UFC on FX 5: What We Learned from Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski

In a critical battle between two featherweights trying to work their way back into the title picture, Diego "The Gun" Nunes used his speed and accuracy on the feet to leave Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski with a two-fight losing streak.

Both fighters put on a show for the live crowd, throwing big punches and pushing the pace for the entire 15 minutes, but in the end it was “The Gun” that was able to pull the trigger more effectively and record several knockdowns that swayed the fight in his favor.

The win over Palaszewski proves that Nunes is still amongst the best fighters in the world at 145 lbs, and it will be interesting to see who the UFC matches him up with next, as he tries to get back into the title mix.

What we learned about Diego Nunes:           

Nunes hasn’t showed much of a finishing instinct since joining Zuffa back in December of 2008, with all ten of his WEC and UFC bouts having gone to decision, and while he didn’t quite get the stoppage win over Palaszewski he landed a few right hands that almost got the job done.

Nunes looked very comfortable inside the cage, a very impressive win over Palaszewski is only going to help raise his stock.

What we learned about Bart Palaszewski:

Could it be time for “Bartimus” to move back up to 155 lbs?

Palaszewski has only fought three times in the featherweight division, but other than his knockout win against an overweight Tyson Griffin, Palaszewski has struggled during his UFC run at 145.

He was just a bit too slow to deal with the combinations that Nunes threw at him, and dragging the Brazilian fighter was far from easy, despite a bit of a size advantage for Palaszewski.

What’s next for Nunes:

Nunes is slowly working his way back up the featherweight ladder, but he needs to prove himself against the dreaded UFC wrestler test before he ends up back in the mix.

Former Ultimate Fighter finalist Dennis Bermudez has been using his ground game to score a few impressive wins since leaving the show, and could use a step up in competition against Nunes.

What’s next for Palaszewski

As I mentioned earlier, I’d love to see Palaszewski at lightweight again, but for the sake of the article I’ll match him up with a featherweight anyway.

Jonathan Brookins is coming off a tough to Charles Oliveira earlier this year, and his grappling skills would force a tough matchup for “Bartimus.”

A fight between Palaszewski and Brookins would likely end up as an entertaining contest, and the stakes would be high as both fighters could be on the chopping block with a loss.