UFC Fight Night 83 Results: 5 Burning Questions Heading into Fight Night 84
UFC Fight Night 83 is in the books. The results are as follows (c/o Bleacher Report live-blogging wizard, Craig Amos):
Main Card on Fox Sports 1
- Donald Cerrone def. Alex Oliveira, submission (Round 1, 2:33)
- Derek Brunson def. Roan Carneiro, TKO (Round 1, 2:38)
- Cody Garbrandt def. Augusto Mendes, TKO (Round 1, 4:18)
- Dennis Bermudez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chris Camozzi def. Joe Riggs, TKO (Round 1, 0:26)
- James Krause def. Shane Campbell, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Sean Strickland def. Alex Garcia, TKO (Round 3, 4:25)
- Oluwale Bamgbose def. Daniel Sarafian, knockout (Round 1, 1:00)
- Anthony Smith def. Leonardo Augusto Leleco, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nathan Coy def. Jonavin Webb, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fight Pass Prelims
- Ashlee Evans-Smith def. Marion Reneau, split-decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-27)
- Lauren Murphy def. Kelly Faszholz, TKO (Round 3, 4:55)
- Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Anthony Hamilton, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Next up? UFC Fight Night 84.
The UFC is rolling the dice at Fight Night 84. While Anderson Silva has proved himself to be a pay-per-view-caliber draw with or without the UFC title, he is being sent to England here to face off with top-10 mainstay Michael Bisping...on Fight Pass.
While that's an interesting business-side story, the actual in-cage action is all but guaranteed to be compelling. A big middleweight fight between Thales Leites and Gegard Mousasi sits in the co-main event spot, and past that, each fight on this card features either must-watch prospects or exciting sluggers.
So what are the hottest questions to talk about heading into Fight Night 84? Find out here!
Will We See Any Breakout Performances from Young Talent?
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The Fights: Tom Breese vs. Keita Nakamura, Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Wilkinson, Davey Grant vs. Marlon Vera
The Real Fight: Young Talent vs. UFC's Lazy Marketing
The Stakes
While there is little name value outside the Fight Night 83 main and co-main events, there are some interesting young fighters dotted across this card. It's worth tuning into this card to see which ones can continue cruising.
The Question
Will we see any breakout performances from young talent?
Analysis
Where to start...
TUF 18 runner-up Davey Grant is back in the cage after more than two years out of the sport. While he came up short against Chris Holdsworth back in the day, he remained an interesting up-and-coming bantamweight talent. Hopefully he's continued to make progress as a fighter, despite the lengthy layoff.
Makwan Amirkhani had one of the most impressive debuts in UFC history, knocking out Andy Ogle in just eight seconds. While not as fast, his sophomore effort was no less electrifying as he quickly tapped out Masio Fullen at UFC Fight Night 69. Now training alongside Conor McGregor at the SBG, he could establish himself as one of the deadliest fighters at 145 pounds here.
British welterweight Tom Breese has also set himself apart from the pack in just two UFC fights. In his back-to-back TKO wins over Luiz Dutra and Cathal Pendred, he has quickly demonstrated himself to be one of the slickest punchers in the division. If he posts an impressive performance over Japanese vet Keita Nakamura, he may be worth fast-tracking toward the welterweight title.
The list goes on, if you can believe it. Nearly every fight on this card is at least somewhat interesting.
Can Francisco Rivera Get Back on Track?
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The Fight: Francisco Rivera vs. Brad Pickett
The Real Fight: Francisco Rivera vs. Poor, Poor Brad Pickett
The Stakes
Francisco Rivera's run to the top was stopped dead when he was forced to tap out to a John Lineker guillotine at UFC 191. Now he has to avoid the chopping block by beating bantamweight veteran Brad Pickett.
The Question
Can Francisco Rivera get back on track?
Analysis
Rivera became a fan favorite by consistently delivering fast-paced, hyperviolent fights, and became a fringe top-10 fighter by knocking out Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night 68. Then he lost to Lineker.
