Portland Has A New UFC Title Contender And He Goes By "Bam Bam"

UFC 159 had more than a few memorable moments. It was a card built around West Linn's Chael Sonnen, a middleweight fighter coming off of a loss, who skillfully campaigned his way directly into the cage against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The day before the event, Nick Catone (9-4) was hospitalized due to dehydration, a result from his strenuous weight cut. His fight with James Head (9-3) was soon after declared canceled. Saturday night, the remaining 11 fights on the card begun, and so did one night of bad luck. There was Yancy Medeiros (9-1) and his dislocated thumb, the bad decision victory given to Ovince St. Preux (13-5) after an accident eye poke landed on Gian Villante (10-4) in the second round haunted the fight, Alan Belcher (18-8) receiving a fight ending eye poke that gave him 8 stitches, and the awkward and shocking toe injury that Jon Jones (18-1) suffered in his successful title defense against Chael Sonnen (27-13-1). It must have been a full moon. Yet in the midst of all the jumbled chaos, there were moments of beauty. And one of those moments was the first fight on the event's main card.

Portland's very own Pat "Bam Bam" Healy (30-16) went to war with fellow lightweight Jim Miller (22-5). Miller led the first round by flashing his quick striking and mixing things up often. In the second, Healy was able to capitalize on his size and grappling advantages to grind away at Miller. He kept dominant position throughout the majority of the round and used his advantageous positioning to land a damaging ground and pound. As the third round began, Miller showed slight signs of fatigue and Healy went for the finish. With less than a minute left on the clock, Healy got the stoppage. The victory earned Healy his 8th win by rear naked choke, $130,000 in bonuses, and a spot in multiple MMA news outlets' top ten lightweights lists. USA TODAY Sports, MMA Junkie, Sherdog, MMA Weekly, and countless others have him in their top ten as a result of his recent performance, and I could not agree more. I unofficially rank him at #7.

At 29 years old, Healy has amassed an impressive fight resume. It contains 46 professional fights and a star-studded list of opponents. In October of 2004, Healy choked out former UFC welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy (25-10) with a first round guillotine. The very next year, he used the same choke to finish UFC veteran Paul Daley (31-12-2). Even Carlos Condit (28-6) fell victim to a Healy choke in 2006. But his current run is the most impressive of his career. On a seven fight unbeaten streak, 10-1 in his past 11 fights, Healy has torn through his new home at lightweight. After taking out an elite veteran in Miller, Healy is placed near the top of the UFCs current lightweight roster. So, what's next?

There's three different options that make sense for Healy. Option one would be a rematch with Josh Thompson (20-5). Thompson defeated Nate Diaz (16-9) by head kick TKO on April 20th. He is currently ranked one or two spots above Healy. That makes sense due to the fact that Healy's only loss in the past three years is to Thompson. The second option slates Healy against an opponent he was matched up to fight for the Strikeforce title, Gilbert Melendez (21-3). Melendez is coming off of a failed title bid and sits at number two according to most rankings. Lastly, a matchup against the winner of UFC 160's Khabib Nurmagomedov (19-0) vs Abel Trujillo (10-4) would make for an entertaining bout against a near ranked opponent. Whoever the UFC chooses, Healy has what it takes to win. Portland has a new contender and he goes by "Bam Bam".

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Portland Has A New UFC Title Contender And He Goes By “Bam Bam”

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper