Why Rousey Should Get a Title Shot

At long last we no longer have to hear the question “When will Ronda return?” or “When is Ronda fighting again?” or “Will we ever see Ronda come back?” Its official the Rowdy One is back she will main event UFC 207. And she will challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. And of course because it’s the UFC doing anything people are pissed off. Cyborg is off ranting and Julian Pena is saying she will leave the UFC. You have a number of people saying it’s unfair. But here is the thing Rousey should get a title shot.

No Clear Cut Number 1 Contender- Since UFC 193 the women’s bantamweight title has moved around. Holm lost it to Tate who than lost to Nunes. Tate didn’t just lose but she was pretty much dominated by Nunes and actually lost in the first round while Ronda got to the second. So given Nunes is still champion its hard to give Tate another shot given she lost in her first defense. Holm than lost to Valentina Shevechenko. Shevchenko already has a loss to Nunes and her UFC record is 1-1. Juliana Pena claims she should be getting a title shot. Pena is 4-0 in the UFC except Pena has only beat one fighter that would be considered a contender that was Cat Zingano. It took her three rounds to get a decision. Rousey beat Zingano in fourteen seconds. This is not the welterweight division where a few clear cut challengers are in position to get a shot.

The Champion Wants This Fight- There has been a lot debate about how much power the champions should have when it comes to picking there next contender. Recently the UFC has given the champions a bit more leeway. Nunes had made it clear she wanted a fight with Ronda Rousey. Its A the biggest money fight of her career B the fight that generate the biggest amount of fame for her and C The biggest test in the division. Also often forgotten is the fact the UFC gave Holly Holm her title shot because Ronda asked to face her. Most thought Tate would get another shot but Ronda wanted to face Holm. Much like how it is now there was not a clear cut contender let the champion have some say.

We Have Forgotten How Good She Is- For nearly a year now we have seen the replay of that head kick over and over and over again. We have spent so much time hearing about how she was “exposed” people are ignoring how dominate she was. All 12 of her career wins were finishes. Jose Aldo only has a 61% Finish rate. Anderson Silva has a 71% rate. Ronda has 100% all about one of those was in the first round. And many of those were less than a minute. Styles make fights and a strong counter striker with good kicks able to keep range like Holm was a bad style match up for Rousey. But Werdum was a bad match for Fedor, Rampage for Liddell. It doesn’t mean they weren’t great.

It Will Sell- You can call it unfair you can hate it but star power matters. New Year’s Eve weekend is always huge for MMA. So the UFC is going to want to load that show with a big main event. Due to various circumstances such as Jon Jones failed drug test, UFC 205 being the New York City debut there are many big names out there. And sadly many “fans” start to cry about how “weak” cards are. Rousey returning in a title fight with the narrative of her trying to regain the title will be a huge selling point. Just like how people defend Bellator putting Kimbo and Shamrock in main events the UFC should be allowed to book Rousey.

She Can Beat Nunes- I’ve seen many including Nunes declare “She can just hit Ronda a few times and win.” Easier said than done. For one thing Nunes is not a counter striker with the name level of footwork and range kicks that Holm uses. She is more likely to throw a little wild and stand in front of her. Right away that could open up to Ronda biggest strengthen the clinch and Judo. While Nunes has a BJJ blackbelt and a brown belt in Judo we have seen Rousey beat great grapplers a number of times in her career. While many say Ronda “can’t take a punch” she has eaten some big shots and still come forward. All I’m saying is Nunes can’t afford to simply count on a few big punches and shutting her down.

Also add into fact Rousey will have a full year to improve in areas she might have lacked in. Tyron Woodley came a similar layoff time wise to win a world title. By all accounts Rousey has not simply been laying around she has been training and trying to heal up long nagging ingures. Its very possible we see a better version of Rousey.

We won’t know until December if Rousey can regain her world title. And if you want to try argue someone else should be getting a shot or that the UFC should have make her take another fight first. Make no mistake though her getting a title shot is fair and it’s not some robbery she is getting one.

