UFC Fight Night 51 is all wrapped-up, and it ended with a bang. Andrei Arlovski knocked out Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the first round of their main event heavyweight clash in Brasilia, Brazil. By doing so, Arlovski vaulted himself up the heavyweight rankings. The former champion finds himself a mere win or two away from a possible title shot, but the big Belarusian wasn’t the only one to impress. Let’s take a look at who LWOS would book next for the main card winners and losers:
Andrei Arlovski: This was a vintage performance from Arlovski, and a much needed one at that. Arlovski was coming off of a lackluster and controversial split decision win over Brendan Schaub back in June, and the oddsmakers had Arlovski a nearly four-to-one underdog in this fight. Most of the MMA media, myself included, had written him off, but he emphatically proved all his doubters wrong. He was light-years faster than Bigfoot, constantly beating him to the punch in every exchange, before dropping him with a right and clubbing him unconscious with hammer fists on the ground in just shy of three minutes. Last weekend Ben Rothwell knocked out Alistair Overeem, and I suggested he should square off with the winner of Arlovski and Bigfoot. The two men first met in July of 2008, with Arlovski winning via third round knockout. If they fight again, their second fight is likely to end in a knockout as well.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva: Silva was coming off of a Fight of the Night-winning draw with Mark Hunt last December. He tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone after the Hunt fight, consequently lost his $50,ooo bonus and was handed a nine-month suspension. Saturday night was his big return, and he got blown out in three minutes. Ouch. Bigfoot looked the worst he has physically looked in years. He was plodding around the cage, getting consistently beaten to the punch by Arlovski, and offering up little to no offense in response. Up next, I’d like to see Bigfoot take on another veteran coming off of a knockout loss, Josh Barnett. Back in June, Bigfoot called out Barnett, who rejected the potential match-up. This riled Bigfoot up, and he now wants the fight more than ever. Book it.
Gleison Tibau: Tibau did what Tibau does, grinding out a fifteen minute decision win over the underrated Piotr Hallmann. Tibau made his UFC debut back in November of 2006, and had twenty-two fights in the promotion before this bout. This was the first time he was featured in the co-main event slot. In July of 2012, Tibau lost to streaking Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov. I think it’s time for him to go for a bit of revenge by matching him up with Nurmagomedov’s country mate, Rustam Khabilov. Tibau’s size and strength against Khabilov’s wrestling and straight-forward style should make for a close compelling fight.
Piotr Hallmann: Hallmann really showed off his physical strength in his fight with Tibau, managing to match him for the most part in the clinch. That’s no easy task, considering Tibau is most likely the strongest fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division. Hallmann falls to 2-2 in the UFC, with late submission wins versus Francisco Trinaldo and Yves Edwards, and close decision losses to Tibau and Al Iaquinta. Let him attempt to start a winning streak by matching him up with former TUF runner-up Ramsey Nijem. Nijem, like Hallmann, is a lightweight prospect with a .500 UFC record who presses the action the whole fight. This would be a fun one.
Leonardo Santos: I’ve been unimpressed by Santos ever since he won the TUF Brazil 2 crown at welterweight and dropped to lightweight. In March he fought to a draw with Norman Parke, a fight he would’ve lost had Parke not lost a point for grabbing the shorts. Santos won the first and third rounds with his grappling, which is very strong, but his stand-up looked below average. Escudero dropped him with an overhand right in the second round of their fight. I’d like to see Santos matched up next with Canadian Mitch Clarke. Clarke’s ground game is solid, and his stand up is probably better than Santos’.
Efrain Escudero: Speaking of TUF winners, has there been a weaker one since Escudero won TUF 8? Im not sure why the UFC brought him back into the fold again after already releasing him twice. Since that release he’s gone a mere 4-3 on the independent circuit, with just one win by stoppage. Match him up next with Charlie Brenneman, and the loser of that one should be released for good.
Santiago Ponzinibbio: This was quite a win for Ponzinibbio. A lot of people picked him to win TUF Brazil 2, but he got hurt in his semifinal win over Santos and was bounced from the competition prematurely. In his UFC debut last November he got schooled for fifteen minutes by Ryan LaFlare, and people started jumping off the Ponzinibbio bandwagon. He needed just eighty seconds to get people back on it with a blistering KO finish of Wendell Oliveira. In June, Tim Means took a unanimous decision win over Hernani Perpetuo. Match him up with Ponzinibbio, and we should get a great stand up battle.
Wendell Oliveira: This fight proved to be a tough debut for Oliveira. He was a short notice replacement, so he should at least get an opportunity to show his skills with a full training camp before his next fight. A fight with Shinsho Anzai would be tons of fun. Both men throw hard and often, and we’d likely be getting a knockout at the end of that one.
Iuri Alcantara: Alcantara picked up a closer-than-expected win over Doane, and the hard-fought victory moves him one step closer to a bantamweight title shot. Alcantara is so close that his next bout should be against fellow Brazilian and former UFC Bantamweight Champion, Renan Barao. Both men have heavy hands and slick jiu-jitsu, and the winner would undoubtedly be the number one contender at bantamweight.
Russell Doane: Doane looked, quite frankly, much better than I anticipated he would. He was competitive the whole fight, and displayed great toughness and grit. A fight against the loser of Mitch Gagnon vs Rob Font would be a great next bout for the Hawaiian.
Jessica Andrade: Andrade dominated Larissa Pacheco from the start, and may be just a win or two away from a fight against UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey. Despite the rivalry with the Four Horsewomen Bethe Correia has developed, I think the winner of Cat Zingano vs Amanda Nunes is more deserving of a title shot. Therefore, Correia vs Andrade is the fight to make, and the winner of that one will have earned the right to be called the number one contender.
Larissa Pacheco: Like Oliveira above, Pacheco made her UFC debut on short notice. I think the sky’s the limit for the Brazilian, who is just 20 years old and already has good, yet still-improving striking. She just got beat by a superior fighter, but her future looks bright. Match her up next with Jessamyn Duke for a fun striking battle.
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