Showcasing the semifinals of their very first lightweight tournament as well as the promotional debuts of future UFC fighters Joey Beltran, Waylon Lowe, Dave Herman, and inaugural Invicta FC flyweight champion Jessica Penne, Bellator’s fifth event was truly stacked for it’s time and featured just one decision on its 9-fight card. But none of the finishes held a candle to the moment when Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with an inverted triangle choke in the evening’s headlining fight on May 1st, 2009 — five years ago today.
A little background: After securing tournament quarterfinal victories over Alonzo Martinez and Nick Agallar, respectively, at Bellator 1, veteran journeyman Toby Imada was set to face off against rising up-and-comer Jorge Masvidal, who in addition to being a rather prolific street fighter had already scored stoppage victories over Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in his young MMA career. After two rounds of fighting, Masvidal looked every bit the dynamic striker (and gambling favorite) he had been billed as, having punished Imada with hard shots and vicious ground-n-pound for the majority of the contest.
But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak.
Showcasing the semifinals of their very first lightweight tournament as well as the promotional debuts of future UFC fighters Joey Beltran, Waylon Lowe, Dave Herman, and inaugural Invicta FC flyweight champion Jessica Penne, Bellator’s fifth event was truly stacked for it’s time and featured just one decision on its 9-fight card. But none of the finishes held a candle to the moment when Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with an inverted triangle choke in the evening’s headlining fight on May 1st, 2009 — five years ago today.
A little background: After securing tournament quarterfinal victories over Alonzo Martinez and Nick Agallar, respectively, at Bellator 1, veteran journeyman Toby Imada was set to face off against rising up-and-comer Jorge Masvidal, who in addition to being a rather prolific street fighter had already scored stoppage victories over Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in his young MMA career. After two rounds of fighting, Masvidal looked every bit the dynamic striker (and gambling favorite) he had been billed as, having punished Imada with hard shots and vicious ground-n-pound for the majority of the contest.
But for every ten Jones vs. Teixeiras, there is one Russow vs. Duffy, so to speak. As such, when Masvidal dove on a single leg midway through the third round, Imada found the only window of opportunity he would need to pull a rabbit out of his ass in the form of a mid-air inverted triangle choke. Before Masvidal knew what was happening, he was flopping lifelessly to the canvas with Imada’s legs around his throat. It was as incredible a victory as it was disturbing, hence referee Greg Franklin’s Herb Dean-esque exclamation of “Oh shit!” upon seeing Masvidal’s sheet-white face.
The submission earned Imada “Submission of the Year” honors at the 2009 World MMA Awards (Journalist of the Year that year: Somehow not Ariel Helwani!) and a fight with Eddie Alvarez for the promotion’s inaugural lightweight title at Bellator 12. Although Imada would lose that fight via second round submission and would more or less spend the rest of his career toiling in mediocrity/ending up on Patricky Freire’s highlight reel, there’s no discrediting the thing of beauty that was his come-from-behind submission that night.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Imada’s inverted triangle, along with Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist that took place the following week at Bellator 6, pretty much put Bellator on the map. And for setting into motion a series of events that would eventually culminate in Tito Ortiz vs. Alexander Shlemenko, we thank you, Mr. Imada.
It’s funny how life works out sometimes. You accept a fight against “the Russian,” thinking you’ve been offered a match against the UFC’s undefeated Dagestani phenom, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, you find out you’ll actually be facing Rustam Khabilov, a still-dangerous but slightly-less-established Russian. Disappointment washes over you. But then, Khabilov suffers an undisclosed injury and you get to fight the Russian you thought you were going to fight in he first place. Hollywood couldn’t write it any better.
It’s funny how life works out sometimes. You accept a fight against “the Russian,” thinking you’ve been offered a match against the UFC’s undefeated Dagestani phenom, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, you find out you’ll actually be facing Rustam Khabilov, a still-dangerous but slightly-less-established Russian. Disappointment washes over you. But then, Khabilov suffers an undisclosed injury and you get to fight the Russian you thought you were going to fight in he first place. Hollywood couldn’t write it any better.
