1. Still lethal…
The middleweight version of Lyoto Machida is a bad, bad man.
Saturday night, in the final UFC bout of the year, “The Dragon” needed just 62 seconds to dispatch C.B. Dollaway, blasting the former TUF finalist in the midsection with a thundering kick that left crumbled on the canvas. While kicks have always been a large part of the former light heavyweight champion’s arsenal, they have landed with a little more since now that he’s fighting at 185 pounds, producing a pair of first-round finishes and four consecutive Fight Night bonuses for the Brazilian veteran.
This was a tricky assignment for Machida – a “he should win handily” follow up after his loss to Chris Weidman earlier in the year, on home soil, against a scrappy underdog that had put together a nice run of quality performances. It had the potential to be a “trap fight,” but instead, Machida did what fighters of his standing are supposed to do in those kinds of situations – he blasted Dollaway in the ribs and put him away without even breaking a sweat.
He may be nearing that age when we usually start talking about retirement, but moving to middleweight has been a like finding the Fountain of Youth for the 36-year-old Machida and he is poised to have continued success in the division in the New Year.
2. … and targeting Luke Rockhold
After his win, Machida suggested that a fight with Rockhold, the former Strikeforce middleweight champ who disposed of Michael Bisping back in November (how was that only November?), might be excellent.
For his part, Rockhold seemed to like the idea as well, hitting up UFC President Dana White on Twitter about the match-up, which White seemed instantly keen on as well:
It’s a fight that makes complete sense for both participants, though not necessarily the UFC. Rockhold knows that with Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort fighting at the end of February, he’s likely going to need to fight at least once more before challenging for the middleweight title, so picking a fight with the former No. 1 contender is a no-brainer. For Machida, there is no better way to maintain your place in the pecking order than by picking up a win over the surging Santa Cruz, California native.
That said, the UFC may want to think twice about making this one happen unless they have no problem running Machida into another championship match-up next year. A fight of this magnitude has to result in the winner challenging for the title, and depending on how things shake out, we could reach a point where Machida is one again in position to face Weidman. That’s not a bad thing, per se, but just something to consider in advance.
3. Barao back in the win column
Sometimes there is no pleasing people.
Despite the fact that he locked up a third-round submission win over unheralded Canadian grinder Mitch Gagnon on Saturday night, former bantamweight champion Renan Barao can’t escape criticism. Having dropped the second round on two of three scorecards and not looked like the unstoppable juggernaut that ruled the weight class up until May, most of the post-fight talk is focused on how Barao still doesn’t seem right.
Did he looked flawless? Absolutely not, but how about we give Gagnon some credit on that front? The scrappy Sudbury, Ontario native didn’t fold under the big lights in the face of the former champion, increasing his stock in a losing effort. So if Gagnon gets a bump by getting tapped in the third, why does Barao’s stock take a hit for picking up a finish over a fighter that everyone was impressed with?
What really matters most here are that (1) Barao made weight on Friday without issue and (2) got back into the win column. He’s now in position to take on another top-of-the-food-chain fighter in a title eliminator in the first half of 2015 and potentially fight for the title he once held at some point next year. Those are positives, even if you weren’t blown away by his performance on Saturday.
4. Cummins continues making progress
“I want to end this year on a high note. I came in pretty low (laughs), so I want to stay active as much as possible, keep climbing the ranks, but I want to go in there and end on a high note, cement in people’s minds that ‘Oh, this guy is for real. He didn’t just show up for 15 minutes and smile for the cameras. He actually wants to win.’”
That’s what Patrick Cummins told me when we spoke prior to his fight with Antonio Carlos Junior for ufc.com and that’s precisely what Cummins did when the two shared the cage on Saturday night in Barueri.
After entering the organization on short notice against Daniel Cormier and getting tons of heat from fans, the former Penn State wrestling standout has put together three straight victories to establish himself as someone to watch in the light heavyweight division going forward in 2015. He’s still raw when it comes to striking, but his wrestling is some of the best in the division and immediately makes him a threat as he’s working his way up the ladder.
5. The Erick Silva Cycle
This is starting to become legitimately funny.
Erick Silva has had nine fights in the UFC. He’s never won consecutive bouts. After each loss, he steps back into the Octagon, bludgeons some overmatched opponent and then gets thrown in with someone a little too tough, a little too polished and he loses. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Saturday night, Silva, coming off a loss, took on Mike Rhodes, a young fighter from the Roufusport camp that had dropped his previous two UFC appearances. Just 75 seconds after the bout started, the contest was over and Silva was once again having his hand raised in the center of the Octagon.
Guys like Silva are terrific assets for the UFC, so long as he’s used in the right way and we’re not just framing things based on wins and losses and championship potential. Though he was hyped to the rooftops when he arrived, the now 30-year-old Brazilian isn’t going to make an extended run up the welterweight rankings and challenge for the title, but he can certainly be an all-action, always entertaining constant in the middle of one of the deepest divisions in the company.
Think of him as a Brazilian Joe Lauzon, minus the outstanding Twitter game.
6. This week’s new lightweight to watch is…
Rashid Magomedov.
Saturday night, the 30-year-old “Highlander” picked up his third UFC victory in as many appearances and became the first man to defeat Elias Silverio, earning a stoppage win over the previously unbeaten Brazilian with just three seconds left in their entertaining lightweight affair.
It was the type of close, “both guys have their moments” fight many anticipated and the finish should elevate Magomedov to the fringes of the Top 15 in the freakishly competitive 155-pound ranks, setting him up for bigger opportunities in 2015. Now 19-1 and training at American Top Team, Magomedov is the type of well-rounded, resilient fighter that will be a tough out for whoever he faces next and one that has the potential to climb into contention by this time next year.
7. Solid prelim wins all around
All four of the televised preliminary card fights produced solid performances.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima picked up his second straight first-round stoppage win by dusting Igor Pokrajac in a shade under two minutes, clipping him with a stiff left hand as the two planted their feet and traded along the cage. Light heavyweight is bereft of fresh talent climbing the ranks, so the 29-year-old has some room to maybe make a little run here in 2015.
Renato “Moicano” Carneiro looked great in his short notice UFC debut, locking up a second-round rear naked choke finish against Tom Niinimaki. Billed as a grappler, “Moicano” looked comfortable and fluid on the feet in pushing his record to 9-0 overall.
Hacran Dias is a tank in the featherweight division and used his superior size to control Darren Elkins throughout a grappling-heavy affair that got blasted on Twitter because at least one fight has to get blasted on Twitter during every UFC show. It wasn’t exactly thrilling action, but Dias looked vastly superior to the fight we saw earlier this summer against Ricardo Lamas and he remains an intriguing fighter to watch at the tail end of the Top 15 in the 145-pound ranks.
Lastly, Leandro Issa put on a clinic against highly touted Japanese prospect Ulka Susaski, picking up a second-round submission win by neck crank. After losing his promotional debut in January, “Brodinho” has bounced back with consecutive submission wins that have highlighted his elite ability on the ground. The Evolve MMA fighter should remain a consistent presence on international shows and develop into a veteran gatekeeper of sorts midway up the bantamweight ranks.
8. Business is still booming in Brazil
Don’t expect the UFC to cut back on the number of trips it makes to Brazil each year any time soon as Saturday’s event showed once again that the South American country is still crazy about the organization setting up shop anywhere within its borders.
The venue was packed for the opening bout and the people in attendance serenaded American newcomer Jake Collier with the standard collection of chants as he marched to the cage to take on Vitor Miranda. Had you tune in completely oblivious to the fact that it was the first fight of the night and Collier had never previously fought in the UFC, you would have thought you were coming across a pivotal match-up featuring a hated villain, as much as you can have villains in the UFC.
Honestly, I wish North American audiences could take a cue from their Brazilian counterparts.
Warning: broad strokes ahead
Where North American fans pick at the opening bouts and file into venues fashionably late, leaving the first few bouts to be contested in front of 17 people and innumerable empty seats, Brazilians turn out en masse for the very first fight of the night and stay hyped right through to the end. Part of it is a superior nationalistic approach to their fandom (read: they’ll cheer for any Brazilian against a non-Brazilian), but it also feels like they’re not as spoiled and snarky about the action taking place in the Octagon.
Watch a show from Brazil and you get the sense that the crowd just wants to watch some people in spandex beat the bejesus out of one another and if they’re “important fights” that’s just a bonus. That isn’t the prevailing mindset amongst North American fans and it’s why I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see the number of domestic and international shows start running closer to level in the next couple years unless the North American market bounces back.
9. Judging is still awful
Tim Means dominated Marcio Alexandre for the majority of their three-round welterweight affair. “The Dirty Bird” was constantly stalking Alexandre, landing the more significant blows and dictating the tempo and placement of the fight. If you thought of scoring a round for Alexandre, it was by the narrowest of margins and there certainly weren’t two frames where the Brazilian was clearly the superior fighter.
Except in the eyes of one judge on Saturday night.
Means came away with a split decision win and deserved better than that. Save for getting clipped with a head kick midway through the second round, Alexandre didn’t have any periods of sustained offensive output or serious control and that flurry of activity was – at best – only slightly more significant than Means’ output during the remainder of the frame. But there is more to the fight that makes this scorecard so egregious.
Early in the second round – before the headkick – Means crumpled Alexandre with a knee to the face when it looked like the Brazilian still had a fingertip or two touching the canvas. The referee immediately called time, Alexandre eventually got back to his feet, was cleared to continue and the fight resumed without a point deduction. Had the referee decided to take a point in that instance, the bout would have ended in a Majority Draw, which would have be inexcusable.
Means clearly deserved the nod on Saturday night. I don’t know anyone who thought otherwise, except for one of the three people paid to pay attention and score the fight.
This has got to stop.
10. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is back… Maybe?
For a second time in four events, the UFC teased a “major announcement” to come midway through the main card when the fight card kicked off on Saturday. Long before the official announcement was made, Twitter was abuzz with conversations about the return of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to the UFC and when the time came for “the big reveal,” there was Jackson, happily walking back across the bridge he torched upon exited the UFC in early 2013 after three consecutive losses, talking about how excited he was to be returning to the Octagon.
Except he probably won’t be returning to the Octagon any time soon. According to Bellator MMA, Jackson is still under contract and they have zero intention of letting the UFC come in and poach one of its top talents without a battle. In the courts, not the cage.
Potential protracted legal wrestling match aside, it’s hard to get excited for this announcement – Jackson is 36 and left the UFC on a three-fight losing streak before picking up three consecutive victories with Bellator. He complained about the opponents the UFC game him, struggled to stay in shape and you can make a case that he won only one of his final six fights in the Octagon before leaving.
There are a bevy of veteran names still hanging around the light heavyweight ranks, so eventually finding an opponent for Jackson won’t be too challenging – Shogun Rua? Dan Henderson? Rogerio Nogueira? – but the timing of bringing back a once-disgruntled employee that might still be signed by your chief rival seems more like a move designed to disrupt the anti-trust lawsuit filed earlier in the week against the UFC than bolster the 205-pound ranks.
