UFC 193 Picks

As I said previously when Ronda Rousey fights it's not just another fight it's not just another card it's an event. UFC 190 pretty much sold sole on who popular Ronda is was the best selling UFC PPV in over a year. Now's she headling a massive arena show. And this is a loaded card so here are my picks

UFC Bantamweight Championship Ronda Rousey © 12-0 MMA 6-0 UFC vs. Holly Holm 9-0 MMA 2-0 UFC- This fight has been talked about for years. By now we all know Rousey's story Judo Champion Olympic Bronze Medal winner who becomes the top Women's MMA Fighter in the world. Holm was a top ranked boxer and held numerous world championships. She also came in MMA and you would hear her name brought up long before she signed with the UFC. Well know we are getting that fight. Of course now people are bashing it because they feel the need to bash Rousey and anything the UFC does. But that's another story.

Rousey last fought in August at UFC 190. She was paired with Bethe Correia. The fight had become very personal. Correia had mocked Rousye's friends she made some pretty tasteless comments about Rousey. The champion had talked about wanting to drag out the fight and Punish her challenger. And she kind of did since the fight went 34 seconds as opposed to 14 or 16 her previous two had. Going into the fight the thought was Correia's only chance was if it was a brawl. Rousey made it a brawl went right into Correia's face and than landed a powerful punch right to the side of the head. The challenger fell down face plants eyes wide open but the brain had turned off. Holm's last fight was July at a UFC fight night. She dominated Marion Reneau on the way to a decision win. Some will focus on “She's beat two mid level fighters and not finished either.” Me I'm looking at the fact she looked much more at ease and her style could give the Rowdy One trouble.

This time I'm going to have to split the striking advantage. In terms of knockout power with the hands that goes to Rousey. She has 3 KO's and the last two were due to her hands. She rocked Alexis Davis and just destroyed Corriea. But in terms of technical striking that is Holm's edge. We see it with Rousey she usually goes straight forward trying to swarm and crush her foe. Holm didn’t' have many Knockouts as a boxer but her punches are good and crisp and her footwork is great. If Rousey tries to swarm her I could see Holm cutting angles and countering her wild shots. In terms of knees and kicking. Well Rousey has the one knee to the body win over McMann but Holm's kicks are great. She already has four career wins thanks to using kicks. Also unlike most MMA fighters who relay solely on roundhouse kicks Holm mixes it up. You see her use side kicks and front kicks. Another key if she can get the kicks going she can keep Rousey on the outside taking away that clinch. So striking overall advantage Holly Holm.

Its really a no contest in terms of grappling and ground game. There are some things Holm has going for her. Like I said her kicks could keep the fight at range and keep Rousey from clinching up and she does have great take down defense. But Holm does not have a grappling background. She has never won a fight via submission. Rousey you all know this by now Judo world champion, Olympic Bronze Medal Winner in 2008 and two time team member (04, 08) been training on the mat since she was a little girl. She has nine career submission wins all thanks to the armbar. Also she gets the arm in different position. No doubt grappling huge advantage to Rousey.

Let's talk about trainers. Rousey its the usual Glendale Fight Club team. Her boxing/head coach Edmond Tarverdyan. BJJ with Rener Gracie and judo with many of her old coaches from Judo. GFC has become a bit of hot spot for fighters lately but really only Rousey has has huge success out of there. It clear Tarverdyan and Rousey have a great connection he understands her and gets the most out of her. Holm a member of Jackson WinkleJohn. Greg Jackson one of the best MMA coaches ever a great game planner. Mike WinkleJohn was also her trainer as a boxer they have a great connection as well. You have two contrasts Holm is in the big camp with a lot of names while Rousey in the smaller camp that is more built around her. Now if this goes more than one round Greg Jackson won't be Bryan Caraway going “She's breaking” to exhausted fighter.

Another huge factor will be the fact Holm has never been in a fight this big. First this is taking place in a big arena. Holm was a world boxing champion but the truth women's boxing doesn't draw huge crowds. Most of her fights have taken place in New Mexico where she is from. Rousey has main e vented many shows she was in the Olympics twice. Plus add in the amount of press and attention going into this. For Rousey that is old hat. So advantage Rousey.

So who to pick? Let me say this. I think Holm stylistic can be an issue for Rousey. That said I feel like she is going to have to be perfect. If there is any little hole left open I feel Rousey will go through it and beat her. Plus with someone like Rousey you just can't pick against her until you see someone real special as well. My pick Ronda Rousey I think this goes to the ground and Rousey uses that arm bar. That said I have side prediction this fight goes more than one round.

UFC Strawweight Championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk © 10-0 MMA 4-0 UFC vs. Valerie Letourneau 8-3 MMA 3-0 UFC- We often debate who is the best this or that in MMA. And it very well could be Jedrzejczyk. The Polish born former Muay Thai champion has put on clinches in her two UFC title fights. Now she looks to make her second defense. We thought it was going to be against Claudia Gadelha who had a very close fight with Jedrzejczyk and also just beat Jessica Aguilar to become number 1 contender. But than the dominoes fell. Carlos Condit got hurt moving a welterweight title fight off this card and moving Rousey's fight to it. The plane had been for both womens title to be defended on the same card. So they moved Jedrzejczyk to this card and because Gadelha is dealing with injury and Letourneau is coming off a big win she gets a title shot.

Jedrzejczyk last fought in June on a UFC Fight Night card. It was the first time a UFC title had been defend on Fight Pass. She just beat the living hell out of Jessica Penne. It was another Muay Thai clinch by the champion. By the end Penne was badly bleeding. Finally in the third round the fight was called off after Jedrzejczyk landed some big punches and knees. Letourneau last fought in August on a UFC Fight Night Card. She beat Maryna Moroz giving her the first loss of her career. Moroz was coming off a stunning upset over highly ranked Joanne Calderwood.

If we are talking about striking there is no doubt that Jedrzejczyk gets the advantage. She was a world champion in Muay Thai there was talk of her being a member of the Polish Olympic Boxing team. Now it should noted they each have four career wins via knockout. But the little of Letourneau that I have seen she doesn't appear nearly the same level of striking that Jedrzejczyk does. Maybe against most MMA fighters her striking would be enough but not someone with such a heavy striking background.

The ground game doesn't really come up much for either fighter. Both each have a single submission win. But it was years ago Letourneau it was in her fourth career fight and that was back in 2009. Jedrzejczyk it came her in second career MMA fight that was back in 2012. I am giving the edge to Jedrzejczyk because she has shown really good takedown defense. We see it she sprawls and lands some good elbows to the head.

