UFC 72: Victory is in the books and as always there is a lot to discuss. In today's edition of Intelligently Defending we will take a look at each fight and more importantly try to figure out where the fighters from the card will go from here.
UFC 72: Victory is in the books. Was it a show for the ages? Of course not – but I've seen much worse – Arlovski/Sylvia 3 I'm looking your way.
Anyway I got some good feedback when I did this for UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson II so why not do it again for UFC 72: Victroy? Here is each fight, some analysis, and where each fight is heading now.
Winner: Hazelett, Submission, Round 1
Analysis: I saw this fight courtesy of UFC on Demand and it was a fun energetic fight to start off the evening for the live crowd. The two exchanged on the feet for the first few minutes with Hazelett showing some much improved stand-up. He won't be confused with Anderson Silva anytime soon but improvement in his hands will do wonders for him in terms of being able to set-up his ground game. Lynch slipped while throwing a kick just under the 3 minute mark and Hazelett went in for the kill. Dustin threw some very fast punches from the top and then sunk in a D'arce choke for the win.
What's next for Lynch? I don't believe the UFC will be bringing back Lynch unless they need someone for a European show. However, the fact that Lynch can now be billed as a ‘former UFC fighter' gives him some name recognition over in the UK, so I imagine he will get a shot in Cage Rage or some other European promotion.
What's next for Hazelett? Hazelett is still light years away from the main card but his victory on Saturday was a step in the right direction. I think the 21-year olds next fight should come against the 20-year old Tamden McCrory who just defeated Pete Spratt at Fight Night Live 10. This would have potential to be a very spirited and entertaining bout.
Winner: Sanchez, TKO, Round 2
Analysis: Another fight courtesy of UFC on Demand. Both guys come out and we are almost immediately in the clinch. The fight stays in this position for the first three minutes as both men work their dirty boxing. Robinson eventually drops Sanchez with a right and gets on top. Colin is unloading on the ground from the mount and side control. I can't believe Herb Dean hasn't stepped in. Robinson gets in an armbar and it looks to be over until Sanchez rolls out. Eddie gets a mount of his own and goes to work with punches and elbows for the last 30 seconds of the round. Good stuff there. Round 2 starts and Sanchez unloads a big right that floors Robinson. Eddie gets mount and starts throwing down and Herb Dean ends it 25 seconds into the round.
What's next for Robinson? See Steve Lynch.
What's next for Sanchez? With this win the ‘Manic Hispanic' will find himself on another prelim sometime in the future. He gets laughed at a lot simply because of his fight with CroCop but trust me, there are plenty of fighters who are worse than Sanchez. I could see possible next opponents for him being Justin McCully, Jake O'Brien, or maybe even Frank Mir.
Winner: Davis, KO, Round 1
Analysis: This one went pretty much how I anticipated. After Tan landed a few ineffective leg kicks Davis landed a huge right that floored the Liverpool native and then Marcus finished with a flurry of hammer fists in the ground.
What's next for Tan? Same situation as Lynch and Robinson.
What's next for Davis? There is no denying that Marcus Davis is on a roll. He has won nine in a row and four straight in UFC competition. However, he has still yet to beat anyone of note. He will get the chance to in his next fight as I can't imagine the UFC not giving him a step-up in opponent caliber the next time he gets into the octagon. Then and only then will we see how legit Davis is. Marcus Davis vs.Josh Burkman in a battle of TUF2 alums sounds very good to me.
Winner: Ed Herman, Submission, Round 2
Analysis: The first round saw Herman dish out the punishment both on the ground and on the feet. In the second round it looked like Smith would steal the fight but somehow Ed was able to escape from a tight guillotine. Herman got back in control and then dealt some brutal ground and pound and then ended impressively with a rear naked choke midway through the second.
What's next for Smith? If it were not for his miracle KO of Pete Sell, Scott Smith would be 0-3 since coming off of TUF4. As it stands now he is 1-2 with a very boring decision loss to Patrick Cote and an ugly loss to Ed Herman. I would say Smith is probably done in the UFC for a bit. He may go down to smaller orgs or maybe the UFC will delegate him to the WEC. Either way I wouldn't expect to see him back in the big leagues anytime soon.
What's next for Herman? With this impressive victory Ed Herman has erased the memory of his loss to Jason MacDonald. Herman has rolled off two straight wins were he has been in control the whole way. It now looks like Herman is ready to try to meet the expectations most had for him when he came off of TUF3. I think Herman's next opponent will be TUF3 teammate Kalib Starnes who has recently defeated Herman's training partner Chris Leben.
