UFC 145 Results: Marcus Brimage's Boring Win Won't Raise Popularity

Marcus "The Bama Beast" Brimage looks the part of a UFC contender, but this less than thrilling win won't exactly vault him into main-event status. Brimage earned a split-decision victory over Maximo Blanco on the first UFC 145 preliminary bout.

This fight featured more feinting than exchanges.

Tonight, Brimage did not look like a beast. He did improve to 5-1, but for a young prospect that came in with a reputation of a strong offensive fighter—we saw very little offense.

In fact, aside from a Round 1 flurry, Brimage didn't offer much action. 

He won the fight because Blanco offered even less. Blanco's best round was the second. Brimage spent much of this round inexplicably retreating.

There didn't appear to be a blow that landed that hurt him, but he did little to stop Blanco's charge. It was shocking to me that any judge saw this as Brimage's round. Yet, one judge scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Brimage.

Generally a lower level bout like this features hungry young fighters, or aging desperate fighters.

These two should have been the former, but it wasn't to be.

Brimage does have some charisma, so he'll get another shot to prove he has main-event potential. The featherweight division is in need of a true challenger for Jose Aldo, but Brimage will have to be more aggressive.

His lack of aggression nearly cost him this fight.

One judge scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Blanco. One more questionable score could have changed the outcome.

He will always put himself in danger of those types of decisions if he fails to press the action.

Brimage is worth another look, but he must start to live up to his nickname.

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