https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unwa6s4ZauQ
Last night’s UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson card had some slow spots, but overall, it turned out pretty well. Uriah Hall got one of the best finishes of the year in the biggest upset of the year stopping Gegard Mousasi in the biggest win of his career, Josh Barnett’s decision win over Roy Nelson was grueling in the best possible way, and most of the Japanese fighters had good showings on the main card. So, where do we go from here?
Winners:
Josh Barnett: He’s still clearly a top 10 heavyweight, but with so much of the division booked and Fabricio Werdum’s first challenger still a bit of a question mark, it’s hard to figure out the right next opponent. If Andrei Arlovski isn’t getting a title shot next, then that’s a really good fight on paper with some interesting stylistic elements, especially if it hits the ground and becomes catch wrestling vs. sambo. The winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Ben Rothwell in Dublin is also a viable option.
Uriah Hall: As much as some people, including Brian Stann on the broadcast, have made his win over Gegard Mousasi out to be semi-flukey, I disagree. He aimed his spin kick too high and Mousasi didn’t duck low enough for it t have been intended as a body shot. Hall finally showed the aggression that he needs to be a top fighter and did it by stopping a longtime top middleweight, though that aggression came close to costing him the fight on the ground. So, what’s next? If you keep him on an upward trajectory, then the winner of the upcoming Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson fight makes the most sense rankings-wise. If they want to take it slow, Derek Brunson is an interesting matchup.
Kyoji Horiguchi: He made noticeable adjustments since his blowout loss to Demetrious Johnson, most notably his in upping his volume. It’s more clear that he’s a legitimate top 10 flyweight, he just still needs work to be at the level of the very best in the division. He’s not coming anywhere near the title for a while, so put him against Dustin Ortiz to test out his wrestling and grappling plus give Ortiz a shot at a big win.
Takeya Mizugaki: He looked like he might be on a big downslide heading into last night, and he clearly knew it, breaking down in tears about how he considered retirement last year. He’s still a solid, top 10 bantamweight, but in a division with a lot of inactive top 10 fighters and a lot of prospects on their way up, that could change at a moment’s notice. There aren’t a lot of natural fights for him right now. If Johnny Eduardo ever returns, that’s certainly a possibility, but since that doesn’t necessarily seem likely, book him against John Lineker next. It would be a relevant fight with a lot of potential for action.
Diego Brandao: He talked about moving into the top 10, and there are viable ways for him to try to move up.Number 12 contender Hacran Dias would make the most sense of the ranked featherweights. If the UFC is content to just keep booking him as an action fighter, there are plenty of other options.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQULJwEATaU
Mizuto Hirota & Teruto Ishikawa: Well, neither lost. Their fight, being the finals of Road to UFC Japan (basically The Ultimate Fighter: Japan) was supposed to go to a fourth “sudden victory” round in the event of a draw, and it’s still a bit confusing as to why it didn’t. Anyway, Hirota’s late enough into his career that he’s probably going to be an action fighter on cards in the eastern hemisphere, so why not match him up with fellow Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri next? They’ve never faced off before and it would likely be entertaining. As for Ishikawa, give him Brian Ortega next, if just because it’s incredibly fun on paper.
Losers:
Roy Nelson: He looked much more skilled than in a long time, with a diversified attack. But he’s still slowing down physically with less than optimal conditioning. If Ben Rothwell loses to Stipe Miocic (who beat Nelson easily), that feels like the right fight to make for both. Otherwise, he could be used as a rebound fight for Travis Browne whenever he comes back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfIaSHvPabw
Gegard Mousasi: I don’t think Hall winning was a fluke, but I don’t think it indicated any kind of downslide for Mousasi and there’s no reason to book his next fight against someone outside of the top 10 or 15. Thales Leites is coming off of a super close loss to Michael Bisping and a legit top 10 middleweight, so that makes plenty of sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fydWO6-VW7Q
Chico Camus: He’s running the risk of becoming the new Tim Elliott, a guy who only gts booked against top guys in hard style matchups, leading to a losing streak and being cut even though he’s better than much of the division. If Sean Shelby wants to book him against another ranked fighter, then Chris Cariaso feels like the best matchup. That said, Cariaso is fighting Camus’s teammate Sergio Pettis next week. If Cariaso were to pull out a win there, then Wilson Reis is a better fit, albeit a tougher style matchup. If he’s to get an unranked fighter in more of a rebound matchup, then the loser of Ryan Benoit vs. Ben Nguyen at UFC 193 would make for a really entertaining fight.
George Roop: He really hasn’t looked good aat all in his last two fights, getting quickly starched by Rob Font (where IS he, anyway?) and then whatever his fight last night was supposed to be. Roop’s fight I.Q. was pretty lousy, constantly wading into the clinch against a fighter who was much more comfortable there and barely trying to use his sizable reach advantage. He’s claiming that the bad on I.V. rehydration won’t have any effect on him (and really, until we see how it plays out, we can’t factor it in), so looking at who’s available…Joe Soto is coming off a bad loss and needs to rebound.
Katsunori Kikuno: He’s 2-3 in the UFC and 1-2 at featherweight, so he’s probably getting one more shot. Jimy Hettes, Brandao’s previous victim, would be a solid choice and make for a fun fight.
