UFC Fight Night 57: Matches to Make for the Entire Fight Card
It's been a while since he's held UFC gold, but Frankie Edgar is showing he's still among the best in the world.
At UFC Fight Night 57, Edgar cruised to a submission win over Cub Swanson in the fifth round. The victory gave Edgar three straight wins, putting him in position to campaign for a rematch with featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo.
Swanson carried six straight wins into Saturday, so the loss will be a significant setback for him. However, losing to Edgar was to be expected, so Swanson should be able to rebound.
With another UFC event in the books, here are the matchups that should be next for Edgar, Swanson and the rest of the UFC Fight Night 57 competitors.
Prelim Fighters
1 of 13
Prelim Winners
| Fighter | Matchup |
| Ruslan Magomedov | Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Matt Mitrione Winner |
| Roger Narvaez | Krzysztof Jotko |
| James Vick | Chad Laprise |
| Akbarh Arreola | Garett Whiteley vs. David Michaud Winner |
| Paige VanZant | Juliana Lima |
| Doo Ho Choi | Diego Rivas |
Prelim Losers
| Fighter | Matchup |
| Josh Copeland | Shawn Jordan vs. Jared Cannonier Loser |
| Luke Barnatt | Nick Ring |
| Nick Hein | Yosdenis Cedeno |
| Yves Edwards | None (Retire) |
| Kailin Curran | Nina Ansaraoff |
| Juan Puig | None (Release) |
Isaac Vallie-Flagg
2 of 13
Matchup: Anthony Njokuani
With three straight losses, Isaac Vallie-Flagg's UFC career is in question, but he may have been competitive and entertaining enough to get one more shot inside the Octagon.
In the early parts of the first and second rounds, Vallie-Flagg was controlling Matt Wiman in the clinch. However, the Jackson-Wink MMA product made some surprisingly poor decisions to attempt takedowns, which resulted in Wiman taking the top position and threatening with submission attacks. Brian Hemminger of MMAOddsbreaker.com noted Vallie-Flagg's "embarrassing IQ":
"Isaac Vallie-Flagg's fight IQ is an embarrassment. Wiman has taken his back every time he attempts a takedown and he's tried it three times
— Brian Hemminger (@BrianHemminger) November 23, 2014"
That work on the ground was enough for Wiman to steal those rounds on two scorecards, and he clearly took the third from Vallie-Flagg. Even if it doesn't result in his release from the world's top MMA promotion, this decision loss will still be hard for Vallie-Flagg to swallow because he very well could have taken those first two frames.
Should Vallie-Flagg get another chance, it may come against Anthony Njokuani. With two straight losses, Njokuani is also in a compromising position.
Matt Wiman
3 of 13
Matchup: Evan Dunham vs. Rodrigo Damm Winner
Despite a lengthy hiatus, which Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie highlighted, Matt Wiman was able to shake off the rust and return to the win column on Saturday:
"Matt Wiman about to return to the octagon after a 665-day layoff, the longest of his professional career. #UFCAustin
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) November 23, 2014"
Wiman was muscled around in the clinch by Vallie-Flagg. However, he expertly countered takedowns and was clearly the better grappler in the UFC Fight Night 57 matchup. It was Wiman's work on the ground that ultimately earned him a decision victory.
As long as they've both been in similar positions in the UFC lightweight division, it's surprising Wiman and Evan Dunham haven't clashed. Should Dunham beat Rodrigo Damm in January, he'd be a good opponent for Wiman.
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Dustin Ortiz
4 of 13
Matchup: Scott Jorgensen
At UFC Fight Night 57, Dustin Ortiz showed he's not quite capable of beating elite 125-pounders right now. However, he also proved he's not as far away as most previously believed.
Facing former title challenger Joseph Benavidez, Ortiz managed two takedowns and survived all three rounds. He wasn't close to winning, but Ortiz definitely didn't look like a fighter who didn't belong in the Octagon with Benavidez on Saturday. Erik Jon Koch commended Ortiz on his "good fight":
"Good fight @DustinOrtizMMA you just went three rounds with one of the best! Head up homie.
