UFC and WSOF Picks

UFC Bantamweight Championship Ronda Rousey (c) 11-0 MMA 5-0 UFC vs. Bethe Corriea 9-0 MMA 3-0 UFC- Bethe Corriea wanted this. She kept mocking the Four Horsewomen sign she said she wanted the shot. But now he's got to actually fight Rousey. You can make a legit argument that Rousey is the most dominate champion the UFC has ever seen. She has finished every single fight she has ever been in. Only been out of the first round once in a fight where she turned her so called biggest rival into a grappling dummy. And she had eight win that look less than a minute. The Rowdy one last fought in February at UFC 182. She was matched up against Cat Zingano. Going into that fight many thought Zingano could the one to finally test Rousey. Cat was undefeated she had finished some very tough fighters and had shown an ability to survive early trouble. Rousey beat her in fourteen second. Breaking the record for faster title fight ever which was her own when she TKO'ed Alexis Davis in sixteen seconds. Corriera last fought in August when she TKO'ed Shayna Baszler at UFC 177. Before that she was beat Jessamyn Duke. Both Baszler and Duke are friends and trainer partners of Rousey's After both fight Corriea made it a point to pull a finger down on the Four Horsewomen on her hand. Corriea wants a title shot and Rousey wants revenge and to take away another fighter 0.

There is no contest who the better grappler in this fight is. Ronda Rousey is a high level Judo black belt. She won numerous tournaments all around the world she was an Olympic Bronze Medalist. In MMA as a professional she had nine wins via submission all thanks to the arm bar. She has taken numerous top fighters down with ease. Another advantage for her is the fact most take downs in MMA are usually wrestling style. As a result so many fighters don't really regularly train to block Judo throws. And even if they do they aren't training with the same high level Rousey did for years. So as hard as some girls may train you can only get so good in the limited time.

Corriea is a blue belt in BJJ she's never won a fight via submission. Every Rousey opponent talks about how hard they work to counter the judo and the arm bar. But no one has ever been able to stop it. At best it's Tate who escaped but still tapped twice. Rousey has been working on BJJ the one time we ever saw her in trouble she escaped. The other key is Rousey does arm bars but it's not always the same arm bar. So any little opening Corriea could find herself caught. The other side to that could be if Correiea gets so worried about her arms she could wind up opening the door for another submission.

I think a lot of people will by default give Corriea the striking advantage and that is her best chance to win. She has good powerful striking that we have seen shut people down. But she only has two wins via knockout. I think Rousey might actually have the edge. First Rousey will have a four inch reach advantage. You can watch improvement in Rousey's striking. She's gotten more crisp and more powerful. Also watch her early fights she would turn her head when she got hit. Now she is able to take a punch and fire back. Also she manged to finished Sara McMann with a knee to the body and in the Alexis Davis fight she rocked Davis with an over hand right. Than she tossed her to the ground and pounded out the finish.

Pretty much all the X-Factors got to go Rousey as well. Corriea's never been in a fight this big all the extra press and attention that goes into it. Fighters talk about how draining and over whelming it can. More press obligations, the cameras are following you for Countdown and Embedded. Even little things like the later you fight the more slick the canvas of the cage is because of guys sweating on it all night. The fight is in Brazil so while Corriea had home field Rousey is used to be booed and even fought Judo in Brazil against a Brazilian woman. Also I think the fact two of her training partners have fought her allowed Rousey's coaches to really scout her and get insight. Yes you could make argument that Corriea has pissed Ronda off so much we could see Rousey make a mistake. But Rousey always fights angry.

Corriea is also making some strange comments about justice and how she will fight until there is no breath left in her body. How she's not scared. Well that could all backfire if she goes out there and gets right in Rousey's face she's right in clinch range. Of course the pick the is Rousey I say another arm bar. When Rousey has fought strikers she usually uses more judo. I think she can take the hard strikes if they land. Corriea best chance might just be to use a lot of movement and throw kicks to keep her off. But she's going to need a very special performance.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 21-6 MMA 4-3 UFC vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua 22-10 MMA 6-8 UFC- This is a rematch of a fight that took place in Pride as part of Grand Prix tournament. Rua won the fight. It was a huge win for him and of course he went on to win the tournament. I cant put to much stock in that fight. It took place in 2005 both guys are not the same fighter they were back than. You could say mentally it helps Rua because he knows he can beat Nogeruia but on the flip side you could say it motivates Nogueria to get revenge. It's different rules its not a tournament and both guys have changed up training partners and mentally are in different places.

Little Nog fought last July at UFC on Fox card he got knocked out by Anthony Johnson in a very one sided fight where he didn't anything off. That snapped a two fight winning streak also numerous injures have slowed Little Nog down to fighting about once a year. Rua last fought in November he was knocked out by Ovince St. Preux in less than a minute. That puts him at two losses in a row both via knockout. Shogun has also lost four of his last five fights. Both these men are known for there striking. Nogueria noted for his boxing he holds six career knockouts. Rua former Chute Boxe fighter known for that aggressive Muay Thai style. Shogun has 19 career knockouts. I can't really give either guy a huge advantage. Rua is little more diverse in his striking. But he's also been knocked out more. Slight edge to Rua.

Both men are black belts in BJJ. I'm giving Nogueira the edge he's at a higher degree of ranking. Also Nogueria has more career win via submission at six. While Rua has only won once via submission. Another check mark for Little Nog is the fact Shogun has been submitted more one of those to Chael Sonnen who isn't known for his submission skills. Nogeueria brother is also one of MMA's greatest submission artist and they are training partners. So yeah odds are Nogueria could be the one to get the submission win. I'm not really confidant in either guy but I am leaning towards Rua. He's the younger the fighter and he's been more active. That said I could easily see Nogueria catching him with either a punch and hurting that not a steel anymore chin or even getting a submission. If it goes to the judges it could go either way.

Stefan Struve 25-7 MMA 9-5 UFC vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 34-9-1 1NC MMA 5-5 UFC- Both these guys have a lot of fights in there career. Both are getting to that point where it's make or break it time. Both have dealt with health issues, Struve missed a long time due to a heart issue while Nogueira been missing time to deal with long standing injures over the course of his career. Struve last fought in December he was knocked out by Alistair Overeem. That was his first fight in a year but it's put him at two losses in a row both via KO. Nogueira last fought in April of 2014 he was knocked out by Roy Nelson. That was his second loss in a row prior to that Fabrico Werdum had submitted him. Struve is the younger fighter but don't underestimate Big Nog's ability to come back and the motivation to be fighting in Brazil again. Plus again his brother is on the card a lot of fighters love to have a training partner of any kind going into a fight about the same time because they are peaking and pushing each other.

