The first five hours of UFC Denver were a slog. Sure, there were a few nice moments. Devonte Smith looked like a million bucks in his UFC debut. Maycee Barber looks like a future contender. But most of the action was… it was just there. Then Donald Cerrone looked better than he has in a couple of years, delivering his first armbar submission in the UFC and celebrating with his family. While that was all nice and good, the main event delivered far beyond anyone’s expectations… and expectations were high. Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez delivered a FOTY with craziest, most ridiculous finish I’ve ever seen with a single second left on the clock. It was a spur of the moment upward elbow as Rodriguez was bent over that put Jung to sleep. I know that sounds weird, but you have to see it to understand what I’m saying. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, go look it up. You will not regret it.
Winners
Yair Rodriguez: Just this spring/summer, Rodriguez was on the outside looking in of the UFC. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and Rodriguez ended up back in the organization to deliver what may have been the performance of a lifetime. There were times when it was crazy to think Rodriguez was still standing and there were times it was crazy to think Jung was still standing. Rodriguez walked out of the contest with the win when he nailed Jung with that elbow, the likes of we’ll probably never see again. Rodriguez may have put himself on the outskirts of contention talk in the process. At this point, all I want is to see the UFC try to line him up with Zabit Magomedsharipov again. Here’s hoping it works out this time.
Donald Cerrone: While there’s no doubt that Cerrone has slowed down, he put on a vintage performance against Mike Perry. He was patient, prodding Perry with the jab before Perry reacted by going to the ground. Cerrone stayed calm, locked in an armbar from off his back, and refused to let go even when Perry slammed him to the ground. In the process, Cerrone took sole possession of both, wins in the UFC and finishes in the UFC. If it took having a kid for Cerrone to find his fire again, I’m all in, even though he’s unlikely to be a contender again.
Germaine de Randamie: In her first fight since her title winning performance 21 months ago, GDR looked brilliant. When Pennington allowed GDR to fight at a distance, GDR picked her apart. When Pennington tried to close the distance and clinch up, GDR brutalized her with knees. What was supposed to be a close contest wasn’t competitive in the least. If GDR can avoid another long absence from the cage, she could end up earning another title shot… provided the UFC will allow that to happen after GDR refused to fight Cyborg Justino.
Beneil Dariush: I didn’t want to put Dariush here as his victory over a debuting Thiago Moises was boring as hell. However, I can’t blame him for taking the grinding approach he did as Dariush hadn’t won a contest in over two years. He needed a win and picked one up in dominant fashion, even if it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing.
Maycee Barber: Too often, it seems like the UFC’s hyped prospects are being pushed to the moon to quick. Barber appears to be the exception. Granted, she was facing an opponent in Hannah Cifers who stepped up on short notice, but Barber impressed nonetheless. Her brand of violence is exciting as hell, brutalizing Cifers in the clinch and on the ground. Keep a close eye on her goal of becoming the youngest champion. It doesn’t seem far-fetched.
Mike Trizano: I’m still higher on the future of Luis Pena than I am of Trizano, but Trizano was the one who maximized his abilities to walk out with a very close decision win. Nonetheless, Trizano looks like the type of guy who will dirty up any fight that he’s in to make it close. He’ll drop a decision soon enough as he moves up the ladder, but there is no such thing as an easy fight when Trizano is involved.
Bobby Moffett: Despite the controversy of Moffett’s victory, the UFC newcomer looked good. If your of the belief he didn’t deserve the victory, holding his own against the likes of a veteran like Chas Skelly is nothing to sneeze at. Alas, the referee saw fit to give Moffett the controversial win, making it impossible to put Moffett anywhere else. Moffett is worth keeping an eye on going forward.
Davi Ramos: Let’s be honest, we didn’t expect his fight with John Gunther to go any other way. Ramos got the takedown immediately, quickly transitioned to the back, and was patient in working his way to the choke. Even my old man – who only watches MMA occasionally and doesn’t care for grappling – appreciated the craft of Ramos. Let’s get the guy a step up in competition.
Devonte Smith: Before we declare Smith has arrived, keep in mind that the Contender Series find just turned the lights out on another Contender Series veteran in Julian Erosa. He still needs a LOT of seasoning. Nonetheless, his KO was tight, taut, and beautiful. The kid called out Ross Pearson, which makes sense for him. For the shopworn Pearson? Not so much. We’ll see if it happens.
Mark De la Rosa: Given the UFC is looking to eliminate the flyweight division, De la Rosa needed a win to maintain his employment. It was a close fight, but De la Rosa was rightfully awarded the victory over Joby Sanchez thanks to being the busier fighter with his fists early on. The question is how long he’ll be able to stick around against larger fighters as Sanchez is a natural flyweight.
Losers
Mike Perry: This was as good of an opportunity for Perry to pick up a signature win as he’s had. Cerrone hasn’t had the same lust for fighting in the last year or so and has even looked fragile at times. Instead of looking to test Cerrone’s chin, Perry looked to show off his improved wrestling skills and it cost him. Perry isn’t going anywhere as he’s built up enough of a name and reputation, but he needs to find a camp that emphasizes his strengths while helping to fill in the holes of his game. Jackson-Wink appears to be filling in the holes, but it doesn’t appear to be emphasizing his strengths.
