UFC 144 Prelims: Big Losers and Big Winners

The UFC prelims just wrapped up, and boy oh boy were the fights good.

I love the silent Japanese crowd. We as Americans are drunk by the fifth prelim fight and are yelling for action in between rounds. Oh, how I love America.

Anyway, MMA is a sport so there is always winners and losers. But I am going to distinguish the BIG winners and the BIG losers.

Big Winners:

1. Vaughan Lee

I mean come on. His second UFC fight in Japan against a Japanese hero. Lee was caught early and remained level-headed and covered up smart. Landed a flying knee to start the comeback and then stumbled Yamamoto with punches and then a beautiful submission victory. I called for a Vaughan Lee submission victory and like usual, I was spot on. Lee has promise and has to be the biggest of my BIG winners.

2. Takanori Gomi

I mean, it was not pretty. It could of even been down right ugly, but Gomi is a legend and fought back from some tough spots in the first round and came back in the second like a legend, swinging for the fences. I love Gomi, and I do think he is past his prime, but he should make some fun fights in the coming months. I also picked a Gomi win by knockout. Another reason I added him to my BIG winners list.

Big Losers

1. Steve Cantwell

This guy has all the talent in the world and cannot get it together. He has some of the best first rounds in the business and then completely falls apart and gasses. His striking and ground game are great, but for whatever reason, he cannot get himself together to win a fight. Steve Cantwell did break a record tonight so I guess that is not all bad huh? Nope. Never mind, he broke the record for the only fighter in the UFC to lose five straight fights.

2. Tiequan Zhang

China has over one billion people, and only one Chinese fighter—that fighter being Zhang. He has never had a massive amount of talent, but he has been solid and very hard to finish. Not tonight. Zhang was knocked out by a fighter who has only three stoppages on his record. It was a pretty amazing knock out but shame on Zhang for getting knocked out by a B-level fighter making his UFC debut.

Main card is starting, and I will recap the big winners and losers as well.