Tag: MMA

Siyar Bahadurzada came into his UFC debut with a lot of hype as an exciting fighter, and he showcased his impressive striking early against Paulo Thiago.

Thiago came rushing in with a big combination, and Bahadurzada countered with a beautiful right hand that left his opponent laying face down on the mat.

Looks like we’ve got a front runner for Knockout of the Night honors.

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

There’s not much to remember, other than the insane power that Bahadurzada possesses.

In what was basically the first flurry of punches in the fight, Bahadurzada showed off his power and ended the fight in just 42 seconds.

What We Learned About Siyar Bahadurzada

We didn’t get much of a chance to see him fight, but you can’t argue with results.

Bahadurzada got the win and showed he has the ability to end any fight in an instant.

What We Learned About Paulo Thiago

You can’t take too much away from Paulo Thiago for this one.

Thiago usually gives the fans a show and puts on a good fight, but he didn’t have a chance to do that today.

Thiago got caught, it happens, and he won’t lose too much ground in the division after that.

What’s Next For Siyar Bahadurzada

His original UFC debut was supposed to be at UFC 142 against Erick Silva.

While Silva has a fight with Charlie Brenneman coming up, I’d like to see him fight Bahadurzada next regardless of the outcome.

What’s Next For Paulo Thiago

Thiago needs to stay active, and the loser of the UFC on Fuel 3 fight between Amir Sadollah and Jorge Lopez would be a good matchup for the Brazilian.

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Other than a slight scare in the first round where DaMarques Johnson almost locked in an omoplata, John Maguire looked fantastic in this fight.

Maguire‘s wrestling looked as good as it did in his UFC debut and his fight-ending armbar was a thing of beauty.

Johnson has been in the UFC for a long time, so this is an impressive win for Maguire and he will need to build on this to try and gain some momentum in the welterweight division.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

Maguire is a middle-of-the-road welterweight, at worst, after this one.

His wrestling was on point, his striking was decent and he went out and finished the fight in style.

Johnson’s ground game is usually pretty good, but Maguire was able to stay out of trouble and score the victory.

 

What We Learned About DaMarques Johnson

After almost three years inside the Octagon, Johnson is back to square one.

Now just 4-4 in his UFC career, Johnson will need to win his next bout to secure his UFC roster spot and he’ll need to button up his takedown defense if he wants to stick around much longer.

 

What We Learned About John Maguire

Solid wrestling and submission skills can make you a dangerous man, and Maguire fits that description perfectly.

The welterweight division is full of young prospects like Rory MacDonald, Jake Ellenberger and Johny Hendricks, but if Maguire can work on his standup a bit, he could be the next highly touted welterweight.

 

What’s Next For DaMarques Johnson

Johnson could use an easy opponent for his next one, but that’s not likely to happen.

A bout with Jake Hecht, who was recently submitted by TJ Waldberger, would be a nice “loser leaves the UFC” bout.

 

What’s Next For John Maguire

The UFC needs to build up Maguire a bit slowly, but I still want to see him fight someone who will put the pressure on him.

The winner of next week’s Matt Brown-Stephen Thompson bout would be a fun one to watch.

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Even with the Swedish crowd fully behind him, Papy Abedi was unable to earn his first UFC victory against James Head.

After a nice takedown that led to a some top control, Abedi was in control of the fight halfway through the round, but Head turned it up and started to find his range on the feet.

Head ended up getting control in the clinch and landed a powerful elbow, followed by some serious right hands and knocked Abedi down before locking in the fight-ending rear naked choke.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

James Head was able to come back from some adversity and looked stronger as the round wore on.

Head proved he belongs in the UFC with the win, but the opposite can be said for Abedi, who has looked mediocre in both his UFC bouts and could end up receiving his walking papers.

 

What We Learned About Papy Abedi:

Despite earning a high-caliber fight against Thiago Alves in his UFC debut, Abedi just isn’t good enough to hang in the UFC.

He may get one more chance inside the Octagon, but unless he gets matched up against a average striker with bad wrestling, I can’t see him winning in the UFC.

