It was another bumper weekend of MMA with events saturating our internet and television from Friday onwards. After all was said and done, it was a pretty inconsequential few days at the top end of the MMA world but that doesn’t mean plenty didn’t happened worth talking about.
Around The Arenas
Outside of the UFC, some of the biggest up-and-coming leagues had strong cards. The best of which was Cage Warriors 71 in Amman, Jordan. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden but due to the Swedish MMA federation’s refusal to sanction a number of the fights it was moved across the world on three weeks notice. It was Sweden’s loss.
The standout performance of the night came from one of Europe’s top prospects Arnold Allen who took a couple of 10-8 rounds on his way to a wonderful comeback win following a loss in his last fight. In the main event, Jack Hermansson put on another devastating display as he pounded out Deyan Topalski from the back mount in the very first round to retain his promotional middleweight title. While in RFA and Titan Fc respectively, ex-UFC prospects Justin Lawrence, Bristol Marunde and Mike Ricci also got back to winning ways.
Tulsa Upset
The second of two UFC events on Saturday, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, although exponentially greater in the quality stakes (on paper at least) than the Macao card (which we’ll get to soon) was just as easily missable, gruelingly slower in pacing and noticeably lower on talking points – apart from the main event. Before that headlining bout, there were impressive wins of no real ranking importance for Thales Leites, Jordan Mein and Ben Saunders who had the honour of pulling off the very first omoplata in UFC history.
The main event was by far the highest level of the 40+ MMA fights this weekend. Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson took on Rafael Dos Anjos with a place in the stacked 155 lbs upper echelon at stake; and it ended in a way nobody would have thought. Both men came out strong to start with Henderson dictating the pace of the fight from range. Dos Anjos, though, didn’t take long to settle. The Brazilian pushed Henderson up against the fence, closed the distance and landed a huge flying knee before knocking the former champion out with a titanic left hand. The loss leaves Henderson’s title hopes in tatters but pushes Dos Anjos right up the rankings. He will likely be battling it out with the winner of Eddie Alvarez vs. Donald Cerrone to be the next challenger to the belt currently held by Anthony Pettis. The UFC lightweight division continues to get stronger and stronger – Dos Anjos is the latest contender.
Chinese comebacks
Before that, the UFC returned to Macao, China with a nice two-fight card consisting of Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim and the middleweight clash between Michael Bisping and Cung Le. For all four men, a win was of tantamount importance.
Woodley, after losing badly to Rory MacDonald in his last outing, needed the win to stay in welterweight title contention while his opponent’s long lay off seemed to have made people forget why he’s so highly ranked. It was the American, though, who got back on track. After an initial battle for position against the fence Woodley let go with his hands and dropped Kim with a huge right hand before stopping him with ground and pound soon after. For Kim the time out of the cage was a huge disadvantage against a quick starter but for Woodley It was a signal that he has not just bounced back but that he is a match for anyone at the weight over a short period. If he lands early, Woodley can beat anybody – simple as that. It remains to be seen, though, if he can mix it with the top 3 in the world once the fight passes the opening exchanges.
In the main event, Michael Bisping found himself in a similar spot to Woodley after losing to Tim Kennedy last time out. The Brit had to beat 42 year old Cung Le to remain near title talk; and he did so in emphatic fashion. Le looked every one of his 42 years as Bisping put on a destructive fifteen minute beat down before finishing him early in the penultimate round. It was a great way to rebound for Bisping but it was clear Le isn’t on his level at this stage in his career. It was also clear, however, that Bisping was much better prepared for his fight than he was coming off of an eye injury to face Tim Kennedy who blanketed him for the decision win last April. His boxing looked crisp and technical thanks to time spent with Jason Parillo during this camp while the eye also didn’t seem to be an issue. The rejuvenation will need to be upped again as Luke Rockhold looks like being his next opponent. Win that, and the long desired title shot could be on the cards yet again.
Stann Remarks, White judges judges?
Aside from the fights there were worry precedents set outside of the cage springing from the morning fights in Macao. Namely, UFC commentator Brian Stann hinting accusations of Cung Le’s alleged PED use on Twitter and UFC president Dana White relieving judge Howard Hughes of his duties mid-event.
For Stann, it’s a case that he is entitled to his opinion as an ex-competitor but in his current role as an employed colour fight analyst who is supposed to remain unbiased, accusing Le with no proof is not something which should not be done. A commentators job is to call a fight down the middle, not decide who has an unfair chemical advantage.
More worryingly, though, was UFC president Dana White removing a judge following two decisions which White disagreed with. As a promoter, White should have no part on deciding the outcome of a bout and/or no effect on the person deciding that outcome. To pick and chose judges for overseas events is bad enough, although unavoidable at the moment, but putting pressure on (present and future) judges with Saturday’s show of power is downright shameful, not to mention a clear conflict of interest. The UFC need to devoid themselves of any role in a judge’s decision of a fight; something which, in the past, they have done extremely well by all accounts. Dana White’s actions on Saturday were hugely worrying, not for what occurred so much but for the possible effects it could have on how judges call fights from now on with the possibility of losing their job foremost in their mind. White needs to allow the judges to judge the fights however they please once chosen for the job without the undue pressure that comes with the possibility of losing that job. This is a huge problem for the legitimacy and fairness of the sport; what happened on Saturday cannot be repeated.
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