Earlier this week, the UFC’s award-winning media rankings (officially known as the “UFC Rankings presented by RAM“) expanded from a list of the top 10 contenders in each division to a list of the top 15 contenders in each division. So why is this important? It’s not. Nothing about the UFC rankings is important in any way whatsoever. But the timing is awfully convenient.
It would seem silly to put on a #1 contender match between the current #2 welterweight contender and a guy with (NR) next to his name. And so, the UFC arbitrarily expanded their rankings to include the top 15 contenders in each division — and that, my friends, is why Tyron Woodley is now officially ranked at #11.
In related news, Scott Jorgensen is currently ranked as the #12 flyweight contender in the UFC, despite a lifetime record of 0-1 at 125 pounds, and Chael Sonnen is still ranked higher at light-heavyweight than he is at middleweight. Don’t even get us started.
(Photo via Getty)
Earlier this week, the UFC’s award-winning media rankings (officially known as the “UFC Rankings presented by RAM“) expanded from a list of the top 10 contenders in each division to a list of the top 15 contenders in each division. So why is this important? It’s not. Nothing about the UFC rankings is important in any way whatsoever. But the timing is awfully convenient.
It would seem silly to put on a #1 contender match between the current #2 welterweight contender and a guy with (NR) next to his name. And so, the UFC arbitrarily expanded their rankings to include the top 15 contenders in each division — and that, my friends, is why Tyron Woodley is now officially ranked at #11.
In related news, Scott Jorgensen is currently ranked as the #12 flyweight contender in the UFC, despite a lifetime record of 0-1 at 125 pounds, and Chael Sonnen is still ranked higher at light-heavyweight than he is at middleweight. Don’t even get us started.
For an event that was initially much better on paper and seemed certain to disappoint, UFC on FOX 9 came through. The card was entertaining and ended in one of the best knockouts in recent memory.
Zach Makovsky defeated Scott Jorgensen via decision. Interestingly enough, Makovsky—a former Bellator champ—didn’t have to prove himself in WSOF to get a shot in the UFC. Funny how things work out like that, isn’t it?
Pat Healy dropped a unanimous decision to Bobby Green. The crowd booed the announcement (or maybe they were saying boo-urns). The decision wasn’t horrible although it was pretty clear Green didn’t win all three rounds (but somehow 2/3 judges thought he did).
Edson Barboza vs. Danny Castillo elevated the card’s energy level. In the first round, Castillo ran over Barboza like a freight train. He floored the Brazilian striker, unleashed vicious ground-and-pound, and nearly choked him out. Somehow, Barboza survived the torrent of offense and even managed to reverse his fortunes in the second round. In that frame, Barboza made use of leg and body kicks to stymie Castillo and nearly finish him. The third round was a little closer and slower-paced. Barboza walked away with a majority decision.
In the last preliminary fight, rising star and late replacement Ryan LaFlare carved up Court McGee‘s face with pinpoint striking. The Long Islander outworked McGee until the third round, where he started to gas a little bit. But LaFlare’s work in the first two rounds was enough to secure a unanimous decision.
For an event that was initially much better on paper and seemed certain to disappoint, UFC on FOX 9 came through. The card was entertaining and ended in one of the best knockouts in recent memory.
Zach Makovsky defeated Scott Jorgensen via decision. Interestingly enough, Makovsky—a former Bellator champ—didn’t have to prove himself in WSOF to get a shot in the UFC. Funny how things work out like that, isn’t it?
Pat Healy dropped a unanimous decision to Bobby Green. The crowd booed the announcement (or maybe they were saying boo-urns). The decision wasn’t horrible although it was pretty clear Green didn’t win all three rounds (but somehow 2/3 judges thought he did).
Edson Barboza vs. Danny Castillo elevated the card’s energy level. In the first round, Castillo ran over Barboza like a freight train. He floored the Brazilian striker, unleashed vicious ground-and-pound, and nearly choked him out. Somehow, Barboza survived the torrent of offense and even managed to reverse his fortunes in the second round. In that frame, Barboza made use of leg and body kicks to stymie Castillo and nearly finish him. The third round was a little closer and slower-paced. Barboza walked away with a majority decision.
In the last preliminary fight, rising star and late replacement Ryan LaFlare carved up Court McGee‘s face with pinpoint striking. The Long Islander outworked McGee until the third round, where he started to gas a little bit. But LaFlare’s work in the first two rounds was enough to secure a unanimous decision.
The once-much-better main card began with a mismatch (though it was fun to watch). Joe Lauzon brutalized the hopelessly outmatched Mac Danzig for 15 minutes en route to a unanimous decision victory. It was a bloody affair. Lauzon tempered his intensity with caution, not over-pursuing any finishes. Instead, he remained content with control and moderate amounts of damage that snowballed into the end result: Danzig’s face looking like it had gone through a wood chipper.
Chad Mendes and Nik Lentz faced off next. Mendes was his normal studly self early on, but succumbed to the fight’s pace. He won the fight via UD. It wasn’t the prettiest performance though. During a post-fight news blurb on FOX, Ariel Helwani claimed Mendes had a sinus infection (I think that’s the first time we’ve heard that excuse), so maybe that explains it.