If there is one edge I can give to Letourneau its her team. She fights out of American Top Team. That is one of the top team in MMA it has a lot of good female fighters. Meanwhile Jedrzejczyk trains out of her gym in Poland. Yes she has been successful but you do wonder how good is the total coaching she is getting. Now this is a tough pick. So far Jedrzejczyk has looked great. I haven't seen much of Letourneau so it's hard to know if she is cable of hanging with the champion. But I have to pick Jedrzejczyk just based on her striking. I think we see a similar fight to what we have seen in the last two fight. Jedrzejczyk hits a lot of high volume strikes wears out her opponent and TKO's her.

Antonio Silva 19-7 1 NC MMA 3-4 1 NC UFC vs. Mark Hunt 10-10 1 NC MMA 5-4 1NC UFC- December 7^th 2013 at a UFC Fight Night in Brisbone Australia these two fought for the first time. Given the background of both men you hoped it could be an exciting fight what we got was one of the greatest fights of all time. As that fight played out over five rounds they just kept hitting strikes that you are thinking sooner or later had to result in a knockout. But some how they kept fighting. The fight was scored a draw. It was so amazing people wanted a rematch. And it appeared we were going to get but than it came that Silva had elevated testosterone. Turns out he was getting unapproved TRT treatments as a result he was suspended Hunt moved onto other fights and Silva was suspended. But now after both men have had some ups and some downs we are getting the rematch.

Hunt last fought in May at a UFC Fight Night card he lost a very one sided decision to Stipe Miocic. To show how one sided it was Hunt only landed 48 strike while Mocico laned a UFC record of 361. That puts him at two losses in a row. His lone win was over Roy Nelson. While Hunt made a real comeback in his UFC Career you are starting to worry how much he's got left. Silva last fought in August at UFC 191. He was hurt early in his fight wit Soa Palelei but in the second round he came back and got the KO win. It was his first win since 2013.

Striking you gotta give the edge to Mark Hunt. Of course he was a K-1 champion. The man has tremendous knockout power in his hands and his tree trunk like legs deliver devastating leg kicks. He's the only guy to ever knockout Roy Nelson. Now Bigfoot Silva does have 14 career wins via knockout but he's also lost 6 times via knockout. This guy does not like to get hit. I know he lasted in the first vs. Hunt but I don't know if he can do it again. Hell in his last fight it feel like Palelei tiring out had more to do with his win. He got rocked early and you wonder if vs. someone else if he could lasted. The striking advantage goes to Hunt hands down.

When it comes to ground game the edge goes to Bigfoot. While he does only have 3 wins via submission he's a BJJ black belt. He's never lost Ia submission as well. Hunt has improved on the ground game a lot of the years. But he has six submission losses. Miocicio managed to control him on the ground he never got back up. Hunt has also never won a fight via submission. I don't this fight spend much time on the ground but if it does advantage Silva.

Truth is this is not an easy pick. Both guys have had issues. I don't know if this fight will come any where near the level of the first fight. Both men have a lot of miles on the body. But I am going with Hunt. I just don't trust Bigfoot's chin. I think this time Hunt lands the big punch he was looking for and gets the knockout win.

Uriah Hall 12-5 MMA 5-3 UFC vs. Robert Whittaker 14-4 MMA 5-2 UFC- Which Uriah Hall shows up? Do we get the force of nature, human highlight reel we saw on TUF and against Mousasi or do we get the unsure guy that can't pull the trigger we saw against Howard and Natal? For Robert Whittaker this is a big chance. Originally he was supposed to face Michael Bisping but now he faces a guy coming off a huge win. All that momentum Hall just built he can steal. And oh yeah Whittaker is from New Zeland so he's got a home court fight here.

Hall just fought in September at UFC Fight Night Japan. He scored the biggest win of his career. He knocked out former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. That puts him at two wins in a row. As I have and will talk about there is always an issue with mental state. Early on Mousai was looking good he got Hall down. But this time Hall didn't break. He recovered and in the second round spinning jump kick followed up with a flying knee and the knockout win. Whittaker last fought in May he knocked out Brad Tarves in 44 seconds. That wins puts him at 3 in a row and two knockouts in a row. Since moving up to middleweight he seems to be finding his grove.

People rave about Hall's striking. His only loss via knockout came to Chris Weidman the current UFC champion in there early career. Of course Hall has 9 of his career wins via knockout. But he's not just throwing a good one or two or round house kick. He's spinning and jumping and hitting guys with techniques that seem more out of a movie fight than a real fight. But do not sleep on Whittaker's power he's got 7 career wins via knockout. Both men only have lost once via knockout. Gotta give the edge to Hall just the power and that ability to pull of spectacular moves. Plus Hall will have a huge reach advantage. Gonna give the edge in grappling to Whittaker. He's got 5 career submission wins. Hall's only got the one. But it doesn’t seem like the ground game will be much of a factor in the fight.

The big X-Factor in this fight is Hall's mental state. When this guy is on you think he could beat 100 men. When he's off you wonder why picked a career. And the scary thing is he's off nights really are against guys he should have beat easy. In a strange way this feels like a trap fight. But I'm going to pick Hall. This guy is so good I think he did turn a corner last time out.

Stefan Struve 26-7 MMA 10-5 MMA vs. Jared Rosholt 13-2 MMA 5-1 UFC- Struve making a fairly quick turn around he just fought in August at UFC 190. On the plus side he scored first win since 2012 against one of the biggest names by getting a decision over Big Nog. On the down side he didn't look good in that fight. And Big Nog is that classic legend that held on way to long. Why is only 27 he's got a lot of hard miles on his body. Rosholt last fought in August in a UFC Fight Night. Again on the plus side he's on a two fight winning streak. On the down side he's not facing even really mid level contenders. The UFC is starting to make some cuts and both guys need a win to keep there name on roster.

Striking I am giving the edge to Struve. He's the tallest guy on the roster he's got a huge 84.5 inch reach. He's got a Muay Thai background. Now he's not a perfect striker. He's never developed a great jab we have seen guys get in on him. He's won only 7 times via knockout and been knocked out 6 times. But Rosholt he only has 4 career knockouts. Why I don't see Struve at this stage turning into the great striker. I think he will be able to do just enough.

Grappling again the edge goes to Struve. Why is only ranked as brown belt in BJJ he does have 16 career wins via submission. And he's only been submitted once. Rosholt has three career submission wins and he's never lost via submission. But at the end of the day I am more likely to see Struve getting a submission than Rosholt. Well I've given the edge to Struve in two different catergores. So yeah he's my pick. I think the boat has long sailed on Struve becoming a contender I do think he's good enough to still beat Rosholt.

So funny story at work I was listening to Jim Rome and he had an interview that was supposed to promote ‪#‎BELLATOR‬ MMA's card this Friday. So was it? Coker? Brooks? Pitbull? No it was Hershel Walker. You know the old football player who fought for Strikeforce. And this is pretty much how it played out.
Rome: He's here to promote Bellator on Spike... So Hershel lets spend the whole interview talking Football.
And I'm not ripping Rome because you have a former football player who is not fighting so of course your asking him about Football.