I am giving the edge the in Striking to Nogueria. While Struve has more knockouts at seven to Nogueria's three. Part of that is Big Nog loves to get on the ground and submit guys. Struve does have seven wins via knockouts while Nogueira only has three but Struve also has been knocked out six times. Big Nog only has three knockout losses. A few other factors working against Struve are why he's got a huge reach he's never been very good at using it. He lets guys get inside on him he's never really developed a strong jab or push kicks to keep guys off. And there have been times with Struve when he starts to go into a defensive shell we saw that with both he losses to Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson. I can really see Big Nog getting in enough and landing enough that Struve shuts down. Truthfully both men are more submission guys. Struve has sixteen career submissions. Nogeruria has twenty one and of course for many years was viewed as the greatest submission fighter in MMA history. Struve has only been submitted once but I gotta give the edge to Nogueria. Besides more submission wins he's viewed as having cleaner more technical submissions. The guys that have submitted him are Mir is the UFC greatest submission heavyweight and Werdum a former BJJ world champion.

A huge X-factor is the fact this fight takes places in Brazil. Nogeruria is going to be extremely motivated to be fighting in his home country. We know how crazy fans are and how much they support there own. We have seen twice with him in the UFC with Brendan Schaub and Dave Herman he's in Brazil it fires him up. So I gotta pick Nogeruria to win this. I think he wears Struve down early with striking gets it to the ground and submits him in the first. There is always a risk he will be off or he's to old. But Nogeruria always seems to just when people are counting him out he rallies back. I know Struve made some changes to his training for this now with the Blackzannlias but I don't think that's enough.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva 18-7 1NC MMA 2-4 1NC UFC vs. Soa Palelei 22-4 MMA 4-2 UFC- Easily Bigfoot's biggest win was his one sided beat down of Fedor. But the problem is that was way back in 2011. Palelie has been around a while but never had that big stand out win. Silva last fought in February he lost via KO to Frank Mir. Silva hasn't won since 2013 when he upset Overeem. He's fought five times since than three losses and 1 no contest which was an overturned draw. In all of Silva's UFC losses its been via knockout. Palelei last fought in November knocked out Walt Harris. Since returning to the UFC in 2013 Palelei has won four of five all of his wins come via knockout. So that's my way of saying I am giving Palelei the advantage in striking. Silva does has a very high KO rate of 13 out of 18 put Palelei has 18 out 22. Like I said Silva has six career loses via knockout and all of his UFC losses have seen him KO'ed. Palelei clearly has power and Silva can and will get hurt if stuff lands. I know Mark Hunt and Overeem failed to knock Bigfoot out but. TRT for one and took him to lightly for the other. Also Palelei will have one inch reach advantage. While not a huge one for a guy like Silva who is so used to be bigger than other guys that can throw him off.

Neither guy really has many submission although both are ranked as BJJ black belts. I would think the native Brazilian might have the more meaning full belt but Palelei does have wrestling back round. Silva has three career submission wins and never tapped out himself. Palelei has four submission wins and two losses via submission. I am calling it a toss up in the grappling game. Neither guy uses it much and both are the same height and weight in at 265 usually. One X-Factor I must give to Bigfoot is the better team. He trains with the highly respected American Top Team while Palelei work with a lesser known Team Hulk in his native Australia.

My pick though is Palelei via knockout I don't see it going long. Bigfoot doesn't like to get hit. I think Palelei lands a few hard punches early and gets Bigfoot backing up. Once you can get Bigfoot to stop being aggressive you have got it won. I could see this being about as quick as the losses Silva suffered to the AKA duo of DC and Cardio Cain. Bigfoot might be able to land his shots first and take control or catch a submission but I don't see it happening.

Jessica Aguilar 19-4 MMA Making UFC Debut vs. Claudia Gadelha 12-1 MMA 1-1 UFC- This is a very important fight in the womens straweight division. Joanna Jedrzejcyk will most and likely defend her title against the winner of this fight. For many years Aguliar was viewed as the top fighter at fighter at Strawweight. She was the champion in Bellator. When the company dropped women's fights for a time she was a free agent and signed with World Series of Fighting. A lot of the other higher level straw weight signed with Invicta. Of course than the UFC made a deal took a lot of that talent and signed many other top talent to start there own straw weight division. As a result Aguilar hasn't faced a top level fighter in a while.

Gadelha last fought December on a Fox Card she lost a very close decision to Jedrzejcky. That was the first and only loss of her career. Of course after that Jedrzejcky goes on wins the title in a dominate victory over Carla Esparza. She than dominated Jessica Penne. When you have someone who looked so good against the dominate champion that makes the rematch very intriguing. Aguilar last fought November at WSOF 15 she beat Kalindra Faria she defended her WSOF title. To Aguilar's credit she had been beating the opponents put in front of her. From what I have seen she hasn't had any weak performances but again there some doubt about how great those girls are.

Your not really looking at the striking with either fighter. Each only has two knockouts wins. I guess I can give a slight edge to Gadelha who has the more recent knockout and trainers at Nova Uno which s renowned for it's striking and use of leg kicks. But Aguilar is out of ATT so it's not like she isn't working with elite coaches. Both women are more renowned for there submission skills. Gadelha has six submission wins and is a BJJ Black belt. How ever she hasn't had a submission since 2010. Aguilar is a brown belt but she has eight total wins via submission and has the more recent submission win. So again I can't say either has a clear cut advantage.

So in this case I am looking at X-Factors. Gadelha is from Brazil she trains in Brazil so you know the crowd will side with her. Another X-Factor for Gadelha is she's been in the UFC. The UFC jitter are real. We often see a highly touted fighter come into the UFC and have a poor first show. I know Aguilar has been on some bigger shows but nothing is as big as the UFC. She might be off just enough to allow Gadelha to get the win. I am going with Gadelha via decision.

WSOF 22 Pick

The UFC isn't the only game in town this weekend as World Series of Fighting presnets a show that will go head to head. Since I want this to be more than just a UFC blog (Even though that is mostly what I posted so far) I will throw in a pick of the main event.

WSOF Welterweight Championship Rousimar Palhares (c) 17-6 MMA 2-0 WSOF vs. Jake Shields 31-7-1 1NC MMA 2-0 WSOF- The build up to this fight has seen Shields repeatedly claim he wants to hurt Palhares. Now that could be just hyping the fight but there is something there. A theme of Palhares' career has been winning via leg lock and not releasing the hold when the guy the taps out. It's cost Pahalhares he's was suspended after a fight in 2010 for it and in 2013 it cost him his UFC contract. Palhares claimed he's not trying to seriously hurt people but when its such a consistent issue it hard to believe him. Shields keeps calling him a scum bag. Also Shields proven winner through out his career was a champion in several companies. Palhares last fought in December defeated Jon Fitch in about 90 seconds with a heel hook. That puts him at three wins in a row. Shields was last in action in January he submitted Brian Foster that puts him at two wins in a row.

When it comes to these two fighters your not really thinking about striking. But when you have two guys that are this good in grappling the one with that little edge standing up could be the one that wins. Palhares has never scored a knockout win. Shields only has three KO wins and he's lost twice via knockout. But from what I have seen over the years Shields has better technical striking and in his recent win over Ryan Ford he hurt him standing and that led to it going to the ground for the submission win. Shields may not have the best striking but he's better than Palhares.

