UFC on Versus 4 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

UFC on Versus 4 is officially in the books. Cheick Kongo performed a miraculous comeback knockout against Pat Barry and Rick Story's hype train was derailed by the unlikely Charlie Brenneman.

The event was an exciting night of fights that will hopefully be remembered for the skill and bravery of its competitors rather than the sordid business of Nate Marquardt being removed from the UFC.

What were the real questions answered and lessons learned from a seemingly inconsequential event? Read and find out!

Michael Johnson Has Improved but Still Needs Work

Even though lightweight and Ultimate Fighter season 12 runner-up Michael Johnson showed much improvement since his defeat against Jonathan Brookins, he still needs some work.

His stand-up was much faster but showed some definite holes; he was getting tagged and even got cut with a nasty elbow until his opponent's conditioning waned and Johnson was able to earn the TKO victory.

Still, Johnson has a bright future if he continues to improve and he almost definitely will since he trains at Greg Jackson's famous gym.

Charles Oliveira Is Back with a Vengeance—Illegal Knee Notwithstanding

Charles Oliveira looked very impressive in his return to the Octagon against wrestler Nik Lentz. Oliveria displayed extremely crisp and accurate stand-up and a guard that may well be the long-awaited answer to "lay and pray."

It is terribly unfortunate that Oliveira's performance will be overshadowed by one critical mistake—a devastating illegal knee that was largely responsible for enabling Oliveira to swarm Lentz and end the fight via submission.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission Doesn't Fool Around

Immediately upon the end of the Oliveira-Lentz fight in which there was an illegal knee, the commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission was attempting to straighten things out.

Even though the fight was still awarded to Oliveira, the PSAC has sworn to review the fight and its result.

In addition, there was somebody to pat/rub down all of the fighters who was likely doing so to test for greasing; the PSAC was certainly on top of things.

Despite His Victory, Joe Lauzon Is Still Not a True Contender at Lightweight

At times, Joe Lauzon seems unstoppable...but it's just that those times are often against lower to mid-tier opponents.

Lauzon's best victories are over Jeremy Stephens and Jens Pulver, the latter of which isn't even with the UFC anymore and the former of which is a perennial B-level fighter.

Lauzon's opponent, Curt Warburton, only had nine fights at a record of 7-2 as opposed to Lauzon's 25 fights at 19-6.

Nevertheless, Lauzon looked impressive and he deserves to celebrate for his slick submission victory set up by a hard hit standing up.

Joe Stevenson Doesn't Have It Anymore, Sadly

Former lightweight No. 1 contender and The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner Joe Stevenson lost his fourth straight fight, this one against Javier Vazquez.

Stevenson started off his UFC career going 5-2 in his first seven fights, of which one of them was a title shot against then lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

However, Stevenson hit a slump and is 3-7 since 2008 (this includes his loss to Vazquez). Sadly, it appears that the sport has simply passed Joe Stevenson by.

Simple Is Sometimes Best

Sometimes the simplest techniques are the most effective. This lesson was no more apparent than in Tyson Griffin's fight against Manvel Gamburyan in which Griffin managed to stifle the takedown attempts and spring of his Armenian opponent with the use of frequent, powerful leg kicks.

Gamburyan's leg was practically tenderized by the end of the fight en route to his majority decision loss to Griffin.

Griffin on the other hand has snapped his three-fight losing streak; his new home at featherweight seems like it will be a comforting one.

The Sky Is the Limit for Matt Mitrione

Matt Mitrione again proved that his stand-up skills, resiliency and overall athleticism make him one of the top prospects at heavyweight.

Mitrione simply outworked his opponent Christian Morecraft, who looked lost on the feet and got tagged with many big shots before being hit with a devastating combination that sent him crashing into the canvas at 4:28 of the second round.

If Mitrione continues his current rate of improvement, the sky is truly the limit for the former NFL player.

Takedowns Aren't Always King...

Muay Thai expert John "Doomsday" Howard uncharacteristically employed a very grappling-heavy strategy against "The Immortal" Matt Brown but it was all for naught; Howard was on the bad end of a unanimous decision loss despite pulling off several takedowns and often attempting to smother Brown.

Perhaps the judges realized that Howard did nothing with his takedowns and Brown was the fighter who did more actual threatening actions throughout the fight.

Grappling isn't always king it would seem, however...

But Most of the Time They Are!

Charlie Brenneman managed to pull of a shocking upset against favorite Rick Story and in doing so derailed a hype train that had picked up a significant amount of momentum.

Brenneman's use of his superior wrestling abilities and top control earned him an unanimous decision victory.

The difference between this fight and the Brown-Howard one was that Brenneman was able to land takedowns much easier and was able to keep the fight on the ground for the most part, not just against the cage in a deadlock like Howard and Brown.

Brenneman's plucky victory will likely garner him a significant push by the UFC; his stock has increased considerably with this victory.

A Good Corner Is an Underrated Commodity

Throughout Charlie Brenneman's fight with Rick Story, Brenneman's corner was constantly shouting useful advice for "The Spaniard."

The constant shouting (loud shouting, it seemed to drown out Story's corner) of advice is monumentally helpful to a fighter, and it no doubt contributed to Brenneman's stellar victory over Story.

The Referees in Pennsylvania Apparently Don't Like Jiu-Jitsu

The referee's at UFC on Versus 4—the ones that aren't the usual ones seen at most UFC events—seemed to have it out against grappling in general, the most egregious example of which was standing up Rick Story and Charlie Brenneman while Story was working for a submission.

In general, the Pennsylvania referee's were much more vocal and spoke to the fighters much more than any other referees ever had.

It's Not Over Until It's Over

When a punch from Pat Barry brought Cheick Kongo to his knees and then Barry began landing more punches, everyone thought the fight was over (including referee Dan Miragliotta, who almost stopped the fight).

When more punches from Pat Barry sent Kongo to the canvas again, everyone thought the fight was over.

But when Cheick Kongo landed a right hand flush on Pat Barry's chin and Barry fell stretched out on the mat with his limbs starched, everyone knew the fight was over.

In MMA the fight isn't over until it's over. Cheick Kongo's unbelievable comeback against Pat Barry is evidence of this.