The UFC is live in Austin, Texas, tonight with a lineup of crowd-pleasing fighters and a featherweight main event that could maybe produce the next title challenger, particularly if Conor McGregor isn’t available. On tonight’s menu: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson in the headliner spot, with a side order of Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza, and a light dusting of Joseph Benavidez, Brad Pickett, and Jared Rosholt. Should be pretty okay.
The UFC Fight Night 57 main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and our old friend Matt Kaplan will be stickin’ round-by-round results after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma. Thanks for being here.
The UFC is live in Austin, Texas, tonight with a lineup of crowd-pleasing fighters and a featherweight main event that could maybe produce the next title challenger, particularly if Conor McGregor isn’t available. On tonight’s menu: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson in the headliner spot, with a side order of Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza, and a light dusting of Joseph Benavidez, Brad Pickett, and Jared Rosholt. Should be pretty okay.
The UFC Fight Night 57 main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and our old friend Matt Kaplan will be stickin’ round-by-round results after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma. Thanks for being here.
UFC Fight Night 57 Preliminary Card Results
– Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
– Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar), 1:52 of round 1
– Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO, 2:54 of round 3
– Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO, 0:18 of round 1
MATT WIMAN VS. ISAAC VALLIE-FLAGG
Rd. 1 – Wiman opens it up with a lead leg kick and an overhand right. Vallie-Flagg counters, and Wiman presses him against the cage. They separate and Vallie-Flagg lands a nice uppercut. Vallie-Flagg applies shoulder pressure to Wiman in a clinch against the cage; Wiman lands a few elbows, but it’s Vallie-Flagg who lands the punch combinations that keep Handsome Matt on the fence. More short elbows from Wiman, and now a knee; Vallie-Flaggfires back, keeping the pressure on Wiman. Wiman lands a knee to the body and another strong elbow to the head. Wiman stuffs a takedown attempt and takes Vallie-Flagg’s back. Transition to an armbar…triangle control…that’s the round. Most of that roound was spent against the cage.
Rd. 2 – Vallie-Flagg strikes first with an uppercut-cross combo to Wiman’s jaw. Big punches in the clinch from Vallie-Flagg follow, and again Vallie-Flagg has Wiman ‘s back against the fence. More of the same, though: Wiman gets off some inside elbows. Ooh, both exchange elbows inside the clinch. Big uppercut from Wiman on the inside. Wiman lands an overhand right in the center of the cage. Vallie-Flagg pushes him back on the fence. Wiman reverses position and again scores with the ‘bows. Big right hand exchange program in the center of the cage. Uppercut from Vallie-Flagg. His takedown attaempt is again thwarted, his back is again taken, and it’s Wiman working for the RNC. Vallie-Flagg escapes and has Wiman on the fence again. Vallie-Flagg punches the body. Wiman elbows the jaw. Vallie-Flagg hits with elbows of his own. Wiman knees the body. The horn sounds as Wiman lands a big overhand right.
Rd. 3 – A lead uppercut from Vallie-Flagg opens the final round. Just seconds into the third, both are again up against the cage, this time with Wiman pressing the action. Yamasaki separates them, and it’s Vallie-Flagg again landing uppercut-friendly punch combos. Vallie-Flagg knees from inside the clinch. Wiman lands a good left hook to end a brief punch exchange. Vallie-Flagg has Wiman on the fence and wants that single leg. Wiman stuffs it and has Vallie-Flagg’s back for a third time, again searching for the RNC. Wiman punches away as he wants to finish the RNC with a minute left. Vallie-Flagg can’t go anywhere with the hooks in and is taking the short punches. Time. And that’s the fight. Ooh, they’re still shit talking one another. That was a close, competitive opening fight.
”Handsome” Matt Wiman wins the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2).
Instead, “12 Gauge” and “Punkie Bruise-ter” (our tentative nickname for Curran) will now square off at Fight Night 57, which goes down on November 22nd from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. This is normally the part of the article where we’d start listing Van Zant and Curran’s relevant/recent wins, but with a *combined* record of 6-1 and their only notable opponent being Tecia Torres (who defeated VanZant via UD at Invicta 4), let’s just skip the formalities, shall we?
Also joining Fight Night 57 will be a flyweight clash between Joseph Benavidez and Dustin Ortiz. After being KO’d by Demetrious Johnson in their rematch at UFC on FOX 9, Benavidez bounced back in style at UFC 172, submitting Tim Elliott with a guillotine so vicious that it forced him to tap with his feet. Ortiz, on the other hand, has made it two in a row since being outworked by John Moraga at Fight Night 35, notching split decisions over Ray Borg and highly-touted prospect Justin Scoggins in back-to-back appearances.