UFC 204 Fallout

NOT a 10-8 in round one in my opinion. I wanted to get that right out of the way. People will debate the decision in the main event. My own personal opinion is that round one Bisping did enough before getting knocked down to keep the round a 10-9. I can even see why the one judge gave Bisping the second round. Remember prior to the knockdown Bisping was throwing and landing far more strikes. He was controlling the center of the cage keeping Henderson off him. This is not boxing or kickboxing where a knockdown is an automatic extra point. Again Bisping was controlling the round until he was knocked down. Henderson said post fight he did enough to win and the truth is so did Bisping.

The In Ring Action- As people arguing the decision they are burring what as a truly epic title fight. Dan Henderson one of the all time greats trying to claim the one crown jewel that had eluded him in his career. On the other side Michael Bisping a fighter who should go down as a all time great trying for revenge with all the pressure defending his title in his home town. Bisping didn’t fight like he normally does early on. His trademarks are footwork feints and angles. But Bisping seemed to be hunting the KO. Now he did out land Henderson. Bisping did though fall into one of bad trademarks that one moments of lost focus. It cost him dearly in the first round his hands down to low why throwing a hook The infamous H-Bomb landed. It was a near flashback to UFC 100. Bisping went down and Henderson dropped an elbow. This time though Bisping was still aware enough but he had to ride out one hell of a storm. The second played out much like the first. Bisping controlling the round early on than late getting caught. In the second though Bisping was able to tie up Henderson and limit the damage he took. The third finally saw Bisping start to feint and move more. Henderson as he has for years now had become over reliant on the H-Bomb.

Going into the forth Henderson looked exhausted his mouth wide open. Than eh got a break. In the second Bisping had kicked Henderson low in the fourth he landed low again. Now both times it appeared to be unintentional. But the second low blow gave Henderson a much needed break. Bisping though still kept a much higher pace. In the fifth Henderson scored a takedown but scored no damage. The truth is the fight could have gone either way. Bisiping winning is not some injustice.

In the Co-Main Event two of the most experienced fighters in the UFC finally collide. Vitor Belftor’s UFC debut pre dates Henderson’s having gotten started when he was only nigh teen. Gegard Mousasi got his own MMA career started when he was eighteen. The two men have fought all over the world since than. Belfort though has clearly reached the end of the road. Since the banning of TRT he entered 1-2 in his last three fights. Both losses being one sided mailings his trademark flurry's were in effective he was taken down and just about accepted being mounted until the referee stopped it. Mousasi fought a near perfect fight. He used his own far more technical striking to keep Belfort backing up. Belfort has never been a great counter striker. When Belfort did attempt to flurry he was shut down be a good strike. In the second he took Belfort down. And it was the story as the loss to Weidman and Jacare. Belfort was mounted made no real effort to escape until the referee called it off.

Jimi Manuwa and Ovince Saint Preux have both been with the UFC for a while now. Both have had some big opperitunires but never beaten a top contender. Both men have punching power scoring most of there wins via knockouts. So the potential was there for a great fight. Early on Manuwa controlled the striking how ever he kept attempt to wrestle with OSP. Which allowed the former college football player win key exchanges. In the second round we saw some great striking for Manuwa. Throughout the fight he had hurt OPS with a body shot. After rocking OSP with a good body shot head shot combo he would change it. Faking going to the body Manuawa went high and knocked him with a hook right to the chin. Odds are Manuwa will get another shot at a contender in his next fight.

A few years ago Stefan Struve in the UK knocked out Stipie Miocic handing the younger fighter his first career loss. Since than Struve has hit just about every low a fighter could, he’s suffered injures, health problems outside of the cage, one sided losses, and even in victory looking unimpressive. While Daniel Omielanczuk is not the elite of the of the division it was easily the best Struve has look in a long time. He controlled the majority of the fight and got a submission win. In the PPV open Misard Betick one of the better prospects at featherweight blew threw Russell Doane as he returned from a layoff.

Biggest Winners

Michael Bisping- For years The Count made it clear he would win the UFC championship and the defend it in Manchester. He’s now done that. Why his many detractors will be hold the first two rounds against him Bisping is the one who still has the title. Hopefully someday people will look back and realize just how good Bisping is. He should be respected for coming off the canvas not once but twice. Even long time rival Henderson gave Bisping credit for being willing to come at him as opposed to running away. With this win and several high profile fights taking place in the next few weeks he will be in position for another big money fight.