The real key to this fight will be grappling. Both men hold BJJ black belts. Outside of MMA they have both done well and won grappling tournaments. I have to give the edge to Palhares based on his ability to finish the fight. Shields has twelve submission wins out of thirty one career wins but from 2009 until 2014 he didn't have a single submission victory. Ryan Ford and Brian Foster are good fighters but elite level talent. I don't think back to back submission wins over them says he's going to be able to do it again. Palahares has 14 career submission out of 17 total wins. Why not every one comes via a knee bar or leglock most do. While Shields has never been submitted if Palahares gets a hold of a leg the show is over.

X-Factor in favor of Palahares is the fact Shields has had some real bad performances at 170. My pick is for Palahares to get a first round submission win. Much like with Rousey I'm sure his opponents are training to prevent him from getting that hold but it's hard to stop him. A lot of Shields wins come via grinding it out. I think Palahares will be able to get this to where he needs it and get that leg.

UFC Fight Night Chicago Fallout

The UFC wrapped up a very busy July with it's return to Network TV. The Fox cards bring huge exposure for the company and the sport as a whole. The main event was a rematch more than a year in the making. Cards like this are a great chance to win over new fans. Make stars out of emerging and younger talent. So what it a good show? Who made there most of the big stage and who saw a key chance slip away?

In Ring Action- With the lion share of the fights being broadcast on the main Fox Network many fighters were in one of the largest audiences they had ever seen. The biggest highlight of the prelims was Tom Lawlor's KO of Gain Villante. To a point Lawlor has been more known his goofy outfits at weigh ins than his fights. This win in his return in after a long layoff was important to get him back in the UFC. The main card kicked off with Joe Lauzon easily beating Takanoria Gomi. Lauzon fought smart keeping his hands up not leaving himself open to a power shot from Gomi. While many expected Lauzon to go for a submission he instead finished the Japaneses Legend with ground and pound. While Lauzon has never gained a UFC title shot he has secured a place as a UFC lifer. He's always just good and exciting enough to keep around. He's stayed out of trouble outside of the cage.

Hurt early with his eye badly swelling it looked like Edison Barboza could be on his way to another loss. The Brazilian and Paul Felder put on an exciting fight that looked more like it belong in a karate point fighting tournament than a MMA show but still was exciting. Both men landed big shots and showed off with spinning techniques. In the end Barboza's speed in particular his quick and powerful switch kick proved to the difference. While Felder was frustrated at his first loss he surely earned another big fight based on his willingness to engage. Sometimes it's better to have an exciting loss over a boring win. Barboza no doubt will get another shot at ranked opponent. The semi main event saw Miesha Tate show some of the best striking of her career. Through out her career Tate's striking has usually be classified and wade forward and throw hard. Although she ate some hard shots early against Jessica Eye, Tate figured out the timing of Eye and hurt her.

Eye looked very good early on and seemed to be having her kind of fight. Still though she left herself open just enough to let Tate connect. After that one big shot Eye seemed to shut down. Than the main event. Everyone gave Dillishaw credit for what he did in the first fight but still question lingered. Did Barao take him to light? What if that one big punch in the first hadn't landed? Was that performance just once and a lifetime. Dillishaw answered all those questions. He again dominated Barao making use of his superior footwork and speed. He again seemed just better than Barao at everything. The former champion had his moments but never truly had control of the fight. Another key was Dillishaw's bringing in his wrestling. He forced Barao against the cage several times forcing him to burn energy. By the second round Barao was gassed. His punches and kicks came at half speed and it seemed like it was just a matter of time before Dillishaw finished him again.

Biggest Winners:

TJ Dillishaw- The closest comparisons to Dillishaw's win over Barao was Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson. Douglas was a one hit wonder. Dillishaw seems to be showing the potential of a legendary career. Once again he showed amazing foot and speed. He's become one of the UFC's better strikers able to land hard punches and kicks with ease. Under coach Bang Ludwig Dillishaw has thrived. He also remains a great wrestler. While never getting a takedown against Barao his use of wrestling tired out the challenger. The threat of the takedown opened the door for more strikes. Barao and his Nove Uno teamed seemed almost dismissive of Dillishaw's ability. The insisted it was all thanks to that one lucky punch. Dillishaw though showed it was no fluke simply talent. The champions' best assist might just be his athleticism All three title fights have been late knockouts. He's still fresh why other fighters are running on E.

Miesha Tate- The former Takedown now Cupcake seems to be getting just what she wants a third shot at Ronda Rousey. While for a while Tate appeared to plaute as a fighter she's had two very impressive fights in a row. If Tate is going have any success against Rousey she is going to need to stay on the outside away from the clinch. She managed to keep Jessica Eye off her. While a loss would not have ended Tate title chances she's now back at number one contender. Still though the question is can she find the key to beating Rousey or will she revert back to bite down on the mouth piece style striking that failed her twice already.

Duane Bang Ludwig- Once again Bang showed his skills as a trainer. Although Danny Castio came out on the losing end to a close fight Last Call showed improved striking. The big key the main event where his prized student TJ Dillishaw again dominated a title fight. As Joe Rogan pointed out Bang himself didn't fight like the style he teaches but the style is effective. Once again Ludwig was shown giving good technical advice in big moments. Dillishaw was always a promising athlete but he the first to admit Ludwig is a big part of his success.

Biggest Losers

Renan Barao- It was a bad rerun for Barao. Once again he looked second class to Dillishaw. Once again he took several hard shots over a long fight before getting knocked out. Once again he wasn't able to do any real damage. Barao can't blame a bad weight cut as he weighed in easily. He can't blame one lucky punch that landed early. Unless Barao a huge fool he can't say took Dillishaw lightly. But once again he lost. To be fair to Barao it could be Dillishaw's is just a bad match up for him. Everyone has that guy. Others might try to duplicate Dishabille’s game plan but not everyone will do it as well as Dillishaw. Still though Barao is pretty much out of the title picture. Unlike Tate there a quite a few options open for Dillishaw's next few challengers. Barao though needs a change. He's lost two to Dillishaw and had an underwhelming win against Mitch Gagnon. Barao's really not that far removed from someone onto of every pound for pound list but in some ways its like he's a million miles away.

Nova Uno- It wasn't all that long ago that the team was on top of the lighter weight classes with two champion. Now Barao is 0-2 vs. Dillishaw and some believe Aldo backed out of a title fight out of fear. Leading up to the rematch head coach Andrew Pedrnearis declared Dillishaw had Barbie Hands well those Barbie Hands did damage. It didn't help that going into the fourth round the corner simply told Barao “Go win.” Not offering him any advice in how to win.

Jessamyn Duke- Once again Duke entered the cage only to lose. Duke had taken some extended time off and begun working with Josh Barnett. Matched up with Elizabeth Phillips a fighter she had beat as an amateur Duke took another loss. Duke is a tall fighter but doesn't fight like it. She's shows good potential but in this fight she made mistakes notable on a gulliteen choke that she didn't lock in enough and wound up on her back. Duke had a strong third round but by that point it was to late. Had she been able to steal an earlier round or finish the arm bar she went for a few times she could have won but she didn't. Duke has potential but there is added attention on her due to her friendship with Ronda Rousey. With three losses in a row Duke might find herself being cut.

