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This past Saturday Night featured the long anticipated return of the UFC to the Fox Network, an event that saw two new top contenders crowned. Also, a middleweight fighter moved to contender’s status and a Strikeforce heavyweight made his UFC debut. If that was not enough, something happened on this card that has not happened on any UFC event in well over a year.
Round One: The Rivalry Will Come To An End
For well over a year now, Rashad Evans has been battling or his shot at hated rival Jon Jones and the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. After demolishing Phil Davis for five rounds on Saturday Night, Rashad Evans will finally turn the work into a reality. Rashad Evans now has only three months to prepare for Jon Jones as they will battle it out for the gold at UFC 145. As for Phil Davis, he will take this demoralizing loss and hopefully learn from it to become a contender in the future.
Next Round For Rashad Evans: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 145
Next Round For Phil Davis: Thiago Silva, Ryan Bader or Brandon Vera
Round Two: Get Ready For Brazil, Chael Sonnen
Ever since he was tapped out by Anderson Silva at UFC 117, Chael Sonnen has been fighting and talking his way into title contention. After barely escaping with a victory over Michael Bisping on Saturday Night, Chael Sonnen will get his long anticipated title rematch. Unfortunately, Chael Sonnen winning means that Michael Bisping had to lose, despite a great effort in the first two rounds. Michael Bisping is not far from a title shot either, but he will have to be waiting for Chael Sonnen’s fight with Anderson Silva to happen first.
Next Round For Chael Sonnen: UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva this Summer
Next Round For Michael Bisping: Mark Munoz, Chris Weidman or Rousimar Palhares
Round Three: 32 Pounds In Eleven Days
Middleweight competitor Chris Weidman was not scheduled to fight until the Spring, but an injury to Mark Munoz put him in position to compete on Fox. In just eleven days, the undefeated fighter shed thirty two pounds to make weight for a battle with Damian Maia. Once the fight started, the relative rookie in Chris Weidman dominated the crafty veteran Damian Maia with superior striking. Despite being gassed badly in the final round, Chris Weidman earned himself a unanimous decision victory.
Next Round For Chris Weidman: Michael Bisping, Mark Munoz or Rousimar Palhares
Next Round For Damian Maia: Dan Miller, Chris Camozzi or Alan Belcher
Round Four: A “Big†UFC Debut
When UFC President Dana White announced the abolishment of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Division, it would only be a matter of time before the fighters migrated to the UFC. Lavar Johnson was the first to make the jump over as he took on Joey Beltran during the preliminary card on Fuel TV. In the fights opening round, Lavar Johnson pummeled his opponent with uppercuts until the referee jumped in. If more Strikeforce heavyweights have as much success as Lavar Johnson had in his UFC debut, the division just got a lot more interesting.
Next Round For Lavar Johnson: Mike Russow, Mark Hunt or Matt Mitrione
Next Round For Joey Beltran: A UFC release
Round Five: We Missed A Fight
For the first time in well over a year, there was a fight on a UFC card did not air on live TV or via a Facebook stream. That fight was a middleweight clash as Chris Camozzi defeated Dustin Jacoby by submission in the third round. Ever since the UFC Fights For The Troops event over a year ago, all fights from every UFC card have aired live in some form. Hopefully this is a trend that will not continue, because hardcore MA fans definitely want to see every fight on the card.
Next Round For UFC: UFC 143 this Saturday Night
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