UFC Fight Night 92 Results: Matches to Make for the Winners and Losers
UFC Fight Night 92 came to Salt Lake City to deliver an evening's worth of action.
The main card dragged on at points, but a main event featuring two of the UFC's most creative and fun fighters delivered to make everyone forget about the preceding bouts.
Yair Rodriguez edged Alex Caceres on the scorecards to win a split decision victory. His ascent up the featherweight division continues, but how far will the UFC push him? That's the big question exiting Utah.
Also in action, No. 8-ranked featherweight contender Dennis Bermudez defeated Rony Jason in the co-main event. Will he be usurped by Rodriguez?
Stepping back and looking at the complete picture following the results allows us to begin the matchmaking process to answer those questions. Want to see what the matches to make are following UFC Fight Night 92? Then read on as we tackle each and every combatant on the card in the look at what fights should come your way next.
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
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Justin Ledet def. Chase Sherman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Let's be honest, you probably didn't know about "The Vanilla Gorilla" Chase Sherman before this event, and you won't remember him after it either. With that said, he'll get another chance at UFC glory. He's only 26.
The UFC needs to find an appropriate debuting heavyweight somewhere out in the fields of the Midwest for him to fight.
Ledet got the win and the good fortune of moving forward in the division. His matchmaking options depend upon how the UFC views his future. It's why a fighter like Timothy Johnson makes a lot of sense. Johnson will test him enough to show what his true potential is inside the division. He's a great barometer to have in the heavyweight ranks.
Cub Swanson def. Tatsuya Kawajiri by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Kawajiri is clearly past his prime, but his style and name value makes him a solid piece of the UFC roster. After back-to-back losses, finding a proper opponent is difficult.
September's meeting between Chas Skelly and Maximo Blanco at UFC Fight Night 94 could provide the best option. Whoever loses the fight could meet Kawajiri in the winter.
What to do with Swanson? He could be treated like a gatekeeper and placed opposite Yair Rodriguez, but he should have earned one more chance to show he's a contender. That means one more crack at a legitimate top-10 opponent.
Ricardo Lamas and Swanson met in 2011, and it's time to revisit that fight. It was a jumping off point for Lamas as a featherweight contender, and given how much has changed since then it's a perfect time to rebook the bout. The winner is established as a contender, and the loser is established as a gatekeeper for the foreseeable future.
Time to see where those chips fall.
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
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Teruto Ishihara def. Horacio Gutierrez by TKO at 2:32 of the first round
Gutierrez has now lost three straight, and one was right before he ventured into the UFC. Cut ties and send him back to the small stage.
Ishihara has won back-to-back fights and is enjoying some new fans after the TKO performance. The UFC shouldn't rush him up the ranks just yet as he has unfinished business with Mizuto Hirota. The two battled to a split draw in September of 2015. Run that one back.
David Teymur def. Jason Novelli by TKO at 1:25 of the second round
Teymur put the stamp on Novelli and then called out Sage Northcutt in his post-fight interview in the cage. I don't see that fight happening. Nor should it. A better choice would be Scott Holtzman, who is coming off a win over Cody Pfister in mid-July.
Novelli didn't show too much in his UFC debut. He'll likely get one more shot at least before receiving the pink slip. Any debuting or low-level fighter coming off a loss would be justified as his next opponent. Don't waste too much time thinking about it, and hopefully the UFC won't either.
Marcin Tybura def. Viktor Pesta by KO at 0:53 of the second round
Hello, heavyweight knock outs!
Pesta has now been knocked out in his last two fights. He needs to step aside until 2017. When he returns, the division will have shifted, and whoever the UFC has on the bottom of the roster will suffice.
Tybura is back in the win column. Recent heavyweight winner Anthony Hamilton is a good choice. He'll stand a bit with Tybura, but he'll also challenge him with wrestling. It's a good matchup to not throw either fighter against an upper echelon fighter to allow them time to develop more skills.
Court McGee def. Dominique Steele by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Steele is now 1-3 in the UFC. Truth be told, the organization is likely better off sending him to the regional circuit. Will they? Probably not. They'll likely give him another shot. In which case, pick a fighter that's also coming off a loss, and he'll be just fine. The loser of UFC 202's Colby Covington vs. Max Griffin fight is a good candidate.
McGee should fight Keita Nakamura.
He isn't a stellar fighter, but he's coming off a big win for his career over Kyle Noke. It'll give him a chance to prove it wasn't a fluke performance. It will also be a chance to McGee to find consistency with his performances.
Maryna Moroz vs. Danielle Taylor
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Maryna Moroz def. Danielle Taylor by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Moroz won, but it was increidbly inefficient. How so? Per Michael Carroll of FightMetric, she scored on just 6.7% of her significant strikes. A UFC record low.
Taylor showed she was not going to get obliterated, but she is still an undersized strawweight. The UFC should make a Fight Pass prelim out of Cristina Stanciu and Taylor. Then they should send the loser to Invicta FC.
It wasn't a great showing, but Moroz got the W. That's the important part of the puzzle. Now with back-to-back wins she should get a ranked opponent.
Perhaps the most enticing matchup would be a meeting with Tecia Torres. The fight would put the winner back into contention while not harming the loser too much. It's a safe fight, and the strawweight division needs more of those.
