the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 13th.

To be fair, Morega has about as impressive a two fight (UFC) win streak as you can have, especially given the size of the pond he is swimming in. After knocking out the highly-touted former Tachi Palace Fights champion, Ulysses Gomez, in his promotional debut, Morega scored a third round come-from-behind submission victory over experienced octagon vet Chris Cariaso at UFC 155. In fact, the only loss you’d find on the 14 fight record of Moraga dates back to December of 2010 and came, ironically enough, to the last man that was defeated by “Mighty Mouse,” John Dodson. Like we said, it’s a(n appropriately) small pond.

So this is a bit of an odd pairing, sure, but if Moraga’s debut performance was any indication, the dude can trade with the best of them and has some devastating KO power to boot. But as was the case with Dodson, this fight won’t be a question of when Moraga lands, but if he can land when dealing with the inhuman speed of Johnson.

Also scheduled for the TUF 17 Finale…

(Aaaannndd in the blue corner, fighting out of…uh…parts unknown, and sporting a professional record of…*cough*teen and one…Juan Mordana!)

Also scheduled for the TUF 17 Finale…

Gabriel Gonzaga. Trust me, that name feels just as weird to write as it does to read. The master of surrealist video art who announced his retirement from the sport after getting axed by the UFC back in 2010 has returned a renewed fighter, collecting three straight (two in the UFC) victories by submission, otherwise known as the things Gonzaga was always really good at but refused to use during his first run in the octagon. “Napao” most recently strangled the life out of Ben Rothwell in the first round of their scrap at UFC on FX 7. Standing across the cage from Gonzaga will be a hard hitting heavyweight with a solid submission game in Travis Browne, who saw a three fight win streak snapped by the surging Antonio Silva back at UFC on FX 5 in October.

Who do you like for these, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

‘UFC on FOX 6? Ratings Update: Flyweights Pull Strong Numbers, Fall Just Short of Henderson vs. Diaz

(The average new viewer tuned in for 5 minutes and 54 seconds before realizing they weren’t watching ‘America’s Best Dance Crew.’ Photo via Tracy Lee/Cagewriter.)

For those of you who thought that the UFC’s decision to headline a FOX card with 125-pounders was promotional suicide, it’s time to eat some crow. According to the final ratings numbers, UFC on FOX 6: Johnson vs. Dodson drew an average of 4.4 million viewers last Saturday, peaking at 5.2 million viewers for the flyweight championship main event. That’s only a slight decrease from the viewership of the last FOX card, which attracted 4.4 million average viewers with a peak of 5.7 million for the Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz lightweight title fight.

Judging from the data here and here, Johnson vs. Dodson’s 5.2 million viewer peak would place it around #13 on the list of the most-watched MMA fights of all time in the United States. It’ll be interesting to see how the next UFC on FOX event on April 20th stacks up, as it features a returning star in Benson Henderson — and an excellent heavyweight feature adding weight to the main card — but won’t benefit from the frequent promos during NFL broadcasts that UFC on FOX 6 received.

For a quick comparison of the average viewerships for each UFC on FOX card so far, check out the numbers after the jump…

(The average new viewer tuned in for 5 minutes and 54 seconds before realizing they weren’t watching ‘America’s Best Dance Crew.’ Photo via Tracy Lee/Cagewriter.)

For a quick comparison of the average viewerships for each UFC on FOX card so far, check out the numbers after the jump…

UFC on FOX 1 (Velasquez vs. Dos Santos): 5.7 million average viewers
UFC on FOX 2 (Evans vs. Davis): 4.7 million
UFC on FOX 3 (Diaz vs. Miller): 2.4 million
UFC on FOX 4 (Rua vs. Vera): 2.4 million
UFC on FOX 5 (Henderson vs. Diaz): 4.4 million
UFC on FOX 6 (Johnson vs. Dodson): 4.2 million

UFC on Fox: New Flyweight Division Delivers Once Again

It’s time to step into the Octagon once again as we take a look at the UFC’s latest show on America’s Fox network, which was in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain. The broadcast began in the featherwei…

The broadcast began in the featherweight division as Erik Koch went up against Ricardo Lamas.

This one began with both testing the waters with a few kicks. A few moments later, Lamas went for a takedown, and although he was successful, Koch managed to get back up on one leg before they jockeyed for position against the cage.