Gegard Mousasi- After losing to Uriah Hall many wondered if the window had closed on Mousasi’s chances of getting a UFC title shot. Since than Mousasi is 3-0 with two knockouts in a row. The win over Belfort gave him a big name value win. Again with the top four in Middleweight division set to fight it will clear the road for him a bit. Realistically he could just be one big fight away from a title shot.

Didn’t Win Not a Loser

Dan Henderson- One of the greatest careers in MMA history has ended. But Henderson’s legacy was set long before this fight. Winning the UFC would have simply been one more jewel in his crown. Still though Henderson came close twice knocking Bisping down. It would have nice for him to walk away after a win especially one like he scored at UFC 199 it pretty damn good at 46 many are saying he should have won the world title in his last fight.

Biggest Losers

People that say the UFC isn’t appreciative it’s talent- Seems like I can’t fire up a MMA web page without someone saying “The UFC doesn’t respect it’s fighters… The UFC is a dictatorship….” well think about this. For years Michael Bisping has been a loyal UFC fighter. After winning the world title the UFC ran a PPV in the UK at his request. Dan Henderson one of MMA’s all time great wanted one more title shot before retiring. The UFC granted him that final shot. Yes money did play a role in the decision. Still though the UFC could have made money with other big fights. Just keep this in mind the next time you want to scream “god Dana is such an asshole he won’t respect what these guys go through.”

Vitor Belfort- The end is here. Belfort is 1-3 since the banning of TRT he’s been knocked out in all three loses. All three losses have the same plot line he can’t hit the flurry of attack that was his trademark. He is taken down easily and than quickly mounted. Before the fight a rumor emerged that this would be the final fight of Belfort’s career. I think it should be. At 39 no matter how much Vitor and his supports want to claim he’s still learning and still improving he simply isn’t. He might have entered at number five in the rankings and remains number nine after the fight. I think that has more to do with people doing rankings putting to much stock in his past than anything he has done in the present.

What Comes Next- The Middleweight Division will sort it self soon enough. With Jacare about to rematch Rockhold and Romero facing Weidman the next true contender should emerge than. My own personal thoughts would be Jacare should get a win he should be next. He’s been great in the UFC his lone loss comes with a great deal of controversy and he’s yet to get a title shot. Gegard Moussi should get the winner of Romero vs. Wediman or potentially Rockhold if he wins but isn’t impressive.

Quick UFC 204 Picks

UFC Middleweight Championship Michael Bisping (c) vs. Dan Henderson- We all know the back story here. Even all these after UFC 100 Hendo retains that power. Why most think of the H-Bomb right you can't sleep on his lead hook and well UFC 199 he showed he generate good power in an elbow strike. Now UFC 100 Bisping people often forget was still a young raw fighter. It was after that fight many of his trademarks his faints and footwork really developed. Why Bisping doesn't have the rep as a big puncher he has shown good power in his last two fights. Henderson has a wrestling advantage but really doesn't wrestle and again Bisping is a much better fighter. Why there is always the risk of raw emotion and him getting sloppy I am going with Bisping in this fight. His footwork should do enough to make Henderson miss early on and tire out. The longer it goes bigger advantage to The Count.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort- Two of the most experienced fighters in the UFC colloid. Since TRT was banned Belfort hasn't looked good. He has two fairly one sided losses his lone win coming over Dan Henderson. Mouusasi has a habit of under perfoming at times.. Belfort has the reputation as a KO puncher but often if he doesn't get it early he won't get it all. Mousasi is a very good striker in his own right and is much more technical. Belfrot has a BJJ black belt but only rarely goes to the ground. Mousasi is no slouch on the ground even getting 13 career submission wins. I am going with Mousasi to win this fight. Again longer it goes the more better it is for Mousasi.

Ovince Saint Preux vs. Jimi Manuwa- Both men have been in the UFC for a while. They have some good highlight reel wins but both lack that big win that makes you a true contender. Both are pretty good strikers and have most of there wins via KO. OSP is more awkward often letting using his athleticism make up for holes in his game. OSP has more submission but again seems use raw power to make up for lack of technique in his game. But we shouldn't sleep on Manuwa his lone losses are to Gustoffson and Johnson IE the 205 elite. I think is power might shock OSP so give me Manuwa for the W.