Raquel Pennington: Given Pennington’s issues with confidence in the past, I worried she wouldn’t be in the right head space for her contest with GDR. I was totally right. Pennington either looked like she didn’t want to be in the cage or lacking confidence. It didn’t help that she looked tiny by comparison next to GDR… a bit ironic given Pennington missed weight for the contest. Pennington’s future has never looked more bleak.
Thiago Moises: Here’s hoping the loss doesn’t mess with the youngster’s confidence as Moises scored zero notable offense in his loss to Dariush. To be fair, Dariush is one of the more accomplished grapplers in the lightweight division, so it wasn’t necessarily surprising. Despite that, no one wants to lose in that manner. It was a very rough night for the youngster.
Luis Pena: I can’t diagnose what was up with the man known as Violent Bob Ross, but something was off. He was coming up short on his punches and couldn’t secure his takedowns. It resulted in a close decision that could have gone either way. Unfortunately for Pena, it went against him. Regardless of how the decision went, Pena’s stock was going to take a hit. He built up enough good will that he’ll get some leeway, but nobody is going to refer to Pena as a future star if he continues to fight this way.
Amanda Cooper: This was a painful loss for Cooper. She made some clear gains in her grappling, escaping a couple of tricky situations from Ashley Yoder, landed far more takedowns, and seemed to do more damage overall. Despite that, Cooper came out on the short end of the stick on the judges’ scorecards, likely resulting in lost employment in the UFC. Not all is lost as Cooper is young enough she could work her way back, but it still hurts.
John Gunther: Gunther is good for TUF as he’s a unique personality, but the UFC wants him gone as his fight style is ugly as sin. They pit him against someone who was going to beat him in about the most humiliating manner possible and everything went according to plan. Gunther doesn’t seem like someone the UFC wants to give another opportunity to.
Julian Erosa: The poor guy works his way back into the UFC after quickly washing out in his first stint and gets stomped in less than a minute to a youngster making their debut.
Joseph Morales: Morales is a great example of why it’s a shame to see the UFC eliminating the flyweight division. He’s not quite ready for prime time at 24, but he showed plenty of flashes to make himself an exciting action fighter. Alas, two losses in a row should seal his fate: back to the regional scene for the Team Alpha Male product.
Joby Sanchez: It’s possible the UFC keeps him around given his willingness to take the fight on less than a week’s notice, but the loss to De la Rosa dropped Sanchez’s UFC record to 1-4. That’s not encouraging for his future. My guess: he’s gone with most of the flyweight division.
Mike Winkeljohn: The war of words between Winkeljohn and Cerrone doesn’t appear to be over, but Cerrone got the upper hand where it matters most: the cage. Cerrone continued to throw barbs by saying he actually had a strategy for once, something he claimed he never had while under Winkeljohn’s tutelage. Plus, Cerrone’s victory came at the expense of one of Winkeljohn’s latest proteges. Are we witnessing the fall of one of MMA’s most notable camps?
Neither
Chan Sung Jung: I really wanted to put Jung in the winner’s category. He looked great. His fight was exciting. He took home an extra $50K. It was a great night in many ways. However, never in all of my years of watching the great sport of MMA have I ever seen someone so assured of victory have it snatched away from them in the manner it was from Jung. A single, lousy second was all that was left on the clock when Jung was put out cold. That’s it. While I’m excited to have seen that finish, I feel terrible for Jung. Here’s hoping he suffers no long-term effects from the injury cause that fight left me wanting to see more of him in the cage. He’ll never be an all-time great fighter, but Jung is an all-time great entertainer.
Hannah Cifers: Sure, Cifers took a BRUTAL beating at the hands of Barber. It’s safe to say nobodies face looked worse than the newcomer for the night. And yet, Cifers showed enough spunk that plenty of people are excited to see her next contest. She does look like she’s too small to become a major player, but she’s going to be a fun action fighter for quite a while. Great signing for the UFC.
Ashley Yoder: I’m a fan of Yoder. I have yet to be bored watching one of her contests. But I thought it was pretty clear she lost her contest with Cooper, even if it was competitive. Nonetheless, Yoder is the one who looks like she’s keeping her job in the UFC as she walked out with the win. I can’t call her a winner when she didn’t deserve it, but I can’t call her a loser when she’s the one keeping her job.
Chas Skelly: I can’t say positively if Skelly would have gone to sleep had the d’arce choke he was in remained in place for much longer, but Skelly proved himself to be a hell of a nice guy in the process. After protesting vehemently when he rose to his feet, Skelly began apologizing to everyone he emotionally protested and refuted the idea of a rematch as he didn’t want to take anything away from Moffett. Anybody who appreciates rooting for the good guy is going to find it hard rooting against Skelly. In other words, Skelly can’t be considered a loser with that level of class.
Eric Shelton: This was easily the best performance from Shelton in his UFC run, but it wasn’t a dominant performance. That may be what he needs to maintain employment. He doesn’t have the feel-good story of being married to another member of the roster the way De la Rosa is, so it’s no guarantee Shelton survives the elimination of the flyweight division. I hope he does, but I’m being realistic here.
Tim Mills: The referee of the Moffett Skelly fight is going to continue receiving criticism, but when the victim of Mills’ miscue admits he can understand where Mills was coming from, it’s hard to throw Mills under the bus. Even though Skelly may have been able to fight out of the choke, there was no guarantee he would. Given I’d rather see the referees hedge on the side of caution, I was fine with the stoppage.