UFC on Fox 15 Results: The Real Winners and Losers
It's crowded at the top of the UFC middleweight division. UFC on Fox 15, which went down Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, did a lot to thin the throng.
In the evening's main event, Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold did battle. At No. 2 and No. 4 in the official UFC middleweight rankings, respectively, there aren't many fighters above them in the pecking order.
Besides champion Chris Weidman, the only other fighter above Machida in those rankings is Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. "The Alligator" happened to be on the card as well, but—plot twist!—his original opponent, Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero, is not. Souza faced Chris Camozzi instead and, to put it mildly, that's a step down in competition.
The upshot is that the middleweight deck is ripe for reshuffling. Depending on their performances, Machida, Rockhold or Souza could put himself in the catbird seat to challenge for the belt after Weidman defends it against Vitor Belfort in May.
And that was only the top two fights on a fairly stacked card, almost all of which aired for free on Fox. I'm sure you didn't forget about Felice Herrig vs. Paige VanZant, either.
As usual, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 15.
Winner: Luke Rockhold
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There were some stars made on Saturday night. The best and brightest among them was the freshly minted middleweight title contender, Luke Rockhold.
It's not easy to dominate a man like Machida, a former UFC champ at light heavyweight. But Rockhold did it.
During ground sequences, Rockhold headed Machida off at every pass and battered him with ground strikes. He went for submissions early and often. He worked efficiently throughout, maintaining the sort of effortless athleticism and keen balance that Machida himself would have to applaud.
After what may have been a 10-8 first round, halfway through the second Machida finally succumbed, tapping to a rear-naked choke.
It was easily the biggest win of Rockhold's career. And, in his opinion, at least, it was enough to earn him a shot at the belt.
"I'm the best around," Rockhold told broadcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. "I did my part. Weidman, are you going to do your part? Madison Square Garden. Across the river. Let's make history!"
The last sentences referred to current champion Chris Weidman, a New York native, and a pending move to possibly legalize pro MMA in the Empire State.
Could they headline the UFC's first card in New York later this year? Time will tell. But as it stands, we know for sure that Rockhold did, indeed, do his part.
Loser: Lyoto Machida
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Machida is a jiu-jitsu black belt, but it's not his offensive forte. It's as much a deterrent as anything else, preventing wrestlers and grapplers from challenging him exclusively on the ground, which in turn frees him up to use his karate.
His grappling was not up to the challenge Saturday night. Granted, it was against a truly great grappler in Rockhold, but the fact is Machida was outclassed. He looked slow and indecisive against the Californian, and he paid the price.
At age 36, Machida seems far from done. And yet, UFC on Fox 15 was far from his best performance.
Winner: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
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The first time he faced Chris Camozzi, he made it look easy. In the rematch, he made it look easier.
Jacare swiped Camozzi's will like he was swiping Tootsie Rolls from a toddler, twisting Camozzi with his nonpareil jiu-jitsu, using the cage and his hips to pass guard and gain position, locking up the armbar and garnering the tap in less than three minutes.
Souza barely broke a sweat in the effort. Credit Camozzi for stepping up and taking the fight on six days' notice, but he was dispatched even faster in the sequel than he was in the original at UFC on FX 8 (this one was 2:33, the first was 3:37).
That's five straight wins for Jacare. Now he just has to wait and see who he gets in his next one. The fact that he was robbed of a big fight with Romero doesn't help his case. His performance Saturday night most certainly does.
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Loser: Cub Swanson
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I wouldn't be terribly surprised to learn in fairly short order that Cub Swanson fought Saturday night with some kind of physical problem.
But first, let's back up a step. You have to credit 23-year-old Max Holloway for fighting far beyond his years in dominating a great veteran in Swanson. It was a star-making performance for Holloway and perhaps a flip-flopping of these two in the featherweight division contender picture.
It takes two to tango, and Swanson flubbed his part big time. He was flat from the first horn and fought with a perma-grimace. His punches didn't hiss the way they normally do, and Holloway was uncowed. That paved the way for the younger man's third-round submission victory and what could be a breakout performance.
Winners: The Young and the Underrated
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We just discussed Holloway. But that was only the beginning. We had a few new stars made Saturday night on Fox.
Paige VanZant and Beneil Dariush were also both slim favorites among oddsmakers, but still didn't feel like true elites in their division.
That changed for both on Saturday.
VanZant was dismissed by many (including other fighters) as little more than a pretty face, especially after, at age 21 and with only one UFC fight under her belt, she leapfrogged more established names to earn a sponsorship deal with Reebok. She put those doubts to rest in the main card opener with a super-aggressive pounding of Felice Herrig, earning the decision win.
“I was the underdog, I was supposed to lose," VanZant said during her post-fight interview. "It's a huge victory for me and I'm still in shock."
Dariush, 25, was respected as a grappler but didn't have nearly the name of Jim Miller before Saturday. But he showed himself as a well-rounded fighter and a real ground wizard when he outgrappled Miller to earn the decision win in front of a pro-Miller audience to pick up his second win in as many months.
And none of this is to say anything of Gian Villante. He's a comparatively ancient 29, but the local boy pounded Corey Anderson with the TKO to notch the biggest upset of the evening. Well done, one and all.
Winner: Ovince St. Preux
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In the second-to-last bout of the undercard, Ovince St. Preux must have looked impressive to the nationwide audience.
The former University of Tennessee linebacker toyed with opponent Patrick Cummins while the two were on the feet. And when Cummins, a former Penn State wrestler, shot in for takedowns, OSP popped up like a bath toy.
A sneaky counter left uppercut started the end, and a few hammerfists on the ground sealed the deal for St. Preux, who has now won six of his seven contests in the UFC. Despite being fairly raw in some areas, OSP is a terrific athlete with one-punch knockout power. That could be enough to advance in the talent-starved light heavyweight division.
As for Cummins, as Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow noted on Twitter: "That's enough of the 'Patrick Cummins is a rising prospect' era."
Loser: Jimy Hettes' Ear
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A big elbow shot from Diego Brandao was the beginning of the end. It landed right on the button.
If by "button" you mean "ear."
Jimy Hettes' cauliflower ear, to be exact. In one of the more disgusting wounds an MMA fighter can sustain, Hettes' ear injury caused the doctor to stop his fight and rule for a TKO loss.
“I don’t mind if it fell off,” Hettes said of his ear, per MMAJunkie. “I thought the doctor was joking when he said it was over.”
I guess the medical professional minded. And in that case, that opinion is, rightly and thankfully, the most important one.
UFC on Fox 15 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Luke Rockhold def. Lyoto Machida by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:31, Rd. 2
Ronaldo Souza def. Chris Camozzi by submission (armbar), 2:33, Rd. 1
Max Holloway def. Cub Swanson by submission (guillotine choke), 3:58, Rd. 3
Paige VanZant def. Felice Herrig by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Beneil Dariush def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision
Ovince St. Preux def. Patrick Cummins by KO, 4:54, Rd. 1
Gian Villante def. Corey Anderson by TKO, 4:18, Rd. 3
Aljamain Sterling def. Takeya Mizugaki by submission (arm triangle choke), 2:11, Rd. 3
Tim Means def. George Sullivan by submission (arm triangle choke), 3:41, Rd. 3
Diego Brandao def. Jimy Hettes by TKO, 5:00, Rd. 1
Chris Dempsey def. Eddie Gordon by split decision
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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