Round 2 saw them engage in some crisp striking exchanges. But when Lamas slipped, Koch failed to capitalize and soon found himself on his back.

It was then that Lamas went to work, and after an elbow opened up Koch below his eye, Lamas upped his striking rate until the referee stepped in to give Lamas the TKO win.

It was up to lightweight for the next fight as Anthony Pettis took on Donald Cerrone.

Pettis began his shift in the cage with a big right to the jaw, but when he went for a cartwheel kick a few moments later, Cerrone countered with a knee to the body.

The action then settled down for a few seconds before Pettis began to take control with his striking. A kick to the body clearly troubled Cerrone. The Cowboy tried to make out like it was no big deal, but when Pettis connected with a second kick, Cerrone crumpled to the mat. Pettis went in for the kill with the referee stepping in to give him the TKO win.

Light heavyweight action followed as Rampage Jackson faced Glover Teixeira.

This proved to be a very intriguing three-round affair. Right from the start, Teixeira put on a great display of striking, a display that had Rampage in no end of trouble at times.

It was Teixeira’s left hand in particular that gave Rampage no end of trouble, and although he controlled the majority of the exchanges, Rampage got in a few good shots as well. Hell also froze over when the former champion added a few kicks into the mix.

This fight wasn’t just about the striking, though. Teixeira had a great deal of success on the ground with a number of takedowns throughout the fight, although Rampage managed to get back to his feet quite a few times as well.

But as the fight went on, Rampage began to look exhausted, while Teixeira looked as fresh as a daisy throughout, and when the fight ended it seemed pretty obvious who was going to get the decision.

The judges saw it that way as well, as Teixeira took the unanimous decision.

The main event saw John Dodson challenging Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title.

I really enjoyed this one. For five rounds, these two put on a fight that would have been worthy of a pay-per-view main event, let alone free-to-air television.

Dodson put in some great work early on. His striking looked crisp, as he gave Johnson quite a bit of trouble, especially in the first two rounds, when he knocked the champion to the ground.

Johnson managed to weather that particular storm and came back time and time again, scoring with some nice takedowns along the way.

The champion was guilty of a couple of rules infractions later on, connecting with an inadvertent knee to the groin in the third and a knee to the head in the fourth while Dodson had a hand on the mat. The challenger was given a couple of rest periods, although ultimately it didn’t do him much good.

This was mainly because Johnson began to dominate the action from the fourth round onward, connecting with a series of knees to the head from various clinches. Dodson just didn’t seem to have any form of defence against these, and these blows, added to his growing fatigue, meant that he was becoming a shell of the fighter who rocked the champion earlier on.

With the fight going the distance, the judges were called upon again as they gave Johnson their unanimous title-retaining decision.

In conclusion—if I had stayed up until the early hours to watch this, I would probably have said that this was well worth staying up for.

The four fights shown here certainly delivered. The two TKO wins were worth the price of admission alone, while Glover Teixeira’s points win over Rampage Jackson kind of seemed like another passing of the baton, the changing of the guard if you will, as the new generation of light heavyweight fighters continues to make its mark.

As for the main event, the UFC’s newest division did it again. Although we didn’t see that marquee finish, Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson delivered the goods, and Johnson’s performance once again showed why the flyweights are now a valuable part of the UFC. This is the reason that these guys are going to get my vote for Fight of the Night.

With all of that out of the way, it’s time to wrap this thing up by giving UFC on Fox the thumbs up.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com. It’s been online in one form or another for nearly 13 years now!

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Armchair Matchmaker: ‘UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson’ Edition

(Well, that might explain the spray tan, at least. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

It’s safe to say that the UFC’s latest trip to the land of major network television succeeded in exceeding most of our expectations. For starters, the event pulled in much higher viewership numbers than most pundits of the sport (and apparently the UFC’s marketing department) ever believed a card topped off by a flyweight fight could do. The fact that the card delivered exciting finishes and entertaining brawls from top to bottom further cemented our belief that the UFC has truly started to hit their stride with Fox. Not that we ever doubted them, but things were looking hairy for a while there *thinks back to UFC on Fox 2, shudders*.

But today, we must gather up last weekend’s results like a herd of slaughtered bison, take to our (ban)wagons, and forge ahead to the river of subjectivity that is the armchair matchmaker (Oregon Trail metaphors. They’re like, so in right now.). So join us after the jump as we breakdown what is next for some of Saturday’s biggest winners.