What Comes Next: For TJ Dillishaw two fights make sense for him. One is Dominick Cruz. The stories that could be hyped for that fight are plentiful. Cruz never lost his title being force to surrender his title due to injury. Cruz has a long standing rivalry with Team Alpha Male, and of course the two fighters are very similar with both men using footwork and angles. The problem of course is Cruz cant' stay healthy he's had three ACL tears in his career. Cruz also won't be ready until 2016. While Dillishaw wants the Cruz fight the UFC might want him back in the cage sooner to keep building his name and to add to cards in the fall and winter. Raphael Assuncao the last fighter to beat Dillishaw is also an option the first fight was close and Dillishaw felt he should have won. But like Cruz, Assuncao hasn't been able stay healthy. But those are the two that make the most sense.

I know the UFC has already said Tate gets the winner Rousey and Corriea but I don't think a dead lock. First if Correia some how wins (Hey remember no one thought Dillishaw would win) or makes it a close fight the UFC could do a rematch. Also if Cyborg finally does the right thing and drops to bantamweight all bets are off. Also no matter how much Tate or her supporter try to spin or bring up that one good punch here or there or the fact Tate lasted longer the fact remains Rousey has dominated her. So for Tate I have two options in mind. A rematch with Cat Zingano. The two had a very exciting fight a while back. Cat wound up winning via TKO or a fight with Holly Holm. Holm a fighter many think could be the answer to Rousey. A win over either would be strong ones for Tate plus another camp would give her more time to work on getting ready for a fight with Rousey.

Renan Barao is in a real tough spot. Dana White has already suggested he should move up to Featherweight which would be a good idea given he's not likely to get another shot against Dillishaw and with the IV ban coming he might need the extra ten pounds. If he stays at Bantamweight the best option might be Assuncao. Again that depends on if Assuncao can stay healthy. If not Assucaco another option might be Aljamain Sterling who is coming off some strong win. He's also a top ten fighter Barao hasn't beat yet. A fight like this with him beating a potential contender could help to rebuild his confidence. Another fighter against a lower ranked fighter like Gaganon won't do that.

The good news is for Jessica Eye is with the current state of the Women's Bantamweight division a title shot isn't really that far off. Given Rousey has dominated so many fresh contenders are short. A great option for Eye would be former TUF winner Juliana Pena. Pena just returned from a long layoff. Many have stated Pena has potential to be a title challenger but she's yet to face a truly tough fight. Eye's striking and pressure would be a wonderful first true test for Pena.

UFC On Fox Picks

UFC Bantamweight Championship TJ Dillishaw © 11-2 MMA 7-2 UFC vs. Renan Barao 33-2 1 NC MMA 8-1- UFC 174 May of 2014 Dillishaw challenges Barao for the UFC Bantamweight championship. Going into this fight NO ONE thought Dillishaw could win. The guy was a talented young fighter but Barao was unbeaten for more than thirty fights. He had twice dominated Urijah Faber, Dillishaw's friend and training partner. Hell I thought Barao would win in less than a second. But Dilishaw shocked the world he spent the entire fight out landing Barao and seemed to be out of the way every time Barao tried to attack. You could easily call it the greatest upset in MMA History. Since than it's been a strange road to the rematch. UFC 177 was supposed to be the rematch. Barao passed out cutting weight. Than Dominick Cruz and Raphael Asscuano got hurt opening the door for another rematch. But Dilishaw suffered a rib injury again delaying the fight.

Dilishaw last fought at UFC 177 in August. He beat Joe Soto who stepped up to replace Barao. He dominated the fight again showing great striking and knocked Soto out in the fifth round using a head kick just like he did with Barao. That's three wins in a row for the champion. Barao last fought in Barao last fought in December he beat Mitch Gagnon via submission. Gagnon was ranked but he wasn't really a contender. Still though he dominated the fight really was always in control. On paper the striking advantage goes to Barao eight career knockouts and his camp Nova Uno is renowned for it's aggressive striking. But we saw in the first fight that Dillishaw had the advantage. Striking isn’t just punches and kicks it's your footwork your ability to faint and defend. Dillshaw seemed to have the answers to every Barao attack. Now since that fight Duane “Bang” Ludwig has left Alpha Male as the head coach.

That said Dillishaw and Bang still work together. I believe Bang will be in the corner. Also Martin Kampman replaced Ludwig as coach. And The Hitman is a very good Thai boxer in his own right. Now the ground game you would think Dishabille is the better wrestler given his past at Fullerton State and his team. But Barao has shown good take down defense he's also got a 15 career wins via submission and a black belt. If I'm Barao I would want to take this to the ground and see what I could there over Dillishaw who really doesn't go to the ground very often.

My pick though is Dillishaw. I think he's gotten in Barao's head after that first fight. Barao in a lot of his comments seems like he just want to go in and smash. Dillishaw won in large part due to his confidence that he could and now he knows he can win. Also look at that first fight Dillishaw also fought very smart. He didn't got cocky he didn't take time to admire his work or drop his hands. I say Dillishaw does it again fifth round knockouts

Miesha Tate 16-5 MMA 3-2 MMA vs. Jessica Eye 11-2 1 NC MMA 1-1 1NC UFC- Well if you listen to Tate this is either a number one contenders fight or the winner fights Cyborg at catch weight in a number one contenders fight. Its not a done deal the winner gets a title shot and I don’t' think Cyborg is ever going to drop below 145. But this is a very key fight. With as dominated a champion as Ronda Rousey is she's already beat many of the top contenders. In Eye's case that opens up the door for a title shot even without a stellar record and in Tate's case a chance at a third fight. Tate last fought in January she Sara McMann via decision. That puts Rousey at three in a row. Eye's last fought was in November when an Injured halted her fight with Leslie Smith but before that she was clearly winning the fight. I should not Eye originally beat Sara Kaufman but that was over turned due to a failed drug test for marijuana.

Striking I'm going to give the edge to Eye she has more of a striking background. She also has great hand speed and she managed to out stirke the very dangerous Sarah Kaufman in there fight. Tate has also has been knocked out in the past against Zinganoa and she's been rocked a number of times. Tate has shown an ability to recover when hurt. Grappling that edge goes to Tate. She was a wrestler in high school. She's been very dominate when she can get a take down. Even going toe to toe with Sara McMann an Olympic medal winner. Tate also has six wins via submission including the title over Maroles Coenen win the title back in Strikeforce.

This is a really tough pick. The truth is Tate hasn't looked very good since the first fight with Rousey. She's not really had a great performance. I think people over hype “She went three with Rousey,” when really it was more of Rousey having to much fun throwing her around. She's had a few close calls and her wins outside of McMann haven't been really impressive. That said she keeps finding a way to win. Eye has looked really good but she's doesn't have that high finish rate. Tate's only lost once via decision she knows how to do enough to win rounds. I'm going with Tate. I think she grinds out enough to get another win.

