Contributor: Ben Kohn
Well last night was pretty entertaining for the most part I would say, if lacking in any sort of relevancy in the grand scheme of things. The only fight that had a real impact on the top of any division was Formiga/Makovsky and that had an outcome that bummed me the hell out. Overall, I understand the need for cards like these but I do believe they could have put on at least one more fight that impacts a division in a major way.
Bader showed us exactly why he’s needed at light heavyweight. If you’re a legitimate contender and top 5 fighter, Bader is a great win to add to your resume if you can beat him. If you’re a pretender, you’re gonna be bitched slapped back down the rankings. Bader bitched slapped OSP and his “athleticism” out of any ridiculous talk of contention with a beautiful display of wrestling and a nice display of his improved striking, avoiding most of the damaging blows, and taking one or two without any issue, as well as outlanding OSP on the feet at points as well. OSP is not a prospect at this point anymore and there’s no point in thinking otherwise until he changes camps and really puts his skills together. Seriously, that cornerman was fucking awful last night yelling at him like that. No technical advice except for “BREAK HIS ARM”. I can see Bader getting a lower top 10 guy again honestly if he wants to fight again soon. Or they might stick him in with Rumble, which could be dangerous for both men. I like that fight a lot though.
Ross Pearson made me a really sad panda last night. Maynard looked great in the fight, improved striking and footwork again, his wrestling came into play as he was able to get Pearson down a few times and it seemed he could beat him but as the first came to a close, I got a really bad feeling. Maynard needs to retire, period. His chin cannot handle the punishment anymore, despite being able to hang skillwise. I really like him and want him to be able to speak clearly after age 50. Pearson didn’t look very good up until the KO so not much to say about him. I guess maybe a top 15 fight is in the cards for him, Myles Jury perhaps?
Brad Tavares was kicking the crap out of Tim Boats up until “The Barbarian” decided “fuck this noise” and went full on MDK mode, blasting Tavares with a hook and chasing him down to land a long right hook as he tried to recover. Boetsch is clearly not top level but he can still deliver these awesome moments and should be able to hang around for a while longer. While Tavares is still young at 26 with a 7-3 record, this is definitely a big setback for him. He is not the most exciting guy generally and nothing about him sticks out to make people care about him. He needs to make a statement whenever he comes back.
Alan Jouban is really good looking but god damn is he tough as shit too. Seth Baczysnki rocked him badly, beating him across the cage before getting tagged hard and put down in a classic KO style. Jouban isn’t exactly young but having a fight of the night in your very first octagon appearance against a tough vet like Baczynski is a nice entrance to make. Jouban vs. Akiyama….my body is ready.
Shawn Jordan remembered he could wrestle eventually and finished May in the 3rd round by TKO. Not a great performance by Jordan and he took a lot of punishment before deciding to take the fight to the ground. May is probably going to be released and Jordan is basically done as a prospect at this point.
Thiago Tavares beat the shit out of Robbie Peralta quickly and he looks good at featherweight. His grappling and now added size advantage should make for an interesting combo. Let’s see what he can do against some better competition though. Peralta is just becoming a big bust and he really needs to get to a better camp and work on his grappling, a lot.
Oh Zach, I was really sad last night. Your beautiful transitional game actually bit you in the butt a bit last night. 
While Makovsky’s excellent chain wrestling is a major plus in his fights, against an excellent back-taker like Formiga, the single-leg into the hip toss was not the right strategic maneuver and we saw you could control him on his back from guard without being subbed in the third. This eliminates a new contender at flyweight for the time being as Formiga is nowhere near a title shot. I think Makovsky can work his way back with two wins though and expect him to do so. Still love ya, Fun Size!
Sara McMann took the safest route, albeit not very exciting or impressive, route to victory against Murphy last night. She displayed the excellent chain-wrestling we know she has and some nice improvements standing but she needs to punish her opponents once she gets the takedown. Against Gaff, she blasted her hard from the guard but she was content just to hold Murphy down all night. The split was dumb imo and McMann won 2-1 on the scorecard I had but if she wants another title shot, she needs to be way more aggressive on the ground. I say give her Tate if she beats Nakai.
I didn’t get to watch the Watson/Alvey or Ticman/Saenz fights but Watson really needed the win badly and I heard it was a meh performance anyway. Saenz apparently destroyed Ticman so hooray for more prospects!
That’s all I got for you now fight fans so keep on keeping on and enjoy your week!
-Ben can be reached @agentbenten or at [email protected]
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