UFC 192 Fallout

Some cards are all about what happens fight night. UFC 192 was one of those that in many ways was more about what happened before the event even had the Octagon set up. The specter of Jon Jones hangs over the Light Heavyweight Division. Jones the dominate former champion stripped of Ali. Daniel Cormier the current champion holding it but with people able to declare “You didn't beat the real champion.” In some ways Jones/DC is comparable to Ali and Frazier. Ali like Jones was a great champion who won the title very young. Like Ali, Jones had his fans but also rubbed many the wrong way and like Ali it was legal issues that led to Jones losing his title. Cormier like Frazier is a great fighter who win the title in the fall out. Now of course Ali legal fight was a key battle over the Draft, Religious Freedom and more. Jones went partying and got in a car wreck. But still not matter what DC does Jones is in the back round.

Than there was Johnny Hendricks and Tyrone Woodley. There fight was supposed to be the semi main event. It was a grudge match years in the making. The winner most and likely would get a title shot at the winner of Lawler vs. Condit. Than the news broke on Friday, Hendricks weight cut had gone so poorly it landed him in the hospital. He didn't just miss weight he never got close. Hendricks has struggled with weight at times in the past. The big fight was off neither men would compete. Dana White and the UFC have said Hendricks will now have to move up to middleweight. Woodley is next in line but White stopped short of committing to a title shot. It wouldn't be the first or last time a fighter “Next in line” saw someone get to cut the line.

The In Ring Action- The main card at UFC 192 was not bad. The main event belongs in the debate for fight of the year. But this was just one of those nights where the prelims gave us more action than the main card. The opening prelim saw Derrick Lewis in trouble for the first round and a half as Viktor Pesta kept taking down the powerful heavyweight. Round one went so bad Lewis only connected with one punch. But than Lewis started to come back. Pesta's takedown soon went form offense to desperately trying to not get knocked out. Lewis got the win with ground and pound in the third. At nineteen Sage Northcutt used amazing hand speed Francisco Travineo invoking images of Vitor Belfort another fighter who debuted in the UFC at nineteen.

On FS1 Ultimate Fighter Season 20 runner up Rose Namajunas reminded us why many thought she would be the breakout star of the Strawweights. Namajunas manged to survived the strong striking of Angelina Hill and got the fight to the ground and locked in a rear naked choke. Overkill Hill tried to power free by standing up on and instead gave Thug Rose a rare standing rear naked choke. In the second televised fight Adriano Martins knocked Islam Makhachev back to UFC 92. Not to be outdone Albert Tumenov showed impressive striking as he knocked out Alan Jouban. Yair Rodriguez over came a broken foot scoring a decision win over Dan Hooker in a very exciting fight.

Now again the main card was not bad. It just wasn't great until the main event. The opening saw Juliana Pena beat Jessica Eye. Eye had her moments but once again was unable to put a whole fight together. Sadly the referee became more of a story than he should have been. When Eye landed an illegal knee he took a point with no warning. But than botched the situation further. Eye hand landed the knee when both were down but Pena was on top. The referee though stood the fight up. Post fight Pena called out champion Ronda Rousey saying she can be the Holyfield to Rousye's Tyson. Of course Holyfield when he moved up to heavyweight he had been a dominated crusier weight champion and when he finally did fight Tyson he was multi time world champion. Pena just struggled to get past Eye who gave her a great deal of trouble on the ground. By all account Rousey is a better grappler and striker than Pena.

In a flyweight battle with Joseph Benavadez and Ali Bagauntinov saw Benavidez score a win. But he clearly looked off. Bagauntinov cut Benavadez with an upper cut. Through out the fight Benavadez was off on his kicks. He whiffed badly on a few and even those that did connected landed on the foot not the shin like you want. Both fighters seemed stiff wanting to score a knockout. I do think the fans booing was to far. It wasn't an awful fight. But Benavadez has defently had much better. In a heavyweight Shawn Jordan saw a three fight win streak halted. The much taller and more technical Ruslan Magomedov battered the Texas born heavyweight for three round. Jordan stayed tough but could never land that big power shot.

Rashad Evans claimed he had a special beatdown for Ryan Bader. He also claimed he would taunt Bader the whole fight. Unless Evans planned to ram his face into Bader's fist I would say he failed. Bader racked up his fifth win in a row and over the biggest name of his career. Time and again Bader used a sneaky right hand to hurt Evans. This wasn't the same Bader that was blown out vs. Jones, got caught against Ortiz, ran into a Machida fist and left himself open against Glover. On his feet Bader has become a thinker he isn't trying to chase the knockout. That said a few bright spots are there for Evans. For a man fighting for the first time in nearly two year he did well. When he was able to get Bader moving backward he took control. If Evans can stay healthy and get back in the cage he can quickly start climbing the ranks again

Once again Alexander Gustafsson can say he gave a highly respected champion a tough fight. Once again he can say he hurt the champion with strikes and once again he out wrestled a highly touted wrestler. Once again he was part of a great title fight. But once again he takes the loss. Early on Daniel Cormier got in and flap jacked Gustafsson on a takedown. When they two were in close Cormier punished the taller fighter with hard uppercuts. Gustafsson had his moments he cut DC with punches and knocked him down with a knee in the third. But Gustafsson couldn't finish the fight much like he did in May Cormier recovered and went onto win. You can't help but wonder about several actions Gustafsson did during the fight.

The first was he backed up through out the entire fight. If I can paraphrase my muay thai coach “The only man that ever won fight back up was named Ali.” Yes Gustafsson needed to keep the fight at his range but by backing away he gave away the scoring criteria of Octagon control all night and allowed DC to trap him at times. The second was the Mauler turning and running away at times. For a man known for his footwork it just shocking he wasn't trying to cut an angle to escape. And finally the fact he turn away to look at his corner. Its not uncommon for a fighter to turn but Gustafsson would point blank turn around to do which is strange.

Biggest Winners

Daniel Cormier- It can't be said he hasn't earned the right to call himself champion. Twice he's been hurt badly and twice he's rallied to win the fight. He is the only man that can claim he has beat Rumble Johnson in years and had more success with Gustafsson than Jones did. Leading up the fight Cormier said there was no way Gustafsson could keep him off him and he was right. People can claim all they want that Jones is the real champion. But Cormier made his responded to that “I'm the one in these fight... I didn't leave this company high and dry.”

Sage Northcutt- Youth and hype can be a double edged sword. Northcutt is getting a chance at the highest level of the sport. The fact he was talented enough to get this chance shows he might be better than many fighters in there prime. He's upside could be huge. Of course the other side is Northcutt might not be ready yet. He might be blown out when he faces higher competition than Francisco Travineo. But for now Northcutt is1-0 in the UFC coming off a strong finish for now he's lived up to the hype.