Edson Barboza 15-3 MMA 9-3 vs. Paul Felder 10-0 MMA 2-0 UFC-Felder last fought in February at UFC 182 he beat Danny Castillo KO'ing him with a spinning back fist. That was a big fight for him. Victory over a well known veteran, highlight reel win, and it came on one of the UFC's biggest cards on a good spot the last prelim fight. Now he's got a bigger chance on a Network show. Barboza last fought in February as well he lost to Michael Johnson at a Fight Night. Barboza has had some big fights against guys like Cerrone or Johnson but he's also always found a way to come up short. Still though big showcase potential here on a major network. Striking I am giving an edge to Barboza. While Felder has 7 career wins via KO Barboza has 9 wins via KO. Barboza also has some great kicks and he's done it against a higher level of competition.

Ground game is again to Barboza. Although only a blue belt in BJJ he has two submissions. Felder I don't think has been to the ground in his UFC career. And it seems his style is very striking heavy. Why I don't expect much grappling it would be a good way for Barboza to score some points and maybe tire Felder out. I also got to give the X-Factor in a better camp to Barboza. He's up in New Jersey working with UFC vets. Felder seems to be in a smaller gym in Philly. Another X-Factor for Barboza he's been on Fox and main cards before. For Felder biggest fight toughest fight of his career. I think the kicks and the experience are enough Barboza score a knockout win in the second round.

Takanoria Gomi 35-10 1 NC MMA 4-5 UFC vs. Joe Lauzon 24-10 MMA 11-7 UFC- Barboza and Feilder is a battle between two younger fighters this is battle between two solid vets. Lauzon lost fight at UFC 183 losing via TKO to Al Iaqunita the loss snapped a two fight winning streak. Gomi last fought in September losing to Myles Jury via KO. Power you gotta give Gomi he has 13 career wins via KO and that might be Lauzon biggest weakness as he's lost four time via knockouts. But I would say Lauzon is the better technical striker. Gomi has that hands down full power style. The guys that give Lauzon trouble are powerful technical strikers. Grappling huge advantage to Lauzon seventeen times he's won via Submission he's a BJJ black belt. And Gomi has six losses via tapout. Gomi might be able to catch Lauzon but I'll got with Lauzon being able to avoid the power shots get it to the ground and getting the submission win.

Rest of the card

Vialante over Lawler

Miller over Castillo

Saunders over Roberts

Caraway over Wineland

Krause over Cruikshank

Holobrook over Nijem

Phillips over Duke

Cummings over Steele

UFC Fight Nights Fallout

Its been a very busy July for the UFC. UFC 189 and a show on the main Fox Network would be big enough but they also packed it with three Fight Night events. (Fight Morning in one case) So who were the biggest winners? Who took a very bad loss? And what comes next?

Biggest Winners- Holly Holm- Although The Preachers Daughter won her UFC debut many felt it was underwhelming. Of course its not uncommon for a fighter to enter the UFC with a lot of hype and struggle with “UFC Jitters.” Hell Carlos Condit lost his UFC debut. But still Holm needed an impressive win. The former boxing champion dominated Marion Reneau for three rounds. Holm showed off not only her boxing skills but her kicking game as well. Why she didn't get the finish she came close quite a few times. With two wins under he belt Holm has set herself up to challenge someone in the upper rankings and maybe get on the road to a title shot. Before entering the UFC some felt Holm's stand up might be the answer to champion Rousey's judo she's a step closer now.

Stephan Thompson- Rocked early by Jake Ellenberger Thompson recovered and came back to score a highlight reel finish with a spinning hook kick. Thompson also manged to stuff the wrestling of Ellenberger showing he's grown since the loss to Matt Brown. Having shined in his first main event on a big weekend Thompson seems to be on the verge of a break through. Chris Wediman has heavily hyped him, his lone loss was years ago against a tough veteran fighter. While Thompson may not have the big personally of a Connor McGregor he does have the unique fighting style that fans will remember. It's also the kind of fighting style other fighter will struggle to figure out.

Frank Mir- As Dana White said this week Mir is the last man standing of fighters that were in the UFC when the Zuffa bought it. While Mir is still not that far removed from a long losing streak he' snot won two in a row via knockout. Mir's career has so many ups and down you could never make it a movie since no one would believe it. The former world champion may not have another title run in him he could be the guy that derails a few others title shot dreams.

Joanne Calderwood- After being upset by un-ranked Maryna Moroz when she submitted ninety seconds in Calderwood needed a win. When original opponent Bec Rawlings pulled due injury she again found herself matched up with an unknown un-ranked opponent this time in the form of Courtney Casey. Calderwood looked venerable early but recovered quickly and dominated the second and third rounds on her way to a decision win. It was a good reminder of how good Calderwood can be. As she said post fight she over came the demons of her last fight. Another loss to a fighter she should beat would have been devastating to Calderwood standing this win gets her back on track.

Michael Bisping- Like Frank Mir, Bisping seemed like he was heading for the end of his career now for the first time since 2011 he's on a winning streak. To Bisping's credit his losses weren't simply him there were things like Belfort being pumped up on TRT, the long layoff due to his eye injury before the loss to Tim Kennedy, and the fact Luke Rockhold is a beast who dominated elite fighters like Machida and Jacare. While it was no doubt a tougher fight than he wanted Bisping manged to beat a fighter with a lot of momentum. He also kept his record perfect in the UK.

Biggest Losers Jake Ellenberger- This is tough for me to write as I admit I'm biased and a fan of Ellenberger. But there is no denying the loss to Thompson is a bad one for Ellenberger. His lone recent wins comes over Josh Koscheck not exactly a high quality win at this point. On the one hand Ellenberger's losses are to men like Lawler and MacDonald who just fought for the title and to Gastulum and Thompson up and comers with great potential. But it wasn't all that long ago Ellenberger was trying to break into title contention. While his fighting style should keep him safe from the cut list there is no denying The Omaha Nebraska native is going down a peg. Instead of main events or main card fights odds are he will find himself on Prelims or opening main cards on free TV.

Edmond Taverdyan- Thanks to the success of Ronda Rousey, Tarverdyan became a trainer in demand for many fighters. Besides Rousey out the Glendale Fight Club comes fighters such as Ellenberger, Travis Brown, and the rest of the Four Horsewomen. The problem is outside of Rousey none of those fighters have had much success. Ellenberger has suffered tough losses and been finished three times. Browne went from being a title contender under Greg Jackson to a lower top ten guy. Marina Shafer has sufferd two knockouts, Jessamy Duke is 1-2 in the UFC with two consecutive losses and Shayna Basler went 0-2 and has already been cut by the UFC. Rousey give Tarverdyan a lot of credit for her success. But it seems to be a case of a naturally great fighter who's strength matches perfectly with the style Tarverdyan likes to train. He might be the perfect trainer for one Rousey but he's yet to show success with other fighters.

Bec Rawlings- The straw weight fighter was forced to pull out her fight with Calderwood due to injury. That's hard enough for any fighter. Even worse for Rawlings she had to watch Calderwood look venerable early on. She no doubt has to wonder what if she had been in there? A win over Calderwood would have been big for Rawlings now she can only wait to heal up.

Scott Jorgensen- The Young Gun entered the UFC with a stellar 12-4 record since than he's 3-11. With yet another loss this time to veteran Manny Gamburyan it's getting very hard to justify Jorgensen's place on the UFC roster. While a number of his losses are to upper level fighters like Barao or Faber he also doesn't have a big win under the banner. He already tried to move down to fly and it didn't work. A move to featherweight would make him a smaller fighter in a tough division.

