The UFC's second offering on the Versus network delivered a solid night of fights and brought a lot of contenders out of the woodwork. But I won't waste anymore time, let's get down to it!
Jon Jones def. Vladimir Matyushenko via TKO (elbows), Rd. 1
My prediction: Vlad plays the role of seasoned, but past his prime veteran to be sacrificed to younger, hungrier, up and coming talent. Jones might encounter some trouble wrestling him down, but would still be one step ahead the whole fight. Vlad being notoriously hard to finish would lead to Jones cruising to a clear-cut decision or late TKO.
What happened: Jones made it look easy. Easily took Vlad down, easily advanced to crucifix, and easily hammered him with elbows to draw the finish. All this in under 2 minutes.
Thoughts: As soon as I saw the (for lack of a better term) unfair reach advantage of 10.5 inches I knew Vladdy had no chance. He's a tough, very skilled wrestler with decent boxing....but he's also 39. He never was the speedy type, and he's only gotten slower with age. I have been a fan of Vlad for a while so I was pretty bummed when this matchup was announced because I knew he was just being thrown in to further legitimize Jones. And it worked. Jones proved he really could be the future of the light heavyweight division. Now he needs to step up and prove that he is.
Next for Jones: Personally I'd like to see him take on the winner or loser of Lil' Nog vs. Ryan Bader, but I doubt the UFC wants to lose a potential veteran contender (Nog) or pit two fast rising prospects against each other and risk one losing hype. Dana White and Greg Jackson both want to bring Jones up slower than he wishes (already talking about fighting a top 3 guy AND moving to heavyweight? Slow down Jonny), so I think Rich Franklin or even Forrest Griffin could finally provide stern tests for Jones.
Next for Matyushenko: His age really showed against a young, spry fighter like Jones, but Vlad still has the power and skill set to give most 205ers trouble. He'll make a good upper-mid tier gatekeeper to test out guys like Jones.
Yushin Okami def. Mark Munoz via Decision (split), Rd. 3
My prediction: Okami would use his wrestling and takedown defense to keep the fight upright and pick Munoz apart on the feet en route to a meticulous decision victory.
What happened: Pretty much exactly that.
Thoughts: I considered Munoz a pretty live underdog but my pick was always Okami, and as an Okami fan (and not much of a Munoz fan) I was definitely rooting for him. Despite a second round knockdown by Munoz, he didn't have much to offer Okami and I'm glad his luck has finally run out. He should have lost the decision he took from Nick Catone, and he was getting starched by Kendall freakin' Grove on the feet until a Hail Mary right hand scrambled Grove's eggs. Joe Rogan played up Munoz's stand up, but even the way he sounded seemed like he was being fed those lines to hype him up. Munoz's stand up sucks. He has terrible striking defense because he hangs his hands low, and he's got no technique in his boxing; he's all power and sloppy looping punches. A perfect target for Okami's precision jab and superior footwork. The problem for Munoz is that when he can't cut it on the feet he can usually rely on his considerable wrestling pedigree, but this time he didn't count on the fact that Okami is also a very powerful wrestler. Okami was able to stuff all but one takedown, and got up almost immediately from that one, preventing Munoz from using his actual greatest asset: his ground and pound. Munoz employed very questionable strategy by continuing to drive for takedowns despite the fact that he was actually finding Okami in the stand up from time to time. Bottom line is that he was outclassed by a fighter who is superior to him in every way that mattered.
Next for Okami: He should definitely be in the title mix now. I could see him fighting the winner of the Nate Marquardt/Rousimar Palhares fight. Either one should make for a great fight.
Next for Munoz: For all the training Munoz has been doing with Anderson Silva, he sure didn't learn any striking from him. Hell, he's got the boxing talent of the Nogueira brothers AND Lyoto Machida there and he still has crappy technique and defense. Anyway, Aaron Simpson. Don't ask me why. I just want to see it. May the better chin (most likely Simpson) win.
Jake Ellenberger def. John Howard via TKO (doctor stoppage), Rd. 3
My prediction: Ellenberger uses his wrestling to stay in close and negate much of his striking. Most likely takes home a decision, but Ellenberger also has power in his hands so I could see him scoring a late TKO.