— Erik Jon Koch (@NEWBREED04) November 23, 2014"
Ortiz is going to get a step down in competition, but he should have another notable name coming his way. A grappling match with Scott Jorgensen would be an interesting opportunity for Ortiz to get back on track.
Joseph Benavidez
5 of 13
Matchup: John Lineker
It seems Joseph Benavidez has played second fiddle his entire MMA career. The Team Alpha Male member seems to beat everybody but the best in his respective divisions.
At bantamweight, Benavidez lost to Dominick Cruz on two separate occasions. Now a flyweight, Benavidez is beating all his adversaries except Demetrious Johnson, who he's been beaten by two times. Benavidez sent out a tweet to his fans after the fight:
"Love you guys!!! Fun fight tonight, hope u guys enjoyed:) can't wait for the next one! pic.twitter.com/OE9HwaI6rd
— Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) November 23, 2014"
Beating Ortiz on Saturday allowed Benavidez to maintain his position as an elite 125-pound contender, but it won't get him much closer to a third meeting with Johnson. A dominant win over John Lineker could.
Jared Rosholt
6 of 13
Matchup: Derrick Lewis
After leaning on his wrestling to begin his UFC career with three straight wins, Jared Rosholt decided to test his own striking against Alexey Oliynyk on Saturday. While he started strong, Rosholt saw his plan backfire in a big way.
Rosholt had Oliynyk hurt multiple times in the opening round. However, by being so aggressive, Rosholt gave Oliynyk many opportunities to hit his chin, and the Russian eventually did and knocked the All-American wrestler out cold. Rosholt's seemed optimistic about a comeback following his loss:
"Have lost many times in my competitive careers but always learn and come back better. I'll get back on track.
— Jared Rosholt (@JaredRosholt) November 23, 2014"
Once opponents in a Legacy FC title bout, Rosholt and Derrick Lewis now find themselves in similar positions as UFC heavyweights. Avenging his only other MMA loss against Lewis would be a good way for Rosholt to turn things around.
Alexey Oliynyk
7 of 13
Matchup: Todd Duffee vs. Anthony Hamilton Winner
At 37 years old, Alexey Oliynyk is starting to make some noise in the UFC heavyweight division.
The Russian didn't look great until he landed a brutal hook more than three minutes in, but that punch ended Rosholt's night in a hurry. Now 2-0 inside the Octagon, Oliynyk might be one more big win away from getting a crack at a contender. Clearly, Malki Kawa was excited about Oliynyk's win:
"Hell yeah! Congrats to our client alexey oliynyk!!!!!! Ko of the night!
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) November 23, 2014"
Since Oliynyk has already beaten Anthony Hamilton, the proposed matchup above depends on a Todd Duffee win. Should Duffee beat Hamilton as impressively as Oliynyk did in June, he'd be a solid matchup for The Boa Constrictor.
Brad Pickett
8 of 13
Matchup: Louis Smolka
This flyweight thing doesn't seem to be working out for Brad Pickett, who was a contender in the bantamweight division.
On Saturday, Pickett couldn't get much going offensively in a close fight with Chico Camus. The Englishman landed 18 fewer strikes than his opponent, which was enough for Camus to squeak by with a split-decision victory. John Maguire stated that Pickett's loss shocked him based on his performance in the Octagon:
"Wow shocked at that one i really thought @One_Punch done enough to get that! The judges have not been kind to the brits tonight #UFCAustin
— John Maguire (@MaguireTheOne) November 23, 2014"
It's not a matchup with another fighter coming off a loss, which would be expected, but Pickett could be matched up with Louis Smolka. The bout will give the popular Pickett a good chance to bounce back, while providing Smolka an opportunity to build his name against a tough adversary.
Chico Camus
9 of 13
Matchup: Zach Makovsky vs. Tim Elliott Winner
It wasn't a performance that will get people talking, but Chico Camus did surprise with a decision win over Pickett at UFC Fight Night 57.