Despite the enthusiastic and supportive Fort Campbell crowd, last night’s Fight for the Troops 3 event began with some bitter defeats for the handful of UFC fighters with military backgrounds. Army Staff Sgt./TUF 16 winner Colton Smith kicked off the main card by tapping to a rear-naked choke from TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa — which earned Chiesa a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus — while former Marine Liz Carmouche ate her second UFC defeat in a decision loss to Alexis Davis.
Luckily, Tim Kennedy saved the operation. The Special Forces vet fed off the energy in the room and tagged Rafael Natal with a long left hook that put the Brazilian’s lights out near the end of round 1, and won Kennedy a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bump. As he explained after the fight:
“I had to wait for the crowd to stop cheering because I was afraid to emotionally commit to something and not do it for the right reasons,” he said. “They’re screaming, ‘Ranger up! Ranger up!’ And I want to start throwing overhands and blitz the guy. I was waiting for them to stop, and they didn’t stop. Then they started cheering ‘U-S-A!,’ and ‘Kennedy!,’ and I was like, ‘For the love of God.’
“It had a negative effect on me because I was waiting and apprehensive. If there was any amount of pressure that could be put on a single fighter for a fight, I can’t think of a situation that would be more stressful than this.”
By the way, Kennedy tore his quad in the last week of training camp, but as he told Ariel Helwani later, “There’s no way you’re getting me off this card. They would have had to shoot me. If they had to roll me up with a wheelchair, I would have got in that cage, I didn’t care.”
Check out video of Kennedy’s knockout above, check out full results from the fight card right here, and follow us after the jump for lots more UFC Fight for the Troops 3 video highlights…
Despite the enthusiastic and supportive Fort Campbell crowd, last night’s Fight for the Troops 3 event began with some bitter defeats for the handful of UFC fighters with military backgrounds. Army Staff Sgt./TUF 16 winner Colton Smith kicked off the main card by tapping to a rear-naked choke from TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa — which earned Chiesa a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus — while former Marine Liz Carmouche ate her second UFC defeat in a decision loss to Alexis Davis.
Luckily, Tim Kennedy saved the operation. The Special Forces vet fed off the energy in the room and tagged Rafael Natal with a long left hook that put the Brazilian’s lights out near the end of round 1, and won Kennedy a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bump. As he explained after the fight:
“I had to wait for the crowd to stop cheering because I was afraid to emotionally commit to something and not do it for the right reasons,” he said. “They’re screaming, ‘Ranger up! Ranger up!’ And I want to start throwing overhands and blitz the guy. I was waiting for them to stop, and they didn’t stop. Then they started cheering ‘U-S-A!,’ and ‘Kennedy!,’ and I was like, ‘For the love of God.’
“It had a negative effect on me because I was waiting and apprehensive. If there was any amount of pressure that could be put on a single fighter for a fight, I can’t think of a situation that would be more stressful than this.”
By the way, Kennedy tore his quad in the last week of training camp, but as he told Ariel Helwani later, “There’s no way you’re getting me off this card. They would have had to shoot me. If they had to roll me up with a wheelchair, I would have got in that cage, I didn’t care.”
Check out video of Kennedy’s knockout above, check out full results from the fight card right here, and follow us after the jump for lots more UFC Fight for the Troops 3 video highlights…
(Tim Kennedy bum-rushes Rogan and Goldie’s event recap in hilarious fashion. And please, Mike, stop trying to make “The Sniper” happen. It’s not happening.)
(Cuban middleweight Yoel Romero’s just-as-nasty KO of Ronny Markes, also from the main card.)
(Rustam Khabilov shows he’s more than just “that suplex guy,” landing a sweet spinning heel kick to Jorge Masvidal’s neck. Somehow Masvidal recovered and fought on, but Khabilov still won the fight by unanimous decision, pushing his UFC record to 3-0. Both men earned $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses for their efforts.)