Winner: Tyson Griffin, Split Decision
Analysis: The 155-pounders steal the show…again. There was too much going on in this fight to recap it all but basically it went like this – Griffin has the upper hand, now Guida has the upper hand, now Griffin has the upper hand – and so on and so forth. It was tremendous stuff from both guys. Unfortunately, the decision was incorrect as Guida won rounds 2 and 3 -- but it was certainly a close fight.
What's next for Guida? Clay has suffered very close decision losses in his last two fights but lucky for him he has brought his A game and entertained the crowd in both efforts - so he will be back. The UFC has a lot of options as to who Guida's next opponent will be. Solid choices include Sam Stout, Leonard Garcia, and Jorge Gurgel. Either way, we will most likely see Clay on a prelim or maybe a main card of a Fight Night.
What's next for Griffin? Though many people thought he lost this fight, Griffin's hand was raised which is all that matters at the end of the day. The UFC needs to start separating the cluster at the top of the 155-pound division which is why I think they will put Griffin up against a high quality opponent his next time out. I think Tyson Griffin vs.Thiago Tavares, or Tyson Griffin vs. Din Thomas would fit well.
Winner: MacDonald, TKO, Round 2
Analysis: In the first round of this fight Rory was the much better fighter on the feet and did most of the damage. He even came close to catching MacDonald in a triangle before the bell rang to end the round. A lackluster second round saw MacDonald work for a full mount and bring down enough unanswered punches to get the fight stopped, despite the punches having very little behind them.
What's next for Singer? I'm not sure what kind of a deal Singer is signed for but I don't think the UFC will be needing his services anytime in the near future. Perhaps he will head back to ‘Wild Bills – Fight Night' which is where he was last seen previous to his fight Saturday.
What's next for MacDonald? Jason MacDonald has now amassed a 3-1 record in the UFC which is nothing to sneeze at. This win will probably keep him on the main card, but that also means he will need to take another stab at moving up to the next level in the middleweight division. A fight with Yushin Okami would make a lot of sense since they now share a win over Singer and since Okami is now on the comeback trail.
Winner: Griffin, Decision
Analysis: Did we see the beginning of a …gasp… smart Forrest Griffin? I think that fight with Jardine may have finally beaten some sense into him. Although judging from the amount of running he did it may have been a little too much sense. All in all, I thought Forrest did what he had to do. The first round was close, I even gave it to Ramirez for his takedown and flurry that stunned Griffin. After that though, Forrest cruised to the win. His combos were crisp and he used his kicks better than ever. Again though, I think there were points where he could have went in for the kill and backed up instead. I am hoping he finds a medium between his old style and his apparent new one before his next fight.
What's next for Ramirez? There were not many people expecting Hector to do much in this fight – and he proved those people to be correct. He will no doubt be sent back to the prelims. I think fights between him and Wilson Gouveia or Houston Alexander would be strong possibilities.
What's next for Forrest Griffin? Forrest is back on the winning track which is good because if he had he lost this one he would have been in some real trouble. While I criticized his retreat tactics I thought he looked great in this fight otherwise. Now we will see what the UFC wants to do with him. I am guessing they will put him up against a middleman between mid-card and main event status to see how he fairs. Someone like say Jason Lambert. If he wins there I imagine they will set him up with another big money fight – possibly Griffin/Ortiz 2.
Winner: Rich Franklin, Decision
Analysis: If you missed this fight just fast forward the first two rounds when you see it because they are about as entertaining as drinking bleach. This was the fault of Okami not Franklin who was ready to throw. Finally, in the third Okami got Franklin down and came within inches of finishing things but in the end Franklin held on. This wasn't exactly the barnburner we were all expecting.
What's next for Okami? What in the hell was Yushin thinking in this fight? I know he likes to start slowly but this was ridiculous – he literally did nothing those first two rounds. Anyway, down the ladder he goes but he will stay on the main card. I mentioned that a bout with Jason MacDonald would make a lot of sense. I could also see him taking on a rising Terry Martin in what would be a good fight.
What's next for Rich Franklin? A middleweight title shot. All I have been hearing is Franklin/Silva 2 is now set however, people seem to forget that Anderson is going to have to get by Nate Marquardt first. It will be a good fight either way. If Nate wins the title, I like Franklin's chances. If Silva retains, I think Rich will fall again.
)
