Kelvin Gastelum was impressive at UFC 188, roughing up former UFC title contender and former Strikeforce champ Nate Marquardt. Unfortunately, while he was hoping that the fight with Marquardt would be a one-night stand at middleweight, UFC President Da…
Kelvin Gastelum was impressive at UFC 188, roughing up former UFC title contender and former Strikeforce champ Nate Marquardt. Unfortunately, while he was hoping that the fight with Marquardt would be a one-night stand at middleweight, UFC President Dana White insisted he was at 185 pounds to stay.
“I honestly do not believe he can make 170,” said White at the UFC 188 post-fight press conference (via MMAJunkie.com). “He has done nothing to prove he can make 170 pounds, and when he doesn’t make 170 pounds, it’s dangerous and it screws a lot of things up around here.”
After winning The Ultimate Fighter season 17, Gastelum dropped down to welterweight and quickly established himself as a high-level talent, posting four wins in a row over the likes of Rick Story and Jake Ellenberger. Unfortunately, Gastelum consistently struggled to make the 170-pound weight limit, repeatedly needing do-overs at the scales or outright missing weight.
The last straw came at UFC 183 when Gastelum came in 10 pounds heavy for a fight with Tyron Woodley. While Woodley agreed to face a near-middleweight, Gastelum still came up short on the scorecards, dropping a split decision.
The UFC is, of course, somewhat wise to keep Gastelum away from the welterweight division. Had Gastelum received one more point on the judges’ scorecards, he would have forced his way into the welterweight title picture, putting the UFC in a risky position where it either has to deny him a title shot or roll the dice on him being able to make 170 pounds.
The promotion went through a similar issue with John Lineker, who missed weight in four of his eight flyweight bouts but successfully knocked off potential contenders like Yasuhiro Urushitani and Ian McCall out of the title running. That said, Henry Cejudo was also forced to take a bantamweight fight after pulling out of UFC 177, but he returned to flyweight immediately after.
Gastelum, for his part, seemed accepting (but visibly unenthusiastic) about staying at 185 pounds for the time being, saying that “actions speak louder than words. Now that he said I need to prove it, I am going to prove it.”
It is unclear what happens with Gastelum from here, but it is almost certain that he will remain a middleweight for the time being. Look for a fight announcement for Gastelum over the coming months.
UFC 188 got off to a slow start, with numerous ugly, boring decisions, but it came out strong after the midway point. Topped by the heavyweight title unification bout between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, fans were treated to some wild back-and-f…
UFC 188 got off to a slow start, with numerous ugly, boring decisions, but it came out strong after the midway point. Topped by the heavyweight title unification bout between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, fans were treated to some wild back-and-forth action and numerous impressive submission wins.
While there were some quality performances all around, the UFC did well in selecting the recipients of the post-fight bonus checks. Here are the winners:
#UFC188 bonuses go to Rosa, Rodriguez, Williams and Werdum
Fight of the Night: Yair Rodriguez vs. Charles Rosa
Yair Rodriguez and Charles Rosa both took home bonus checks, and they earned every dime of it. Rodriguez opened the fight with a slew of high-flying kicks and hyper-aggressive strikes. Things didn’t slow down much from there, either, as frenetic scrambles gave way to aggressive stand-up. While the bout would reach the judges, with Rodriguez taking a unanimous-decision win (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), the fight was an absolute treat.
Yours truly questioned why Rodriguez was on the main card over the likes of Henry Cejudo or even Cathal Pendred. He proved himself here, though.
Performance of the Night: Fabricio Werdum
Fabricio Werdum continued to muddy up the heavyweight history books by beating Cain Velasquez in convincing fashion. After two back-and-forth rounds defined by bloody, ugly striking, a tired Velasquez shot in for an ill-advised takedown that Werdum instantly capitalized on. Velasquez tapped, which earned Werdum a cool $50,000…oh, and the undisputed UFC heavyweight title, too.
Performance of the Night: Patrick Williams
Patrick Williams debuted in the UFC by receiving a brutal flying knee from Chris Beal. His second fight, however, went significantly better.
Williams cracked TUF: Latin America winner Alejandro Perez with a right hand in the opening seconds of their fight. With Perez on wobbly legs, Williams leaned on his grappling to put the fight away, getting hold of Perez’s neck, sinking in a guillotine choke and pressing him against the cage. It was a brutal victory, reminiscent of Scott Jorgensen’s infamous standing guillotine choke win in the WEC days.
In the end, there was just too much working against Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez for them to really do their years-long rivalry justice.
It might have been foolish for us to ever expect they could.
