UFC on Fuel 3 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

It was kind of weird watching the UFC on a Tuesday night, but when UFC on Fuel 3 was all said in done, I was happy to have stayed in on a weeknight. The card was the first in years that UFC President Dana White missed and one that saw multiple fighters reestablish themselves in their divisions. 

Chan Sung Jung earned a title shot with his win over Dustin Poirier and Donald Cerrone showed that he's still a force to be reckoned with in the lightweight division. 

With such a solid event, it's time to go over the questions answered and lessons learned from UFC on Fuel 3. 

Goodnight Sweet Prince (of Persia)

Kamal Shalorus is probably done with the UFC now that he's 0-3 in the promotion. Every time that he's stepped foot in the Octagon, he seems to have taken another step backwards. It's a shame since he has the wrestling pedigree to excel, but he lacks the rest of the fundamentals. 

He ate a shin last night that put him down and had nothing for Rafael Dos Anjos on the ground when Rafael took his back. The rear-naked choke that forced Shalorus to tap didn't seem to be under the chin, but that may have just been the camera angle. 

Good luck in the future; I just don't want to see him on a UFC card anymore after last night's performance. 

Happy Birthday, Tom Lawlor!

Happy Birthday, Tom Lawlor! 

Fabio Maldonado Can't Catch a Break

Remember when Cecil Peoples said that leg kicks don't finish fights? Well, I guess we can add body punches to that as well. Last night Fabio Maldonado went HAM on Igor Pokrajac's tummy with tight hooks and outstruck the Croatian. 

Somehow he still lost the fight. And this isn't the first time that it's happened in the UFC. Either judges just don't understand how much those punches take out of an opponent or they just don't care, but Fabio Maldonado was cheated out of a win last night. 

As a fan, this is a concern, as it means that technical boxing isn't respected in a sport that scores big for wild overhand punches. I'm bummed about this one. 

Donald Cerrone Is a Monster

Donald Cerrone looked to have been mentally broken by Nate Diaz when they fought. Not in the sense that he'd never fight again, but that he'd try and adopt a "safe" fighting style. Last night, Cerrone showed that he didn't suffer any lasting effects from the Diaz fight.

I've said it before, but it looked like Cerrone was having fun in the cage with Jeremy Stephens. He was throwing whatever he wanted and everything was landing accurately. One sequence sticks out in my mind where Donald dropped for a takedown but then came up with a spinning back elbow. That was insane and I'm glad that the old Donald Cerrone is back. 

If he fights like that every time he enters the cage, we'll hear about him in the title picture for years to come. 

Amir Sadollah May Have Hit His Ceiling

After The Ultimate Fighter, it seemed like the UFC had a smaller Forrest Griffin on their hands with Amir Sadollah. With his "aw shucks" attitude, he had the type of personality that makes you want to like him. And he wasn't a bad fighter, either.

Four years later, I can't say I see much improvement in his skill set. He's still tough but he seems to have regressed a bit. I can't really put my finger on it, but he just looked timid and didn't want to engage at all.

Maybe it was just a bad performance and he'll look better next time, but I can't help but think that we've seen the best of Amir Sadollah and that it's all downhill from here. 

Dustin Poirier Is One Tough S.O.B.

Dustin Poirier didn't fight his fight last night and that's what ended up costing him. Instead of working angles and combinations, he got caught up in a brawl with Chan Sung Jung and paid dearly for it. It's the type of loss that is so unexpected that in his mind, he probably can't see anything positive to take away from the performance.

I saw something positive. Poirier showed guts and toughness last night when he kept pressing forward in spite of the damage. I don't know if it was his decision to go to sleep instead of tapping to the d'arce choke, but he showed he had fight in him all the way to the end. 

The featherweight division is still wide open and at 23 years old, Poirier has plenty of time to rebound. 

The Korean Zombie Is an "Of the Night" Bonus Machine

In his three UFC appearances, he's secured four "Of the Night" bonuses. That's crazy. I thought that his win over Mark Hominick was a bit of a fluke and that he would get absolutely trucked by Dustin Poirier last night.

Instead, Jung put a beating on Poirier and showed that he's well-rounded in every aspect of MMA.

The win also earned him a shot at the winner of Koch vs. Aldo. Not too bad for a guy who was 0-2 in the WEC and never showed those kinds of skills. If the Jung that showed up last night continues to get better, he may be the only person in the division well-rounded enough to challenge Jose Aldo.

The only issue is that he takes a lot of damage and that usually spells trouble against the champ. 

Fan Dana White Is the Best Dana White

Dana White missed his first UFC in years last night as he is getting surgery today. The UFC head honcho instead sat on his couch and watched the fights from home on what I imagine to be a 400-inch 3D television. 

For one night only, Dana White was a fan and his tweets were absolutely hilarious. While I'm a fan of the guy who gives the "f*cking fighter" speech, I like Fan Dana White way more. 

"

@chilledt5 and @lorenzofertitta fix the walk ins!!! We the fans want them!! What the he'll do u people do all day @UFC fix this shit!

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012"