Demetrious Johnson: Challenger John Dodson might have brought the pop rocks to his first ever UFC title fight, but Demetrious Johnson surely brought the coke. And by coke, I mean cocaine. Because Johnson fights like he’s on…you know what, forget it. The Tazmanian Devil-esque tornado of takedowns known as “Mighty Mouse” is truly something to behold when he enters the octagon, combining a limitless gas tank with a simple will to survive that is unmatched by 90% of his MMA counterparts, flyweight or otherwise.

(Well, that might explain the spray tan, at least. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Unfortunately, the UFC’s flyweight division is thinner than that of its participants, so Johnson’s options are severely limited. Although Tim Elliot made a statement in his dominant win over Jared Papazian at the TUF 16 Finale, the fact that he dropped a unanimous decision to Dodson prior to that means that he is still a win or two away from a shot. The only logical next step for Johnson would be against the winner of the Joseph Benavidez/Ian McCall fight at UFC 156. Johnson has the advantage of having faced both men before (and McCall twice actually) and it’s slim pickings right now for the champ. Who knows? Maybe he can use that advantage to score his first ever finish inside the UFC. Lord knows the flyweight division could use one every know and again.

Glover Teixeira: In what was easily the biggest fight of his budding career, Teixeira stepped up in a big way and did what no man has ever done before: beat the excuses right out of Rampage Jackson. And while that is an impressive accomplishment in and of itself, we don’t think Teixeira should be fast tracked to a title shot in the near future; that kind of privilege is best left for middleweights coming off a loss. Most websites out there are calling for Teixeira to take on the winner of the Rashad Evans/Lil’ Nog scrap, also scheduled for UFC 156, and it’s hard to disagree with that logic. The light heavyweight division has its fair share of viable contenders right now, with everyone from Alexander Gustafsson to Dan Henderson primed for a title shot with a victory in their next contest, so let’s give Glover a little more time to develop before we start dubbing him the #1 contender.

Anthony Pettis: If KO’ing a hard-nosed badass like Donald Cerrone in the first round didn’t make enough of a statement, doing so with an off-the-cage flying knee, a handspring (?) kick, and a liver kick to finish things off surely did. Give “Showtime” his much deserved title shot so we can see more of these shenanigans:

Also, make sure Stephan Bonnar is on announcing duties when Pettis gets said title shot.

Ricardo Lamas: Give Lamas whoever emerges victorious from the Jose Aldo/Frankie Edgar title fight at, you guessed it, UFC 156. Lamas has put together four straight over the division’s finest, and outside of Chan Sung-Jung — who is still sidelined from the shoulder surgery he underwent last July — is the only guy in the division ready for a shot at Aldo. Or Edgar. But probably Aldo.

T.J. Grant: With his incredibly impressive knockout win over Matt “Don’t Call Me Handsome Anymore” Wiman last weekend, Grant has suddenly established himself as one of the lightweight division’s hottest prospects. It may have taken him a few years under Zuffa’s embrace to pull off, but Grant now finds himself in the position to call out the Jim Millers of the division. Thankfully for us, Grant did just that. Miller is coming off a late Fight of the Year win over Joe Lauzon at UFC 155, and although Grant isn’t exactly a big name yet, a win for either man would send a resounding message to the rest of the lightweight division.

Clay Guida: On the heels of a split decision victory over Hatsu Hioki punctuated by dizzying head movement and top control, Guida proved that he is pretty much capable of doing the same things at featherweight as he did at lightweight. The perfect matchup for Guida at this point would be Nik Lentz, in our opinion. Currently riding a two fight win streak, Lentz is a similarly strong grappler who could possibly negate some of Guida’s hyper-blanket attack and would be a great litmus test for Guida in his newfound home.

So, Potato Nation, are there any matchups you find more relevant than what we’ve put together? Give us a shout in the comments section.

–J. Jones

UFC on Fox 6: Why the UFC Needs to Fully Stock the Flyweight Division

Although the UFC’s flyweight division hasn’t been alive for too long, it is already being thrust front and center, as was the case this weekend when Demetrious Johnson defended his title for the first time against The Ultimate Fighter …

While it was a good fight, it also shined a light on how thin the division currently is.

Dodson is probably second only to Nate Quarry in being a fighter from The Ultimate Fighter reality show who was thrust too quickly into a title fight, and while Dodson did much better than Quarry, truth be told he wasn’t ready for such a fight.

