UFC Fight Night 82 Results: 5 Burning Questions Heading into Fight Night 83
UFC Fight Night 82 is in the books. The results are as follows:
Fight Night 82 Main Card on Fox Sports 1
- Stephen Thompson def. Johny Hendricks, TKO (Round 1, 3:31)
- Roy Nelson def. Jared Rosholt, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Ovince Saint Preux def. Rafael Cavalcante, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Joseph Benavidez def. Zach Makovsky, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Misha Cirkunov def. Alex Nicholson, submission (Round 2, 1:28)
- Mike Pyle def. Sean Spencer, TKO (Round 3, 4:25)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Josh Burkman def. KJ Noons, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Derrick Lewis def. Damian Grabowski, TKO (Round 1, 2:17)
- Justin Scoggins def. Ray Borg, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Diego Rivas def. Noad Lahat, knockout (Round 2, 0:23)
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
- Mickey Gall def. Mike Jackson, submission (Round 1, 0:45)
- Alex White def. Artem Lobov, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Next up? UFC Fight Night 83 on Sunday, February 21.
While not nearly as good as Fight Night 82, this card features an interesting Cowboy vs. Cowboy match, as Donald Cerrone takes on Alex Oliveira. Better yet, bantamweight slugger John Lineker returns to the cage to take on hot prospect Cody Garbrandt, while Pride FC alum Tatsuya Kawajiri faces a desperate Dennis Bermudez.
What questions demand answers? Find out here!
Will the UFC Ever Stop Undercutting Its Women's Divisions?
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The Fights: Marion Reneau vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith, Sarah Moras vs. Lauren Murphy
The Real Fight: UFC vs. Progress
The Stakes
The Fight Pass prelims feature two interesting bantamweight talents in Marion Reneau and Lauren Murphy. Both women own deceptively impressive resumes and are set to face interesting up-and-coming challengers. Unfortunately, few fans will get the chance to see them, as their fights are buried on Fight Pass.
The Question
Will the UFC ever stop undercutting its women's divisions?
Analysis
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden discussed the UFC's problem with promoting women's MMA last year. While the world's premier MMA organization commendably took the plunge to absorb Strikeforce's women's bantamweight division with no guarantee that it would turn a profit, it has put no effort into promoting anyone outside Ronda Rousey and Paige VanZant.
Fight Night 83 is a great example of that phenomenon. While the card is largely comprised of interchangeable unranked fighters, Reneau (who remains an intriguing bantamweight talent despite her recent loss to now-champ Holly Holm) and Murphy (a former Invicta FC champ) are relegated to the bottom, untelevised portion of the card.
There isn't a way to defend this. The card isn't stacked, as completely uninteresting matches such as Travis Smith vs. Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes and James Krause vs. Shane Campbell made their way to television. This also isn't one of those newfangled "Fight Pass main events" either, as those remain reserved for pay-per-view cards.
In the short term, this is downright foolish as it leaves Holm (or Miesha Tate or Ronda Rousey) with no marketable contenders for a matchup in the winter. In the long term, this could kill women's MMA.
Which Former Hot Welterweight Will Avoid the Chopping Block?
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The Fight: Brandon Thatch vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
The Real Fight: Brandon Thatch, Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Derailed Hype Trains
The Stakes
At one point, Brandon Thatch and Siyar Bahadurzada were the next big things at 170 pounds. Then, suddenly, they weren't. Now, with both men coming off back-to-back losses, they may need a win to preserve their jobs.
The Question
Which former hot welterweight will avoid the chopping block?
Analysis
Bahadurzada impressed UFC decision-makers when he knocked out Paulo Thiago back in 2012, but he was embarrassed in his sophomore fight against Dong-Hyun Kim (who you can see above, posing for the cameras atop Bahadurzada during their UFC on Fuel TV 8 bout). That was followed by an ugly decision loss to John Howard and a two-year layoff that has left him all but forgotten in today's UFC.
Thatch, similarly, became a big name by dispatching Thiago and then fell into a main event spot at UFC Fight Night 60. In one of the greatest examples of how toxic and destructive the "take any fight they give you" mentality can be, Thatch went from facing an up-and-coming kickboxer in Stephen Thompson to a smart, savvy grappler in Benson Henderson. The result, of course, was a fourth-round loss via rear-naked choke. That was followed by another ugly loss to Gunnar Nelson, which left him with his back to the wall.
