UFC Austin delivered in a big way this past Saturday in what was one of the most entertaining cards in awhile. I think they said that it tied the record for the most finishes in a single UFC event and I think we really needed an event like that. It isn't that the previous events were awful necessarily, but the crazy moments and fights had seemed to be few and far between. I haven't talked about UFC 275 yet, but I thought that fight really lacked outside of a couple of moments and the big three fights at the end. With so many huge wins, there's a lot to cover in this one, so I'm not going to drag this intro any longer. If you're not familiar with this format, it is essentially a cut down version of my fallout posts. I briefly talk about some of the most important fighters and wins from the card and give some suggestions as to what could be on the horizon for them.
The first fighter to talk about is Roman Dolidze. He started the whole night off and did so with a bang when he landed the huge knee in the clinch that dropped Kyle Daukaus and led to the finish. The clinch was probably the one spot of the fight where Dolidze had the advantage and he was able to get it there and do the damage he needed. Dolidze is now 4-1 in the UFC and is starting to position himself for bigger and bigger fights. I think maybe someone like Andrei Petroski or Jacob Malkoun would make sense for his next opponent as he looks to continue his winning ways.
We'll stay in the middleweight division to talk about Phil Hawes. He also finds himself at 4-1 in the UFC now and I think he's a little farther along than Dolidze. I'm not sure why they had him fight Winn when he is probably on his way out of the promotion, but I would like to see him get something that would qualify as a legitimate test. I think someone like Eryk Anders, Wellington Turman, or Anthony Hernandez would fit the bill for the type of fight I would like to see for Hawes next. I liked how Hawes was able to use his range and fight to a pace that he could maintain, but he's not going to have an advantage that significant very often. However, if he can continue fighting the way he did Saturday, his future could be very bright. Another interesting fight could be Chidi Njokuani if they opted to give him someone with lesser UFC experience even though Chidi has plenty of career fights under his belt elsewhere.
Next comes Cody Stamann in what was a win that he needed badly. Eddie Wineland was a pretty noticeable step down for him, but he did what he needed to do. He came out and showed that he is still at a level above the average UFC fighter and is putting himself back on track to regain his spot in the rankings. I don't think one win over Wineland is enough to just vault him back into really tough fights, but he is back trending in the right direction. I think the tier of opponent that he should be looking at is in the range of Raoni Barcleos, Casey Kenney, or maybe Adrian Yanez. Also, shoutout to Eddie Wineland on a great career that came to a close with this fight. I'll be doing a retirement post for him as well as a few other fighters whenever the spots open up in the week. This is a busy time for MMA, so I'm not sure when I'll get to all of those, but they're coming at some point.
The next fighter that I want to talk about is Ricardo Ramos. The fight didn't really even get going before he found the finish on a spectacular spinning elbow. Danny Chavez is a very tough guy and he couldn't even stand up to the power and accuracy of a shot like that. Ramos is a guy that has always stood out to me as having potential, but he's struggled to put together the consistent performances necessary to really make that push. If he can refine his game and turn in consistently good fights, I still think he could make a run as he has plenty of time to do so. I think another high variance fighter could make some sense for him, which makes me think of a Nate Landwehr or Julian Erosa type of fighter. Timeline wise, both Seung Woo Choi and Josh Culibao would also make sense for him in my opinion.
Jeremiah Wells continues to prove me wrong as I think I pick against him in basically every fight he's had and he keeps on winning. I still have some questions about his game when it comes to tougher competition, but he's clearly better than I've given him credit for. He absolutely flattened Court McGee, which is no easy task. He is clearly earning the right to fight tougher and tougher competition each time out. His power has been on display since he got into the UFC and he was able to dispatch Blood Diamond on the ground in what turned out to be a fight that was simply beneath Wells' skill level. I think someone like Matt Brown, Danny Roberts, or Francisco Trinaldo would make sense for Wells' next opponent. Maybe even someone like Andre Fialho or Jack Della Maddalena could make some degree of sense as well.
The next fighter that I want to talk about is Adrian Yanez. Yanez was supposed to face his toughest test to date in Tony Kelley, but he was able to pick up another first round knockout. Yanez still hasn't fought someone who is on his level just yet and I think it would be justified to bump him up multiple tiers at this point. His technical boxing is just more advanced than the type of fighters that he's being matched up with and his hand speed and power is just too much for them to even compete most of the time. That's what led me to suggest Cody Stamann as a possibility a little earlier. Besides him, I think Raoni Barcelso, Casey Kenney, Kyler Phillips, and Raulian Paiva all fit the bill. One really fun matchup would be Yanez vs Said Nurmagomedov, but I'm not sure the UFC would want to risk halting either of their progress before they even got into the rankings.
Gregory Rodrigues continues to impress. He has all of the tools to be a real problem in this division if he can continue to grow and refine his game. I think he needs to develop a better understanding of game planning and taking the path of least resistance instead of always trying to win a fire fight, but that should be something that can be coached. His combination of striking with power and BJJ poses a serious problem for most at 185 lbs. I think the next logical matchups for him could be a couple of guys that we've seen very recently in Joaquin Buckley and Brendan Allen. Those are the two fights that I would look to make for Robo cop if I was the UFC.
Damir Ismagulov is next and I have thought he is a top 15 fighter at lightweight for a few fights now. I really don't think there is any justification for him to not be fighting a ranked opponent in his next contest. He looked very tough yet again against a really tough opponent in Kutateladze and it is time to start pushing Damir. To me, he either needs to fight the winner of the Diego Ferreira vs Drakkar Klose fight or the loser of Tsarukyan vs Gamrot this weekend. If he's not fighting a ranked opponent next then the UFC is just wasting his time.
Next we'll go back to middleweight to discuss Joaquin Buckley. His wrestling looked to be improved and it was the only reason I picked against him. He is going to have to continue to work on it, but this camp showed that he has taken steps in the right direction. His striking is always dangerous and powerful and will be what carries him however far he goes. I already mentioned Gregory Rodrigues as the guy I think I would like to see him fight next, but someone like Jun Yong Park, Ian Heinisch or Brendan Allen would also make sense for him.
The final fighter to talk about today is Kevin Holland. Holland has always been a fast and explosive striker who had no problem knocking guys out at middleweight, so that power is obviously going to play just fine down at 170. The move combined with some hard work in the gym has seen him improve his defensive wrestling and his get ups as well. Holland is a guy who isn't that far removed from fights against Blonde Brunson and Marvin Vettori who have fought in number one contender fights and challenged for the title since beating Holland. If one or two things go his way, he might have been in those huge fights. My point is that I think Holland has done enough to start fighting ranked opponents in what has become a very stagnant welterweight division. Besides Neil Magny, no one in that division seems to want to fight down in the rankings, so I'm not sure how likely it will be, but someone is going to have to start fighting soon. I think Michel Pereira, Geoff Neal, and Li Jingliang are all perfectly reasonable opponents next for Holland. If not, I think Santiago Ponzinibbio makes sense as well even though he's outside the rankings now. He called out Sean Brady and while I don't hate that fight in the least, that isn't real the first fight that comes to mind for Holland right now.
What did you guys think of the card? What was your favorite fight or finish? Who was the biggest winner of the night besides Josh Emmett? Leave any and all thoughts below and thanks for reading. Have a good one.
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