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Round One: The Janitor Has Been Fired
There was no doubt at all in my mind that Jon Jones was going to be victorious over Vladimir Matyushenko on Sunday Night. However, what easily boggled my mind was how destructive Jon Jones was when his dismantled Vladimir Matyushenko in less that two minutes. Jon Jones didn’t really allude to it much in the post fight interview, but he believes that it is time for him to face top tier competition in the UFC. As for Vladimir Matyushenko, he should return to his role as gatekeeper in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division.
Next Round For Jon Jones: Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin or a rematch with Matt Hamill.
Next Round For Vladimir Matyushenko: Stephan Bonnar, Ryan Bader or Krszystof Soszynski.
Round Two: Mark Munoz Felt The Thunder
Yushin Okami has always been on the verge of a UFC Middleweight Title opportunity, but thanks to Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen, never got his opportunity. Yushin Okami has since rebounded to defeat perennial contender Mark Munoz by split decision this past Sunday Night. Yushin Okami used unbelievably good takedown defense and well timed striking to put Mark Munoz in his place and back down the ladder in the UFC Middleweight Division. Also, one must remember that Yushin Okami already holds a victory over UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, albeit a disqualification win.
Next Round For Yushon Okami: Anderson Silva
Next Round For Mark Munoz: Alan Belcher, Damien Maia or Nate Quarry
Round Three: The Fireball Nailed Tyson Griffin
Most people had written off Takanori Gomi as a potential threat in the UFC, myself included, but he may he proven several people wrong when he fought Tyson Griffin. Takanori Gomi took less than a round to unleash a powerful right hand to face plant Tyson Griffin to the ground below. In a post fight interview, Takanori Gomi stated that he wasn’t mentally prepared in his first UFC fight against Kenny Florian, but now knows how to “fight American.†Whether or not the quick knockout means that Takanori Gomi is back to his old ways is unknown, but his next few UFC fights should be interesting to watch.
Next Round For Takanori Gomi: The Kenny Florian/Gray Maynard loser.
Next Round For Tyson Griffin: Effrain Escudero, Clay Guida or Mark Bocek.
Round Four: John Howard Felt Doomsday
John Howard went into his battle against Jake Ellenberger on Sunday Night with an undefeated UFC record, but left the cage with his first loss in the octagon. John Howard not only left the octagon with his first UFC loss, but he left the cage with what looked like a baseball attached to the side of his head. As Joe Rogan said during commentary, “John Howard doesn’t have a mouse on the side of his head, he has a whole rat.†There is only one person who should be given credit for remodeling John Howard’s face and that person is Jake Ellenberger, who put on an elbow striking clinic on “doomsday.â€
Next Round For Jake Ellenberger: Dong Hyun Kim, Amir Sadollah or Phil Baroni
Next Round For John Howard: Gerald Harris or Phil Davis
Round Five: Welcome Back, Big John
The first time I ever watched a UFC event on pay-per-view was UFC 2 over a decade ago, which was won by Royce Gracie. The night, a lone referee used the phrase “lets get it on†to start the fight, that referee was known as “Big†John McCarthy. John McCarthy was a UFC fixture for a long time until he announced his retirement as a referee following the Diego Sanchez/Roger Huerta fight a few years back. After awhile away from the sport, John McCarthy returned to officiating MMA and recently returned to the UFC, which seems like his home away from home.
Next Round For John McCarthy: Hopefully officiating more UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator Fight Championships and other MMA events.
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