Camus landed more strikes than Pickett. More importantly, though, he denied seven takedown attempts, which helped him take a decision win, albeit controversial. MMADecisions.com shared the media scores for the bout:
"Media scores have been posted for Camus/Pickett: http://t.co/XpZfkBY2ig
— MMADecisions.com (@MMADecisions) November 23, 2014"
Despite beating a big name like Pickett, Camus isn't likely to get a huge step up in competition. I'd expect him to meet another fighter coming off a rebound win, which could possibly mean the victor of a February matchup between Zach Makovsky and Tim Elliott.
Bobby Green
10 of 13
Matchup: Jim Miller
Following a 4-0 UFC start, Bobby Green suffered his first loss inside the Octagon on Saturday.
Green went the distance with Edson Barboza, but he had to shake off several big shots along the way. Unable to record a takedown, Green was forced to stand with the Brazilian for 15 minutes, which rarely ends well. Kyle Kingsbury noted Green's ability to absorb opponents' blows without showing much of a reaction to them:
"Bobby Green is really good at getting lit up then acting like it didn't hurt. I remember watching this in the Thomson fight.
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) November 23, 2014"
Despite the loss, Green remains a contender in the stacked lightweight division. There's a good chance he'll meet another contender coming off a loss. Jim Miller would be a realistic option.
Edson Barboza
11 of 13
Matchup: TJ Grant
He's had some setbacks along the way, but Edson Barboza is slowly becoming the lightweight contender most believed he could be from the beginning.
At UFC Fight Night 57, Barboza handled Green with relative ease, utilizing a wide array of strikes en route to a decision victory. Rebounding from his loss to Donald Cerrone with two impressive outings, Barboza should have another big fight headed in his direction. Barboza noted he had the last word in his "conversation" with Green:
"@MMAjunkie article “He talked like 14 minutes of the fight. The last 10 seconds, I said I’m going to talk right now.’ http://t.co/gPLbzL2vhM
— Edson Barboza (@EdsonBarbozaJR) November 23, 2014"
If TJ Grant is ready to go anytime soon, he'd be an interesting opponent for Barboza. The brawler might be willing to take more chances than most when standing with Barboza, which could lead to fireworks.
Cub Swanson
12 of 13
Matchup: Dennis Bermudez
He made a valiant run at a rematch with Jose Aldo, but Cub Swanson came up short in the bout that likely would have earned him that opportunity to compete for UFC gold.
Allowing Edgar to score seven takedowns, Swanson was completely shut down on Saturday. Eventually, Edgar was able to finish Swanson, locking up a neck crank in the fifth and final round.
".@CubSwanson thanks @FrankieEdgar for the lesson. Admits he was "exposed" at UFC Fight Night 57 - http://t.co/Wy2ogXPARI #UFCAustin
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) November 23, 2014"
In November, Swanson and Dennis Bermudez saw respective winning streaks of six and seven, respectively come to their ends. Both deserve a chance to jump right back into title-shot conversations. The UFC can make that happen by matching the two up with one another.
Frankie Edgar
13 of 13
Matchup: Jose Aldo
Headlining UFC Fight Night 57 gave Frankie Edgar a chance to steal the headlines back from Conor McGregor. Time will tell whether he was able to do so.
Edgar certainly gave it his best effort, though. Over five rounds, Edgar completely dominated Swanson and ultimately locked up a neck crank in the fifth round's waning moments, as UFCONFOX tweeted:
"Highlights: @FrankieEdgar dominates @CubSwanson, finishes with late 5th round neck crank submission http://t.co/85sjgXRtjJ
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) November 23, 2014"
The chances seem slim, but Edgar deserves a shot at Aldo slightly more than McGregor.
The Irishman's win over Dustin Poirier was impressive, but Edgar just steamrolled an opponent whose six-bout winning streak included a victory over Poirier. Besides, McGregor is still two months away from a scheduled matchup with Dennis Siver.
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