After the jump: Kailin Curran kicks the shit out of two interns on The Jason Ellis show. You know, for science.
Instead, “12 Gauge” and “Punkie Bruise-ter” (our tentative nickname for Curran) will now square off at Fight Night 57, which goes down on November 22nd from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. This is normally the part of the article where we’d start listing Van Zant and Curran’s relevant/recent wins, but with a *combined* record of 6-1 and their only notable opponent being Tecia Torres (who defeated VanZant via UD at Invicta 4), let’s just skip the formalities, shall we?
Also joining Fight Night 57 will be a flyweight clash between Joseph Benavidez and Dustin Ortiz. After being KO’d by Demetrious Johnson in their rematch at UFC on FOX 9, Benavidez bounced back in style at UFC 172, submitting Tim Elliott with a guillotine so vicious that it forced him to tap with his feet. Ortiz, on the other hand, has made it two in a row since being outworked by John Moraga at Fight Night 35, notching split decisions over Ray Borg and highly-touted prospect Justin Scoggins in back-to-back appearances.
In semi-related news, here’s Kailin Curran kicking the shit out of two interns on The Jason Ellis show. You know, for science.
Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.
Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.
While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”
The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…
(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)
Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.
Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.
While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”
The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…
After three failed runs at the lightweight title, Kenny dropped down to 145 for one last attempt at a UFC belt. Unfortunately he ran into the buzzsaw that was prime Jose Aldo and lost the fight 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards. I’m pretty sure he would have shed a few tears if his body had the moisture to spare after cutting down to featherweight.
It seemed pretty damn obvious to everyone except BJ Penn that he was gonna get tool time’d by Frankie Edgar in their third fight. It wasn’t until the post-fight conference that the reality of his situation hit BJ in the face harder than anything Frankie threw in the cage. “I shouldn’t have come back.” Welcome to everyone’s conclusion from nine months ago, BJ.
Georges is the only winner to make it onto this list for the epic sadface he pulled after his ‘victory’ over Johny Hendricks. First off, you know a guy as OCD as GSP was aware he didn’t exactly perform to his typical flawless standard. Secondly, he not only had those ‘personal problems’ to deal with, his awkward out of the blue retirement in the cage went over about as well as a fart in church. That all led to St Pierre giving us a little glimpse of what things are like in his dark place.
For all the hype and accolades Lyoto got out of this fight, he knows the score: he’s 36 years old, and only managed to secure this title shot by default because the rest of the middleweight division turned out to be on steroids. Unless he’s willing to push his career into Randy Couture territory, we probably just witnessed his last kick at the title shot can.
Here’s a twofer that proves the only thing worse than choking and losing a title fight with two minutes remaining is choking and losing a title fight in the second round. Not pictured: the sad face Chael has now as he sits on his couch with his withered testicles in one hand and a lifetime prescription for TRT in the other.
Demetrious Johnson looked like the epitome of the word dominant when he defeated Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174. Commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg spoke in awe of the champion’s speed, technique and skill as he controlled nearly every aspect of the f…
Demetrious Johnson looked like the epitome of the word dominant when he defeated Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174. Commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg spoke in awe of the champion’s speed, technique and skill as he controlled nearly every aspect of the fight.
The UFC has Johnson sitting as the fourth-best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, but the question has come up whether or not he has what it takes to be considered the best in MMA.
“Mighty Mouse” has continued to look light-years ahead of every other man in the flyweight division. His victory over Ali gave him his four straight title defenses since capturing the belt in September 2012. Each time he wins, he’s demonstrated a level of improvement that others have yet to match. It’s this continued separation that makes Johnson’s reign as champion quite different from the other titleholders within the UFC.
Since becoming the UFC’s first flyweight champion, Johnson has flown under the radar. He was originally tucked away on the UFC’s free televised events on the Fox platform. It seemed that he was charged with leading a weight class that was struggling to catch the mainstream fan’s attention. Johnson answered the call by solidifying himself as one of the best titleholders in the organization.
In four title defenses, “Mighty Mouse” has shown continuous leaps toward becoming a complete fighter. According to Fight Metric, the flyweight champion has landed more significant strikes than any opponent he’s faced.
Yet, what is more interesting is the way he’s surpassed that point as champion. In his five title bouts, Demetrious has nearly doubled his opponents’ striking output. Many of these fights have gone into the fifth round, where Johnson looks like he’s as fresh as he was in the first.
Another area of interest when speaking about Johnson is his new determination to finish opponents. Leading up to his fight against Bagautinov, Johnson talked freely about stopping challengers.
