I was pleasantly surprised with how UFC 204 played out. It wasn’t an all-time great card, but it certainly exceeded expectations and delivered an instant classic title fight. As with most close bouts that go the distance, controversy surrounded the final decision as Michael Bisping walked out with a successful title defense under his belt over the legendary Dan Henderson. Regardless of whether or not it was a loss, no one will disagree that Henderson couldn’t have ended his career on a better note. I won’t be able to break down the fight as much as I would like given this column is about looking into the entire card, but I will say I won’t argue with the decision even if I scored it just a bit different.
Now that I’ve had a few days to reflect on the fallout of the event, here’s my thoughts on UFC 204 with every fight and fighter involved broken down. The format is simple. The first bullet covers what was expected to happen and an attempt at a brief summary of what did happen. The next two bullets cover my thoughts on each fighter, how they did, and where they might be headed from here with the winner being covered first.
I will also reference Zane Simon’s article from a few days ago (featuring a guest match maker), which gives a great breakdown of his thoughts on the future of a number of fighters as well.
Leonardo Santos defeated Adriano Martins via split decision
- Expectations/Results: While no one doubts the abilities and talents of either Santos or Martins, it felt like it could be a stylistic stinker between the two Brazilian veterans. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what turned out to be the case. It felt more like a halfhearted sparring session between the two, Santos pumping a jab and Martins throwing a high volume of leg kicks. It could have gone either way, though the truth is the action was lackluster enough that no one cared who won or lost.
- Santos: Santos should be extremely happy that judges seem to value jabs more than leg kicks as I felt Martins landed far more effective kicks than Santos did punches. Regardless, it was close enough that I’m not going to complain with the decision. I don’t feel like Santos made a statement which is something he needed to do if he wants to move up the ladder. However, since he has proven he can put on an entertaining performance if matched up appropriately, I’d like to see what he can do with the ultra-aggressive Abel Trujillo who has shown a weakness to wrestling and grappling. Santos doesn’t wrestle well, but there are few better grapplers and he’s economical on the feet as well.
- Martins: While I do feel Martins won, I have no sympathy for him. He did it to himself with his lack of activity, sitting back and trying to counter. This strategy has cost him before, so the end result was no surprise. He did turn up the volume in the final round, but it was too late by then. Martins is good enough to beat some of the ranked lightweights ahead of him, but he’ll never get that opportunity with the conservative style he utilizes as the UFC has proven they will reward those who entertain over those who win. Kind of like Santos, Martins can entertain in the right matchup. Joe Lauzon might be the right guy for that, but I’d imagine the UFC would rather put Lauzon against someone else. Perhaps James Vick will be available.
Mike Perry defeated Danny Roberts via KO at 4:40 of RD3
- Expectations/Results: While Perry looked impressive destroying Hyun Gyu Lim in his UFC debut, Roberts’ boxing background and superior striking defense – compared to Lim – was expected to overwhelm Perry’s simplistic approach. At times, his strategy to stay out of Perry’s range and pepper him with kicks and punches was successful. But usually Perry walked through Roberts’ volume in order to turn the fight into a brawl, hurting Roberts at the end of every round before finally getting the finish late in the third round. Great display for Perry, though Roberts has nothing to be ashamed of.
- Perry: I’ve missed the mark on Perry. His grappling and transitions were something I didn’t see in his regional fights, but what he displayed against Roberts is better than what I had predicted. And his toughness… the kid looks like he can walk through hell and back without being phased. He needs that toughness as his defense is porous, though I think it will improve as he is still quite raw. His power is what makes him truly special though, especially seeing him go the distance of a fight without fading too badly. It’s tempting to put him in there with someone like Ben Saunders or Alan Jouban simply due to the fireworks I’d expect, but they may be too much, too soon for the youngster.
- Roberts: My opinion of Roberts didn’t drop after this contest. I already knew that he tended to abandon his boxing fundamentals and slip into a brawl from time to time and that was what led to Perry winning. But Roberts showed a lot of toughness himself. I’d like to see him be able to threaten with takedowns more in the future and maintain his striking mechanics as he could wash out fairly soon otherwise. Lucky for him, he has the looks of a fun action fighter that the UFC doesn’t tend to release without a long losing streak. A fight with Luan Chagas would be bonkers. Nico Musoke isn’t a bad option either… if he is still on the roster.
