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The UFC put on its third effort on Fox this past weekend and while the rating may have come in a little low, the action was at an all-time high. Two fighters became top contenders in both the UFC Lightweight Division and UFC Welterweight Division respectively. Also, two heavyweights slugged it out and two UFC Ultimate Fighter champions competed with mixed results.
Round One: Diaz Gets His Title Shot
While Nick Diaz is dealing with retirement and legal issues, his brother Nate Diaz earned himself a UFC Lightweight Title opportunity. At UFC On Fox III, Nate Diaz became the first fight to ever submit Jim Miller, which is quite the accomplishment. Jim Miller had no answers for Nate Diaz in their two rounds of action and Nate Diaz quickly took advantage of that. With a crowded UFC Lightweight Division, Nate Diaz has emerged as a talented fighter who now has a title opportunity in his future.
Next Round For Nate Diaz: The Ben Henderson/Frankie Edgar winner
Next Round For Jim Miller: The Ben Henderson/Frankie Edgar loser
Round Two: Johny Hendricks Gets His Shot As Well
The other fighter earning himself a title shot at UFC On Fox III was Johny Hendricks, who earned a split decision victory over Josh Koscheck. While the fight was extremely close for all three rounds, Johny Hendricks did just enough to get a future title shot. Johny Hendricks rise to the top has been an amazing one, but he now has a long wait while the two UFC Welterweight Champions have to meet first. That fight is still a long ways off because Georges St. Pierre is still dealing with his badly injured knee.
Next Round For Johny Hendricks: The Georges St. Pierre/Carlos Condit winner
Next Round For Josh Koscheck: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Rory MacDonald or John Hathaway
Round Three: The Talent Beats Leg Locks
Heading into UFC On Fox III, one thing was apparent, that was that if Rousimar Palhares got a hold of Alan Belchers legs…it was all over. Alan Belcher not only escaped the leg locks of Rousimar Palhares, but he voluntarily took the fight to the ground. While not in the top three of the middleweight division, Alan Belcher is quickly nearing top contender status. The real issue seemingly lies with Rousimar Palhares, who has nothing to fight with if he cannot get the tap out with his leg locks.
Next Round For Alan Belcher: The Mark Munoz/Chris Weidman winner of Michael Bisping/Tim Boetsch loser
Next Round For Rousimar Palhares: Chris Leben, Alessio Sakara or Karlos Vemola
Round Four: Pat Barry Went For A Submission?
One thing was for certain when the UFC announced Pat Barry versus Lavar Johnson, a slugfest was taking place in the octagon. While for the most part that prediction held true, something else happened that shook the fabric of the MMA universe. That fabric shaking moment happened early in the first round as Pat Barry went for a submission, to be more specific, an amaericana. Submission attempt or no submission attempt, it was Lavar Johnson earning the victory when it was all said and done.
Next Round For Lavar Johnson: Philip De Fries, Matt Mitrione or Oli Thompson
Next Round For Pat Barry: A UFC release
Round Five: Two Ultimate Fighter Champions…Two Different Results
The final two fights on the Fuel TV portion of the card featured two UFC Ultimate Fighter Champions in Tony Ferguson and John Dodson. John Dodson went up first and despite a broken hand, managed to defeat UFC newcomer Tim Elliot by decision. Tony Ferguson on the other hand, had no answer for Michael Johnson and he went on to lose a decision. While there is no doubt that Tony Ferguson will drop in the lightweight rankings, John Dodson is closer to a title shot then most think.
Next Round For John Dodson: Louis Gaudinot, Yasuhiro Urushitani or Darren Uyenoyama
Next Round For Tony Ferguson: John Alessio, Dennis Hallman or Effrain Escudero
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