What comes Next- Time play to match maker for some of the fighters that were on this card. Frank Mir in a tough sport having been with the UFC so long he's face a large number of guys already on the UFC's roster. And in some cases a rematch doesn't make much sense. The loss to Overreem was so one sided you can't see a sudden turn over with Mir coming back. Someone like Andre Arlovski or Stipe Miochio seem to be in line for a title shot and honestly facing each other or higher ranked JDS or Cain Velasquez makes more sense for them. For Mir one name stick out. Stefan Struve who like Mir's had some amazing wins and bad loses. Both have shown an ability to get submissions with good striking. Like Mir Struve finds himself as a ranked fighter but not in title contention. If Struve can beat Big Nog at UFC 190 the fight makes even more sense. Holly Holm needs a stiffer test she's now 2-0 in the UFC and a perfect 9-0 in her career. A perfect fight for her would be former title challenger Alexis Davis. A strong MMA vet with good striking in her own right Davis has already faced and beaten a number of high level fighters in her career including Sarah Kaufman and Jessica Eye. For Holm it would be the biggest win of her career for Davis being the one to take the 0 could help move her back into title contention. Joanne Calderwood is now 2-1 in the UFC but she's yet to face another highly ranked foe. That's why Bec Rawlings made sense for her. While Rawling doesn't have the greatest record she's los to some good fighters. I say if Rawlings can heal up try to make the fight again.

I think a perfect fight for Jake Ellenberger would be Brandon Thatch. A win over Thatch would be a good confidence builder for Ellenberger who beats a fighter with potential but isn't as deeply talented as guys like Gastulum or Thompson. For Thatch Ellenberger is a tough vet with big win but but a beatable fighter. He doesn't appear to have the same ground game as Henderson or Nelson who did beat Thatch.

Why Signing Fedor Emelianenko Is A Bad Idea

Fedor Emelianenko one of the few fighters with a legit claim as great of all time announced he is interested in returning to MMA. Of course this has already set of tons of speculation of where he could fight. Could he finally join the UFC? What about Bellator which is run by Scott Cocker who he's worked with in the past? WSOF could potentially put itself on the map if they could sign him. Well I'm here to say that if a promotion wound up signing Emelinenko they will wind up regretting it.

Lets start with facts Fedor is thirty eight years old. For every fighter like Randy Couture that defied the odds into middle age there is someone like BJ Penn. Try as he might by moving up and down in weight, taking time off, changing his camp Penn hit a wall had three horrible final fights. While time off might have helped Fedor heal up old injures it could also mean he's very rusty since he hasn't been training. When George Foreman launched his comeback to boxing after over a decade off it took him several fights to begin looking like an elite heavyweight again. Would Fedor be able to last long enough to knock off any rust? And that's if he's able to even get close to fighting elite competition.

Part of the reason Anderson Silva had surpassed Fedor on many pound for pound lists was due to level of competition Fedor had begun to face. His last win on a major US card was over Brett Rogers. While Rogers was viewed as an up and comer at the time. After the loss to Fedor though Rogers never developed into an elite fighter. He was cut from Strikeforce after ___ losses in a row. The night fight for Strikeforce is where it appeared Fedor was heading for the end. He was submitted by Fabrico Werdum. After that loss he was badly beaten up by Bigfoot Silva and in his final Strikeforce fight he was knocked out by Dan Henderson. So you have a fighter whose beast days were in a company that is long dead in Pride. The last time fans in the US saw him it was losing three in a row. There are a large number of MMA fans that never saw Pride outside of Best of Pride the TV show and UFC Fightpass.

Fedor did win the final three fight of his career to date. However those were not against elite fighters. One was against Jeff Moonson an aged fighter who has not been an elite fighter in years if he ever was one. Another was against Pedro Rizzo a star from the UFC dark days but again hadn't scored a big win in a long time. Also none of the three fighters he beat have even gotten close to an upper level promotion since their fight with Fedor. How many new fans are going to be willing to watch WSOF or Bellator if they sign him and have him main event a show? And remember a big reason to invest the big money it will take with Fedor will be to hopefully win over new fans. How much will an aged fighter long removed his last quality win really draw?

Another question who would he really fight? The lion share of elite fighters in general are under UFC contracts. Bellator does have some good heavyweights in terms of attack pure curiosity the best option might just be Kimbo Slice. Of course I wouldn't hold my breath on either fighter agreeing to that or various reasons. I can't recall any heavyweight WSOF has with out looking it up first I admit. Now on flip side to that of course any young fighter that would beat Fedor would have a big win to build his career on.

Now lets to the real reason why I think any company signing Fedor would be a bad idea. Financial he wouldn’t be worth it. Fedor and his M-1 Global company have had numerous negotiations with UFC parent company Zuffa. Many has criticized Dana White for not being willing to make a deal. White claims it on Fedor and his people as they are unwilling to consed on several demands. A big one if co promotion. M-1 Global also puts on MMA events. The UFC simply wants to pay Fedor as a fighter. By Co-promoting an event that would mean he would paid extra money. A great deal extra including cuts of the tickets sales and pay per view buys. I understand why Fedor would ask for this stuff as it's his body on the line and numerous boxers have similar deals.

That said I also don't blame the UFC for refusing him. The UFC doesn't need Fedor Emilenko. Having him and doing a big fight with Lesnar or Couture could have done huge business. The UFC was making huge money and they still do very well. Affliction a company that spent huge money and singed Fedor giving into his demands because they wanted him and believed they needed him it was dead after two shows. Now to be fair Affliction was spending so much odds are it may not have lasted but the large money owed to Fedor as both a fighter and as a promoter didn't help things. Than there is Strikeforce. Scott Cocker did run a good show and the promotion lasted for several years. Like Affliction they signed Fedor when a UFC deal didn't happen.

And people that worked for Strikeforce admit why Fedor did help draw good attendance and ratings the money he was owed due his deal meant those shows didn't make huge money for Strikeforce. Many people look at Viacom and assume “They have billions they can pay anything.” Except that's not how business works. Companies are not just looking to make profit they are looking to make maxim profit. If Bellator does sign with Fedor and say he draws two millions dollars worth of business. But if they have to spend 1.5 million it may not make sense for Viacom's suites. And than look at the end of Strikeforce. It's backers pulled out partly due to the fact they saw how much money was being spent on fighters with out big returns. And what happened the UFC swopped in and bought out Strikeforce.

The one company that would be able to last if they signed Fedor would be the UFC. Fedor wouldn't be seen as a make it or break it deal for the company. The UFC like the WWE is for wrestling or the NFL is for pro football is the seen by many as the only whole industry. People use the term Ultimate Fighting when talking about the sport. For Bellator who has done a lot to close the gap on the UFC the last few years but who have they done that? To large part it been reaching out and signing former UFC fighters to contracts. Many of those fighters are names like Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson, or most recently Josh Koscheck. All fighters that entered on losing streaks. All fighters the UFC seemed to not be overly interested in. And in Jackson's case he fled back to the UFC. Bellator has already tied up a lot of money in older fighters how much would Fedor really add? Also I'll be interested o see what happens when notable Bellator fighters such as Pat Curran or Pitreco Pitbull are free agents will they depart like Eddie Alvarez did?