“I did it with the best fighters in the world,” Johnson was quoted as saying by Brent Brookhouse of Bloody Elbow. “Joseph, he’d never been finished. I ended up knocking him out. John Moraga, he’d never been finished. I ended up submitting him.”
Many fans have complained that some champions begin to “fight safe” to protect the title rather than entertain. Johnson is going in the exact opposite direction. Against Moraga, he had the fight secured on the scorecards but still locked in the fifth-round armbar.
Bagautinov was in the same position, but that didn’t stop Demetrious from taking risks in an attempt to finish him. Johnson’s fighting style should be appreciated by the fans who dislike those that don’t throw caution to the wind.
The UFC has Johnson currently sitting in the fourth position in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings. While these opinions are merely just that, it’s interesting to see the development of arguments that will consider DJ the best in the sport. Demetrious Johnson may only be 5’3″ and fight at 125 pounds, but he’s setting himself apart as the potential pound-for-pound king of mixed martial arts.
Where fighting may seem like a foreign concept to most, those who embrace and attempt to master such a violent thing have tapped into something that has always existed.
Since the dawn of mankind, it has always been. Before bronze and iron, man handled …
Where fighting may seem like a foreign concept to most, those who embrace and attempt to master such a violent thing have tapped into something that has always existed.
Since the dawn of mankind, it has always been. Before bronze and iron, man handled things with their hands. Thousands of years passed, those instincts remained, and fighting for survival gave way to various sports. From the Coliseum in Rome, to the overcast countrysides of Europe, hand-to-hand combat became entertainment and those who excelled—or lived to tell—became the biggest stars of the stage.
While the severity of potential danger and circumstances have changed in the 21st Century, the men and women who compete in combat sports still battle to control the unique beast that is fear. Particularly in mixed martial arts where multiple disciplines have to be repeatedly drilled, forged and sharpened over a span of many years, the inability to take control of the primal impulse can be the determining factor between success and failure.
Every athlete deals with it differently, but their ability to “summon the beast” or “calm the storm” is directly tied to the performance they are about to display. The only tried-and-true method of developing a system to deal with fear is to fight it over and over again. And this makes experience the most efficient weapon in the battle.
Ryan Bader was only seven fights into his professional career when he joined the cast on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. After a standout career on the wrestling mats of Arizona State University, Bader took aim at making a run in MMA. The decision to do so produced immediate results as Bader stormed out of the gates to win his first seven showings on the regional circuit, all in the span of one year.
While he was racking up victories left and right, Bader was fully aware of how “green” his overall game was. He was finishing the opponents he faced, but athleticism and brute strength were his two primary weapons. As Bader made his way into UFC waters in 2008, he was fully aware of how quickly he was going to have to develop the technical aspects of his game, and the TUF winner immediately set about expanding his skill set.
Nevertheless, the internal struggle against his pre-fight nerves and emotions was very much front and center, and proved overwhelming in those early fights inside the Octagon.
“I would black out in there as soon as the fight got going,” Bader told Bleacher Report. “You don’t know what happened. There would be large portions of the fight I didn’t remember. I would be closing in, they would start swinging at me, and I would just react. I would let my instincts take over and start launching hard punches back at them. It is a different mentality and it’s very different with wrestlers because we are all so green when we come in. We’ve been training wrestling most of our lives, but only working on stand up and striking for maybe a year or two. That means you are developing your stand-up skills as you go and you are doing so at the highest level possible in the UFC.
“That can create confidence issues and that will only stoke that fight or flight response. To deal with it, at least how it was for me, I relied on that freak-out, blackout intensity where you are going full throttle in reaction mode. Eventually, you get more experience inside the cage, get comfortable and your striking skills have developed to a place where you are less brute force and more finesse.
“When wrestlers are first getting started, a lot of the fights are boring, and people want to see two guys exchanging punches in there,” he added. “That creates this push that you have to start slinging shots and get away from your bread and butter, which can also throw a huge wrinkle in your mental game. Hopefully everything catches up skill wise as you are progressing, but it’s a tough road to travel and a lot of fighters—wrestlers in particular—have a lot of trouble finding that balance between instinct and finesse.”
Mixed martial arts by its nature is a diverse sport and the fighters competing at the top of the food chain are a direct reflection of versatility. Where some competitors find success on raw power and athleticism, the large majority of fighters working near the top of divisional hierarchies have reached that status based on technical skill. That said, there are those who incorporate technical precision all the while keeping their primal “killer instinct” razor sharp.