It can't be overstated how much of a setback that was for him. While Rivera has long been pegged as a legitimate talent, his losses have consistently come at unfortunate times against top-10 mainstays. Suffering his third loss in four fights after finally breaking into the upper tier of the division halts his momentum dead, and potentially moves him to the chopping block.
He has a relatively easy opponent here in Pickett. While the Englishman is a staple of the bantamweight division dating back to the WEC days, he is 2-5 in his last seven and seems to be breaking down physically. If Rivera can't rebound here, however, he'll be looking at contract offers from WSOF and Bellator.
Which Middleweight Veteran Will Officially Enter Panic Mode?
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The Fight: Gegard Mousasi vs. Thales Leites
The Real Fight: Struggling Vet vs. Struggling Vet
The Stakes
Gegard Mousasi and Thales Leites were both riding high in 2015. Mousasi was coming off two emphatic wins over Costas Philippou and Dan Henderson, and Leites was riding an eight-fight winning streak capped with back-to-back-to-back finishes. Then they lost, to Uriah Hall and Michael Bisping, respectively.
Now, they need to get the ball rolling again. Unfortunately, only one man will be able to do so.
The Question
Which middleweight veteran will officially enter panic mode?
Analysis
Leites and Mousasi are both legitimate high-level talents and savvy fighters. Unfortunately, the UFC is nothing if not great at tearing down its established talent.
While the Erick Silvas of the world get a nice, cushy rebound fight in this kind of situation, the UFC is functionally ending the contendership days for one of these two. Why do these fights even happen?
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How Will the 40-Year-Old, Post-Failed Drug Test Silva Look?
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The Fight: Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping
The Real Fight: Anderson Silva vs. The Internet
The Stakes
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has officially served his 12-month suspension for the failed drug tests surrounding UFC 183. Now he needs to repair some of the damage that did to his legacy. Set to face Michael Bisping, The Spider needs to put on an amazing performance in order to avoid a chorus of fans and pundits saying, "He's not that great, he was just a juicer."
The Question
How will the 40-year-old, post-failed drug test Silva look?
Analysis
Right or wrong, win or lose, a lot of fans' memories of Silva will be recolored by this fight with Bisping. While steroids don't magically give a fighter the ability to punch and kick as skillfully as Silva, one only needs to look to Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun to see how much that matters in the grand scheme of sports.
Unfortunately for Silva, while Braun exited his performance-enhancing drug scandal with many years left ahead of him, Silva has a small window to rebuild his reputation. If he comes in looking like like anything less than The Spider of old, the hot takes will be positively scorching.
Can Michael Bisping Finally Get a Career-Defining Win?
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The Fight: Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping
The Real Fight: Michael Bisping vs. Patterns
The Stakes
Michael Bisping has proved to be one of the most enduring fighters in the UFC. With a UFC career spanning 23 fights and dating back to 2006's The Ultimate Fighter Season 3, he is one of the promotion's longest-tenured and most successful fighters.
Unfortunately, those 23 fights include zero title shots and zero wins against past or future UFC champions. With his biggest win being a pick 'em between Brian Stann and Cung Le, he has the opportunity to reshape his legacy and score a career-defining win over the legendary former middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.
The Question
Can Michael Bisping finally get a career-defining win?
Analysis
This fight could make or break Bisping's legacy, plain and simple. Despite being one of the few enduring names in the UFC middleweight division, his staying power and relevance has never been tied to elite-level skills or key wins over big names.
For a long while, he got by as the middleweight division's top heel, mixing together trash talk and plenty of in-cage controversy (Warning, NSFW language in this and following links). More recently, he has (ironically) become a champion of fair play due to the endless list of insults he has tossed at fighters suspended for PED use.
However, that relevance is fleeting. Outside the handful of crossover stars in combat sports history, titles, devastating losses and landscape-changing wins are the only things fighters are remembered for. While Bisping has had a long and successful career, few will be singing stories of the day The Count outpointed Chris Leben.
At Fight Night 84, however, that will change. Either he will go down as the man who punched the GOAT's ticket to Retirement City, or he will cement his place as the guy who couldn't quite get it done against true contenders.
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