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-The Tough Spar MMA Team
Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann via first-round TKO
Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins via first-round TKO
Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision
Mike Pyle def. TJ Waldburger via third-round TKO
Stephen Thompson def. Robert Whittaker via first-round TKO
Preliminary Card:
Alexis Davis def. Jessica Eye via split decision
Raphael Assuncao def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision
Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision
Zach Makovsky def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision
Erik Koch def. Rafaello Oliveira via first-round TKO
Ernest Chavez def. Yosdenis Cedeno via split decision
Ronda Rousey (135) vs. Sara McMann (135)
Daniel Cormier (205) vs. Patrick Cummins (205)
Rory MacDonald (171) vs. Demian Maia (170)
Mike Pyle (171) vs. T.J. Waldburger (171)
Stephen Thompson (170.5) vs. Robert Whittaker (170)
Preliminary Card:
Alexis Davis (135) vs. Jessica Eye (136)
Raphael Assuncao (136) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)
Aljamaine Sterling (135.5) vs. Cody Gibson (135.5)
Zach Makovsky (125) vs. Josh Sampo (126)
Erik Koch (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155)
Ernest Chavez (156) vs. Yosdenis Cedeno (155.5)
In late November, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans hinted to the public that he may possibly be facing Daniel Cormier in Cormier's 205 lb debut. It has now been officially announced that the two of them will be facing each other at UFC 170 on February 22 in Las Vegas. I feel that this will be a tough test for Cormier as a first fight in a new weight class. Cormier is an Olympic level wrestler with good striking who has remained undefeated in all of his 13 pro MMA bouts. So far Cormier has defeated two former UFC champions (Josh Barnett and Frank Mir) and if he were to defeat Evans, he would make it three champions defeated. This is a very important fight for Evans, who is getting back to his usual winning ways after a split decision win over Dan Henderson and a first round TKO victory over Chael Sonnen in November. If he were to win this fight followed by another fight I think we could see him challenge for the title again by late 2014 or early 2015.
Also added to the card is a Welterweight fight between two of the top contenders in the UFC Welterweight Division who both are coming off of losses in their last bouts. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist and former title challenger at 185 lbs, Demian Maia, will suare off with GSP's training partner Rory MacDonald. Rory MacDonald is coming off of a decision loss to Robbie Lawler who easily out-scored him in there bout at the UFC 20th Anniversary event, UFC 167. Rory was very reserved in that fight and lacked aggression after promising to entertain in that fight. Demian recently lost to high-level grappler Jake Shields in their main event fight at UFC Fight Night 29.
Plus a bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Rustam Khabilov in the UFC's Lightweight clash between two exciting fighters.
On Monday, Bellator Welterweight Champion, Ben Askren, will be meeting with the UFC's CEO and Chairman, Lorenzo Fertitta to discuss a possible future in the UFC's Welterweight Division. Dana White insists that he is still not interested in signing Ben Askren despite Bellator not fighting for Askren.
Recently Ben Askren has called out UFC Welterweight Champion, GSP and his training partner Rory MacDonald stating that he would fight them and if he lost would not collect pay for losing. Askren is a confident welterweight that the UFC should at least take a chance on despite his 'boring' style. He has a smothering wrestling style that seems to overwhelm all of his opponents. GSP has been criticized many times for laying and praying, while Askren still advances his positions while on the ground. If Askren were to further develop his striking I think that he would be a dangerous opponent to any welterweight in the UFC, even the current dominant champ St-Pierre.
Last night was a very entertaining night of fights that ended with a very controversial split decision win for the UFC Welterweight title.
We will begin with the headlining fight of the prelims. Donald Cerrone who was on a two-fight losing streak coming into his fight with Evan Dunham and he desperately needed a win last night and he got it. He was able to out-strike and out-grapple Dunham and eventually finish him on the ground with a beautiful triangle choke in the second round. The question now becomes what should Donald Cerrone do now after his win? Should he continue to fight at 155 or should he make the move to 145 as he had stated he would do win, lose or draw?
The first fight on the main card was a fast-paced fight between Tim Elliot and Ali Bagautinov. It was an interesting fight in which both men participated in excellent striking exchanges which involved Tim Elliot landing more volumes of strikes and Bagautinov landing the more devastating strikes. It was a match in which I had Bagautinov winning rounds 1 ad 3, but felt the fight could go either way depending on what the judges saw was more important, volume or clean, power strikes. In that fight the judges chose accurate, clean, power strikes. The question for this match up would be how many wins would Bagautinov be away from a title fight and who will he face next?
The next fight was the first of three fights at 170 lbs on the main card. Tyron Woodley faced Josh Koscheck in a match that ended in the first round by way of TKO. Koscheck hurt Woodley early in the round with a straight right hand that made Woodley begin to step backwards, but Woodley survived that and some impressive grappling from Koscheck in order to rock Koscheck with a right hand and send him flat on his back. The question I have is how would Woodley perform is he is given a top ten opponent for his next fight?
