1. Jermell Charlo: Charlo and Tony Harrison had their rematch, and in a great contest, where the fight would have been determined, according to the official scorecards, in the eleventh and twelfth rounds, Charlo finished Harrison off. The stoppage may have been a little premature, but after the knockdowns, Harrison would have had to put on the round of the year to recover in the 12th. The trilogy sells itself.
2. Chan Sung Jung: I personally blame Frankie Edgar’s stupid hair for his loss to Chan Sung Jung. Nevertheless, you run through and thoroughly dominate someone like Edgar, who, while not in his prime, is an extremely tough out, he gave Max Holloway everything he could handle recently, that’s a hell of a feather in your cap. The Korean Zombie called out Alexander Volanovski afterward, and it might be time to give him his first title shot in over six years.
3. Alex Pereira: Do you think Ertugrul Bayrak was a little out of his depth challenging Pereira for his Glory Middleweight title?
4. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar: On the same card as the debacle that was Chavez-Jacobs, a Julio Cesar actually came to fight, as Aguilar claimed the vacant WBC World Flyweight Championship in a terrific effort over vet Cristofer Rosales.
5. Liam Williams: After a quick and nasty destruction of Alantez Fox, Williams is now the mandatory challenger for the WBO Middleweight championship, currently being held by Demetrius Andrade.
6. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: Something Bellator has never been adept at is developing and showcasing female talent, but Macfarlane seems like the real deal and looks better every outing. She improved to 11-0 and defended her Bellator Flyweight title with a dominant decision over Kate Jackson in the main event of Bellator 236.
7. AJ McKee: Took the next step in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix with a triangle armbar over Derek Campos. On deck is the winner of Adam Borics and Darrion Caldwell.
8. Jeff Horn: Enacted some measure of revenge on Michael Zerafa after his loss to him in August, regaining his WBO and WBA secondary titles, flooring Zerafa twice in the process.
9. Oscar Escandon: A liver shot will make equals of us all. Escandon came in as a +850 underdog, and in some books, more than +1000. A first-round liver shot landed absolutely flush on hot prospect Jhack Tepora and that was all she wrote in the first round of that contest. Escandon is a tough vet, so maybe that leads to something, maybe it’s a one-off. But that’s how it goes in the fight game.
10. Charles Jourdain: Air Jourdain (his nickname, not mine) neutralized Doo Ho Choi, the Korean Superboy, pulling off the biggest MMA upset of the weekend, and getting a banner win for him.
11. Luis Tavares: In the co-main of Glory Collision 2, Tavares defeated French multi-champion Stephane Susperregui by unanimous decision.
12. Craig Jones: In a matchup of two in the very best and easily the best matchup at Submission Underground 10, it was Jones tapping Gilbert Burns with a heel hook a minute and four seconds into their bout.
13. Debora Anahi Lopez: After a UD win in Buenos Aires over Niorkis Carreno, Lopez is the new WBO Women’s Flyweight champion.
14. Irwin Rivera: A flying knee opened up a cut that Rivera focused on to eventually finish Danny Sabatello to retain his Titan Fighting Championship bantamweight title in the main event of Titan Fighting Championship 58 on Fight Pass Friday night.
15. Daniel Jacobs: Tough times in the family trade for the Chavez family. To paraphrase Ron White regarding Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., that boy’s got a lot of quit in him. After getting into some actual trouble against Jacobs Friday, Chavez the weaker called it quits in his corner, much to the same look from his father that mine gave me when I told him I wasn’t going to finish college. Afterwards, they played the same notes. Jacobs headbutted, broken everything, he was the actual victim, ok, ok. The crowd in attendance was a little less than pleased with the son of one of the greatest Mexican boxing warriors ever, pelting the ring with drinks, trash, and a woman’s boot, amongst other items.
Honorable Mention:
Efe Ajagba: After Liborio Solis couldn’t get a visa, Ajagba and Iago Kiladze became the FOX co-main, and boy did they deliver. So many knockdowns, including Ajagba getting put on his wallet, until he rallied and forced a corner stoppage in the fifth round. Lots of fun heavyweight prospects on the come-up.
Gordon Ryan: In a bit of a size mismatch, Ryan took exactly a 60 seconds to heel hook Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event of Submission Underground 4.
Volkan Oezdemir: He’s not dead yet! Little iffy decision, but he stopped the freight train that was Aleksandar Rakic enough to eke out a split-decision.
Daniel Dubois
Toby Misech: After an illness sidelined Josh Barnett just before Friday’s Bellator: Salute to the Troops card in Hawaii, Misech and Erik Perez became the main event, and didn’t disappoint, turning on Perez’s lights under a minute in.
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