But things are always rocking at the beginning, and now that it is clear that the UFC plans on making sure the spotlight shines on all divisions, it is time to begin stocking up on fighters who can make the 125-pound limit.

There are many reasons why, but the most obvious of them all is simply that the deeper a division is, the more compelling it is, because the fans have more choices as to who they identify with and root for.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, speaks to the heart of growth for the UFC in ways we cannot quantify as of yet, because if you look at the history of combative sport, numerous smaller fighters—many coming from countries outside the United States—have managed to captivate the fans.

And when you consider that countries such as Mexico, Japan, Italy and others have seen some of their “smaller” sons turn into giants upon the world stage of boxing, it becomes clear that a diversified and stacked flyweight division could help kick open the doors to those countries and many others.

When you think about some of the bigger names in boxing over the past 50 years, it is surprising to some to learn just how many of them fought and achieved fame in the featherweight division, which is boxing’s equivalent to the flyweight class.

Men such as Juan Manuel Marquez, “Prince” Naseem Hamed, Alexis Arguello, Marco Antonio Barrera, Manny Pacquiao and countless others fought at the 126-pound limit and put on some incredible fights while becoming large stars in the process.

Add a few more pounds and you can find names like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez, Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Oscar de la Hoya and others.

There is an untold number of MMA fighters from other countries who are waiting to be discovered and one of them could be the next Manny Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez in the UFC.

But they need to know there is a place for them and the only way that will happen is if the flyweight division becomes known as a division where great fights are made by great fighters. In order for that to come to pass, the UFC is going to need to start investing heavily down south.

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UFC on Fox 6 Results: John Dodson and the Worst Rule in MMA History

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board, headed in 2000 by Larry Hazzard, helped mixed martial arts take a giant step forward by becoming the first major state athletic commission to regulate the sport. The IFC was the first promotion to run a show in th…

These fight cards were a test run for the sport. Hazzard liked what he saw and MMA passed with flying colors. In April, 2001, Hazzard headed a meeting that included the UFC and other promoters, with Nevada’s Marc Ratner dialing in from his office in Las Vegas. Together they hammered out the official Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, relying heavily on previous work done in California and the Mixed Martial Arts Council rules created by Jeff Blatnick that the UFC already used to self-regulate their own bouts.

A few important changes were made, including banning the gi and wrestling shoes, and the establishment of weight classes from flyweight to super-heavyweight. The most important change, from a competition standpoint, was the banning of knees to the head of a grounded opponent.

It was a change Hazzard insisted upon. In the very first show in New Jersey, enormous heavyweight Gan McGee dropped knee after knee on the head of overmatched and outsized opponent Brad Gabriel. Blood flowed and it took the referee an eternity to intervene. Hazzard cringed sitting ringside and the knee to the head had seen its last day in American MMA.

Today, a fighter cannot be kicked or kneed in the head when he’s on the ground—including when he has a hand on the ground. The intent is to eliminate the Gan McGee knees of doom. But, along the way, savvy fighters like John Dodson have used the well-intentioned rule to game the system.

In his title fight against Demetrious Johnson, Dodson put one hand on the ground to remove the knee from Johnson’s arsenal of strikes. Johnson either didn’t notice or didn’t care, kneeing Dodson right in the face.

“The first time I put my knee to his head, I couldn’t tell because I was looking at the back of his head,” Johnson told Fuel TV after the bout. “After the first time I got warned, I apologized about that. I could feel his pressure and he has to move. It’s not checkers – it’s chess damn it!”

Referee John McCarthy was forced to step in and separate the fighters when the technically illegal blow affected the bout. He didn’t take a point, but he could have, unnecessarily adding controversy to a fight that was a thrilling back-and-forth showdown.

“I do think the point should have been taken away. It was an illegal knee and it caused damage,” UFC President Dana White told Fuel TV after the fight. “There should have been a point taken away. But I hate that rule. The reason it’s there, it’s for soccer kicks when guys are down on the ground. But I don’t like when guys put their hand down to protect them from it. It was an awesome fight, a close fight and a controversial fight.”

It’s a rule that needs to be adjusted to protect the integrity of the sport. Anytime a fighter can blatantly game the system, the way Dodson did, the sport as a whole looks downright silly. He wasn’t protecting himself and his position didn’t make him particularly vulnerable. He was exploiting a loophole. And that has to stop.

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