Rose Namajunas- Thug Rose hadn't been in the Octagon since her submission in the TUF 20 finale. Going into that fight many saw her as the potential breakout star of the division. She was supposed to fight in May until her opponent got sick and pulled out at the last second. Namajunas as she had during TUF showed good striking and a great ground game. The fight with Angelina Hill could have been a trap fight. A fighter without much activity that was heavily favored facing someone she had trained with. But Namajuans didn't fall into the trap she took Hill down got the submission. Now she's back active and you would have to think a fight with a top contender is next for her.

Biggest Losers

Johnny Hendricks- Well he missed weight, blew a chance to get another title shot, might be forced to move up a weight class, and gave what appears to be a growing group of fans that dislike him more ammunition. When talking about what happened one of Hendricks' coaches pretty much admitted “He came into camp to heavy and ate to much during camp.” Right now Hendricks future is very much in doubt.

Alexander Gustafsson- We can talk all we want about how he's given two champions there toughest fights but the fact remains he is now 0-2 in UFC title fights. And as I discussed earlier it seemed Gustafsson gave that fight away at times. By giving away one judging criteria he handicapped himself and backing played a big role in him tiring out in the later rounds. To be honest it seemed Gustafsson was haunted by the memory of his knockout loss to Johnson and as a result did all he could to not be knocked out. I hope I'm wrong about that because if I am Gustafsson might have real problems going forward in his career.

What Comes Next

Lets get some things straight. Jones has a plea bargain but there are things he must do as part of it. The UFC has yet to reinstate Jones. So lets not just assume Jones is back and is only a matter of time before DC faces him again. That all said in pretty much every way you can think of the rematch between Cormier and Jones makes sense. The long standing rivalry, the situation over the title, the fact Jones is the is 1 in DC's loss column. And DC has looked great in the two fights since. We have never seen Jones in a rematch where someone has a chance to figure out his range. So if Jones is reinstated than book the fight. If Jones isn't cleared for various reasons the best option is Ryan Bader. Darth Bader is now on a five fight winning streak. Like DC, Bader began as wrestler but has improved his striking. Why Bader hasn't had a finish in a while he does have that potential and watching him lately you think it's only a matter of time before the finishes start to come again with his smarter fighting style.

Bader has said if he doesn’t get a title shot he wants a rematch with Glover Trexiera. The two had a thrilling fight that Bader lost. The problem with that is Glover is already booked to fight Patrick Cummings. Truth be told there are other options for Bader. If for some reason Jon Jones isn't granted a title shot a rematch with Bader would be a good option. Yes Jones easily beat Bader in the first fight years ago but that was a long time ago. But my pick would be for Bader to race Anthony Johnson. Rumble is a former number 1 contender. His fight with DC is the one loss he's had since returning to the UFC. Bader like Johnson has knockout power. But we have seen Johnson struggle as the fight goes on. Bader is a much smarter fighter than he used to be. He might be the perfect test to see if Rumble can survive a longer fight.

Alexander Gustafsson remains one of the better fights in the light heavyweight division. The selfish part of me that has wanted a rematch since UFC 165 would love it the UFC booked a rematch with Jones. Another good option would be Rashad Evans. Both men are coming off bad losses at this event. Both men are known to use movement in there striking. And both right now are on the fringes of title contention past more on there past and not recent results.

UFC 192 Picks

The Summer saw a number of changes in the UFC. New champions were crowned but now we start to see if these changes led to new status quos or more changes is coming. UFC 192 will see a first title defense and two fights that could crown the next number one contenders in two divisions.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Daniel Cormier © 16-1 MMA 5-1 UFC vs. Alexander Gustafsson 16-3 MMA 8-3 UFC- Cormier last fought at UFC 187 in May. We all know the story Jon Jones got in trouble was stripped of the title. DC got the fight with Anthony Johnson for the vacant title. First thirty seconds Rumble drops DC with a power punch. But Cormier survived and got past the flurry made it a wrestling match and wore Johnson out. Finally in the third he submitted Johnson and after not winning a NCAA title, not winning an Olympic medal, and not winning the UFC title the first time became the top guy in his weight class. Gustafsson last fought in January. He lost to Rumble Johnson in his home country. It was a huge fight on Fox with the number 1 contender status on the line. Rumble knocks him out in the first round. But post fight footage shows that he was headbutted early on and well you do wonder how much that affected him. And even with that loss The Mauler is still one of the top ranked guys at 205 lbs. This is a very interesting fight DC beat the guy that beat Gustafsson but Gustafsson in a lot of people's estimation should have beat Jon Jones at UFC 165. And Jones is that 1 in the loss column for DC.

Striking both guys have Knockout power. Gustafsson has 10 career wins via knockout and only been knocked out once via knockout in the Johnson fight. Cormier has KO power and even knocked guys out at heavyweight. If this fight is at range than its to the advantage of Gustafsson also I say he's the better kick boxer. If this fight is in close with the striking than it's to DC. Overall though I gotta give the edge to Gustafsson. A big part of the reason Johnson gave him trouble was the height. DC is pretty short even at 205. Wrestling no doubt the advantage goes to Daniel Cormier. He was a great amateur wrestler. And well wrestling was the big key for Phil Davis when he beat Gustafsson. However we have seen Alexander improve his wrestling greatly. He even started training with Davis to improve his wrestling. We saw it in the fight with Jones. Jon Jones could not take Gustafsson down. And late in that fight we saw Gustafsson take Jones down. But still advantage for Cormier.

A real X-Factor will be activity in my opinion. Gustafsson only fought once in 2014 and so far only once in 2015. Part of that was waiting for Jones he also got hurt, along with taking time for to mourn with the death of his father. DC has a fairly regular fighter I do think being active is better than being inactive. My pick is Daniel Cormier. I would love for Gustafsson to win this but I think DC being more active. We know how good his wrestling is and his boxing has improved greatly. I think this go the distance and the champion retains via decision.

Johnny Hendricks 17-3 MMA 12-3 UFC vs. Tyron Woodley 15-3 MMA 5-2 UFC- This fight has some back story. Back when these two were among the best college wrestler in the country they wrestled. Hendricks won that match but Woodley complained he pulled some dirty tactics. Pretty much since Hendricks lost the title to Robbie Lawler, Woodley has been calling for this fight. Woodley believe a win here would make him number 1 contender and Hendricks thought he was getting a shot at Lawler until this fight was announced. Given the current state of Welterweight it does appear the winner of this fight will get the winner of Condit vs. Lawler. Hendricks last fought at UFC 185 in March he beat Matt Brown. A fight he really used his wrestling to get a decision win. He took Brown down time and again and made sure the Immortal never got his stand up going. Woodley last fought in January he beat Kelvin Gastlum via decision at UFC 183.

Both these guys as I said were great wrestlers. In terms of straight wrestling I give the edge to Hendricks he was better and more accomplished in the NCAA and well he beat Woodley in a wrestling match.