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
– Bobby Green def. James Krause via TKO, 3:30 of round 1 (weird finish)
– Francisco Rivera def. George Roop via TKO, 2:40 of round 2
– Dennis Bermudez def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Amanda Nunes def. Germaine de Randamie via TKO, 3:36 of round 1
– Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO, 2:47 of round 1
– Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Derek Brunson def. Brian Houston via submission (rear-naked choke), 0:48 of round 1
My brother, currently a U.S. Army Ranger captain stationed in Savannah, GA, used to be at Ft. Campbell with the 101st, so I’ve been anxious to cover this event (and Tim Kennedy, of course). And here we are.
Colton Smith vs Michael Chiesa
Rd. 1: Both men paw tentatively, and Smith opens with an easy roundhouse kick that grazes. Smith kicks higher now. Chiesa kicks, and Smith smiles at him. Chiesa charges in with a punch, and they clinch. Smith gets the takedown, and Chiesa turns towards Smith. Sweep, back control, and body triangle for Chiesa as he goes for the neck. Smith pries Chiesa’s hands away for now, escapes, and takes Chiesa’s back. Chiesa is up, but Smith is all over him. Smith looks to sink in the RNC as Chiesa tries to slam Smith off of him by dropping to the mat. Chiesa is out of the choke for now, but seemed to have taken a lot from Chiesa. Smith still has back control. Chiesa escapes and gets to his feet just seconds before the bell.
Rd 2: Early clinch and Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Smith lands some knees. Chiesa is off the cage and lands some long punches. Again Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Chiesa gets the takedown, takes Smith’s back, and chokes him out. That was an emphatic slam for a takedown, and the finish came seconds later. Looks like Smith was knocked silly by the takedown. Yup; they just replayed it. Chiesa hip tossed Smith onto his head. Nice win for Michael “Maverick” Chiesa.
Winner: Michael Chiesa via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:41 of round 2
Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov
Rd 1: Early jab, faked shot, and beefy overhand right from Khabilov. That was heavy. Masvidal is starting slowly, but throwing hard. Both men look poised. Khabilov keeps changing levels, which seems to be keepi ng Masvidal from opening up. Khabilov misses a big right hook and bounces around calmly. Masvidal, Joe Rogan points out, might want to go back to some leg kicks. Masvidal presses ahead, clinches, and knees Khabilov. Khabilov grabs a single leg, but Masvidal knees and escapes. Masvidal lands a kick to the body. A Masvidal flying knee ends in a brief scramble. Masvidal is catching kicks and landing leg strikes of his own now. Khabilov catches a Masvidal kick and lands an overhand right. The round ends with both men clinching on the cage. Good action so far.
Rd 2: Khabilov looks loose, as does Masvidal. Khabilov is committed to the jab and working off of it. Masvidal is kicking now. Another 1-2 from Khabilov. Masvidal knees from the clinch and gets out before Khabilov gets a real hold of him. Nice left from Masvidal. Khabilov is really looking for that big overhand right off the jab. Again they clinch against the face, where Masvidal is hitting with knees. Masvidal drags Khabilov down and throws ‘bows. Khabilov is up now, and they separate. Khabilov charges in for the double, but Masvidal is staying up. Khabilov is having a hard time keeping Masvidal down. 1-2 from Khabilov, and there’s the horn.
Rd 3: Khabilov throws an early kick upstairs, which Masvidal blocks. Both men trade jabs. Stinging straight right from Masvidal. Spinning back heel kick to the face from Khabilov and Masvidal is down. Khabilov has his back and Masvidal is spinning away. Jeez. They scramble, but Khabilov has back control and looks for the choke. Masvidal hip escapes and seems to have recovered a bit. Wow. They’re back up. Masvidal stuffs a takedown and has Khabilov against the cage. Masvidal tosses Khabilov down, but Khabilov is back up right away. Masvidal tries the same spinning back kick, but Khabilov smothers it and has back control. Masvidal rolls out and goes for Khabilov’s back. They’re up against the cage. They scramble. Masvidal shoots, Khabilov pounds at the body, and there’s the horn. Good fight.