Marc Diakiese defeated Lukasz Sajewski via TKO at 4:40 of RD2
- Expectations/Results: The one area Sajewski seemed to have an advantage was in the grappling department. Thus why it was understandable the Pole took the fight to the ground at every opportunity he was presented with. When he couldn’t, he’d push Diakiese against the fence to negate the Englishman’s athletic advantage. He couldn’t do that at all times and Diakiese would score with bursts of offense. The deeper the fight went, the harder it was for a tiring Sajewski to smother Diakiese. Diakiese looked better and better before a flurry of hard punches from Diakiese to saw the ref stop the action late in the second round.
- Diakiese: It wasn’t the ideal performance for the young prospect, but it’s hard to complain with the final result. Sajewski exposed holes in Diakiese’s wrestling and grappling that Diakiese was able to overcome thanks to his explosive athleticism. That won’t be enough to save him as he climbs the ladder, though it’s clear he has a bright future. Hopefully someone can tame his wildness as that is what got him into troublesome positions with Sajewski as there was often no rhyme or reason to what he was throwing. Perhaps it was excitement at making his UFC debut. Here’s hoping the UFC doesn’t throw him into the fire too soon.
- Sajewski: I’ve felt Sajewski just didn’t have the physical tools to find success in the UFC ever since he made his entry. This fight does nothing to change that opinion. He doesn’t have bad fundamentals… though they aren’t especially sharp either. He just can’t make his body do the same things his opponents are often able to do. That isn’t to say there aren’t people on the roster he couldn’t steal a win from, but those occasions would be too far and few between. Expect to see Sajewski back on the European regionals.
Leon Edwards defeated Albert Tumenov via submission at 3:01 of RD3
- Expectations/Results: Both Edwards and Tumenov are known as strikers, so an exciting standup battle was expected with Tumenov being a heavy favorite due to Edwards being too selective with his strikes. When they were on the feet, that very much proved to be the case. The problem for Tumenov is that a large portion of the fight took place on the ground. Edwards took the Russian to the ground multiple times in the first and was able to get Tumenov’s back in the final round and sink in a RNC to score the first sizeable upset of the night.
- Edwards: Edwards had been handed opponent after opponent who would rather fight on the ground headed into this contest, which forced him to improve his takedown defense. Come to find out he made himself a solid all-around wrestler in the process and not just a specialist at defending takedowns. That revelation makes him a prospect on the rise to watch. The possibility of a takedown not only makes him a multi-dimensional threat, but also makes his striking more effective. However, we don’t know just how good his wrestling actually is considering Tumenov is a poor wrestler. We’ll find out over the course of his next few matches. Both Chad and Zane made excellent suggestions, though I’m most partial to the Santiago Ponzinibbio suggestion.
- Tumenov: It hasn’t been a secret that Tumenov is a poor wrestler and grappler. That he was outgrappled by Edwards is a new low even with Edwards’ showing improvement. Tumenov is amongst the most talented strikers in the division and he exhibited thatnin the second round when he easily pieced up Edwards. But until he makes major strides on his ground game – including keeping it from going there – he isn’t going to match the high expectations that had been placed upon him following his victory over Lorenz Larkin. Now that I’ve stacked crap all over him, everyone needs to remember that he is only 24-years old. He has plenty of time to make himself respectable. Patience will be needed as we can’t expect major strides to show in his next contest. It will be interesting to see if the UFC gives him a striker or a grappler next.
Damian Stasiak defeated Davey Grant via submission at 3:56 of RD3
- Expectations/Results: In a contest few cared about, most expected Grant to use his massive frame to wear down Stasiak in a grinding contest. It didn’t really turn out that way. Sure, Grant used his size and strength, but he struggled every time he tried to wrestle and grapple with the Pole. Stasiak used his speed advantage to escape beneath the Englishman whenever the fight went to the ground and even scored a few sneaky takedowns, though he couldn’t use his speed to overcome Grant’s reach in the striking department. Despite the success on the feet, Grant went to the ground late and got caught in an excruciating armbar in Stasiak’s guard that probably broke the Englishman’s arm before he finally tapped.