 

What We Learned About James Head:

His post-fight taunting of the Swedish fans was a bit much, but he earned the right to do it after taking out one of Sweden’s most popular locals.

Head showed off his striking late in the round and looked very good against Abedi from the word go.

His takedown defense could use a little work, but overall it was a good performance from Head.

 

What’s Next For Papy Abedi:

Unless the UFC likes his style, this is probably the end of Abedi’s UFC career.

Both of his losses have come in the first round of the fight, and he didn’t look terribly competitive in either one, which makes him expendable.

 

What’s Next For James Head:

One of tonight’s earlier winners, Simeon Thoresen, looked equally as good as Head in his bout, and a matchup between the two would let the UFC know which guy is ready to take a step up in competition.

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After a razor-thin first round that saw both Francis Carmont and Magnus Cedenblad showcase some serious ground skills, Carmont came out with a purpose in round two and turned a quick takedown into a an eventual submission win.

The win brings Carmont to 2-0 inside the Octagon, and he will likely be looking at a step up in competition for his next bout.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

Francis Carmont knows how to survive.

After getting his back taken by Cedenblad early in the first round, Carmont fought off a ton of rear naked choke attempts and survived a dicey first round.

The second was all Carmont, as he quickly established his dominance by gaining the mount and putting a beating on the Swede, eventually forcing the submission.

 

What We Learned About Francis Carmont:

This dude is for real.

There is a lot of hype involved with a fighter whenever they are cornered and train with Georges St-Pierre, but Carmont has been able to live up to that hype thus far in his UFC career.

His heart in surviving the first round showed us a lot, and his subsequent submission win has made him a contender to watch at 185.

 

What We Learned About Magnus Cedenblad

All in all, it wasn’t a terrible UFC debut for Cedenblad.

Although he took the loss, Cedenblad showed he has a good grappling game and a ton of heart, as he took a ton of punishment in that second round.

It’s not time to call him a top prospect yet, but if he can continue to improve with each fight he’ll climb the middleweight ladder quickly.

 

What’s Next For Francis Carmont

The loser of tonight’s co-main event between Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara would test Carmont’s stand up skills and provide a nice step up in competition.

 

What’s Next For Magnus Cedenblad

Clifford Starks, who most recently lost to Ed Herman at UFC 143, would be a nice test for Cedenblad’s ground game, as Starks is a smothering wrestler who can tell us if Cedenblad has the takedown defense to survive in the UFC.

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Praise the lord—if that’s your thing—the drought has finally ended.

Jason Young took a unanimous decision over Eric Wisely in the first preliminary fight at UFC on Fuel TV 2.

It was a relatively fast-paced fight with both fighters constantly pressing forward. However, Young had the grappling advantage and that’s what won him the fight, as Young was able to keep Wisely on his back for much of the fight.

What we’ll remember about this fight:

A couple things.

In the first round, Young had Wisely’s back, standing, and was delivering knees while working for the takedown. It was an active scenario with both men jockeying for position, but for some reason the referee decided to separate the two competitors.

Poor officiating always sticks out like a sore thumb.

Also memorable moment was the beginning of the third round. Wisely was blatantly losing the fight at this point, so he came out swinging like a wild man and diving at takedowns. For a minute or two, it looked like he might pull out a Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami-style comeback.

What we learned about Jason Young:

He has some potential in the UFC’s featherweight division.

Before tonight he was 0-2 in the UFC and tonight could have been his last with the promotion, but with the victory tonight, they will likely keep him around

What we learned about Eric Wisely:

He might not have what it takes to compete in the UFC.

Wisely is now 0-2 with the promotion and tonight was not a particularly impressive showing for him. The UFC might give him another shot because of his success outside of their promotion, where Wisely has victories over UFC veterans Hermes Franca and Matt Veach.

What’s next for Jason Young:

Diego Brandao or Marcus Brimage

What’s next for Eric Wisely:

Eddie Yagin or Dennis Bermudez

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.

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