Winner: Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero
Rd 1: Nice inside leg kick from Markes early on. Romero flicks a kick after some feeling out. Markes snatches Romero’s lead leg, gets the takedown, but Romero pops up. Romero lands a hard left hand. Romero kicks at the body, slips, but is back up again before Markes can capitalize. Markes is looking to land the right cross, but Romero is moving fluidly. They clinch, and Markes is on top of Romero in side control. Markes lands some leather and wants the kimura on the left arm. Romero escapes, and they’re up. Straight left from Romero, who’s keeping his hands very high. Another left to the chin from Romero. Markes kicks the body. Markes misses a front head kick and stuffs a takedown. Markes front kicks to the body, but Romero blocks.
Rd 2: Romero pumps his right jab, blocks a head kick from Markes, and stuffs a takedown attempt. Romero kicks at the lead leg. Markes answers with an uppercut that misses. Markes hasn’t answered Romero’s left hand, and Romero muscles Markes to the mat. Markes is up and eats another left. Markes misses with both hands, and there’s the Romero left hand, right down the middle. Heavy kick to the body from Romero. Markes is down and Romero stands over him. The ref stands Markes up. Romero changes levels and lands another hard left. Here comes Markes with punches, but Romero ducks away from each strike. Romero fakes a shot and eats a right from Markes right before the round ends.
Rd 3: Markes comes out swinging, misses the takedown, and wants Romero to follow him to the ground. Nope. Romero answers a Markes left hand with a harder left of his own. Nice body kick from Markes. Romero sticks a left hand to the body of Markes. BAM. Romero drops Markes with a left over the top, follows up with a right hammer fist, and that’s it.
Winner: Yoel Romero via TKO, 1:39 of round 3
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Rd 1: All the ladies in the house say, “Ye-ah.” The lefty Carmouche jabs and kicks early, but Davis defends. Davis jabs and avoids a hard right from Carmouche. Carmouche kicks the lead leg and circles away from Davis’s right hand. Carmouche kicks the inside leg, and Davis counters with a 1-2 that Carmouche blocks. Davis licks low and again fires a 1-2. Davis blocks and overhand right from Carmouche. Davis is landing that inside leg kick, and it seems to be taking a toll on Carmouche, who kicks the outside of the lead leg of Davis. Big right from Carmouche. Both ladies kick at one another’s legs now,Davis kicks low, throws a 1-2, and there’s the horn.
Rd 2: Davis again sets up the 1-2 with the leg kick. Carmouche is kicking low and throwing the right over the top, but Davis is controlling the center of the cage. Hard punch from Carmouche, and Davis is cut. They clinch against the cage, but break subsequently. Davis is bleeding pretty heavily from her left eye brow now. She keeps coming forward though. Carmouche kicks at the body and backs off of the longer Davis. Davis pumps the left jab as Davis pumps the left jab as kicks low. Again Davis kicks the inside of the lead leg really hard. Carmouche’s right leg is definitely bothering her now. Davis catches a Carmouche kick and throws Carmouche down. Davis is in half guard and dropping the shoulder on Carmouche. Davis keeps side control and knees the body with ten seconds left. Carmouche escapes and gets top position, but the round ends before she can get any offense going.
Rd 3: Davis fires the 1-2 and knocks Carmouche down with a hard, low kick to the lead leg. They clinch against the cage; knees from Davis to the body and thighs. Carmouche lands a knee of her own, but Davis has double underhooks. The ref breaks them up and they go back to the center of the cage. Another 1-2 from the bloodied Davis. Carmouche is circling away pretty well, but there go two more hard kicks from Davis. Davis again has Carmouche on the fence and lands an elbow from close quarters. Both women swing and miss in the center of the octagon. Davis is getting her strikes off first, and Carmouche is flat-footed now. Davis keeps kicking and moving ahead. Carmouche lands a short uppercut and a front kick to the body, and that’s the end of the fight.
Winner: Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (30 x 27 x 2, 29-28)
Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal
Rd 1: Kennedy catches a kick from Natal and fires an overhand right. Natal kicks again. And again. Once more. Natal ducks a right hand and lands a jab to Kennedy. Natal pumps the jab, and Kennedy answers with a high kick. A left hand from Natal sneaks through. Natal kicks low, Kennedy high. Natal ducks a right hook and gets a quick takedown, but Kennedy pops up. Natal drops Kennedy with a hard leg kick. Kennedy lands a kick of his own. Kennedy’s left leg is red now. Huge body kick from Kennedy. Kennedy kicks high and misses with the right. Natal kicks low steps back, and throws a spinning back fist. Natal has been switching stances, and Kennedy is staying patient. A monster left hook catches Natal backing up, and he’s down. Kennedy drops some bombs, and that’s it. Natal is out.
