Contributor: Josh Hall
UFC 173 is in the books, and it will very possibly go down as the strangest card of 2014. This all came to a head in the main event, where the massive underdog TJ Dillashaw turned in the fight of his life against the arguable #1 pound for pound fighter in the world (according to Dana White at least), UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao. Dillashaw looked like a different fighter (literally, more on this in a minute) and not only beat the champion, he dominated him from bell to bell.
The Alpha Male fighter could have cruised to the title in the fifth and final round as he was miles ahead on the scorecards but he continued to stay on the attack until he finally floored Barao one last time and scored the TKO win and the 135 pound title. From the purpose of a betting line perspective, this was the biggest upset in UFC championship history, eclipsing Matt Serra’s shocking victory over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69. In many ways this was far more shocking, because this wasn’t a puncher’s chance that came through. The better man was around an 8-1 underdog at many sports books, and left no doubt that he is the best fighter in the world at bantamweight. How could everyone have gotten it so wrong?
Sometime between his last fight and UFC 173, TJ Dillashaw morphed into Dominick Cruz on the feet, only if Cruz started hitting like a tank. With no hyperbole, I have never seen a fighter’s striking game evolve that suddenly, and a big reason for that has to be his coach and former UFC fighter Duane “Bang” Ludwig. As a fan it was awesome seeing Ludwig in tears celebrating with his champion, watching both of them enjoy seeing their careers validated in a genuinely special moment.
As for the rest of the card, it paled in comparison to the main event but certainly had its moments. Daniel Cormier is a bad man, and he threw a terribly undersized, TRT-less Dan Henderson around like a ragdoll before winning via technical submission from a rear naked choke in the third round. Because Hendo is Hendo, he did not tap, and Cormier put him out in a showcase fight that should grant him the winner of Jones/Gustafsson 2.
Robbie Lawler cemented his top 3 status in the welterweight division with a dominant performance over a fairly uninspired Jake Ellenberger. Ellenberger suffered from a frequently occurring problem of getting gun shy, and Lawler’s advantage in speed did not help him there at all. Lawler finally put Ellenberger down by third round TKO after one final violent flurry and out himself near, if not at the top of the list of challengers for welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.
Fight IQ proved to be the difference in Takeya Mizugaki’s win over Cisco Rivera as the fight had periods of insane violence on the feet and dull grappling sequences. Rivera did an awful job off his back, showing a complete lack of sweeps and a constant inability to tie up a relatively inactive fighter in his full guard. Mizugaki almost didn’t need any of it as he came with an eyelash of finishing the fight in the first round after a perfectly placed right hand, but he instead settled for the unanimous decision win and his fifth win in a row.
Poor Jamie Varner. I hate seeing a fight decided by an injury, and watching him fight almost the entire first round on a broken ankle was excruciating to watch. He was far too tough for his own good here, but I can only respect the heart he showed in there. I honestly don’t know how to rate this for Krause. It is a big win on paper but in reality he won a fairly close round against an opponent that couldn’t walk. PS: The doctor stepping on Varner’s foot after the fight was awful, and that might be a guy that doesn’t need to be in the Octagon again. Ouch.
Michael Chiesa’s top game is no joke, and he put it on full display in a lopsided unanimous decision win over Francisco Trinaldo. He even managed to find the unicorn of MMA, the mythical 10-8 round, on two judges’ cards.
Tony Ferguson looked like a beast in what amounted to a snuff film against Katsunori Kikuno, tagging him early and often. Kikuno’s hands stayed low for the whole fight, and as a result it ended in a very predictable but entertaining first round KO for Ferguson.
Chris Holdsworth might be a legit prospect at bantamweight and he kept his perfect record alive with a lopsided unanimous decision win over Chico Camus. Holdsworth is a massive bantamweight, and he looked at least one weight class bigger than Camus. With his size and grappling skills he is going to be a tough out for almost anyone at 135.
Al Iaquinta won all but roughly 10 seconds of this fight and seemed to be cruising to another impressive win when things when wrong quickly. Mitch Clarke hit one of the prettiest D’Arce chokes I have ever seen, going from the bottom in side control to choking Iaquinta out cold in the blink of an eye. A+++submission and my personal favorite of 2014 thus far.
Vinc Pichel fought a very smart fight by exploiting the awful takedown defense and Jiu Jitsu of Anthony Njokuani, who might be better off in kickboxing at this point in his career. Pichel’s belly to back suplex was his biggest moment in a clear unanimous decision victory.
Aaron Phillips has potential but he was simply not ready for the strength and top game of Sam Sicilia. The unanimous decision win was an especially big one for Sicilia as he came into the fight having lost three out of his last four and this will keep him off the chopping block.
Jingliang Li opened the card with his first UFC win, a split decision over David Michaud in a competitive fight that was lacking in the skill department. Both men showed their inexperience throughout but it was a fairly fun opener between two guys who are very much still learning.
-Josh can be reached at [email protected] or @jhall282.
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