Now both these guys have gotten a large number of win via knockout. So the striking could very interesting. Hendricks has eight career wins via knockout and never been knocked out. Woodley has five career KO wins and only been knocked out once. But that was early in his career when he was still pretty much just a wrestler. Hendricks it always seems to be all about that big powerful left hand. Woodley seems to be a little more diverse. Another edge will be the fact that Woodley has five more inches of reach. Honestly I could see either guy landing that big shot and knocking the other out. Or even just landing that big shot that takes the hurts the guy. The edge I am going to give to Woodley.

One of the X-Factors is the cardio for both men. We know Hendricks can go into long fights. He's gone the distance vs. GSP and Lawler. He doesn’t really seem to tire out. Woodley we have seen gas out. That played a factor in both his losses to Mardquart and MacDonald. Woodley is the kind of fighter that puts a lot into every single punch trying to finish. But if he can't finish the fight he tires out. Why I could see Woodley knocking Hendricks out it won't be easy. Robbie Lawler couldn't do it and well if you can last vs. Lawler you can last vs. anyone. Plus we saw it vs. Brown and even Condit if Hendricks feels your a threat standing up he will take you down. This has the potential to be a very close fight but I am going with Hendricks to get the win. Plus Woodley has tried to break through to the next level but always come a little short. Hendricks has beat some elite fighters.

Ryan Bader 19-4 MMA 12-4 UFC vs. Rashad Evans 19-3-1 MMA 14-3-1 UFC- Ryan Bader was set to fight Daniel Cormier earlier this year. Than everything with Jones went down. DC got the title shot and well Bader felt slighted because he's on a four fight winning streak and was highly ranked guy in the division on a streak. That led to an argument at the press conference at UFC 187. If Badder can win this fight he can get that title shot he feels he should have had already. For Rashad Evans this fight is the chance to come back and get right into title contention. He was supposed to fight Cormier in the latter’s light heavyweight debut but suffered an injury and has fought since. Like I said Bader enters on a fought fight winning streak. Last time he fought it was in January he beat Phil Davis via decision it wasn't a spectacular fight. But it puts him at four win in a row. And in the past when fought a guy as highly touted as Davis he would lose. Evans is on a two fight winning streak back at UFC 167 in 2013 he easily knocked out Chael Sonnen.

Bader has a 74 inch reach he's had six career wins via knockout. However he hasn't knocked anyone out since 2011. He used to be the guy that just put it all into every shot now's he a little more technical. Bader has lost twice via knockout. Also in the most infamous loss of his carer to Tito Ortiz he was hurt with a punch. Evans has 75 inches in the reach and seven career knockouts. Only been KO'ed once. Bader is mostly a puncher we have seen Evans use kicks and his movement is better. On paper the edge goes to Evans but can find his timing and range after a long layoff. And Bader has gotten better.

Both men are former Wrestlers. Evans at Michigan and Bader at Arizona State. Bader is the more accomplished wrestler. Evans has gotten away from wrestling over the years wanting to do more striking. Bader has two career submission but not since 2013. He's lost twice to via Submission once to Jon Jones and the Tito Ortiz fight again that was a long time ago. Evans has two career submission wins but that was early in his career. He's never been submitted. In terms of grappling I am going with Bader. More active use of wrestling. And again the long layoff worries me.

The pick is hard here. Bader has a good winning streak but it's not against super elite fighters. But he's also been getting better and these fights show a more well rounded fighter. Evans I think is the better but I just can't pick a guy coming off that long a layoff. So I am going with Bader. I think the layoff will be the difference. Also don't under estimate how important the motivation of being slighted in his mind will be for Bader.

Shawn Jordan 18-6 MMA 6-3 UFC vs. Ruslan Magomedov 13-1 MMA 2-0 UFC- Jordan last fought in June he knocked out Derrick Lewis with a Superkick that puts him on a three fight winning streak. Magomdedov last fought in November beating Josh Copeland via decision. His lone career loss was way back in 2011 in only his fifth career fight. Classic vet fight with a mixed record vs. Up and comer that's never been tested. Huge power advantage for Jordan 14 career wins via KO. Now Jordan has been knocked out 4 times. But Magomedov only has four career knockouts but he hasn't had one since 2011. So I gotta give the striking advantage to Jordan.

Grappling wise not much of an advantage for either. Jordan's history is as a football player he's not a wrestler he has 3 career submission wins. Magoedov has 2. Neither man has never been submitted. And it's been years since either had a submission win. So I'm going to call this even. This isn't an easy fight to pick. I'm going with Jordan why he's not an elite heavyweight he has faced some good fighters. I think that's the difference here. Don't be shocked if he gets another knockout.

Jessica Eye 11-3 1 NC MMA 1-2 1 NC UFC vs. Julianna Pena 6-2 MMA 2-0 UFC- We have a clear cut idea who the top of the Women's Bantemweight Division. The problem is because the champion has been so dominate she easily beat the top contenders so its hard to justify rematches. Thus it opens the door for others. That is why we saw Corriea get a title shot that is part of why Holm is getting a title shot. A win may not give them a title shot but it will put them closer. Eye is coming off as loss back in July losing to Miesha Tate via unanimous decision. Early on she was looking really dominating the fight looked like she could win. But she has a few bad habits one of which is backing up with her chin up. She did that Tate caught her and from there Tate took over. She hurt her with punches and got some take downs. Pena last fought in April beating Milana Dudieva via decision. Pena is a former TUF winner but she had been out for over a year due to a leg injury. A lot of people think Pena has potential to be a great fighter.

I would defiantly say Eye is the better technical striker she's got great speed and flurries real well. But Pena has knockout power that Eye lacks. Both have 3 career knockout wins but for Pena that is in much fewer fights. And well we saw in the Tate fight that Eye leaves herself open. If this become a brawl or it's done in one shot a piece style fighting than Pena. If Eye can work combos her advantage. Clear advantage on the ground for Pena she has 3 submission wins. We have seen grapple more in her fights. Eye has shown good takedown defense but not so good she can't just shrug Pena off at will.

Given the records in the UFC and how a lot of people hype up Pena it would seem that is the pick to make. But I'm going with Eye. Main reason is we have seen her look so good vs. tougher competition. She originally won the Kauffman fight before it was made a no contest. She looked good early vs. Tate. I admit it's a roll of the dice. But I think Pena hasn't really been tested yet.

Joseph Benvidez 22-4 MMA 9-2 UFC vs. Ali Bagautinov 13-3 MMA 3-1 UFC- Benvidez is in a tough spot. He is one of the very best at Flyweight. He's a great wrestlers who has become very good at submissions and he's striking has gotten excellent. The problem is his two UFC losses are both to Demetrius Johnson and both were in title fights. So long as DJ remains champion its hard for him get another shot. The only other way to get another shot is to fight and beat the other top contenders. Except her really doesn't get matched up with them. So you wonder is the UFC not wanting to put him in those fights or are guys ducking him not wanting to risk a loss and loss there title shot? Bagautinov is another former title challenger. But he lost a very one sided fight to Johnson. Making it worse for him he tested postie for EPO and got suspended.