Alvarez and Melendez had many battles to fight o…
In the end, there was just too much working against Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez for them to really do their years-long rivalry justice.
It might have been foolish for us to ever expect they could.
Alvarez and Melendez had many battles to fight on Saturday at UFC 188. They had to overcome not only the weight of a beef dating back to their days as rival champions of smaller organizations, but the stamina-sucking altitude of Mexico City and—for Alvarez, at least—a badly swollen left eye, which plagued him through nearly the entire bout.
If their long-awaited grudge match gave us anything, however, it was a close-up lens on the former BellatorMMA 155-pound champ’s toughness.
Not to mention his wily veteran savvy.
After a difficult first round, a battered Alvarez altered his game plan and was able to stifle Melendez just enough over the final 10 minutes to score a split-decision victory in their co-main event fight (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Where we expected a slugfest, it was Alvarez’s takedowns and pressure against the fence that ended up winning the day.
“I think it was at the end of the first when I got the takedown, I felt like ‘Man, he’s not strong here,’” he told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan in the cage when it was over. “It’s a big part of MMA—just checking a guy’s whole arsenal. Checking if his takedown defense is good, his stand-up, etcetera. I found that chink (in his armor) late in the first and I had to go for it because of my eye.”
The eye really became a problem between the first and second round. Melendez had obviously won the opening stanza with his striking, rocking Alvarez with a short standing elbow inside the first minute, 30 seconds. The blow might have broken Alvarez’s nose, and the Philadelphia native could be seen visibly wincing as Melendez continued to land jabs and at least one more hard right hand during the remainder of the round.
After the horn, UFC cameras caught Alvarez trying to blow out his nasal passages—a big no-no for someone with a broken nose, as boxing aficionados and anyone who has ever seen Rogan commentate a fight before already knew. The result was that his already puffy left eye instantaneously swelled almost completely shut.
Alvarez’s cut men worked on the eye during both round breaks, but the inflammation continued to be so bad it seemed he might be in danger of losing via doctor stoppage. He was allowed to fight on, however, and—though he’d had some success with low kicks and a hard spinning elbow during the first five minutes—he opted to go with a more deliberate grappling-based attack in the final two rounds.
Alvarez managed to take Melendez off his feet a few times, but couldn’t hold him down. Instead, he controlled a good portion of the fight by pressuring him against the chain link and simply forcing him to ward off shots at his legs. Melendez was largely undeterred, and he continued to come forward and throw punches, though he noticeably slowed down as the bout wore on.
The live crowd at Arena Ciudadde México (elevation approximately 7,380 ft.) booed more than anyone could’ve expected, but the strategy proved successful for the usually heavy-handed Alvarez once the scores were read.
“I would’ve liked to open up a little bit more than what I did,” he told Rogan. “He shut my eye in the very beginning so, honestly, just fighting through that was tough.”
The performance netted Alvarez his badly needed first win inside the Octagon. After a contentious contract dispute with Bellator during 2013 he finally made to this UFC last fall, only to suffer a lopsided decision loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 178. He’d fought just twice since the end of 2012, and if he meant to preserve his longstanding reputation as one of the top lightweights in the world, he absolutely had to beat Melendez.
The two traded verbal barbs throughout the run-up to this bout, saying they’d wanted to fight each other since the years when Melendez had been 155-pound champion of Strikeforce and Alvarez his counterpart in Bellator. Once the bought started, however, they quickly appeared to squash the bad feelings, and they touched gloves to begin the second round.
They already had some stiff competition for Fight of the Night honors—as Yair Rodríguez and Charles Rosa had turned in dandy two fights earlier—and it didn’t take long to realize this bout wasn’t going to live up to our expectations.
Still, we saw a lot of good things from both men on this night. Melendez looked dangerous in the stand-up game and refused to give up the decision easily, even after fatigue had clearly become a factor. Alvarez didn’t look nearly as outsized or as outgunned as he had against Cerrone, and he showed amazing heart in battling back after the first, especially considering the eye.
The victory will no doubt send him rocketing up the official UFC rankings from his current No. 9 spot. With Cerrone set for a title shot later this year, it makes almost anyone else in the Top 10 a worthy and interesting opponent for Alvarez.
The fight itself did not live up to the hype, but after waiting so long to score his first UFC win, Alvarez is likely pleased with the result.
The Baddest Man on the Planet.
If you were exposed to any part of the UFC’s marketing push for UFC 188, which happened Saturday night in Mexico City, you heard that phrase. If you were more deeply immersed in the MMA news cycle, the phrase burrowed int…
The Baddest Man on the Planet.
If you were exposed to any part of the UFC’s marketing push for UFC 188, which happened Saturday night in Mexico City, you heard that phrase. If you were more deeply immersed in the MMA news cycle, the phrase burrowed into the folds of your brain like a car insurance commercial.
But how true was it?
Cain Velasquez, the man stuck with the ubiquitous tag, was once a seemingly indomitable force. But the heavyweight champ had fallen on hard times of late.
Injuries kept the champ on ice for nearly two years before he finally made it to UFC 188. Since recapturing the heavyweight title from Junior dos Santos in November 2012, he has only fought twice.
As a result, the UFC handed an interim championship to Fabricio Werdum after he defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 180. At UFC 188, Velasquez and Werdum fought for the real title. No more interims.
Would rust be a factor? Would Werdum stand up to the so-called baddest man and wrest away that title?
And what about the co-main event, which made a long-desired matchup between lightweight action fighters Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez, former champs in Bellator and Strikeforce, respectively?
As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from the 11-fight card in Mexico City.
For the literal-minded among us, full results are available on the last slide.
Few things are more captivating in the world of combat sports than a heavyweight championship fight. The main event at UFC 188 had added appeal as two titles were set to be unified in a bout between longstanding champion Cain Velasquez and interim stra…
Few things are more captivating in the world of combat sports than a heavyweight championship fight. The main event at UFC 188 had added appeal as two titles were set to be unified in a bout between longstanding champion Cain Velasquez and interim strap holder Fabricio Werdum on Saturday night in Mexico City.
The American Kickboxing Academy staple had last competed in October of 2013, when he successfully defended his heavyweight crown over rival Junior dos Santos at UFC 166. A knee injury forced the cardio machine out of his initial bout with “Vai Cavalo” at UFC 188, where the Brazilian grappling ace would go on to knock out replacement Mark Hunt to become the division’s interim champion in the promotion’s official debut in Mexico’s capital city.
Werdum’s victory over the Super Samoan was his fifth consecutive victory inside the Octagon since coming over from the now-defunct Strikeforce organization in 2012. That said, in order to become the true divisional king, he would have to defeat the man widely recognized as the best heavyweight on the planet, and arguably the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time.
With Velasquez’s lengthy layoff and Werdum’s versatile and dangerous skill set, the showcase bout at UFC 188 was figured to be a gritty affair. The two heavyweights clashed immediately upon the referee stepping aside, but it was Werdum who would be the last man standing. The Rafael Cordeiro-trained fighter rebounded to drub Velasquez with strikes in the second and third round before he forced the defending champion to tap out due to a guillotine choke.
With the victory, Werdum not only becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion, but he becomes the only man to have wins over Cain Velasquez and FedorEmelianenko on his resume.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and the strange from UFC 188.
The Good
Fabricio Werdum has made a career out of doing what few believed he could.
When “Vai Cavalo” was knocked out by then-prospect Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 back in 2008, it didn’t look like the talented jiu-jitsu practitioner would ever fulfill his potential as a mixed martial artist. Seven years later at UFC 188, Werdum put the cap on one of the best comeback stories in MMA history as he upset long-standing heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez to become the undisputed heavyweight title holder.
While Velasquez came out in full attack mode in the first round, it was Werdum’s striking that made the difference for the rest of the fight. The 37-year-old Brazilian battered the AKA staple in the stand-up game and had the champion rocked and wobbly until he secured the victory with a guillotine choke in the third round of the fight.
MMA is filled with great stories, but for a guy who was cast aside by a promotion and then rally to earn the title “the baddest man on the planet” is truly something special. Furthermore, the newly crowned champion may now have an argument as the greatest heavyweight of all time. He’s the only man to ever compete who owns victories over FedorEmelianenko and Velasquez, and his win on Saturday night will certainly give him a case for that claim.
—Overcoming adversity is nothing new for Eddie Alvarez, but the Underground King dug deep to edge out Gilbert Melendez in their long-awaited grudge match. El Nino closed Alvarez’s left eye with a short elbow during an early exchange in the first round, and the Philadelphia native was forced to fight the final two frames with his vision impaired.
Nevertheless, the Blackzilians representative employed a wrestling-heavy approach and used his grappling to take the final two rounds en route to picking up his first victory inside the Octagon. While the bout between the former Strikeforce and Bellator champions wasn’t the barn burner it was figured to be, coming out on top of the feud with Melendez will certainly be a career highlight for Alvarez.
—Kelvin Gastelum‘s last trip to the Octagon ended about as badly as a fight night can end. Not only did he come out on the business end of his fight with TyronWoodley, but he missed weight for the bout, and President Dana White demanded the Yuma resident compete as a middleweight going forward.
