Ronda Rousey sort of outdid herself with the defense of her title opposite Alexis Davis. There was literally no feeling out process before “Rowdy” rocked her with a big overhand right before tossing her and getting the quick stoppage win. It’s never surprising to see her get in and get out without a sweat, but seeing her handle business the way she did against an opponent who many (including myself) thought could give the champ a much tougher challenge — and finishing by knockout for the second consecutive time — was kinda crazy.
TUF 19 Finale: Edgar vs Penn 3
Frankie Edgar sealed the epic trilogy between he and BJ Penn in a violent and decisive manner, not letting The Prodigy get any breathing room on the ground and forcing the issue in the standup from start to finish. One thing I really liked about this fight is that Edgar just simply broke BJ on fight night. In the first two fights, we saw Edgar just outwork him everywhere — keeping active on the feet and not allowing himself to be countered a whole lot, dropping under for the takedown when needed, just not really owning him in any aspect of the fight. This time against Penn, he did some serious damage once he got him to the ground and was doing well enough on the feet to where he didn’t even need to go there.
UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs Miller
Donald Cerrone eliminated Jim Miller’s name from the title hunt in another fight where we got to see a man break right in front of our eyes. We got to see the Cowboy force the action and press Miller backward from beginning to end, forcing him to adjust mid fight and look for a plan B when the standup wasn’t going his way. Once Miller couldn’t complete the takedown, it was all downhill from there. Cerrone’s display of kickboxing is really fun to watch when it works for him. He sets up highs with lows masterfully, and even has some nice pop on his punches.
UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs Brandao
Conor McGregor really proved his worth to the featherweight division in his fight with Diego Brandao. I like how his style is a bit unorthodox but aggressive at the same time. I was never a believer in his hype train leading into UFC Dublin, but the way he took out the Brazilian Ultimate Fighter winner made me believe he could give any top 10 featherweight a run for their money. Brandao showed up in great shape and not fat as hell like he was against Dustin Poirier, who McGregor is expected to meet next at UFC 178: Jones vs Cormier in September. That’s a fight that should really give you an idea of what level the fighting Irishman can perform at. I think it’s a very tough but winnable matchup for him.
UFC on Fox 12: Lawler vs Brown
Anthony Johnson had his ultimate proving point in the fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. It took all but 44 seconds for him to trap the Brazilian legend along the fence and clean his clock with a barrage of bombs that were landing from every angle. Nogueria’s head had nowhere to go but down. We’ll have to wait to see where “Rumble” goes from here, but all results indicate that he’s more than ready to make a run for the title in 2015.
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