The co-main event of the evening pitted Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald. The 22-year-old McDonald was out of his depth. Faber took the first round easily enough. In the second, “The California Kid” stunned McDonald and swarmed him. After a few punches against the staggered McDonald, Faber scored a guillotine finish. It was an excellent display of killer instinct. Faber became an animal when he saw McDonald was hurt.
The main event ended in unbelievable fashion. Demetrious Johnson landed a right hook that lawnchair’dJoseph Benavidez in the first round. It’s undoubtedly the most incredible KO in flyweight history and will likely stay that way for quite some time.
TL;DR – UFC on FOX 9 was supposed to be an incredible free card that demanded our attention. It was still fun due to the performances on the main card, but it could’ve been so much more had the plague of injuries never happened.
Complete Results:
Main Card
Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez via KO (punch), 2:08 of Round 1
Urijah Faber def. Michael McDonald via submission (guillotine), 3:22 of Round 2
Chad Mendes def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Joe Lauzon def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Ryan LaFlare def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Edson Barboza def. Danny Castillo via majority decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Bobby Green def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Zach Makovsky def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sam Stout def. Cody McKenzie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Abel Trujillo def. Roger Bowling via TKO (strikes), 1:35 of Round 2
Alptekin Ozkilic def. Daren Uyenoyama via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
(“It’s the craziest thing, man. We were in the gym playing daddy-horse like normal, and suddenly I just slipped off Andrei’s back and fell directly onto the Duplo castle I built that morning. Coach is always telling me to pick up after myself. Well, now I know.” / Photo via TitoCouture)
It’s not a real injury curse until replacement fighters start pulling out with their own injuries. And so it goes with former flyweight title contender John Dodson, who joined the UFC on FOX 9 card (December 14th, Sacramento) to fill in for Ian McCall against Scott Jorgensen. Unfortunately, Dodson suffered a “serious knee injury” during a training session at Jackson’s MMA yesterday, and will not be able to compete. We have no other details about Dodson’s condition at this time.
Dodson’s injury marks the sixth fighter-withdrawal from UFC on FOX 9, following Anthony Pettis, the aforementioned Uncle Creepy, Kelvin Gastelum, Jamie Varner, and John Moraga. The UFC is currently trying to secure a second replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who looks to make his 125-pound debut at the event.
Luckily, the main card is still looking solid, with fights like Condit vs. Brown, Faber vs. McDonald, Mendes vs. Lentz, and Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 still intact for the time being. Of course, that could change at any moment, so head down to the comments section and submit your predictions for the next injury to befall the lineup; closest guess by fight night wins a CagePotato t-shirt.
Update:MMAWeekly reports that Scott Jorgensen will now face former Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky, who is 2-0 since dropping to 125 pounds earlier this year. Makovsky most recently competed last month at RFA 11, where he became the promotion’s flyweight champion with a decision win against Matt Manzanares.
(“It’s the craziest thing, man. We were in the gym playing daddy-horse like normal, and suddenly I just slipped off Andrei’s back and fell directly onto the Duplo castle I built that morning. Coach is always telling me to pick up after myself. Well, now I know.” / Photo via TitoCouture)
It’s not a real injury curse until replacement fighters start pulling out with their own injuries. And so it goes with former flyweight title contender John Dodson, who joined the UFC on FOX 9 card (December 14th, Sacramento) to fill in for Ian McCall against Scott Jorgensen. Unfortunately, Dodson suffered a “serious knee injury” during a training session at Jackson’s MMA yesterday, and will not be able to compete. We have no other details about Dodson’s condition at this time.
Dodson’s injury marks the sixth fighter-withdrawal from UFC on FOX 9, following Anthony Pettis, the aforementioned Uncle Creepy, Kelvin Gastelum, Jamie Varner, and John Moraga. The UFC is currently trying to secure a second replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who looks to make his 125-pound debut at the event.
Luckily, the main card is still looking solid, with fights like Condit vs. Brown, Faber vs. McDonald, Mendes vs. Lentz, and Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 still intact for the time being. Of course, that could change at any moment, so head down to the comments section and submit your predictions for the next injury to befall the lineup; closest guess by fight night wins a CagePotato t-shirt.
Update:MMAWeekly reports that Scott Jorgensen will now face former Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky, who is 2-0 since dropping to 125 pounds earlier this year. Makovsky most recently competed last month at RFA 11, where he became the promotion’s flyweight champion with a decision win against Matt Manzanares.
John Dodson became the latest fighter to drop off Dec. 14’s UFC on Fox 9 card Tuesday evening.
According to MMAjunkie, Dodson withdrew from his scheduled fight against Scott Jorgensen after suffering an injury in training, leaving the UFC to do s…
John Dodson became the latest fighter to drop off Dec. 14’s UFC on Fox 9 card Tuesday evening.
According to MMAjunkie, Dodson withdrew from his scheduled fight against Scott Jorgensen after suffering an injury in training, leaving the UFC to do some last-minute shuffling.