(When you see it, you’ll shit bricks. Photo via JiuJitsuMania.)
It’s one thing when Vitor Belfort turns down an opponent — he’s a former champ, a legend in the game and the only guy who was willing to dive on the grenade against Jon Jones at UFC 152. He’s earned the right to turn down a fight every now and again, is what we’re saying. But Edson Barboza? We don’t care if had the greatest knockout of 2012; who the hell does this guy think he is, Vitor Belfort?!
What are we on about? We’re on about the fact that Barboza recently turned down a fight with Russian suplex machine Rustam Khabilov despite the fact that, you know, he shouldn’t really be in the position to do that. While head matchmaker Joe Silva would have ordered Barboza lashed to the breaking wheel for such insolence, lightweight & under matchmaker Sean Shelby is apparently more forgiving. As such, Khabilov will now face Jorge Masvidal — who is fresh off a 2nd round, buzzer-beater submission of the previously undefeated TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa at UFC on FOX 8 — at “Fight for the Troops 3” on November 6th. The matchup was announced last night on UFC Tonight.
It’s understandable that Barboza would turn down a fight with a grappling powerhouse like Khabilov, however. As we all know to be 100% true with zero exceptions, strong wrestlers are kryptonite to Brazilians. Khabilov has finished both his UFC opponents in under three minutes via vicious takedowns and slams (Yancy Medeiros was lucky to walk away from that fight with just a thumb injury. Lucky.). And given how notorious Fight for the Troopscards are for somehow delivering even more carnage than the average card, let’s do a little MMA Math, shall we?
Scared Brazilian + Russian Suplex Machine + “Fight for the Troops” card >….
(When you see it, you’ll shit bricks. Photo via JiuJitsuMania.)
It’s one thing when Vitor Belfort turns down an opponent — he’s a former champ, a legend in the game and the only guy who was willing to dive on the grenade against Jon Jones at UFC 152. He’s earned the right to turn down a fight every now and again, is what we’re saying. But Edson Barboza? We don’t care if had the greatest knockout of 2012; who the hell does this guy think he is, Vitor Belfort?!
What are we on about? We’re on about the fact that Barboza recently turned down a fight with Russian suplex machine Rustam Khabilov despite the fact that, you know, he shouldn’t really be in the position to do that. While head matchmaker Joe Silva would have ordered Barboza lashed to the breaking wheel for such insolence, lightweight & under matchmaker Sean Shelby is apparently more forgiving. As such, Khabilov will now face Jorge Masvidal — who is fresh off a 2nd round, buzzer-beater submission of the previously undefeated TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa at UFC on FOX 8 — at “Fight for the Troops 3″ on November 6th. The matchup was announced last night on UFC Tonight.
It’s understandable that Barboza would turn down a fight with a grappling powerhouse like Khabilov, however. As we all know to be 100% true with zero exceptions, strong wrestlers are kryptonite to Brazilians. Khabilov has finished both his UFC opponents in under three minutes via vicious takedowns and slams (Yancy Medeiros was lucky to walk away from that fight with just a thumb injury. Lucky.). And given how notorious Fight for the Troopscards are for somehow delivering even more carnage than the average card, let’s do a little MMA Math, shall we?
Scared Brazilian + Russian Suplex Machine + “Fight for the Troops” card >
UFC on FOX 8 not only provided a number of awesome moments from some unexpected heroes, but it also saw a few fighters who were expected to do big things disappoint in a big way. In the first of a new post-event column only on CagePotato.com, here are three fighters who surprised us at UFC on FOX 8 and three fighters who let us down.
Surprises
Demetrious Johnson: Many expected UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to successfully defend his title against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8, but I don’t think anyone predicted him to win the fight via armbar with just one minute and 17 seconds left in the fight.
