UFC 113: Where the Winners and Losers Go

UFC 113: Where the Winners and Losers Go

by Peidro223

Whenever we watch Mixed Martial Arts or any combat sport for that matter, there is always a part of us that craves the upset, some primordial instinct that desires to see the little guy come up big in an unexpected way. We really got that in spades this weekend. Everyone from the little guys like Salter and Doerkson to the new champ, Shogun Rua, managed to overcome the oddsmakers assumptions.

The fun thing about events like 113 is that with so many unexpected results we are left with extremely interesting possibilities for potential match-making.

John Salter: Im not sure if Dana White pissed off some witch doctor or what, but there have been a strange wave of grotesque injuries in the UFC in the past two years. Just in 2010 we've already had Duane Ludwig get his ankle put on backwards and Jason McDonald have his leg turned into a silly straw. Like Darren Elkins, Stalter gets a hallow victory over a veteran and is left in a strange place in his division. I think a fight with Joe Doerkson will be good for sorting out two guys who won unexpectedly at 113 and thus are sitting at uncertainty at the bottom of the division.

Jason McDonald: Ouch. Looks like McDonald will be joining the Corey Hill club. The sad part is, Im not even sure if the UFC will be bringing him back after his surgery.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida: I really expected Yoshida to look for his judo throws and show off some of his slick BJJ in this fight. Instead, he played into what was Guyman’s best chance of winning and basically signed his own ticket out of the UFC. Such is the way of things in the cutthroat welterweight division I suppose.

Mike Guyman: Mike pulled off one of the many upsets of the night and in his case more than any other, you really gotta love to see it. I wont go into the sordid details here, but if you check out his wikipedia page and some of the articles on various MMA sites, you’ll see that this guy’s personal life was really as bad as it could possibly get just a few months ago and this was essentially a pink slip match that he was expected to lose. You can only hope that his demons are behind him and that he can use this upset to really get his career rolling again. I like Guymon facing the winner of the Jesse Lennox/Mike Pyle fight. Either man presents an interesting style matchup and it makes since considering where everyone is at in the welterweight division.

Tim Hague: Before I get to Hague, I need to make yet another rant about the judging in MMA. The right guy won this fight, but the fact that one judge saw it 30-26 and another saw it 29-28 is absurd. judges need monitors, plain and simple. Now on to Hague. Other than showing us that Pat Barry had yet to get around to watching those Jiu Jitsu instructionals he’d ordered, Hague hasn’t done a whole lot in the UFC. I was surprised he stuck around after the Tuchscherer loss and this one is certainly the nail in the coffin for his UFC aspirations.

Joey Beltran: I believe Jordan Breen said it best, Joey Beltran may be the worst fighter in modern UFC history to go 2-0. What an ugly fight. The Mitrione fight has been rumored which is fine with me. Lets just cross our fingers and hope for a double KO so we can see both of these bottom feeders out of the UFC.

TJ Grant: Grant’s had an odd UFC career. He wins a fight that generates a lot of hype for him, then gets it all deflated just one fight latter. Grant is still a solid mid-tier welterweight and despite the loss, I would still love to see him in a scramble-fest with John "Doomsday" Howard. Not only would this be an interesting fight to watch, but it would be a great fight for the division. If Grant wins, he’s right back in the mix at 170 and if Howard can polish him off, it puts him at 5-0 over nothing but solid guys and he’ll be ready for the top of the division.

Johnny Hendricks: The wrestling phenom’s undefeated streak continues. Unfortunately though, Hendricks boxing was really, really exposed here and it’s going to be something he needs to work on a lot  before his next bout. That being said, Marc Laimon is a MMA genius and I have no doubt the holes exposed in his game will be addressed in a big way. Hendricks is now 5-0 with Zuffa and is obviously ready for a bigger step up, I like Hendricks fighting the loser of the Diego Sanchez/John Hathaway.

Jonathon Goulet: This fight followed the Goulet script with surprising accuracy. He looks great, even wins the first round, then gets taped on the chin and everything ends for him in catastrophic fashion. Maybe him and Arlovski can start a support group for talented fighters with comically poor chins. He'll certainly have to find something to pass the time, because I doubt he continues his UFC career after back to back KO losses.

Marcus Davis: At least one bout last night went exactly as predicted. The universe is somewhat rightened. Davis did a lot to reset the train after one big Saunders knee derailed it. That being said, did anyone see this as anything other than a gimme for Davis?  He needs to get back to making statements in the division. A fight with "Rumble" Johnson would be the perfect way to do it. These two would be dynamite in the cage together and you always have the x-factor of Davis deciding to flex his underrated ground game on Anthony.

Tom Lawlor: No one likes to see a guy with a good, genuinely funny gimmick, lose a fight. Especially not when he was supposed to stomp all over a tired veteran. Hopefully after this loss, Lawlor gets the message and finally starts working on that three gallon gas tank of his. A great fight for him coming away from this loss would be Gerald Harris. Lawlor would be taking an appropriate step down, and Harris, a step up. Not only that, but both guys are fighters who made surprising improvements after leaving the TUF house, they match up in a very interesting way, and the winner would be right up in the middle of the pack at 185 pounds.

