Schaub vs Gonzaga
What Happened: Schaub was able to keep this fight on the feet and use his superior stand up to beat Gonzaga to the punch en route to a decision win. Gonzaga did very little to mount any sort of offense in this fight. Schaub on the other hand was active and constantly moving, but never went in for the kill or showed any sort of killer instinct when he had Gonzaga rocked.
What Next: Gonzaga has solidified himself as nothing but a gatekeeper in the heavyweight division. The UFC will most likely use him either as a stepping stone for their up and coming contenders, or as a rebound fight for contenders coming off of losses, such as Brock Lesnar. For Schaub, it's time to give him another crack at a legit heavyweight. He called out Frank Mir, although I don't think he's ready for that matchup. I'd like to see him get in there with Cheick Kongo and see what sort of blood bath ensues.
Tito Ortiz vs Matt Hamill
What Happened: Ortiz looked good early, landing combos and kicks, and quite possibly taking the first round. Once the second round rolled around, Hamill took the fight to mat and controlled Tito for much of the rest of the fight. Tito looked tired by the 3rd round and found himself being beaten to the punch by Hamill. Hamill takes a close decision win.
What Next: Tito has now lost his last 4 fights, and hasn't won since 2006. But, he looked game in both of his last two fights against Hamill and Forrest Griffin. Unfortunately, Tito's wrestling game, the one thing that once made him UFC champion, is no longer what is was. Ortiz has little to no shot at a title run, and the only fight left that would be worth watching is a third meeting with the Iceman.
Hamill looked pretty good in this fight, but I just don't really notice much improvement in his game. His wrestling was dominant as usual, but his standup still looks really slow and technically unsound. In a division ruled by strikers, Hamill needs to switch it up somehow. Don't forget how badly Jones handled him, so Hamill is still a good ways away from the top. People are saying he should fight Lil Nog. This could very well be a repeat of Nog-Bader, and I'd much rather see Rogerio fight somebody like Forrest or Thiago Silva/Brandon Vera winner. Throw Hamill in with someone like Bonnar, a guy who will take the fight to him. Or a match with up and coming prospect Phil Davis could be very interesting.
Diego Sanchez vs Paulo Thiago
What Happened: Thiago seemed to control the bout early using stiff counters and getting Diego to the ground. Halfway through the 2nd round Diego lifted Thiago into the air and ran across the ring screaming in a scene reminiscent of Hughes-Trigg, before planting Thiago and the mat and unloading fists. From here on out it was Diego's fight, as he was able to secure a body triangle on Thiago in the 3rd and walk away with a unanimous decision win.
What Next: This was a huge win for Diego. Coming off of losses to BJ and Hathaway, it looks like the move back to Jackson has paid off for Diego, who still says he plans on returning to 155 for another run at the title. It's hard to see where he fits into that division right now, but it appears that he is as hungry and ferocious as ever.
As for Thiago, he has fizzled out and settled into the gatekeeper role. He didn't mount too much offense in this fight, except for constantly attempting Brabo chokes. He is now 3-3 since joining the UFC and it seems his win over Koscheck may in fact have been a fluke. Seems like a sound opponent for John Hathaway to rebound against.
Jake Shields vs Martin Kampmann
What Happened: Shields went with his usual gameplan of taking the fight to the floor. Kampmann looked very timid to throw his hands/kicks, obviously due to the fact that he knew Shields would shoot in on him. Either way, Kampmann showed great takedown defense and a great ability to get back to his feet. Shields looked noticeably exhausted by the third round in this fight due to a tough weight cut and just barely squeaked by with a split decision victory.
What Next: Jake Shields said it himself before this bout that he needed an impressive victory in order to earn a shot at GSP. With that performance, Shields is definitely not ready for a shot at the champ. Shields needs to become more accustomed to this weight and get his cardio in order. It now seems that he may need another win before getting a title shot, and oh look, there's Jon Fitch just waiting in the wings for a fight. Is there any better #1 contender matchup out there right now? I think not.
Kampmann, even in defeat, continues to impress me. I know Shields wasn't his normal self, but the fact that Kampmann was able to sprawl and get back to his feet the way he was surprised the hell out of me. Coming off of a loss, he has nothing but exciting matchups ahead of him. A possible rematch against Condit, or bouts against Lytle, Dan Hardy, or the Alvez-Howard winner are all potential fights for the Dane.
Cain Velasquez vs Brock Lesnar
What Happened: Brock came out and bullrushed Cain, throwing punches and knees before dragging Cain to the ground. But then, to everyone's shock, Cain got up... Brock pushed him up against the fence and secured another double leg. Then Cain got up again. Then Cain took Brock down, and began unloading punches. Brock got back to his feet and literally stumbled across the ring like a drunkard before falling over and staggering into the fence. Cain continued to unload with punches and knees, bloodying Brock up before finally getting him down one last time and putting him away with hammer fists. First round TKO for your new UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez.
What Next: For Velasquez we all know what lies ahead. Junior Dos Santos. This fight has been a longggg time in the making, as each of these guys has been tearing through the HW division. Though the casual fan may not find this fight too interesting, hardcore fans will be chomping at the bit to see these two go at it. Since neither of them took too much damage in their bouts, let's hope they can schedule their fight for sometime in the near future. UFC 125 anyone? Super Bowl Weekend? Make it HAPPEN DANA!
As for Brock, he is slowly but surely becoming a one dimensional fighter. His standup has been looking shotty in his past couple of fights, and it seems that any time he gets hit he panics like a little girl who just saw a spider. The fact still remains that Cain is the only person who has successfully gotten up after being taken down by Brock, and Cain's wrestling is far superior to most of the other fighters in the HW division. While people probably want to see rematches against Mir or Carwin, Brock is still the UFC's biggest draw, and they won't risk having him lose two fights in a row. Expect him to take on someone he can easily take down and pound on. Gonzaga maybe? I would like to see Brock in there against Big Nog, that'll bring back memories of Bob Sapp being in there.
So that's it, a quick rundown of each fight and where the fighters stand in their respected division.
Some feedback on these would be great too. If you guys want to hear more/less about certain topics, issues, let me know and I'll try to address them in future posts. Also any critiques on my writing, reviewing, etc would also be appreciated as I'm still getting into the groove of writing again. Thanks everyone.
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