- Stasiak: Stasiak isn’t a great athlete and his karateka background hasn’t translated over very well to the higher levels of MMA. Translation: he shouldn’t be winning many contests in the UFC. Yet he was able to steal the W from the mitts of Grant. Even crazier was his ability to outgrapple the bigger and stronger Grant. Isn’t this the same dude who lost to Yaotzin Meza in his UFC debut in a grappling contest? Then again, I’ve never been all that impressed by Grant’s wrestling and grappling anyway. Stasiak is going to have to win one more fight before I’m willing to proclaim him a legit UFC talent.
- Grant: How in the hell did Grant avoid tapping for so long? The only explanation is that the man is stupid tough. The problem is that he is going to have to spend time recovering from the damage done to his arm that could have been avoided had he tapped sooner. Perhaps it will also provide him time to figure out how to keep his opponents beneath him. Or how to avoid submissions in someone’s guard. There aren’t many opponents on the roster that are a more favorable opponent for him and he blew it. No doubt he gets another opportunity, but he’ll need to make the most of it as he’s now on thin ice.
Iuri Alcantara defeated Brad Pickett via submission at 1:59 of RD1
- Expectations/Results: Both Alcantara and Pickett have shown major signs of decline, particularly Pickett. Even with that, I still picked Pickett to win due to Alcantara’s struggles with wrestlers. I ended up looking like an idiot. Alcantara caught Pickett with a number of hard shots before flooring him with a spinning back elbow. When Alcantara couldn’t finish Pickett with punches, he went for a mounted triangle, transitioned into an armbar, and finally finished Pickett with a triangle off of his back.
- Alcantara: So has Alcantara found a way to revitalize his career or was Pickett simply a favorable matchup? Considering Pickett landed zero significant offense, I’m leaning towards the latter. That doesn’t mean the Brazilian hasn’t made some adjustments to make up for his declining athleticism. While I feel he’s best served to continue in a gatekeeper role, this performance was impressive enough that he deserves an opportunity to reclaim his spot in the rankings… provided he didn’t reclaim it following this performance. Eddie Wineland not only makes sense based on traditional UFC matchmaking, he also provides a hell of a potential action fight.
- Pickett: Pickett announced after his last fight that he was considering retiring had he lost to Francisco Rivera. Considering how non-competitive he was in this contest – not to mention anyone who watched Pickett’s victory over Rivera will admit he shouldn’t have won – Pickett should call it a career. He seems aware enough of where he is at in his career that I expect he’s fought his last fight. Hopefully he can transition into a successful career as a coach at ATT.
Mirsad Bektic defeated Russell Doane via submission at 4:22 of RD1
- Expectations/Results: Many view Bektic as one of the top prospects in the sport. Thus few were giving Doane much of a chance given his being a natural bantamweight and taking the fight on a single week’s notice. The only concern was how Bektic would respond from a long injury layoff. He responded beautifully. The only negative thing I saw was that he was unable to keep Doane on the ground in his early takedown attempts. Then again, he did take Doane back to the mat whenever he wanted. Bektic eventually got the Hawaiian’s back and got the tap from a RNC.
- Bektic: I think it is safe to say that Bektic had no ill-effects from his ACL surgery. He was explosive and his wrestling was as sharp as ever. Hopefully he can get an opportunity to fight a ranked opponent next as he has run through his last three opponents with no problem whatsoever. Darren Elkins has turned away the likes of Chas Skelly and Godofredo Pepey in his role as a gatekeeper. He’d be best served to continue to serve in that role and see if he can stifle Bektic’s offense.
- Doane: While Bektic has now won all four of his UFC contests, Doane is now on a four-fight losing streak. The consensus is that he is going to be released, but there is also a good chance he made a deal with the UFC to get one more fight should he step up on short notice. I hope that’s the case as Doane didn’t have much of a chance as he has never been a good wrestler. Putting him against one of the best wrestlers in the weight class above his natural weight class was as much of a setup for failure as I’ve ever seen. If he is to be cut, I’d rather it be based off of a loss in his own weight class, not when he is doing the UFC a favor and filling in on short notice.
