UFC 143 Results: Michael Kuiper Deserves Rematch After Loss vs. Rafael Natal

Michael Kuiper of the Netherlands entered his first career UFC fight and first fight in the United States on Saturday night to great fanfare. Rather than extending his undefeated record, however, veteran Rafael Natal came out on top by unanimous decision.

The fight was much closer than the judges' decision made it seem, though, so Kuiper deserves another chance to prove he can beat the crafty Brazilian. Truth be told, Natal was lucky to escape the fight with a win as he was nearly knocked out.

Natal admittedly controlled the early rounds of the fight as he scored a number of takedowns, but to Kuiper's credit, he was able to escape each one. Unfortunately, he didn't do enough in terms of strikes to impress the judges as they largely gave those rounds to Natal.

Kuiper started to assert his strength and dominance early in the third round as he rained a barrage of punches on Natal and had him staggered. He was in a dominant position on the mat, but Natal was able to find a way to get out of it as Kuiper had apparently punched himself out.

With Kuiper tired out, Natal was able to get the upper hand and lock in a choke hold that put Kuiper down for the final part of the third round. Had Kuiper been able to sustain his aggression in the third round, then he would likely be celebrating his first UFC win.

Natal deserves full marks as his Brazilian jiu-jitsu style took a lot out of Kuiper, but there is no doubt that with a bit more stamina Kuiper can beat Natal. In terms of strength Kuiper certainly seems to have the advantage; he just needs another chance to prove it.

At just 22 years of age, Kuiper still has a bright future in the UFC, but he will most definitely want to avenge this loss. Natal has to realize how lucky he was to avoid getting knocked out, and he may not want any part of Kuiper moving forward, but he should grant him a rematch.

If Kuiper wants to be a major player in UFC, then he needs to prove that he can beat all types of styles. Natal is the type of fighter who likes to bog down his opponents and keep them on the mat, and that obviously gave Kuiper some problems.

Kuiper needs to become more well-rounded as a fighter, and another bout with a frustrating fighter like Natal could be a big help.