But that’s exactly what Johnson did as he earned his first stoppage victory in eight UFC fights, en route to shutting up the critics who called him boring and said he didn’t have what it takes to finish a tough guy like Moraga.
Johnson had all four rounds in his pocket and was ahead in the fifth, but instead of coasting to a win he tried desperately to get the finish and put an exclamation point on his performance, and that’s exactly what he did with his first submission win in the Octagon, a victory that earned him the $50,000 “Submission of the Night” award.
“Mighty Mouse” is always going to have his detractors because of his wrestling-heavy style, and I think his finish of Moraga is a bit of an anomaly, but on Saturday night he deserved all the praise in the world for a brilliant performance, one that has truly earned him his spot amongst the pound-for-pound best fighters in MMA. And hopefully, it’s just a sign of things to come.
Melvin Guillard: It had been over two years since Melvin Guillard last stopped an opponent inside the Octagon, but with his brutal second-round KO of Mac Danzig on the UFC on FOX 8 preliminary card, it’s safe to say that “The Young Assassin” is back.
(A triumphant loss for Trevor Smith, and an awe-inspiring punch-face for Ed Herman. / Photo via Getty. Click to enlarge.)
UFC on FOX 8 not only provided a number of awesome moments from some unexpected heroes, but it also saw a few fighters who were expected to do big things disappoint in a big way. In the first of a new post-event column only on CagePotato.com, here are three fighters who surprised us at UFC on FOX 8 and three fighters who let us down.
Surprises
Demetrious Johnson: Many expected UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to successfully defend his title against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8, but I don’t think anyone predicted him to win the fight via armbar with just one minute and 17 seconds left in the fight.
But that’s exactly what Johnson did as he earned his first stoppage victory in eight UFC fights, en route to shutting up the critics who called him boring and said he didn’t have what it takes to finish a tough guy like Moraga.
Johnson had all four rounds in his pocket and was ahead in the fifth, but instead of coasting to a win he tried desperately to get the finish and put an exclamation point on his performance, and that’s exactly what he did with his first submission win in the Octagon, a victory that earned him the $50,000 “Submission of the Night” award.
“Mighty Mouse” is always going to have his detractors because of his wrestling-heavy style, and I think his finish of Moraga is a bit of an anomaly, but on Saturday night he deserved all the praise in the world for a brilliant performance, one that has truly earned him his spot amongst the pound-for-pound best fighters in MMA. And hopefully, it’s just a sign of things to come.
Melvin Guillard: It had been over two years since Melvin Guillard last stopped an opponent inside the Octagon, but with his brutal second-round KO of Mac Danzig on the UFC on FOX 8 preliminary card, it’s safe to say that “The Young Assassin” is back.
Training with boxing coach Trevor Wittman at Grudge in preparation for Danzig, Guillard really got back to what made him such a successful lightweight in the first place, and that’s his hands, which are some of the heaviest in the UFC’s entire 155-pound division.
Danzig found out that out the hard way on Saturday night after Guillard knocked him down with a punch and then followed it up with some exceptionally brutal hammerfists, blows that were so deadly that poor Danzig could be seen weeping once he awoke from his nightmare. (GIF here, explanation here.)
Guillard is a bit of a headcase but there’s no denying the talent is there, and after getting a big win over Danzig that snapped his two-fight losing streak and earned him some bonus money for “Knockout of the Night,” look for Guillard to be more confident in his next fight. Who knows, maybe we’ll finally see him unlock the potential that we all know he has.
Trevor Smith: Perhaps the biggest throwaway fight on the entire card heading into UFC on FOX 8 was the middleweight matchup between Ed Herman and Strikeforce vet Trevor Smith, a fight that no one was talking about heading into the weekend’s event.
But that’s why you should never judge a fight on paper before it’s been fought because, man, Herman vs. Smith is my early frontrunner for “Fight of the Year” in 2013 and that’s not hyperbole.
This was such an awesome fight that any words I use to describe it won’t do it justice, as anyone who saw it will agree with — just go and watch it if you haven’t yet, it really was amazing — and it was the surprisingly good performance by Smith which was made it so memorable.