Stefan Struve defeated Daniel Omielanczuk via submission at 1:41 of RD2
- Expectations/Results: Struve was a rightful favorite given the greater quality of victories over the course of his career. That didn’t stop some analysts – including me -- from predicting Omielanczuk from scoring the upset due to Struve’s most recent wins coming against shot competition in Bigfoot Silva and Big Nog. I made a huge mistake. Struve’s reach proved to be too much to overcome for the stout Pole who couldn’t get any serious offense going. Struve eventually realized his biggest advantage was on the ground, taking the fight there in the second round and cinching in a D’Arce choke that Omielanczuk couldn’t escape from.
- Struve: While Omielanczuk struggled to land more offense than the lanky Dutchman, he did outland him overall despite a 10" reach disadvantage. That isn’t a good sign for Struve. I’m not trying to take away from what was his most complete performance in years. I’m just saying he still isn’t a top ten heavyweight. Granted, he did prove that he can at least be a viable gatekeeper. While I don’t think he is more than that, he has earned the right to face better competition. The division is largely unbookedat this moment, so there are a lot of options. Struve has faced a lot of the top names in the division, though both Chad and Zane made sound suggestions Struve has yet to face in Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett.
- Omielanczuk: I figured it would take Omielanczuk a little while to start finding his range. Once he was starting to do just that, Struve took the fight to the ground and I have to admit I’m shocked at just how outclassed Omielanczuk was on the ground. Perhaps his struggles were due to Struve’s awkwardly long limbs, as he was able to survive Oleksiy Olynyk’s ground assault in his previous contest. Hard to give a definitive opinion. He’s almost in a no-man’s land as he isn’t good enough to beat the ranked heavyweights, but also has proven himself better than the bottom half of the heavyweight roster. If Todd Duffee ever comes back from his litany of injuries, I think that would be the best available fight for Omielanczuk.
Jimi Manuwa defeated Ovince St. Preux via KO at 2:38 of RD2
- Expectations/Results: Even though most agreed that this was a closely matched contest, very few were picking Manuwa in this one. After a strong first round from St. Preux in which he took down the Englishman multiple times, Manuwa stormed back in the second round. A knee earlier in the round appeared to put St. Preux out of his game as he threw very little volume from that point. A right hook from Manuwa wobbled St. Preux and a left hand put him out cold as to provide Manuwa with a slight upset victory.
- Manuwa: Well… this throws a bit of a wrench in the light heavyweight picture. Manuwa lost fairly non-competitive fights to Rumble Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson to clearly signify that he can’t compete with the elite. Even worse, he showed he still has major holes in his wrestling that both Johnson and Gustafsson exposed. Yet here we are with Manuwa having earned a chance at a top name at 205 once again. So who is available? Glover Teixeira isn’t booked, but he is coming off of a brutal KO loss. Manuwa could wait for the winner of Ryan Bader and Lil’ Nog as Bader is a heavy favorite. That would be my favorite option. Or the UFC could attempt to build up his name and put him in a contest with Shogun Rua. Either way, Manuwa’s time to make a move is now if he ever wants to make a title run.
- St. Preux: While most were looking at the fact St. Preux had fought for the interim title in his last contest, they were forgetting he had lost two of his last three. Now it’s three of his last four that he has dropped. Any talk of St. Preux potentially earning a legit title shot has to be officially dead now. St. Preux’s defense was pretty much non-existent in the second round and he didn’t threaten Manuwa with his outside attack, coming up short with most of his offense. Many have called for St. Preux to move to a bigger camp which he has resisted. This may be the setback that pushes him in that direction. If he doesn’t, don’t expect him to ever do so. I loved Zane’s idea to put him against Ilir Latifi next, though I also feel Lil’ Nog is a fine choice if the Brazilian falls to Bader.
Gegard Mousasi defeated Vitor Belfort via TKO at 2:43 of RD2
- Expectations/Results: Rankings meant nothing for most going into this contest as Mousasi was a pretty heavy favorite against the higher ranked Belfort as no one believes Belfort is the title contender he was when he was on TRT. The only chance Belfort had was to score an early flurry as he has been wont to do. He didn’t. Mousasi dominated the entirety of the fight, never giving Belfort the opening he was looking for while keeping plenty of pressure on the Brazilian legend. A head kick followed by a final and seemingly endless combination of punches from Mousasi finally spelled the end of Belfort about halfway through the second round.