Striking I am gong to give the edge to Benavidez. He has six career KO wins. He was with Alpha Male during Bang Ludwig's time there so he learned some good stuff. Bagautinov has five career wins five KO. But I don't think he has the ability to land that big shot like Johnson did. I think part of the reason Benvidez doesn't have more knockouts is due to the fact he's very well rounded so if he hurts someone he isn't just punching away he's looking for submissions. So yeah clear edge to Benavidez.

Grappling is where both these men made there mark. Benavidez of course a wrestler and out of Alpha Male one of the greatest wrestling camps in all of MMA. Bagautinov very accomplished grappler he's a sambo fighter and has won wrestling and BJJ championships in Russia. So I am splitting this category. I think Bagautinov is better at getting the takedown. But Benavidez is more likely to get a submission win. He has nine while his opponent only has five.

I'm going with Chalk here and picking Benavidez to pick up the win. We have seen him fight and beat a lot of tough guys. He's used to this big fights. And well his only losses are to Johnson a guy who might be the best P4P in the world and Dominick Cruz who is pretty damn good in his own right. The layoff the lack of elite opponents. The knowledge how one sided his own fight with Johnson was all seems to much for Bagautinov to overcome.

Rose Namajunas 2-2 MMA 0-1 UFC vs. Angela Hill 2-1 MMA 0-1 UFC- Both these fighters were on Season 20 of TUF. Namajunas record is some what deceptive. She last fought in December losing to Carla Esperanza via submission. Officially that is second loss in a row. But on TUF she went 3-0 in fight that don't count on her record and she finished all 3 via submission. She was supposed to fight back in May but day of the fight her opponent fell ill and pulled out. Tough thing for her since she had gone through the whole camp and because it was so late no way to find a replacement. Hill last fought in June losing a decision to Tecia Torres.

To me this is a pretty easy pick I am giving the edge in both grappling and striking to Namajunas. Thug Rose has two career submission wins another three if you count her run in the TUF house. Hill seems to mostly be a striker but honestly Namajunas is a damn good technical striker. Plus she's worked with some great coach including Duke Rufous and her long standing relationship with Pat Barry. So of course I'm going with Rose Namajunas I think her striking is enough to beat Hill and if this goes to the ground I think it's over.

Dynamite 1 Fallout

It was Bellator's Big Night. An event they had spent months hyping. The basket they put all there eggs into. It not only featured a big title fight with Tito Ortiz who for better or worse has come the face of Bellator in recent years challenging. It also featured a one night tournament and it was a hybrid show with Glory Kickboxing rules fights. The truth is Bellator could have done three separate shows with each of those as the hook. Instead though they went for broke. And I can't help but feel the event was a let down. Don't get me wrong I have seen worse shows. By no means were these the worst fights I have seen. But this show just felt like a missed chance. Instead of a major event it felt like two average shows put together.

Of course the biggest news coming out of Dynamite 1 was Fedor Emilenko's return to MMA and his reunion with the founder of Pride. Fedor's return will headline a New Year's Eve event that will be broadcast on Spike TV. The problem for Bellator is this show appears to one they have nothing to do with. The announcement began with Kevin Kay of Spike TV not Bellator boss Scott Coker introducing it. No mention was made of Bellator during the segment. Some have suggested Bellator will co-promote the unnamed event but it didn't come off that way. If they were going to co-promote or even loan one of there fighters as Fedor's foe it would have made all the sense in the world. Instead Fedor, Kay, and Nobuyuki Sakakibara stood together as Scott Coker snuck into the photo at the last second.

Production wise I really felt like I was watching a Pride FC tribute show and I mean that in a bad way. One thing Coker had going for him was the fact Strikeforce came off as it's own product. Same with Bellator back when it started. But since Viacom took over more and more it feels like Bellator is about using stars from other companies. For better or worse Tito Ortiz has become the face of Bellator. The spent big money on Phil Davis and brought in veteran Josh Thompson. Davis can be viewed a coup given his top five ranking but the fact Thompson I don't they really needed to go after. Thompson entered the show on a 3 fight skid. On top of that he's nearing age 37 and had openly talked about retirement. Honestly I feel Bellator would have been better off giving Thompson slot to another younger fighter. And I'm not the only one the feels this way as current Bellator Lightweight champion Will Brooks lashed out at the company on Twitter after Liam McGreay's interview was cut short to let Tito Ortiz talk.

Now like I said this felt like Pride Tribute show and it was clear that is what they were going for. In all the build up for the event we were reminded time and again about the old Pride and K-1 crossover shows. The stage was built to look like Pride's old event. They not only brought out fighters for a parade but even spent money to bring in Pride's old announcer. The problem is they are not Pride. Pride was it's own thing. It had it's own rules it had the best fighters in the world. Bellator might hope it can win over fans looking for a Pride fix but honestly I think those fans will just watch Fight Pass

The In Ring Action- The main card started with the first match of the tournament Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal taking on Linton Vassell. Over the last few years Mo has tried to be come more of pure boxer. It seemed like a recipe for disaster given Vassell's massive reach. But Lawal got more brawl style in this time landing a number of power punches that hurt Vassell in the first round. Surprisingly Mo didn't seem like he tried to finish often allowing Vassell to recover and get back into fight. Post fight King Mo blamed a slick canvas. He clearly slipped early on and fighters on the prelims also slipped. Vassell had better second round but never took control. It appeared Lawal had stamped his ticket to the finals but suffered an injury during the fight that took him out. The second fight of the opening round featured Phil Davis' Bellator debut against former champion Emmanuel Newton. In his two prior fights coming in Newton has looked awful and that trend continued here. Newton never got going and Davis easily took him down and submitted him. It gave Davis his first finish since 2010 but the problem is it doesn’t' show Davis is any better. Newton doesn't represent an elight fighter just another guy Davis would have easily beat in the UFC.

Than it was time to move to the Glory portion of the night. Calling it Glory isn't fair as only one fight featured Glory fighters instead two of the fighters were about promoting Bellator fighters using Kickboxing fights. Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez entered with a 2-1 Kickboxing record but hadn't fought in years. Still though she looked much better than her Hadley Griffinth who was making her kickboxing debut. Griffinth has fought MMA in the past but in six pro fight and eight total counting her armature career she only won once. It was a terrible mismatch. Melendez through great combinations landing at will. Griffith looked nervous and unable to land anything. There was never any doubt that Melendez was going to win. Now I have no problem with having Women fight but the problem is this wasn't the start of Glory doing a women's division. It was made clear Melendez will soon debut for Bellator. The second Glory Rules fight saw Paul Daley battle Fernando Gonzalez. Both men have kick boxed in the past but are more known as MMA fighters.