What happened: Ellenberger gets the late TKO, but not the way I thought. He used his wrestling the way I thought, but pretty much anytime there was distance Howard showed why you don't want to stand and strike with him as he lit Jake up in a few exchanges. Jake ended up possibly breaking Howard's orbital bone with an elbow from top position, swelling his eye up almost to the size of a tennis ball. The doctors had seen enough.
Thoughts: I put Howard in the same boat I put Munoz in: I'm kind of glad his luck finally ran out. He was 4-0 in the UFC and his last fight was a legitimate first round knockout, but prior to that he spent a full 3 rounds being dominated on the ground by Dennis Hallman before he pulled off an improbably knockout with 5 seconds left in the fight; and prior to that he robbed Tamdan McCrory of a decision that led to McCrory being released from the UFC. Anyway, Ellenberger looked good in the fight and showed off some nice stand up and yet another reason why he needs to get a ground game.
Next for Ellenberger: He's been very impressive in his UFC run thus far. I think Rory McDonald would make for an interesting match up with Jake. Sure he's coming off a loss to Carlos Condit, but he impressed all the way until the final round. In fact, both one thing both men have in common is that they've beaten up Condit and ended up losing.
Next for Howard: Can't say for sure, but put him against good grapplers until he learns his lesson and at least. He won't get anywhere in the welterweight division if he doesn't work on his wrestling.
Takanori Gomi def. Tyson Griffin via KO (punch), Rd. 1
My prediction: Griffin keeps the fight up close and personal with Gomi and punishes him in the clinch. Gomi's granite chin keeps him from being finished as Griffin uses dirty boxing and leg kicks en route to a decision.
What happened: The EXACT opposite. Gomi lands a couple hard body blows and immediately shuts Griffin's lights out with a right hand 64 seconds into the fight. First time Griffin's ever been finished.
Thoughts: This was easily my favorite win of the night. As a huge Gomi fan I was pulling for him, but I definitely doubted him as his career definitely seemed to be on its downswing. When I saw that right hand connect with all his body weight turning into it I nearly jumped out of my seat. Does it mean the Gomi of old is back? Probably not, although he did look pretty sharp the short time the fight did last. But boy was it a proud moment to be one of the few big Gomi fans left. Here's hoping the Gomi of old IS back, stays in shape, and has a good run in the UFC lightweight division.
Next for Gomi: With his chin and preference to keep the fight standing, the winner of Melvin Guillard/Jeremy Stephens would be absolute fireworks.
Next for Griffin: Tough year for Griffin. He's dropped two straight for the first time in his career. He's still a legitimate threat to most lightweights, so he should get a mid level guy to get him back on the right track.
The Prelims
- Charles Oliveira vs Darren Elkins was the only prelim fight I actually saw, and it was over just as fast as it started. Oliveira was promptly taken down and slapped on a BEAUTIFUL triangle armbar (seems to be the move of the year, eh?). His execution was flawless and Elkins had nothing left to do after it was applied. Even tied up Elkins' right leg with a free arm to make sure he had no options. Definitely worthy of submission of the night.
-In other fights, Jacob Volkmann did exactly as I thought and grinded out a decision against Paul Kelly. I knew DeMarques Johnson didn't stand much of a chance against a fighter he couldn't lull into a firefight, but Matt Riddle made it look easier than expected by pounding the crap out of Johnson in the 2nd instead of his usual uneventful decision style. James Irvin continues his downward spiral and suffers a surprising 1st round RNC loss to Igor Pokrajac. Tough to imagine what they'll do with Irvin next. Guy can't seem to catch a break. Brian Stann/Mike Messenzio was one fight I wish I did see, as it sounded like a pretty good affair. Props to Stann for the come from behind triangle choke victory in the 3rd. And lastly, Rob Kimmons shut down Steve Steinbeiss for the unanimous decision.
Good night of fights overall. Great night for the Japanese, as they went 2-0 which never happens in the UFC (it's damn near impossible to see two Japanese guys on a whole card, let alone both of them on the main card and winning). Seemed like the UFC was trying to throw Gomi in there to lose like they did in his first fight, but he shot those plans down. The one Japanese fighter the UFC actually groomed half-decently (opponent-wise) once again proved why hes worth it. It'll be exciting to see where Jon Jones goes next, and it looks like he's going far. That's all for now. PEACE.
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