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Round One: Rampaging To The Top
Following the debacle of the Jon Jones/Rashad Evans title fight that was to happen in August, the UFC needed a new top contender to the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Quinton “Rampage†Jackson put himself in the title picture now after soundly defeating Matt Hamill by unanimous decision. Quinton Jackson even did it while fighting with a broken hand, which he didn’t reveal until after the fight had concluded. Also notable was how much Quinton Jackson’s takedown defense improved in that fight, which is key if he gets a UFC Light Heavyweight Title opportunity.
Next Round For Quinton Jackson: A UFC Light Heavyweight Title shot against Jon Jones
Next Round For Matt Hamill: Thiago Silva, Brandon Vera or Luiz Cane
Round Two: The Fall Of A Fat Ass
Nobody can deny the overall toughness of Roy Nelson, but his lack of conditioning has been playing into the last two losses in the UFC. Frank Mir’s victory should not be taken lightly because after the health issue with Brock Lesnar, now finds himself in the top five of the UFC Heavyweight Division. Frank Mir continues to show improved conditioning and his ability to out game plan his opponents in recent fights has been impressive. Depending on how the upcoming Junior Dos Santos/Shane Carwin fight plays out, there could be an interesting situation developing in the UFC.
Next Round For Frank Mir: The loser of the Junior Dos Santos/Shane Carwin fight
Next Round For Roy Nelson: Travis Browne or Mirko Cro Cop
Round Three: A Giant Tumbles
Stefan Struve is considered to be the future of the heavyweight division, but Travis Browne put a time warp in those plans. With one impressive looking superman punch, Travis Browne turned Stefan Struve’s lights out and future success on hold. Travis Browne, who is undefeated in the UFC, now finds himself on the verge of becoming a contender in the division. Travis Browne is now in the same position as Matt Mitrione in the UFC, a fighter with tons of upside but not yet ready to fight the top five.
Next Round For Travis Browne: A rematch with Cheick Kongo
Next Round For Stefan Struve: Brendan Schaub or Dave Herman
Round Four: Two New Contenders
When folks tuned into the preliminary fights on Spike TV, they saw an epic battle as Demetrious Johnson defeated former WEC Bantamweight Division Champion Miguel Torres by unanimous decision. Demetrious Johnson may have to become a patient fighter for a little while, because he may have to wait until the Dominick Cruz/Urijah Faber fight ends to see which champion he faces. Brian Stann nearly found himself out of a UFC job a few years back, but he has gone undefeated since moving to the middleweight division. After handily defeating Jorge Santiago on Saturday Night, Brian Stann could find himself a few victories away from a title shot.
Next Round For Demetrious Johnson: A UFC Bantamweight Title shot
Next Round For Brian Stann: Wanderlei Silva or Jorge Rivera
Round Five: First Facebook…Now Twitter
The UFC took a huge step several months ago when they started airing live fights from both pay-per-view and broadcast events on Facebook. Now, the UFC has taken the next step forward in their social media expansion by advertising fighters Twitter accounts. This may seem inconsequential to most, but keep in mind that the UFC brass are now offering bonuses to fighters who most creatively using Twitter. Like them or not, one must hand it to the UFC for taking steps beyond the traditional ways of advertising in order to get more eyes on their talent.
Next Round For UFC Social Networks: A little Digg or Myspace action?
You can contact David Tees at bigteesps3@yahoo.com