I really don't get this. Daley had openly called out Glory's best. Why giving him Nikey Hozelkin was unlikely there were still plenty of good fighters Glory could have used. That said I would assume it was Bellator or Viacom that came up with this. Using the Glory ring and name but just hoping Daley would score a big knockout and not have to worry about the ground game. The MMA side of things picked up with Josh Thompson making his Bellator debut. Thompson was given an easy win over Mike Bronzoulis. It was clear Bronzoulis had no answers for Thompson on the ground as The Punk stopped a three fight skid. Finally some actual Glory Kickboxers stepped into the ring as Saulo Cavalair re-matched with Zack Mwekassa for the vacant light heavyweight title.. Last time Cavalair knocked the Black Beast out with a head kick and tried to replicate that magic. The fight was good. Sadly the Glory Light Heavyweight division was built around Tyrone Spoong who had fought for Glory since a leg injury. And former champion Gokhan Saki who vacated the title after a contract dispute.

Than it was time to return tournament and the last thing Bellator wanted to happen happened. Going into this event Bellator made it clear they would have an alternate bout but didn’t' want the winner to actually advance. They even modified the rules to give the judges two chances to pick a winner in event of a draw. They had said “If the winner of a round cant' advance than the loser will.” The commission though stopped that. King Mo suffered a rib injury and was unable to move on. Under Bellator's modified rules that should have meant Linton Vassell got a second chance. Except the California Commission refused to allow that saying Vassell had taken to many punches in the head. Instead Francis Carmont advanced. Carmont has mostly fought at middleweight. He was a mid to low level fighter in the UFC. Davis easily knocked him out. But it's hard to be impressed by it. The UFC would be ripped to pieces if they had booked this fight. Of course Davis won this fight he's a better fighter from a higher weight class.

Finally it was main event time. For better or worse Bellator has built itself around Tito Ortiz. They put him big fights. They keep doing Unrivaled specials to hype him up. Early on Ortiz manged to score a takedown and seemed to turn back the clock until he was caught in an inverted triangle by champion Liam McGeary. The fact McGeary was so easily taken down by Ortiz is worrying but he still managed to get the win. Ortiz who is usually an excuse machine opening declared this was the best he's been in years and gave McGEary the credit for what he did.

Biggest Winners

RFA and WSOF- Both companies put on very good shows that were better than Dynamite. Hopefully people checked them out. Bellator is clearly number 2 in terms of size but it's not number 2 in terms of putting on the best show.

Liam McGeary- He kept the title. Even with all the promotion built around Ortiz most knew going it McGeary should win. Still though fights like this scream trap. And down side of losing isn't people going “He lost to a legend.” Its people going “He lost to a guy that one like one fight in the UFC since 2006. It juts shows how bad Bellator is.” The win doesn't make McGeary elite but it shows he's not a can. Also a win over Phil Davis will get people talking. Plus if nothing else McGeary can smile knowing he jacked up what ever plans Viacom had.

Phil Davis- Similar to McGeary, Davis was expected to win. But how many times have we seen heavy favorite upset? Davis did what he needed to do he came into the event in shape ready to fight. Why there are doubts about how good the men he beat are compared to fighters he's already faced and beat. Still though Davis got his first finish in years and than capped off the event with another one.

Biggest Losers

Glory- This show did get a lot of press and the idea of having Kickboxing and MMA could be a good hook. Glory has often tried to use MMA fighter to promote the company. This could have been a great chance to win over MMA fans. The problem as I said above was the fact two of the three Glory Rules fight weren't with Glory fighters. When I watch Glory I see high level technical fighters and many great finishes. Two of the fights were pretty one sided mis matches. Also it doesn't help none of the fighter were finished. With two of the winners moving back to Bellator, Glory can't even promote them on upcoming cards.

Emanuel Newton- Remember when this guy was on a winning streak held the Bellator Title and could be argued as a legit top ten fighter? Man that seems like forever ago. The warning signs were there against Linton Vassell. Newton looked off in the fight and needed a fifth round submission to keep his title. That could be explained away as one bad night one bad match up than he looked even worse against Liam McGreary this time there would be no last second finish to save his title. Worse for Newton he tested positive for Pot. Newton talked a good talk before the fight. Admitted he had taken things to easy. Had bought own hype to much. Than Newton went out and looked awful against Phil Davis. Yes Davis was the heavy favorite going into the event. But that is 3 awful fights in a row and 2 bad losses in a row. Newton is 45 fights into his career you have to wonder if his best days are behind him.

So Miesha Tate is upset still about Holm getting the title shot. She's going "I don't trust the UFC. I won't be pushed around." I get to a point why she is upset BUT
UFC has done a lot for Tate. Including giving Tate a title shot and a sport on TUF after Zingano got hurt. I mean yeah Tate earned a title shot but back than I'm sure someone like Davis or someone else was going "Cat's hurt and Miesha lost I should get the shot I'm next in line."
Plus I remind everyone Tate's had her 2 chances and couldn't beat Rousey. Its not like she's a different fighter with new tricks. Just my thoughts.

UFC 191 Fallout

What to do with Demetrious Johnson? The UFC is in a strange spot. The first and only Flyweight champion is easily one of the most talented fighters in MMA. He may just be the most technically sound fighter we will ever. He's dominated the division for years now. He's never had a wiff scandal in his career. Unlike some fighters who coast to the victory he's always trying to finish. But for what ever reason Johnson has never connected with the fans like the UFC has wanted. His buy rates and TV ratings are among the lowest the UFC gets for championship fight. There isn't a great among casual fans when Johnson is getting ready to fight.

Of course Johnson doesn't seem to care. Perhaps rather smartly he seems happy to fight his style of fights build his legacy and figure if greater fame and fortune will come than they will come. No doubt the UFC was hoping for a super exciting rematch with Johnson and Dodson. After all Dodson the man who rocked the champion still posed a power punch that could damage. Instead though UFC 191 was just another night where Johnson looked to be a pro fighting an armature.

The In Ring Action- Dodson's best chance to win was to land a powerful shot. But that was easier said than done. Johnson has vastly improved since the first fight and never lot Dodson land that clean shot that could do real damage. Dodson is a counter striker but Johnson never gave him a chance to counter seemingly landing and forcing Dodson to defend rather than counter. Even when Dodson did land it was more a reaction to what Johnson was doing. Dodson did block a number of takedowns early on but that wasn't enough. By the end of the fight Johnson was able to take Dodson off his feet. Johnson was trying to break his challenger but never quite could. But there no doubt who the better fighter is. The semi main event many were hoping for an exciting throw down. Both Andre Arlovski and Frank Mir were coming off back to back KO's. On top of that both men have numerous highlight reel finishes. We didn’t' get that. Both men were cautious. Not wanting to make a mistake and get caught. Mir clearly won round two but one and three were could have gone either way. Arlovski seemed disappointed in his performance but he still got the win.

