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.