Now, neither man has margin for error. Whoever loses will likely be sent packing for World Series of Fighting. Whoever wins will buy a second chance.
Which Fringe Top 10 Featherweight Will Endure?
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The Fight: Dennis Bermudez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
The Real Fight: Dennis Bermudez, Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Slim Margins for Error
The Stakes
Dennis Bermudez and Tatsuya Kawajiri are both walking into Fight Night 83 on a tightrope and will take a serious plunge with a loss. By this time next week, either Bermudez will be riding a three-fight losing streak, or Kawajiri will have his sudden momentum stopped dead.
The Question
Which fringe Top 10 featherweight will endure?
Analysis
Bermudez seemed destined for big things when he broke off a seven-fight winning streak after The Ultimate Fighter 14, but McGregor mania always kept him far, far out of the title picture. That run was nixed, however, by back-to-back stoppage losses to Jeremy Stephens and Ricardo Lamas.
Kawajiri, on the other hand, has defied low expectations to this point in his UFC career. A fan favorite straight out of Pride FC, he has managed to go 3-1 in his first four UFC fights and became a player in the rankings by beating former Top 10 name Dennis Siver. But he's 37 years old, so a loss would likely put him into a Roy Nelson-style "jobber to the stars" situation.
In the hyper-competitive featherweight division, neither man can afford to come up short. A loss here, no matter the circumstances, will be disastrous.
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Can John Lineker Continue His Beastly Run?
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The Fight: John Lineker vs. Cody Garbrandt
The Real Fight: John Lineker vs. The Former Mr. Paige VanZant
The Stakes
John Lineker jumped back up to 135 pounds in his last fight and looked darn good in his return, defeating fellow fearsome finisher Francisco Rivera at UFC 191. That victory put him on a strong three-fight winning streak, and he looks to keep on chugging by running through Team Alpha Male youngling Cody Garbrandt.
The Question
Can John Lineker continue his beastly run?
Analysis
While many wagged their fingers at Lineker over his inability to consistently hit the 125-pound mark, the Brazilian never left any doubt about who was the scariest flyweight in the UFC. He is one of the hardest pound-for-pound hitters in MMA today and has beaten the likes of Ian McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani.
By comparison, Garbrandt is a relatively unknown commodity, and that makes him easy pickings on paper for a slugger like Lineker. If the Brazilian can pick up another impressive win, he might just join the short list for title contention.
What Will Happen in the Donald Cerrone vs. Reebok Storyline?
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The Fight: Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Oliveira
The Real Fight: Donald Cerrone vs. The Reebok Deal
The Stakes
Donald Cerrone made waves when he blew up on The MMA Hour (h/t MMAMania.com) over a fine for adding a bit of color to his Reebok shorts ahead of his UFC on Fox 17 title fight with Rafael dos Anjos (see photo above). Even more interesting was this tidbit from MMAMania.com:
"Donald was warned that if he violated the policy again, he would no longer be allowed to fight inside the Octagon, according to comments made to his manager. Not one to back down from anything, Donald said he plans on wearing the patch again, perhaps when he fights against Tim Means at UFC Fight Night 82.
"
Pop some popcorn for this battle of wills, ladies and gentlemen.
The Question
What will happen in the Donald Cerrone vs. Reebok storyline?
Analysis
What more can be said about the Reebok deal? It's been disaster after disaster after disaster. The only thing that has really panned out for both the UFC and Reebok has been the fact that it hasn't really disrupted the UFC product...yet.
The UFC has effectively cowed fighters into submitting by flaunting the ability to pull them off a card and deny them a paycheck, but the greatest threat to the UFC-Reebok deal remains fighters forcing them to do so. While it would take a handful of prelim-level talents to force their hand, a main eventer such as Cerrone has a great deal of swing in this situation.
Cerrone is already regarded as a sympathetic figure, and if he continues applying pressure, it could put the UFC into an awkward position. While it's a funny thought, the biggest story at UFC Fight Night 82 might just be Cowboy's trunks.
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