Anthony Johnson rebounded strongly with a win over Jimi Manuwa. Using more wrestling than he has in a while Johnson took Manuwa down and tired him out before landing a devastating punch to knock the UK fighter out. How Johnson will fair facing a higher level wrestler remains to be seen but he is working on the skill. Corey Anderson rebounded from his first career loss with the most dominate win of his young career. Anderson's wrestling allowed him to keep putting Jan Blachowicz on his back taking away his striking ability. The main card opened with Paige Vanzant dominating Alex Chambers. PVZ never gave the Chambers a breaks every second fight she seemed to be coming forward and jerking her around in the clinch.

The prelims easily featured the best fight of the night. John Linker and Franciso Rivera went crazy throwing hay makers for about two minutes straight before the fight spilled to the ground and Linker got a guillotine submission. That wasn't the only highlight from the free portion. Raquel Pennington managed to avenge her previous loss to Jessica Andrade. Rocky found herself down when she escaped a mounted position late in the second and than secured a rear naked choke for the win. Pennington is the type of fighter who simply is better than her record would indicate.

Biggest Winners

Demetrius Johnson- Sadly like I said at the start of this article Johnson will have his detractors. IT could even be heard during the main event as fans booed. But there is no denying Johnson's talent. He's not moved closer to the all time record for most UFC title defenses. His victory over Dodson was nearly flawless. He shut Dodson down for the most part. Dodson was among the very short list of contenders that people thought could beat Johnson. But it appears that window closed. Johnson and his teamed had adjusted to Dodson's skill set and knew how to take his advantages away. Some day people will look back at Johnson's accomplishments and realize what a special champion he was. But Johnson by all indications will be holding that belt for a long time to come.

In many ways Johnson is as close to Floyd Mayweather as MMA may ever get. Obviously I'm not talking about personality. But Mayweather has made a career out of taking as little punishment as he can. For a man that was in a twenty five minute fight Johnson looked more like he had engaged in some light cardio. Like Mayweather Johnson also makes supposed world class fighter look like they have no idea what they are doing. Johnson made Dodson punch the air a lot.

Paige Vanzant- Vanzant has quickly become a star in the UFC. Of course it's not without controversy. Detractors see the pretty young girl ans assume it's purely her looks that got her there. Coming into UFC 191 Vanzant had done all she could to silence those people she was 2-0 and coming off a strong win over veteran Felice Herring. The Chambers fight could have been a trap fight. Chambers isn't ranked and she not was not viewed as overly dangerous. Its the kind of fight anyone could look past and be more worried about the next fight. Vanzant though didn't fall into the trap. There are still clearly holes in Vanzant's game at times she was caught by Chambers and even admits she was worried to take the fight to the ground. But Vanzant has shown improvement in every UFC fight she has had. Vanzant and her team seem to be willing to take it slow as they know she's not ready for a title shot. But slow for Vanzant will be faster than most.

Biggest Losers

John Dodson- Dodson joins the already lost twice to a dominate champion along side Miesha Tate and fellow flyweight Joseph Benavidez. So long as Johnson is the top man at 125 the odds of Dodson getting another title shot are long. Dodson has the speed and power to remain a top contender for years to come. But even if he does string together a long winning streak they argument will always be “he's had his chances lets give someone knew a shot.” Just ask Tate about that. It doesn't help Dodson talked big before the fight. Talking about “Saving” the flyweight division before moving up to beat Dillishaw again. The truth is though he can't even claim “I knocked him down.” After this fight and it doesn't appear the current John Dodson could move up and be any threat to the current TJ Dillishaw. Dodson remains very much the same fighter he was on TUF. If he lands he can win but against the elite that just isn't enough.

Joe Riggs- Diesel Riggs got his first win in the UFC in a very long time but it's a win in name only. Riggs was badly beat up by Ron Stallings and his eye was closing fast. Than in the second Stallings landed an illegal up kick when Riggs was a downed fighter. Replays showed the kick landed on the jaw and no where near the eye. Riggs though claimed he couldn't see and the ref incorrectly believed the kick caused the problem. The truth is Riggs got a gift win instead of an injury stoppage loss. Not helping Riggs he missed weight despite moving up to middleweight from welterweight. It's nothing personal against Riggs but he's a fighter with 58 career fights he had lost two in a row since returning to the UFC and should have lost this one.

Jan Blachowicz- The guy fought a three round fight and two judges scored it 30-25 against him. Blachowicz gassed badly and all but gave up in his fight with Anderson. He found some early success with his kickboxing. But once Anderson took got the momentum Blachowicz seemed lost. Even worse for Blachowicz this a major chance for him to show something. Even if he had lost but looked good or exciting fans would have wanted to him again. Instead he's now 0-2 in the UFC with an awful one sided loss on a big show. Don't be shocked if Jan Blachowicz is on cut list.

What Come Next- Trying to figure out who is next for Johnson is a growing challenge. Johnson is dominate and so skilled in every area of MMA there isn't someone who would appear to have any advantage on him. Many have penciled in former gold medal winner Henry Cejudo in as the next challenger. Cejduo has a fight booked with Jussier Formiga in November. With Formiga ranked third and on a three fight winning streak there is no reason not to give the winner of that fight the next title shot. Unless the UFC decides to do Dillishaw vs. Johnson for the Bantamweight title but with Dominick Cruz still out there that isn't likely. Paige Vanzant and her team admit they don't want to rush her into a title shot. Vanzant has holes in her game but physical gifts have allowed her to over come them. So there is no reason to rush her into a top level fight I see two possibility. One is Randa Markos who according to the most recent UFC rankings is at 7 while PVZ is 6. Markos has few more fight and while she has a 5-3 record she has looked good at times. The other Rose Namjunas. Thug Rose appeared to be the break star in the making after TUF 20 but lost to Carla Esparza in the finals. She hasn't fought since but is set to face Angela Hill at UFC 192. Like PVZ, Namjunas is young has tons of potential but has some gaps to fill in.

As I said earlier John Dodson is in a tough spot. He's lost twice to the champion but remains a top contender. He's not good enough to the best but good enough to beat most. As a result you could see some fighters on the verge of title shot not want to face him in order keep said shot in tact. So its easy have him face Joseph Benavidez. Benavidez has been in limbo since his second loss to Johnson he's getting fights but nothing to get him closer to a third show. Plus can you really say it wouldn't be a good fight? Andrei Arlovski had a less than impressive win over Frank Mir that appeared to not move him any closer to another title shot. With the rematch between Werdum and Velasquez delayed until March the Pitbull still earn another title shot. I say give him either the winner of JDS vs. Overreem. Either way it would be two great strikers. And all three men hold a win over Werdum.