There is no denying the legend Fedor has become over the years. But Strikeforce showed simply having Fedor doesn't mean you will last forever. And what if he start to win? Does it really say Fedor's back Fedor's still the best? No it doesn’t' because no matter how much people may like to deny it the best talent is in the UFC. Fedor winning would simply send the message that Bellator has such a thin Heavyweight roster even a fighter well past his prime can come in and win. Fedor is a legend but he's not worth money and he doesn't bring the creditability either at this point.

How to Grow Glory

For many years K-1 was the top kickboxing promotion in the world. But as the company has declined and face financial issues Glory has taken it's place. Glory has been airing shows in the United States since reaching a deal with Spike TV in 2013. So many fans start to boo when ever a MMA fight features to much wrestling. So you would think fans would be flocking Glory since it's a pure stand up fight. Any types of clinches are broken up. Many often declare they want to see MMA do old school rules with one night tournaments. Again you would think they would flock to Glory which does do one night tournaments including there one and only pay per view which featured eight men. But the reported buyrate for the PPV was rather underwhelming and television viewership hasn't grown at a high rate. So what can Glory do to jump start it's growth.

This isn't all on Glory. Kickboxing has often struggled to find a market in the US when compared to other combats such as boxing or MMA. There have been popular fighters and promotions at different times with fight even airing television. Today there are many local kickboxing shows that run. The Muay Thai Nations a tournament held in Iowa has been growing very well. But still kickboxing lags behind other combat sports. Glory has tried to take advantage of of the MMA fan base having UFC veterans Pat Berry and Mirko Cro Cop fight on Glory cards. Also they have worked closely with Bellator that has seen Glory stars appear on Bellator shows and will see a co promoted show later this year. Still though Viewership hasn't sky rocketed or come close to matching Bealltor's biggest shows on Spike. In terms of press coverage Glory is only picked up by MMA sites such as Sherdog. It's never mentioned on ESPN or Fox Sports 1.

Now in my opinion I think Glory has missed the mark in terms of appareling to MMA fans or following the UFC's model to promote. Simply putting mixed martial arts fighters on a card won't just draw. Berry had a lot of exciting but more often than not came up on the losing end of those fights. Cro Cop is a legend but he only appeared once. While he had rebuilt his record with good wins out of the UFC many casual fans only remember him form his UFC work which he under performed. Not helping things has been how Glory has promoted many events.

The UFC is all over television, each pay per view has a countdown special while cards on the Fox Network get the Road To The Octagon special. On top of that that there is UFC Tonight, Ultimate Insider, and Unleashed with other shows airing classic fights. Glory obviously won't get the same amount of show that the UFC will. But there has been a real lack of preview specials. A few have aired but they are pretty rare. Compare that to the recent hype job Spike and Bellator did for the Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock fight had. With so much to watch out there more causal fans need to be enticed. By doing a preview and hyping up who to watch you give fans a chance to connect with fighters.

Another issue is Glory holds a show every couple of months for the most part. Again with casual fans that makes it hard for them to get into the fights and become familiar with the fighters. Now I don't think Glory should suddenly start running weekly shows because that could backfire. More expense and over all weaker cards. But Glory does have over twenty shows worth of fight that they could some type of Best of Show. I do recall Glory doing one countdown show but it only focused on knockouts. As a result any action was clipped to about thirty seconds. Compare that to UFC Unleashed. I think people often under estimate how important Unleashed was to the UFC. That show gave them a chance to introduce new fans from the Ultimate Fighter to top UFC talent of the day.

With Glory's current system the televised portion of the card is built around a four man tournament. Along with one title fight as the main event. By doing some type of best of show you have a chance to show people fighters the skill current champion such as Rico Vearhoven or Artem Levin have and make them want to tune into when they fight again. That would also work with a preview special. Fans would get to know the fighters and understand there stories. Its similar to the recent NBA finals. Even the most casual of sports fan knew the story of LeBron James trying to win a championship team on his home town team.

Of course all this depends on who willing Spike TV is to give Glory more TV time. With Spike's recent commitment to it's Friday Night Lights Out series it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. Primer Boxing Championship currently gets previews for it's card and will often do a mini documentary looking at at least one of the fighters. We have also seen specials hyping many of Bellator's biggest cards. Glory though has lacked any real extra promotion since the start of Friday Night Lights Out. The lack could be due to lack of money being put in. While Spike might be willing to air such specials they may not be wiling to spend money to produce them. Behind the scenes Glory has undergone some changes with spending being cut down on. Sadly that led to the departure of several elite fighters such as Tyrone Sponge.

What Glory doesn't need to do it is start running gimmick heavy freak show fights. Recently there was a report that Glory was interested in holding a fight with Bill Goldberg a former professional wrestling champion and recent WWE departure Alberto El Patron/Del Rio. Now El Patron real name Jose Rodriguez does have some real fighting experience. How ever his highest profile fight came in Pride where he was easily knocked out by Cro Cop. While the WWE mad numerous efforts to push him as a top star as both a heel (villain) or face (hero) with numerous runs as world champion he never was very popular in the WWE. Goldberg would be an even worse idea to have fight. He's forty eight years old has never competed in MMA or Kickboxing. Also his peak in terms of popularity came in 1998. El Patron was at least on TV as recently as 2014. Goldberg hasn't wrestled since 2003 and not since 2002 in America. His higher profile appearance has been hosting a show on the defect Speed Channel.

And it is different than UFC getting Lesnar, CM Punk or even Bellator having current TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley. Lesnar and Lashley have legit amateur wrestling backgrounds even winning titles at high levels. Punk they can afford to role the dice on a bit. He was the WWE's most popular star to the point fans still chant for him at times even though its been over a year since he last appeared. Also the UFC has enough creditably that people know elite fighters compete there. If Punk does well he's showed the world he eared his place. If he fails than he's just another fighter that got his chance and didn't do well on the big show.

Glory does put on an excellent show I think a few changes in terms of promotion will make a huge difference. It's not just enough to simply put on good fights. Fans want stars they want to connect with the people they are watching. The good news for Glory it's a young company and can keep growing.

UFC 189 Fallout

UFC 189 was a clearly a special event going in. With so much hype around it it amazing we got such an awesome card. As often heavily hyped cards don't deliverer. The main card was so amazing some are calling it the greatest event in MMA history. The event not only delivered in the cage with five exciting back and forth fights that all featured finishes. It also was a smash hit in terms of attendance and by all indication will rack in a large buy rate on pay per view. The event also saw changes in the UFC graphic package, the debut of the rebook deal, and special entrances for the main event.

The In Ring Action- On paper the card looked good going in. Besides two title matches it featured two younger fighter vs vets and a fight with two up and comers at Welterweight. As I said earlier every fight was pretty back and forth. Brad Pickett tested Thomas Almedia landing several hard punches. Before the younger fighter rallied back to land a highlight reel flying knee. Both Gunnar Nelson and Brandon Thatch were looking to rebound after recent losses. Nelson landed a beautiful combination sending Thatch to the ground before getting a rear naked choke submission. Nelson most and likely gained another shot at a top ten fighter. Jeremy Stephans and Dennis Bermudez went all out both men getting hurt time and again before Stephans ended it with his own flying knee.

