UndercarDVR: UFC on FOX: Bader vs. Johnson

Contributor: Nolan Howell

Welcome to another installment of UndercarDVR, where we review what you need to see from this week in combat sports. We go fight by fight to see whether it needs to be watched, saved, deleted, or watched in fast forward.

The UFC returned to Fox proper with a fairly strong main card …and Sage Northcutt.  Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight, and Bantamweight future title implications at hand, so let’s get to it and grab your remote.

Anthony Johnson defeated Ryan Bader by first-round KO in a light heavyweight bout.

• Separating the artist from the art, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson proved why he is one of the most valuable fighters in the light heavyweight division by disposing of Ryan Bader with ease. Johnson capitalized on a typical Bader lapse and put him away with punches. Johnson is such a valuable asset because he can hang at the fringe of title contention, but you can also throw him in there with anyone to get a highlight reel of a fight. In a weight class that always looks to be on its deathbed in terms of relevance, Johnson is must-see and elite, a combination the division needs.
• The fight was quick and ended excitingly. Bader always seems to be watchable because he is usually going to deliver a spectacular performance or go out in spectacular fashion. Rumble delivering the latter to Bader made it even more brutal. If you don’t need to devote a whole round to it, it is usually good for a watch. Verdict: Watch.

Ben Rothwell defeated Josh Barnett by second-round submission in a heavyweight bout.

• The main card was filled with surprises and this is perhaps the most shocking surprise. Rothwell had a path to victory as he always does, just by virtue of being able to hang anywhere while not excelling in any area. Rothwell didn’t need to ugly this up because he beat Barnett at his forte by grabbing a guillotine on a takedown attempt. Rothwell is such an anomaly because he can beat the Overeems and Barnetts, but he could also turn around in his next fight and lose to a late-replacement opponent. Barnett looks to be done and he has a lot of alternatives outside of the UFC that he excels in that he hopefully falls back on.
• Surprise ending like this are always worth a watch and even more so when heavyweights actually prove to have skills outside of one round of standing and banging and two to four rounds of sucking wind. Rothwell is an enigma that can put together strange and exciting wins and he is usually worth a look when he is on the victorious end. Verdict: Watch.

Jimmie Rivera defeated Iuri Alcantara by unanimous decision in a bantamweight bout.

• Rivera officially crossed over into having the right to compete with elite fighters by defeating the gatekeeper of all gatekeepers in Iuri Alcantara. The two took home Fight of the Night honors in a contest where Alcantara managed to win a round while Rivera had a clear advantage in two. Alcantara is likely hitting the dusty trail in the UFC at the age of 35 in a division so dominated by technique, speed, and other intangibles that often fade with age. The same can’t be said for Rivera, who officially crossed that quasi-prospect bridge by defeating a well-rounded fighter who can hang with the elites and feasts on the prospects and middling contenders in the lower ranks of the weight class.
• While this earned FOTN honors, it wasn’t anything that would blow you away. You still have time to get on the Rivera train if you so choose and he may be watching if you are invested in examining future talent for the UFC. Otherwise, it is worth a quick glance or two so you don’t have to devote yourself to 15 minutes of an aging gatekeeper and a future talent who could just as easily fizzle as he could fly. Verdict: Fast Forward. 

Bryan Barberena defeated Sage Northcutt by second-round submission in a welterweight bout.

• Well, so much for that, huh? Barberena tapped Northcutt from mount with an arm triangle that really shouldn’t trouble any professional mixed martial artist. The loss really speaks to the athleticism and potential Northcutt has coasted on and he will be back, but the UFC didn’t play the long game at the table and went all-in much to early. They still have chips to play with regarding Northcutt as he will quite literally learn and grow into the sport, but losing to someone like Barberena who will probably be out of the UFC in a year or two will linger with Northcutt and knock him back down to the bottom of the ladder in theory.
• The finish itself was not spectacularly exciting, but given what Northcutt could bring to the table down the line, this could be like watching Anderson Silva’s Ryo Chonan or Matt Hughes’s Dennis Hallman: a piece of history that you can look back on and say “remember when Sage Northcutt lost to Bryan Barberena before he got the title?” The fight will suffer from fading context as the years go by, but it is worthwhile from the potential historical perspective or for a nice fresh taste of temporary schadenfreude for a UFC hype train just temporarily getting knocked off the tracks. Then again, with Sage Northcutt, only God knows what little thing could shatter his psyche. Verdict: Watch.