After that match was GSP's training partner, Rory MacDonald taking on Robbie Lawler in the second welterweight fight of the main card. After promising to be more exciting than his last fight, we saw MacDonald do exactly the same thing he did in his last fight, which was boring us to death. Robbie Lawler won a split decision after he out-struck MacDonald and kept pressure on him the entire fight. There were moments when MacDonald did get the better of Lawler, but those moments were few and very short. What will happen to Rory MacDonald after putting out two terrible performances? Also will this win put Lawler in the top 5 in the UFC's Welterweight Division? Also who will Robbie Lawler face next?
The co-main event of the evening included a bout between friends and coworkers, Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen. It was a match up in which Rashad quickly put away Chael Sonnen on the ground due to strikes. Who will the UFC put against Evans who has recovered from his two-fight winning streak? Does Evans still have the ability to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship again?
In the main event we saw a very close match in which we could have seen either man get their hand raised at the end of the fight, but Georges St-Pierre retained his title by split decision. The fight was too close to call, but (contrary to popular belief) I did score the fight for the champ giving him rounds 1,3 and 5. There is also controversy as to whether or not Johny Hendricks tapped out to a submission in the first round of the fight. Video below:
I think that it is obvious to see that Hendricks didn't tap, but many people are entertaining this notion of GSP having a submission ignored. After the fight St-Pierre hinted at possibly needing some time away to deal with some things in his personal life. Dana White had a conversation with the champ and says that GSP will overcome his personal issues and will not be retiring. He also stated that GSP owes Hendricks a rematch they look forward to putting that together.
Below is a prediction on how I felt that the event would play out and the actual results that occured:
Also be sure to vote for who you believed was the true winner of the main event last night at: UFC 167 Main Event Poll
Georges St-Pierre def. Johny Hendricks via split decision Rashad Evans def. Chael Sonnen via first-round TKO Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via split decision Tyron Woodley def. Josh Koscheck via first-round KO Ali Bagautinov def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision
Preliminary Card:
Donald Cerrone def. Evan Dunham via submission (triangle choke) Thales Leites def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision Rick Story def. Brian Ebersole via unanimous decision Erik Perez def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision Jason High def. Anthony Lapsley via unanimous decision Sergio Pettis def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision Gian Villante def. Cody Donovan via second-round TKO
Georges St-Pierre (170) vs. Johny Hendricks (170)
Rashad Evans (205) vs. Chael Sonnen (206)
Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Rory MacDonald (171)
Josh Koscheck (170) vs. Tyron Woodley (171)
Ali Bagautinov (126) vs. Tim Elliott (125)
Preliminary Card:
Evan Dunham (156) vs. Donald Cerrone (155)
Ed Herman (186) vs. Thales Leites (186)
Brian Ebersole (171) vs. Rick Story (170)
Edwin Figueroa (135) vs. Erik Perez (135)
Jason High (170) vs. Anthony Lapsley (170)
Sergio Pettis (135) vs. Will Campuzano (135)
Cody Donovan (205) vs. Gian Villante (205)
UFC President Dana White, hinted at a possible matchup between Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler in an interview with Ariel Helwani earlier this month. It has now been made official for UFC 167. This fight will join the fight between GSP and Johnny Hendricks in November.
After a stellar knockout performance over Mike Pyle at UFC Fight Night 26, Matt Brown (20-11) called out UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. Matt Brown feels that he is ready for a title shot but it raises the question, is he truly ready for a title shot?
Matt Brown is an Ultimate Fighter Season 7 alumni who has been competing in the UFC since 2008. His current win streak which sits at 6 straight Octogon victories. Usually any top contender with that kind of win streak could easily argue a title shot. 5 of 6 of his victories have come by way of K.O./T.K.O. in his last 6 bouts. His fights are always exciting and 4 straight knockout victories is impressive to have on your resume, but we must remember his competition.
Though I personally see Matt Brown as a top contender in the UFC Welterweight Division it could be argued that he hasn't faced other top contenders. I think that a fight between Brown and St. Pierre would be an exciting fight if he were facing St. Pierre pre-Serra fights. We have to keep in mind that St. Pierre will do what he's been doing for the last half-decade; take em down, keep him in place without doing damage and become another boring title fight. A fight with the St. Pierre who used to entertain the fans by showing a complete MMA game instead of just lying in the guard would be a win for the fans.
I think a victory over a Top 10 competitor would get him into the top ten rankings and put him in the mix for a title shot. If I had to pick a next fight for Brown it would be a match up with Strikeforce import Robbie Lawlor if the matchup with Rory McDonald doesn't fall into place. I think that would be another crowd-pleasing contest.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Dana White reveals a possible match up between Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler. I think it's an excellent idea to put this together. After a less than spectacular fight with Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8, Rory MacDonald will now have the opportunity to validate his Top Ten Ranking in the welterweight division against "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler who is coming off a brilliant K.O. victory over Bobby Voelker.
The following link contains Ariel Helwani's interview with Dana White