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Trevor Smith vs. Joe Gigliotti
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Trevor Smith def. Joe Gigliotti by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Gigliotti had a chance to make a statement in his UFC debut, but Smith had other ideas and ran away with a decision.
Gigliotti could fight any number of low-tier middleweights or debuting fighters. That's where the buck stops with his next fight. He didn't earn anything more.
Smith is a tough fighter without offering anything spectacular. It makes matchmaking for a specific opponent more difficult but matchmaking in general easy.
He could fight just about anyone the UFC offers. The matchmakers could quite literally pull a name out of the hat, and it'd be fine. A possibility could be Josh Samman. He is coming off a loss but is someone the UFC obviously values as an athlete.
It's a fine Fight Night undercard tilt to book.
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Zak Cummings
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Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Zak Cummings by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Cummings and Ponzinibbio both came into the fight with back-to-back wins under their belt. Ponzinibbio won the bout by decision and continued his surge in the division.
The best route for Cummings would be to take a fight against Kyle Noke. The Aussie is a fighter who will push the pace and invite a brawl. That will fit Cummings just fine. The matchup is fan-friendly and puts the winner right back in the same place he was prior to his most recent losses.
Ponzinibbio is now in a much more interesting position.
Ponzinibbio is not a highly anticipated prospect in the division, but he has slowly improved his stock. Now with three straight wins, it's time to edge him closer to the deep end of the welterweight talent pool. Depending on medicals, he could have a quick turnaround against Tim Means on August 20 at UFC 202.
That may be a bit too quick, so here's another option: the winner of UFC 202's fight between Donald Cerrone vs. Rick Story.
Given their name recognition, it's possible the UFC looks for a higher profile opponent than Ponzinibbio. But given the state of the division, he is an excellent choice. The winner of that fight is not going to be challenging for a title and putting him against a top contender would be premature. Ponzinibbio is a credible opponent who would have a massive opportunity at his feet.
Thales Leites vs. Chris Camozzi
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Thales Leites def. Chris Camozzi via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:58 of the third round
Poor Camozzi. Constantly matched up with top tier jiu-jitsu specialists, and the result continues to be the same. He couldn't prevent the takedowns, and eventually Leites was able to get the choke.
Camozzi is a perfect fighter to go up against Anderson Silva. He's tough but not spectacular. It's a chance for Silva to get his first win in several years.
The bigger question coming out of this fight is what the UFC plans to do with Leites.
Leites dropped back-to-back fights against elite middleweights and is an aging fighter. Considering how close the decision loss was to now-champion Michael Bisping, Leites should be thrust right back into contention. There are many options if that is the plan.
The best one is Jacare Souza.
Jacare got shutout of his possible title bid in favor of Dan Henderson. Souza could end up in a title eliminator against Luke Rockhold or perhaps Derek Brunson if he wins his next fight later this year. But those options do more harm than good.
Jacare vs. Leites just makes the most sense while Bisping tends to his UFC 100 demons.
Dennis Bermudez vs. Rony Jason
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Dennis Bermudez def. Rony Jason by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Bermudez was a higher-ranked featherweight than the 145-pound main eventers, but he was still stuck beneath them on the card. What did he do? He battered and bloodied a credible opponent en route to a decision.
It wasn't as fun or memorable of a fight, but the result gives him back-to-back victories in the division. He gets right back into the hunt.
Jason is a stout opponent for almost anyone, but the result shows he is little more than a gatekeeper. A fighter in a similar position is Thiago Taveres. A featherweight showdown in Brazil would be more than suitable.
If the UFC is smart, it will match Bermudez up against Max Holloway. That is, of course, if Holloway does not get the next featherweight title shot. The two met at UFC 160 and Bermudez got a split decision victory. The fight gives Holloway a chance to erase that memory, and Bermudez has an opportunity to become a legitimate title contender.
It is also the safest matchup at their fingertips regarding keeping Holloway as a viable contender. It's a tough matchup but nothing like a Frankie Edgar fight would be for Holloway. It's the best option should Aldo get his coveted rematch with Conor McGregor.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Alex Caceres
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Yair Rodriguez def. Alex Careres by split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47)
It was a high output affair between Rodriguez and Caceres, and the two young guns put on a show to remember.
Rodriguez edged Caceres on the scorecards to walk away with a split decision victory. Rodriguez was more active and was able to keep Caceres on the outside for the majority of the contest. Although few and far between, Caceres had his moments as well.
Caceres' stock rose even in the loss, and for that the UFC should give him a lower-level matchup where he can hit the reset button. Jim Alers is coming off a losing effort in a Fight of the Night showing at UFC on Fox 20, and he would be a suitable opponent.
Alers is game, but Caceres should be able to look good in a winning effort.
Determining where the UFC goes with Rodriguez is difficult. He is already ranked in their official rankings and on a good winning streak. That typically results in a big time opponent. Or the UFC matchmakers could pump the brakes and continue the trend of giving him mid-tier opponents so that he grows as a fighter.
I'm in line with MMAJunkie's Mike Bohn's suggestion of Chan Sung Jung. "The Korean Zombie" is nearing a return, and a fight against Rodriguez would be outstanding for both men. Stylistically, the matchup is bonkers. It's the fight to make and a fight to propel the winner into contention.
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