Joe Doerksen: Doerkson scores yet another one of the "feel good" upsets Saturday. He was the old veteran who was being brought in to give Lawlor a win while Credeur healed up. Everything was going exactly as planned until, probably in a combination of punching himself out, and shock that Doerkson was still in the fight, Lawlor gassed out horribly. That rear naked choke was just waiting to happen once Lawlor’s knees hit the ground, he was just too tired and too slow at that point. Even with the upset win, I doubt Doerkson even makes it to the end of the year. The guy’s already been cut by the UFC twice and I think he’s going for the hat trick. As I said earlier, Doerksen/Stalter is a fight between two guys who scored upsets but still have dubious futures even at the bottom of 185.

Patrick Cote: Cote was supposed to be the guy that the smart bettors were picking to win. He essentially went from the betting underdog to the guy expected to win by most. Despite flashes of the Cote that fought himself to a title shot almost two years ago, the ring rust just proved to be too much for "The Predator". That Kimura attempt was just awful stuff. Cote vs Credeur would be an extremely good fight, that’s where you go with him coming off this loss.

Alan Belcher: Belcher is quickly proving himself to be a factor in the UFC’s middleweight division and to think that this is a guy who was viscously tko’d by Jason Day two years ago is strange to say to least. Despite his constant challenges, Belcher isn’t at a point where he will be considered for a fight with Anderson Silva, but he’s certainly getting there. A fight against the winner of Bisping/Miller will move the winner to the top ten and possibly even the top five in the UFC’s 185 pound division.

Kimbo Slice: I really don’t have much to say here. Kimbo was never a good fighter and this fight is yet more evidence of Dana White’s unrivaled ability to sell fans a stupid fight. Kimbo is obviously cut and everyone can start getting hyped for the Slice vs Dada 5000 fight this summer.

Matt Mitrione: Mitrione now has the dubious honor of holding a "W" over the "King of the web brawlers". Matt is now 2-0 with both wins coming over guys that had no business in the UFC in the first place so excuse me if Im not quivering in anticipation over a potential Beltran/Mitrione fight this summer.

Sam Stout: This was a fun fight, and one that Stout barely lost. That guy has got one of the mot underrated chins at 155. Stephens would have KO’d mere mortals multiple times over the course of that fight. Stout’s still got quality wins over Wiman and Lauzon, so I doubt he drops to complete bottom feeder status at lightweight. Facing the winner of Aaron Riley/Joe Brammar would be good stuff for Stout.

Jeremy Stephens: Stephens hits like a mac truck and I want Jeremy Stephens vs Melvin Guilard plain and simple. Regardless of whether Guillard wins or losses at 114, make it happen.

Josh Koscheck: Lookout Brock Lesnar. There’s no question that after last night’s events, Koscheck has solidified himself as one of the biggest bad guys in MMA and  especially in this case, it’s fantastic for the UFC. God knows Koscheck’s going to have to do something to make people care about his GSP rematch(execution). Personally I can’t wait to watch Koscheck’s asshole antics laid in contrast to GSP’s quiet and modest personality. Especially considering the emasculating beating at the hands of said modest quiet guy, that’s awaiting Koscheck at the conclusion of the show.

Paul Daley: There’s nothing better than watching extreme misfortune befall someone due to their own thuggish stupidity. Glad to see him cut. Nick Diaz vs Paul Daley anyone? Most epic thug-off in the history of MMA?

Lyoto Machida: If someone out there makes a video of Machida getting lamped by "Shogun" with Joe Rogan saying "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Machida era" over and over again in the background, they will be my personal hero. All joking aside, Machida is a top quality light-heavyweight and is probably only a win or two away from making it a trilogy with Mauricio. Also before everyone evacuates the "Machida Wagon", keep in mind that just because "Shogun" figured him out his stye doesn’t mean anyone else can. We very well could be looking at a Jon Fitch/George St Pierre situation where two guys sit untouched at the top of a division. Lyoto has expressed a willingness to fight Rogerio in the past and I think that would be an awesome fight with major title implications. If the teammate dynamic is still an issue though, Forrest Griffin would be a good choice too.

Mauricio Rua: I can still remember staying up and talking with my buddy for at least an hour after UFC 98 trying to figure out who has a chance of beating Machida. I still remember laughing when "Shogun" was announced as the next title challenger. I still remember my disbelief that "Shogun" had actually pulled off the win in the first fight, but remember still picking Machida in the rematch. Rua may very well possess one of the greatest comeback stories in mixed martial arts history. This is a guy who was upset and schooled in his UFC debut, then went life and death with Mark freaking Coleman. Then after that fought the greatest performances of his career back to back and unseated a champion deemed untouchable. I couldn’t be more excited to see him face the winner of Rampage/Rashad.