For those keeping track at home, Dodson’s injury represents the fifth major hit to this card, as Anthony Pettis, John Moraga, Kelvin Gastelum and Jamie Varner also fell off the night’s lineup in recent months.
Pettis’ injury was particularly devastating, as he was expected to defend his lightweight title for the first time against Josh Thomson. Because of his injury, however, the UFC replaced the bout with the current main event between flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.
Jorgensen was originally expected to face Ian McCall at this event, but “Uncle Creepy” pulled out of the fight in late October, also citing an injury.
No replacement opponents have been named for Jorgensen’s flyweight debut, but in a thin division, the pickings are slim.
Since McCall and Dodson were originally named as opponents for Jorgensen’s first trek to the 125-pound division, it is clear that the UFC is comfortable with giving him a top-level opponent right away.
Because of this, top 10 opponents like John Lineker, Ali Bagautinov or Chris Cariaso make sense. All of these men are coming off big wins in recent months and would provide an adequate test for Jorgensen to gauge how well he can perform in a new division.
Lineker, however, struggles to make weight with a full training camp behind him, and a short-notice bout will almost assuredly not work out in his favor on the scale.
Bagautinov and Cariaso, on the other hand, have always made weight, and they’ve each competed within the past two months, so they should be prepared for a quick turnaround.
These possibilities aside, Jorgensen is fully expected to participate at UFC on Fox 9, and his flyweight debut will be hotly anticipated regardless of who stands across from him inside of the Octagon.
Stay tuned. A replacement opponent will be released shortly.
Just days after Ian McCall dropped out of his scheduled flyweight bout at UFC on Fox 9, a replacement has been found to take on debuting flyweight Scott Jorgensen.
The bout will be a featured prelim on a very stacked card that includes Anthony Pettis, …
The bout will be a featured prelim on a very stacked card that includes Anthony Pettis, Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes.
John Dodson, who is coming off an absolute drubbing of Darrell Montague this month at UFC 166, will make a quick turnaround and join the card in Sacramento, California. It will be Dodson’s third fight this year, winning the aforementioned Montague bout after falling in a flyweight championship bout to Demetrious Johnson.
Jorgensen makes the drop to flyweight after recent struggles at his normal home of bantamweight. He is 1-3 in his last four fights, including a brutal knockout loss to Eddie Wineland and a submission loss to Urijah Faber.
He is a former bantamweight title challenger, as he took on Dominick Cruz at the final WEC event. He lost via unanimous decision but showed great durability in that fight.
As for the new fight, it should be interesting. Jorgensen is making a ten-pound drop to flyweight. This is his first time dropping, so we will see how he handles the cut.
He is a great wrestler with a good chin. He is going to want to get Dodson down, or he will get outstruck by the technical, powerful striker.
Dodson, though, has great takedown defense, athleticism and quickness, which has allowed him to stay upright in his fights. If you take a look at his UFC track record, he has knocked out some top guys including Montague, Jussier da Silva and TJ Dillashaw.
Many people think Dodson is the top contender after the Demetrious Johnson-Joseph Benavidez fight. He will definitely solidify that status with a win over Jorgensen.
Stay tuned for more news and updates from Bleacher Report.
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One of the year’s most anticipated flyweight bouts has now been thrown on the scrap heap as the 125-pound showdown between Scott Jorgensen and Ian McCall has officially been shelved. The former bantamweight title challenger and the top-ranked flyw…
One of the year’s most anticipated flyweight bouts has now been thrown on the scrap heap as the 125-pound showdown between Scott Jorgensen and Ian McCall has officially been shelved. The former bantamweight title challenger and the top-ranked flyweight were set to mix it up at UFC on Fox 9 on Dec. 14, but an injury to “Uncle Creepy” has forced him out of the fight.
According to a report originally released by MMA Junkie, McCall has suffered an undisclosed injury during training and has been removed from the bout with Jorgensen. The report also went on to say that Jorgensen will look to remain on the card and a replacement is being sought.
The 31-year-old Idaho-based fighter is coming off a loss to perennial contender Urijah Faber in his most recent showing at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale back in April and is looking to find a new home in the flyweight division. The matchup with McCall was set to be his official debut in the 125-pound collective and had the potential to launch the winner into title contention.
Losing McCall as his opponent will certainly take a bit of the buzz off Jorgensen’s flyweight debut, but the arrival of “Young Guns” to the 125-pound fold is certainly highly anticipated. He was a former title challenger to the bantamweight crown in the WEC and has remained a staple in the upper-tier of the 135-pound division under the UFC banner. Now, with a move to flyweight, Jorgensen instantly figures to be a major player in the development of the 125-pound division.
As for McCall, the injury comes at a time when he was just starting to make a move toward a championship opportunity. After a rough start under the UFC banner where he went 0-2-1, the Southern California native picked up a much-needed victory over Iliarde Santos at UFC 163 in August. The bout with Jorgensen could have potentially earned him a title opportunity, but the injury will make sure that won’t be materializing in the immediate future.