- Mousasi: Can we officially say that Mousasi is beginning to live up to the lofty expectations that have been placed upon him? His striking looked sharper than ever and he displayed the killer instinct that many feel has been missing. With three straight wins and victories in five of his last six appearances, Mousasi deserves a chance to enter into title talks. Jacare Souza is the only fighter in the UFC’s top five – including the champion – that Mousasi has actually fought, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get him a fresh contest. Now he just has to wait for a few contests to play out. Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero face off at UFC 205 and Jacare rematches Luke Rockhold later in November. One of the winners of those contests will be fighting for the title against Michael Bisping. Whichever winner doesn’t get the title shot should face Mousasi on the same card as the title fight with the winner becoming the next #1 contender. If for some reason that doesn’t work out, a contest between the winner of Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker is a substitute I won’t complain about.
- Belfort: Yeah, it’s official. Post-TRT Belfort is a shot Belfort. At 39-years old with 20 years in the fight business, it’s probably time for Belfort to call it a career. I’m not saying there aren’t fights he couldn’t still win. The question is whether Belfort wants to spend the end of his career trying to squeeze out a few more wins that mean very little to his legacy while others try to build their career off of his name. I would hope not. There is one last fight that makes sense for him to end his career on is a rematch with Anderson Silva as both are well past their prime and have nothing left to prove. It’s winnable for both and would certainly generate interest, especially in Brazil.
Michael Bisping defeated Dan Henderson via unanimous decision
- Expectations/Results: It was expected Bisping would wear down Henderson with volume and either get a late stoppage or a dominant decision. Then again, no one would really be surprised to see Hendo blast the Brit with an H-bomb and end his career with the final trophy that has eluded him for his entire career: a UFC title. The H-bomb landed towards the end of the first round… but Hendo couldn’t finish the resilient champion. The H-bomb landed again towards the end of the second round… and again Hendo couldn’t finish Bisping! Bisping was dominating the second round to make it a contentious round when the knockdown was factored in. Round three was clearly Bisping and many felt the fifth was another contentious round, though I actually found the fourth to be closer. Yes, Bisping threw more volume and landed a bit more, but Hendo landed harder shots and blocked or deflected many of Bispings attempted strikes. Am I the only one who saw the round like that? Either way, Bisping took a unanimous decision to hold onto the belt in an instant classic, sending Henderson into the sunset.
- Bisping: Did anybody say home cooking? Crowds often end up influencing judges and I got a feeling they did so here. While I had Bisping walking out of the arena as champion, I scored the fight a draw. However, I digress. I’m not trying to take anything away from Henderson’s fantastic performance, but it has to be worrisome that the reigning and defending middleweight champion struggled to put away a 46-year old who had lost six of his previous nine contests. Then again, Bisping’s win over Rockhold has had a flukish feel to it anyway, so it shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise. I will give the champ credit for coming back from being knocked down twice by the hardest one-punch hitter in the sport, showing scores of heart to take the later rounds in the eyes of the judges. Still, I don’t expect he’ll retain the title once he faces an elite opponent who is in their prime. It’ll probably be a couple of months before we find out who Bisping faces next, but you better believe Bisping will be talking trash with all of his potential opponents even before it’s announced who he’ll fight.
- Henderson: Though I would have loved for Hendo to end his career with the title, perhaps it’s for the best he didn’t capture it. What kind of scenario would have played out had he won the title only to immediately vacate it? Thank goodness we don’t need to find out. As it is, Henderson was able to add to his already vast legacy by adding one more classic to a resume that shouldn’t be tarnished by the missing UFC gold. While I’m not going to say he is the greatest of all time, I don’t think anyone else has a resume that compares with Hendo when it comes to accomplishment and facing the best that not one, but two generations had to offer. Now we just have to hope that he doesn’t scratch the itch to come back should it arise…
Well, those are my collective thoughts. You won’t hear those from me for a while as BJ Penn’s comeback was once again aborted – this time due to injury – and resulted in the entire card in the Philippines being canceled this weekend. So we’ll talk again come TUF Latin America 3 Finale in four weeks.