I knew Smith had good grappling, but he hit Herman with some massive punches and he also showed that he has a solid chin as he ate a number of bombs from “Short Fuse” but never went out. For three rounds he fought valiantly and, even though he ended up losing a split decision, Smith put on a memorable performance and definitely earned himself another fight inside the Octagon.
Sometimes a fighter can lose and still emerge with their stock going up and Smith’s performance at UFC on FOX 8 is the best example of this that I can think of in recent memory. Smith is well deserving of his “Fight of the Night” award, as well as all of the new fans he made on Saturday night.
Disappointments
Jake Ellenberger: The most disappointing performance by any fighter on the entire UFC on FOX 8 card came courtesy of Jake Ellenberger, who laid an egg in his co-main event bout against fellow welterweight contender Rory MacDonald.
Ellenberger literally did nothing for three rounds outside of one takedown on MacDonald in the third round, and both fighters were booed by the crowd and then chewed out by UFC president Dana White on both Twitter and at the post-fight presser for their bad fight.
But while some are blaming MacDonald’s low-risk, jab-centric strategy for the fight being boring, I believe it had a lot more to do with Ellenberger freezing in the biggest moment of his career, a fight that would have likely garnered him a title shot had he emerged victorious.
Instead, Ellenberger’s stock dropped dramatically because the fight didn’t live up to expectations at all, and much of that can be blamed on the hesitation of “The Juggernaut,” who was uncharacteristically cautious throughout the bout.
I like Ellenberger and believe he can still beat a lot of welterweights in the UFC, but the fight with MacDonald proved once again he’s essentially a 170-pound version of Michael Bisping, a fighter that can get to that title eliminator position but not win the big fight to put themselves over the hump.
But unlike Bisping, don’t expect Ellenberger to get any more title eliminator fights anytime soon. At least Bisping tried to fight Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson. Ellenberger, though? I wouldn’t call what he was doing with MacDonald “fighting,” and I bet UFC matchmaker Joe Silva feels similarly.
Michael Chiesa: One of the most disappointing performances by a fighter on the undercard took place during the FX prelims, where Michael Chiesa suffered the first-ever loss of his career after tapping out to a Jorge Masvidal D’arce choke with just one second left in the second round.
Chiesa fought very well in the first round and even hurt Masvidal with his underrated striking, but after failing on a power guillotine attempt and letting Masvidal recover from being rocked, Chiesa’s performance went downhill from there as Masvidal thoroughly dominated the second round until he managed to sink the choke, drawing a tap from “Maverick” literally right before the bell sounded to end round two.
I’m surprised that Chiesa, who is known for his heart and will, wasn’t able to hang on just a half second longer and take the fight to the third round, where he might have had the edge over Masvidal because of his superior cardio. Instead, he tapped out and lost for the first time in his career and, to make matters even worse, he ran out of the cage a la Forrest Griffin, which was hugely disrespectful to his opponent.
I’ve been a Chiesa supporter ever since he won TUF Live despite the death of his father, but this loss is a setback for him and I really hope it’s not a defeat that will ruin his career. Chiesa is only 25 years old and this wouldn’t be the first time an undefeated MMA prospect suffered a loss that made them fall off the rails.
John Albert: One last disappointment that has to be mentioned is John Albert, who was submitted by Yaotzin Meza in round two of the first Facebook fight of the night. It’s Albert’s fourth loss in a row in the UFC — all by submission — and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be getting a pink slip from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby sometime this week.
Albert is such a talented fighter but his lack of cardio has always been his problem and yet he didn’t bother fixing it for this fight with Meza, a guy who trains with UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, the fighter with arguably the best cardio in the UFC. After Albert gassed following an armbar attempt, Meza took advantage and won the fight with a rear-naked choke, an embarrassing result for Albert considering he was winning the fight until his poor conditioning cost him the fight — and likely his job, too.
I knew it was a bad omen when Albert walked into the cage with Dennis Hallman by his side. Hallman, after all, was always known for his bad cardio and even though he always had a slick submission game – just like his pupil Albert — if his opponent was able to survive it he usually lost. Sadly, Albert never learned anything from watching his mentor fight, as he’s basically a 135-pound version of Hallman, and no, that’s not a compliment.