Contributor: Ben Kohn
Last night was both awesome and weird at points and there were some major shifts in the dynamics of certain divisions last night. Let’s get right to who did what and which fighters were the biggest winners and losers last night.
Biggest winner: Demetrious Johnson has to get this award for sure. Think about it for a moment, he has now successfully defended his title 3 times, finished his last two opponents, and has essentially given the proverbial middle finger to his detractors saying he can’t finish his opponents. He has also just knocked out his biggest challenge to date in the first round, won an extra 50k in the process earning him a reported payout of 300k, and is being talked about as one of the tope fighters pound for pound after Jones and Aldo. Pretty sweet deal for 2 minutes of work right? Oh did I mention he’s extremely classy as well? Damn DJ, you so likeable and humble and shit.
Biggest loser: It actually pains me to say that Joseph Benavidez has to gain this honor. He was on an excellent win streak with lots of momentum and it all came crashing down with a single punch. His improvements in the standup under Bang did show last night before getting floored but now he is literally stuck as the Jon Fitch of Flyweight. He can beat almost anyone but the champion and he’s way too young to already be in that position. The fact that he got finished basically guarantees he won’t be getting a title shot until Johnson loses and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Rough break for Benavidez in a brutally tough loss.
Old Man Moment of the Night: Urijah Faber, I don’t know how you manage to do it, but in non-title fights, you are just unstoppable. Faber completely dominated an incredibly good fighter in Michael McDonald from bell to submission. Not only that, he rocked the heavy-handed youngster with punches before latching on the infamous Alpha Male guillotine to elicit the tapout in the third round. Faber is 34 years old and just earned his 4th win in a row and another title shot to boot. He also really earned it and at this point, I really hope he wins the title.
Michael Jordan Playing with the Flu Award: This one goes to Chad Mendes, who despite having a sinus infection and flu like symptoms, completely outclassed Nik Lentz for most of their fight. I know I predicted a blow-out but when all is said and done, Lentz is actually a very good fighter who will give many top ten fighters at Featherweight tough fights. Mendes coasted for two rounds and still won them. While he may not get the title shot off of that win, he is definitely not losing any ground in my opinion.
Debut of the Week: What a way to make a statement Mr. Makovsky. 22 days ago, Zach fought a 5 round title fight and won by unanimous decision, and last night beat a perennial top 10 bantamweight handily by unanimous decision and looked great doing it. His striking and takedowns were on point and those head outside singles were pretty sweet. To top it all off, it almost immediately makes him a contender. Johnson has already beaten Benavidez, Dodson, McCall, and Moraga. Formiga, Elliot, and Gaudinot are coming off losses, Ali B. needs more top wins and Lineker needs to make weight. Makovsky may be as little as 1 more win away from a title shot. Damn Zack, nice job!
Total “What the Fuck” Moment: Cody McKenzie easily wins this award from last night. Coming into the cage with no sponsors or banner, one cornerman, basketball shorts from Wal-Mart with the tags still on, and no mouthpiece so he had to buy one….wow. Also he decided to drink in the tunnel right after losing his fight…double wow. He’s got to be the weirdest guy on the roster right now, and yes, I know Diego Sanchez is still on the roster, but that doesn’t count because Diego is crazy.
Kim Winslow Award for Terrible Officiating and Judging: This one goes to a combination of the referee in the Danny Castillo vs. Edson Barboza fight and the judges for that fight as well. The referee did not deduct a point for a blatant fence grab by Barboza to escape the RNC and 2 of the judges decided that round 1 was not a 10-8 for Castillo despite the fact that he basically murdered Barborza in the cage. Really terrible job and although Castillo deserves fault for letting off the gas (or punching himself out) he was screwed by those judges and the official as well.
Most Likely to be Cut: After last night, Cody McKenzie is probably going to get cut because he’s just clearly not UFC level and it shows in more than just his in cage performances. I really think that he needs to be let go because there’s no excuse for a guy like him to be on the roster if guys like Ben Askren are not being signed. It is bullshit and demeaning to fighters of Askren’s caliber. I’m sure Cody is a nice guy and I wish him the best but he’s got to be let go at this point.
Final Thoughts: Overall, it was a great night with some awesome fights and performances. The divisional shifts create some interesting options and watching the title fight end like that was just icing on the cake of an already fun card. UFC on Fox 9 gets 4 out of 5 stars in my book.
-Ben can be reached at [email protected] or @agentbenten.
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