Fortunately for The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner, the opposite results were garnered at UFC 188 as he battered Nate Marquardt into pulp to pick up the TKO victory. Gastelum was all over the former Strikeforce champion throughout the first two rounds, and when Marquardt couldn’t answer the bell for the third round, the fight was over.
In his post-fight interview Gastelum expressed interest in returning to the welterweight division if Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva saw fit.
—If fight fans weren’t familiar with Yair Rodriguez before Saturday night, they certainly will be now following his performance at UFC 188. The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America winner put on a spectacular showing en route to earning a hard-fought split-decision victory over Charles Rosa.
Rodriguez threw a wide array of strikes and submission attempts at the American Top Team fighter throughout the three-round affair that kept the crowd in Mexico City going wild from start to finish. While the featherweight division is becoming one of the deepest under the UFC banner, Rodriguez will certainly get a bigger name in his next outing following his win over Rosa.
—There has been a lot of talk about Henry Cejudo becoming the next man to challenge Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title. While the Olympic gold medal winner kept his undefeated record intact by defeating Chico Camus in a hard-fought tilt, it wasn’t the caliber of performance that will make a case for title contention.
Cejudo pressed the action and was able to control the Roufusport representative throughout the fight, but Camus was able to stuff the majority of his takedowns and pepper him with counter shots. The end result was another victory for Cejudo, but if his work inside the cage had matched his Aztec warrior walkout, then a title shot would’ve come in fast and furious fashion.
—There was a lot at stake for Efrain Escudero at UFC 188. After an unsuccessful run following winning The Ultimate Fighter Season Eight, the MMA Lab representative was released from the UFC roster. After another unsuccessful stint in the UFC, Escudero battled to return to the sport’s biggest stage in 2014, but after dropping one of his two bouts during his comeback, his fight with Drew Dober became a must-win situation.
There was further pressure with the fight taking place in his native country, and he absolutely responded. Escudero locked on a fight-ending guillotine choke that secured what will be a memorable experience in the TUF winner’s career.
—Patrick Williams came to Mexico City looking for his first UFC victory, and he managed to put himself in the record book in the process. The Animal notched the fastest submission finish in WEC and UFC bantamweight history when he put Alejandro Perez to sleep with a guillotine choke just 23 seconds into the fight.
Williams staggered Perez with a clean right hand and immediately pounced to lock on the choke. Several seconds later, the Mexico native went limp, and Williams stamped the win in impressive fashion. That said, his failed attempt at a celebratory back flip was a different story.
—Normally it takes two good eyes to win a fight at the highest level, but Johnny Case only needed one to best Francisco Trevino to start the FX portion of UFC 188. The 25-year-old Iowa native rebounded from an accidental eye poke in the early goings of the bout to hand Sitkayan the first loss of his professional career via unanimous decision.
With the win, Hollywood has now found victory in all three of his showings inside the Octagon, and he will keep the hype that has been building behind him rolling strong.
The Bad
It wasn’t all too long ago Nate Marquardt was competing at a championship level inside the cage, but things haven’t been going too “great” for him as of late.
The seasoned veteran has failed to find victory on a consistent basis over the past two years, and attempts to jump start his career by moving around to different weight classes have been in vain. The 36-year-old former middleweight title challenger came into Mexico City in desperate need to turn things around, and he simply didn’t have an answer for what Kelvin Gastelum brought his way inside the Octagon.
The 23-year-old Arizona-based fighter but a beating on the former Strikeforce welterweight champion to the point where the fight could have easily been stopped in the second round. Instead, Marquardt would go on to survive the stanza, only to have the fight called between rounds.
While it was certainly a valiant effort from Marquardt, the reality is that he’s now been defeated in five of his last six bouts. With only two of those setbacks coming in consecutive fashion, it’s difficult to say whether he will lose his place on the UFC roster, but it’s clear the fire and skill set that made Marquardt one of the best middleweights in the world has faded.
—There really isn’t much to explain about the fight between Tecia Torres and Angela Hill other than it was awful. Torres spent most of the 15 minutes in some sort of dominant position while Overkill had zero answers to offer.
Kicking off the pay-per-view with a dominant performance would have been a great way for the Tiny Tornado to get a shot at the women’s strawweight title, but the odds of that happening in the aftermath of her sleeper against Hill are slim.
The Strange
CathalPendred is quickly becoming the reigning king of this particular category.
The Irish welterweight has been a key member in the Emerald Isle’s UFC invasion, which is being led by his teammate, and current No. 1 featherweight contender, ConorMcGregor. The Punisher made his name on season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter, and he has spent his official time inside the Octagon racking up victory after victory.