Of that collective, Carlos Condit is certainly a member. The former WEC welterweight champion and former interim welterweight title holder under the UFC banner, Condit has made a successful career out of putting his opposition away in brutal fashion. While “The Natural Born Killer” doesn‘t possess overwhelming physical size or the brand of pre-fight trash talk that evokes intimidation, when the cage door closes Condit is as dangerous as they come at 170 pounds.
Yet, despite his proven ability to level dangerous men inside the Octagon, dealing with the uncertainty of what could unfold once combat begins is absolutely a battle the Albuquerque native faces before ever stepping foot in the cage.
“I think it is an instinctual thing,” Condit told Bleacher Report back in 2013. “When I step into the cage, beneath all the fire and the technique there is some fear. There is fear that this person standing across from you is going to hurt you. It’s basic human instinct. It’s that fight or flight thing. In my mind, the quicker I put this guy out, the quicker I f****** end him, the quicker I am out of danger. That is really what it comes down to.
“You can train a guy who wants to stand in the pocket. You can train him to fight longer, to fight smarter, but it doesn’t work the other way around. A guy who doesn’t like to get on the fire line, you can’t train him to get in there to trade and take the risks. Being willing to fight where it is the most dangerous is something that comes from natural instinct—at least that is what I believe.”
****
The rise of the wrestler in mixed martial arts has been well-documented, and Team Alpha Male is one of the of the premier transitional squads in the sport. The Sacramento-based team’s roster is filled with former NCAA Div. I All-Americans and athletes who spent years grinding it out in wrestling rooms before they ever stepped foot inside the cage, and now host a divisional champion, multiple contenders and numerous rising prospects to their credit.
In that group, Joseph Benavidez and Danny Castillo are two of the most visible members of the crew. Benavidez has challenged for a title in two different divisions and is currently recognized as one of the elite 125-pound fighters in the sport. While “Last Call” has never been faced with a championship opportunity inside the cage, Castillo has been a staple in the ranks of the lightweight division of both the UFC and the now-defunct WEC organizations.
Team Alpha Male is undoubtedly one of the top MMA gyms on the planet with the fighters involved being a tight-knit unit, yet, every fighter is their own individual, and their difference of perspective shows through where the topic of fear is concerned.
Where Bader explained the attempt to balance fear and instinct, new skills and proven weapons, Benavidez sees the process a bit differently. Although he acknowledges the tendencies of his wrestling brethren turning back to grappling when the landscape becomes questionable, Benavidez goes into the contest with fear with a different mindset.
Rather than fight with the emotions and nerves that arise, he takes a more finesse approach. Benavidez attempts to ride the ride like a wave, and is confident the end result of that process will land him in the winner’s circle.
“I don’t want to sound too tough or anything, but I honestly don’t get too nervous or scared before a fight,” Benavidez said. “I get my confidence up before a fight in what I do every single day inside the gym, and it’s there when I step in on fight night. I have close to 30 fights now, but it’s been this way since the beginning. Obviously, I get excited to a point where I’m motivated, focused and ready to do it, but it is more excitement than fear with me. That’s not something I have to really keep in check. Yeah, there have been times where maybe I went in too excited and tried to force things too much, but that is just how I fight.
“I’m going to leave my balls out there every time and fight for the finish. Maybe that is something I need to keep in check but I feed off that energy and excitement. I just turn whatever would be fear and nerves into excitement and go out there confident. The way I see it, I’m training every day—and that sucks—when the fight is finally there I’m ready to go. I maybe had some nerves in my first few fights, but I even remember then that I was waiting for this big swell of nerves to hit me. And they never came. I’ve always been able to keep my emotions in check.
“The only time where my emotions maybe got the best of me was in the first fight with Demetrious Johnson,” he added. “But it was the exact opposite. I got too excited because I wanted the belt too much and wanted that win so bad that I went out there and forced everything. But it wasn’t necessarily a fear or nerve thing.
“At the end of the day, winning is the most important thing. Guys shouldn’t steer away from their wrestling. But if you are one-dimensional in that aspect, you better be pretty damned good at it and not lose, because they can’t cut you if you are winning. Once you put on a few boring performances—even if you win in those fights—you put yourself in a bad position because all it is going to take is that one loss to put you out. You have to be well-rounded and put on exciting fights, but you aren’t going to find many fighters who won’t tell you winning is the most important thing to them. I know it is to me.”
Where his teammate calls the energy pulsing through his body on fight night excitement, Castillo not only has a different view on the matter, but also travels a different route in order to combat it. The seasoned veteran has parlayed years of experience in the wrestling realm into success inside the cage, and along that journey, the pre-competition jitters took on a much different meaning.
