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.