Than came the two title fights. Lawler vs. MacDonald got off to a slow start but quickly turned epic. The fight seemed to be going Lawler's way with him landing good hard shots. Than in the third round Lawler landed a head kick that clearly hurt the champion. Both men were bleeding heavily with MacDonald's noise smashed. After the fourth round both men refused to back down and engaged in an epic stare down. In the final round Lawler took control again with several hard blows and after connecting dead on with the noise once again it was to much for MacDonald. Often I think MacDonald gets a bad as not being a fighter and being more of athlete well this fight should answer any question about how tough he is.

Finally the main event the show the whole card was built around Connor McGregor. I don't think McGregor is getting enough credit for his game plan. He worked over Mendes with hard body shots. I also think his trash talk and mocking got to Mendes as several times early it seemed like Mendes wanted to fight him standing vs. going for takedowns. Mendes did land several takedown but McGregor survived even landing good shots from the bottom. He also survived several hard punches from Mendes who his one of the more powerful small men in the UFC. On top of that he escaped the vaunted Alpha Male Guillotine Choke. Even if the fight had gone on Mendes looked so tired odds are McGregor would have still got the win.

Production- This event saw the UFC upgrade its production. The UFC intro was changed getting away from the historical footage playing as the arena builds. I will miss the old intro but I get why they did its like any other company you make changes to stand out. They also reworked Face the Pain the song used on so many UFC events. I know will wish they dumped it complete but I don't mind it that much. Also changed was the graphic used for the round timer and graphic for tale of the tape and fight intro. Again not big changes but it's freshens up the look of the promotion. Other sports due this all the time that why the score box on an NFL game is different than it was just a few years ago. They also embraced a recent trend from basketball and hocking by turning the octagon into a video screen.

The one thing I disliked was live singing for the main event walk ins. Part of it due to the fact Sinad O'Connor sounded so bad. I get what they were doing trying to make the event seem special and it could be good idea for another big superfight but I really hope at UFC 190 they are back to just having the main eventers walk out to CD's.

Rebook- This was the first UFC event under the new Rebook deal. Plenty has been written about the rebook deal some good some bad. I actually like the look of the gear but it could better. The only options are white with black trim or black with white trim. Unless your a champion that you get black and gold. Why not mix it up with more colors. Like someone like Red King Rory MacDonald wear red or have blue for Chris Wediman who often wore blue trunks. That said this is the first gear I'm sure changes will be coming Also why give fighters the option of having there nick name over there last name on the gear.

Biggest Winners- Connor McGregor without a question. The big knocks on McGregor were he's never fought a great wrestler, he's never beat top contender, he's never been tested. The Mendes fight addressed all that. The already highly anticipated fight between McGregor and Aldo only will cranked up to a new level now. McGregor also kept his finish rate high as the only time he went the distance in victory was against Max Holloway in a fight McGregor was injured in. He also backed up his claims about how good he is for business. The Irish fans flocked to Vegas for the event showing they will travel beyond Ireland or Boston. The kind of outside attention McGregor brought in is big for the UFC and he clearly backed up all the talk with the huge win.

Robbie Lawler's first title defense was lost in the shuffle of McGregor hype train. Needing some down to recover after after busy 2013 and 2014, Lawler was absent from the UFC until this event. Lawler has some of the most exciting fights in recent memory. As Lawler's friend and long time training partner Matt Hughes has said your not really a champion until you defend it well now Lawler can say he's a true champion. While Lawler isn't a talker there is also no doubt any new fans were won over by the exciting style of the Ruthless Robbie. He also counties to evolve as a fighter showing more patience early on.

This whole weekend as a whole can been as a win for the UFC. The last few years have been hard canceled events, declining stars, scandals and failed drug tests with others. This event was a huge money maker party of a great international fight week. Also it keeps a recent trend of strong PPV's going. It was in many ways the anti May Pac fight. Fans tuning for the first time because of the hype got every reason to keep watching. Young fighters got great exposure for being on this card.

Biggest Losers- Chad Mendes was winning the interim title fight but at the end of the day he lost via knockout. Mendes is now 0-3 in UFC title fights. Why some will argue he could more on short notice Dana White already pointed out that flip side would McGregor would have full camp to get ready for Mendes. Money remains on of the UFC's featherweights but getting fights might be hard. In order to get another title shot he will no doubt have to beat several top contenders. But how many top contenders will be willing to risk facing someone as tough as Mendes? Some fighters often caught in this situation will change weights. Mendes is to small to move to Lightweight and maybe to big to move to Bantamweight. Even if does move down his friend and teammate TJ Dilishaw holds the title.

Brad Pickett is 0-3 in his last three fight and has lost four of his last five. At thirty six and with thirty five career fight he's unlikely to undergo some type of career revival like some fighters have. With roster space always at premium in the UFC any losing streak can see you get cut and Pickett might just find his way out of the UFC.

Rory MacDonald showed how tough he is and had one of the great fights in UFC history but the young man is still in a tough place. Two losses to champion Robby Lawler are going to make it tough for him to get another shot if Lawler keeps the title for long. At only twenty five MacDonald does have time to rebuild of course. The real issue might be what kind of long term damage was done in his fight vs. Lawler. His noise and face will no doubt take a long time to heal and get cleared on top the broken foot. Mentally it might also be tough for him to get over it. When Josh Koscheck was battered by GSP in a similar fashion the rest of his UFC career saw him often checking his face after taking a punch. Also while MacDonald only has three losses all three come when he's been clipped by a hard shot.

What Comes Next?- Well UFC 190 of course which features Ronda Rousey and several bigger stars on the UFC roster. While not at the same level of of 189 in terms of hype it does have potential to be a good card. In terms of fights for the winners the fight that makes the most sense for McGregor is Jose Aldo. The demand is there given the rivalry and now the added elements of the interim title and the question of if Aldo pulled out due to fear. If Aldo doesn't heal up and McGregor doesn't want to wait Frankie Edgar would be perfect for an interim title fight. Of course the UFC may not want to risk a big money fight. Johnny Hendricks has made it clear he wants a rubber match with Lawler. While Welterweight has good contenders such as the recently returned Carlos Condit odds are Hendricks will get his wish.

Chad Mendes if he has any chance of getting another title needs big wins. Again Frankie Edgar would make sense. For Mendes its a chance to beat a top five guy. A win over Mendes would all but lock up a shot for Frankie against the Aldo v McGregor winner down the road. Another option for Mendes would be Max Holloway. The young Holloway hasn't lost since he's own fight with McGregor. He's coming off a strong win over Cub Swanson. For Mendes again it's he needs big wins and for Holloway a win over Mendes would be the biggest of his career and a tough test for the young fighter. For MacDonald I feel he won't fight again until 2016 or at the very earliest real late this year. In that case it's more of a lets see what the Division looks like.