While the issue was once a matter of winning or losing, having his livelihood at stake is the primary source of fear where Castillo is concerned. He’s worked diligently for the past six years to establish himself in a highly competitive environment and he knows that can be taken away in an instant. Castillo has taken steps to condition his mind in a similar fashion as he prepares his body for the fight, and those efforts have started to pay dividends when the cage door closes.
“It’s fear for me, but that fear comes from different places,” Castillo said. “You have that classic interview where Mike Tyson was talking about how afraid he would get, but as he walks closer to the ring he could feel his knuckles piercing his gloves, and he could feel himself getting stronger as the fight approached. Mike Tyson is one of the f****** baddest boxers ever and he was scared.
“Every fighter gets scared in some way or another. Maybe some guys don’t get worked up about the actual fight, but I guarantee there are things floating around in their minds. The UFC is so competitive and anything can happen, man. Every fighter on the UFC roster wants to keep their spot and losing will make that tough to do. I’m the kind of guy that does everything possible to prepare and I’ve been working with a hypnotherapist on this issue. I’ve done some amazing work with Elliot Roe and it’s really helped me.
“It’s nerves for sure. But the way I see it, any time you have thousands of dollars at stake, you are going to be afraid. I can’t live on my show money alone. I created a lifestyle for myself and I work hard to keep it. I’m not out there rocking gold chains or have 26” rims on my car—I drive a Honda Civic by the way—but I want to keep living the way I do and the thought of losing that freaks me out. There is definitely a fear there, no doubt about it. But with the work I’m doing with my hypnotherapist, it is definitely changing. It has taken six years, but it is changing.
“Throughout my first 15 fights, I couldn’t tell you a thing about what happened,” he added. “You just kind of black out and don’t remember anything. It’s all so nerve-wracking. But now, I’m trying to be in the moment and enjoy this sh** because I don’t know how many more fights I have left. The last couple fights have been better in that regard, but there is still a lot of work to do. I’m feeling better than I ever have and I’m taking in every moment of this journey.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Joseph Benavidez is coming off a stellar submission win over Tim Elliott at UFC 172. The win puts him back in the winning column and kept him steady in the UFC rankings at No. 2.
Truthfully, he could still be the No. 1 ranked challenger in the div…
Joseph Benavidez is coming off a stellar submission win over Tim Elliott at UFC 172. The win puts him back in the winning column and kept him steady in the UFC rankings at No. 2.
Truthfully, he could still be the No. 1 ranked challenger in the division. He is the second-best fighter at flyweight.
However, when you lose twice to the current champion, it is hard to gain a rematch. And that is the plight of being second best.
It is not the first time this has happened in UFC history. In fact, other fighters under the UFC umbrella today are fighting the same stigma. Most notably, Junior dos Santos—who has still yet to return to the cage following a brutal beating at the hands of Cain Velasquez.
If combat sports were truly a sport, then the top-ranked challenger would always contend for the belt regardless. That is not realistic. This is a promotion game. It is hard to sell a fight between two fighters when the matchup has been tilted only to one side.
Ask Rich Franklin.
To earn the third chance at the title, one must go on an even bigger run. The fighter has to change the perception surrounding him. One or two fights is not going to do that. The audience will just think to themselves that there can be no other outcome than the one we have already seen.
It is especially hard when your last outing left the impression of you unconscious on the mat.
That is Benavidez‘s biggest problem.
In the inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship bout between Benavidez and Johnson it was a close encounter. The fight could have gone either way, but it was “Mighty Mouse” who got his hand raised. In the rematch, on national broadcast television, Benavidez was iced.
After dropping the second-straight fight to the champion, the second-best fighter in the division has a long road. Virtually no matter what he does, he will be seen as the silver medalist. Better than the rest, but not worthy of another shot because it is something we have already seen twice before and thus know the end result.
As asinine assumption, but an assumption combat sports fans make time and again.
Where does that leave these fighters?
If they want another title fight, then they have to battle top-five opponent after top-five opponent. Or, in the case of Franklin, the fighter can begin seeking the biggest fights available to him. And that may be fights outside of his natural weight class (if possible).
These men are elite fighters, but the champions of their divisions are just a bit better. It has created an illusion that they cannot win the big one, and that is simply false. They have all the tools to get it done.
Benavidez is talented enough to earn another title shot, but he will have to do more than anyone else in the division to earn it. That may be unfair, but it is the truth of the matter. UFC 172 was just the first step in getting back to the main event.
Where fighting may seem like a foreign concept to most, those who embrace and attempt to master such a violent thing have tapped into something that has always existed.