UFC on Fox 9 Recap

Joe Benavidez waking up from a KO
loss for the first time in his career.

An injury heavy card did not provide a ton of finishes, but it was incredibly entertaining anyway.  Also, the one knockout that happened was the one we least expected.  Here are the quick results and some opinions from yours truly:

Prelims:

• Alptekin Ozkilic shows he is a legit threat at flyweight after beating Darren Uyenoyama via decision.
• Abel Trujillo beats Roger Bowling (debatably again) with a dominant performance start to finish.  He has some serious power for a lightweight.
• Sam Stout got the better of Cody McKenzie in a goofy fight that ended with Stout winning all 3 rounds.
• Also winning 30-27 on all three judges scorecards was Zach Makovsky.  By beating veteran Scott Jorgensen, Makovsky made a huge statement.  Him and Ozkilic are new flyweight threats.
• Bobby Green had a speed advantage that gave him the edge in a close decision against Pat Healy.  Green is fighting Trujillo next while should really test Green's all around game.  I must say I was very irritated by his arrogance and disrespect for Healy.  Pat has dropped 2 in a row but he always puts on a battle and should not be dropped by the UFC anytime soon.  He's one of the most relentless fighters I have ever seen.
• Edson Barboza was tagged early by Danny Castillo and beaten up for the entire first round only to come back and win the next 2 and the fight.  Barboza got the majority decision but I agree with Dana White and 1 of the 3 judges that the fight should have been scored a draw.  The first round was so dominant Castillo should have won 10-8.
• Ryan LaFlare pulled of another impressive win by winning a decision over Court McGee.  He is a rising star at welterweight.  Maybe him vs Thatch would make sense for his next fight.  Both are newcomers who have made emphatically impressive UFC debuts.

Fox main card:

• Joe Lauzon won a decision for the first time in his UFC career over Mac Danzig.  Not the typical exciting Lauzon fight but an important win.  Danzig is likely gone with 3 consecutive losses and only 3 wins in his last 11 fights.
• Chad Mendes looked amazing early, tagging Nik Lentz and nearly getting the finish.  However, he was battling an illness and ran out of gas after the first round.  He used takedowns and lay n' pray to finish off the decision with a win.  I could tell from the start of the second that Mendes looked off because he usually has endless cardio and is not the kind of guy to use wrestling to lay on top of guys and win a decision.  I do not believe he should be penalized because of this.  He should get the winner of Aldo vs Lamas for his next fight.  However, Mendes is usually very active and will likely not wait for that title shot.  Look for him to win much more impressively in early 2014.
• Urijah Faber has been a legend of the sport seemingly forever.  His win over Michael McDonald may have been his most impressive performance yet.  Faber tagged him a couple of times, beating McDonald at his own game.  Once rocked, Faber hit McDonald over and over again before eventually grabbing his signature guillotine choke.  He took home Submission of the Night, a hugely impressive win, and likely cemented himself as the next guy to fight for the bantamweight title.  Faber and Mendes both will likely fight the UFC 169 winners for the belt next.
• Demetrious Johnson has only lost to 2 men, Brad Pickett and Dominick Cruz.  Joe Benavidez has only lost to 2 men, Demetrious Johnson and Dominick Cruz.  Benavidez now has 4 losses split between those 2 men after Saturday night.  I have never picked DJ to win a single title fight yet, and he keeps proving me and everyone else wrong.  Ever fight he adds a new trick that we have never seen him use before.  Against Benavidez, that trick was power.  Joe looked comfortable and was dominating the striking and wrestling exchanges for the fight minute and a half.  I was thinking to myself, "wow Benavidez looks great!"  Then, BOOM.  DJ timed a right hand perfectly and Benavidez's night was over.  Joe had never been knocked down before in the UFC or WEC.  DJ knocked him not just down, but out cold.  It was by far the most impressive win of DJ's career and I will never doubt him again.  Next for DJ will likely be the winner of Ali Bagautinov and John Lineker.  Benavidez should fight Darrel Montague, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen, or John Dodson next just because those would all be awesome.  By the way, I just said I would never doubt DJ again but I lied.  If he fights Brad Pickett again I have to take "One Punch" to beat DJ.  Pickett is and always will be my boy whether he is fighting at bantamweight or flyweight.

Picks entering event: 184/315

Picks for event: 6/11

Pick totals: 190/326=58.3%

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