That said, two of his three wins coming into UFC 188 where of the questionable nature that left many in the MMA community believing a portion of Pendred‘s success on the sport’s biggest stage came via favorable judging.
This of course cast a shadow of doubt over the SBG Ireland product’s true value in the 170-pound fold, and he came into his bout with Augusto Montero eager to silence the critics by shutting down the scrappy veteran.
While the end result was another successful showing for Pendred, the critics won’t be going away anytime soon. He may have defeated Dodger via unanimous decision on the preliminary portion of Saturday night’s card, but he did so in a fight some MMA pundits are calling “one of the worst fights in UFC history.” That’s a tough pull for Pendred, who has been vocal about wanting to give fight fans something to get excited about.
That certainly didn’t happen in his bout with Montero, and Pendred will find himself in a curious position going forward. The Boston-born fighter has built a 4-0 record since joining the UFC last year, but over the course of his winning streak, he has failed to gather any real momentum to move him up the crowded welterweight ranks. That’s strange any way you cut it, and it’s a reality Pendred will still be facing in the aftermath of UFC 188.
The wild Mexican crowd was bonkers, Yair Rodriguez became the first fighter to puke inside the Octagon during his post-fight interview and altitude helped Fabricio Werdum topple the legendary cardio of Cain Velasquez.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
It has been a long time coming, but former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez have finally faced off in the cage. Both men, who have proven themselves to be elite-level talents fighting outside the UFC, des…
It has been a long time coming, but former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez have finally faced off in the cage. Both men, who have proven themselves to be elite-level talents fighting outside the UFC, desperately needed the win to cement their place in the Octagon’s deepest division, but only one would remain in the thick of contention.
It was an entertaining, back-and-forth fight where both men showed their all-around skills. There was technical boxing, crafty clinch work and slick wrestling. The result? A split decision in favor of Alvarez.
So what did we learn from the fight?
Eddie Alvarez is Absurdly Tough
Anybody that watched him in Bellator knows this. Alvarez is an inhumanly scrappy so-and-so.
Alvarez’s entire career has been defined by his ability to overcome early deficits. He did it against Michael Chandler. He did it against PatrickyFreire. He did it against Joachim Hansen. Now, he did it against Gilbert Melendez.
Alvarez was battered and brutalized in the first round. It felt like a spirited loss was a foregone conclusion. Melendez was poised to coast to a win with his formidable striking.
Alvarez wouldn’t hear of it, though, and he dug deep and pulled off yet another come-from-behind win. He’s a special fighter, ladies and gentlemen, and fans should be grateful to see him each time he sets foot in the cage.
Gilbert Melendez’s Days as a Title Contender Are Likely Over
Melendez ranks among the greatest lightweights of all time. That isn’t really up for debate. That said, with how things have shaken out for him in the UFC, it is incredibly unlikely that the stars will align for another title run for El Nino.
Right now, Melendez is 1-3 in the UFC. He has losses to Ben Henderson, Anthony Pettis and Alvarez. He is 33 years old and, historically, you don’t see too many Dan Henderson- or Randy Couture-like runs under 185 pounds.
Melendez is still a top-10 fighter, and he should be regarded as one of the best fighters in the division’s history. Unfortunately, he will likely be on gatekeeper duty henceforth.
They’re Not Kidding About That “Don’t Blow a Broken Nose” Thing
It’s a topic that often comes up in combat sports. If your nose gets broken, do not try and blow it because it will cause your eyes to swell shut. While that seems simple enough, it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds, as Alvarez can attest to.
In the middle of the first round, Melendez landed a solid punch that likely resulted in a deviated septum. After the horn, Alvarez approached his corner and felt around his nose area. Literally within a few seconds, Alvarez’s eye swelled to the point where he couldn’t open it.
It was a profound transformation that happened live, on camera, and it’s one that shows how tricky a busted nose can be. The fact Alvarez could gut it out, make the adjustments and pull off a win is astounding.
What’s Next for Both Men?
This is a huge win for Alvarez, given his rough debut opposite Donald Cerrone. While it doesn’t let him cut the line and go directly into title contention, another impressive win over a top-10 opponent could set him up for a top contender bout.
Melendez slides back for sure, but there are many potential opponents for him. Name-brand youngsters like Myles Jury and EdsonBarboza make sense. Though a fourth match with Josh Thomson also sounds pretty darn good.
Kelvin Gastelum was impressive at UFC 188, roughing up former UFC title contender and former Strikeforce champ Nate Marquardt. Unfortunately, while he was hoping that the fight with Marquardt would be a one-night stand at middleweight, UFC President Dana White insisted he was at 185 pounds to stay.