Flyweight Picture Finally Clears Up (UFC on FX 3 Review)
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The Flyweight division is still an extremely young division in the UFC with only two fights between flyweights so far. These two fights were the Flyweight Tournament to determine the first ever flyweight champion of the UFC. The fights though only produced one potential champion as Joseph Benavidez won his match to earn a spot in the finals. The other match between Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson had been much closer and after the fight and some re-calculation the fight was determined to be a draw. With a draw the fight should have gone to a 4th round. The fight was over though and instead of the fourth round the UFC gave Johnson and McCall a chance at an extra three rounds as they would redo the fight at UFC on FX 3. Demetrious Johnson was originally announced as the winner immediately after the fight but the scorecards were tabulated wrong. Johnson still believed he had won the fight as he though he won the first two rounds and lost the third. This may have been true as McCall definitely won the 3rd round and Johnson definitely won the 1st round. The big question mark was the round in between as the 2nd round was so close it turned out to be too close to call. McCall was simply angry that the fight had not gone to a 4th round as he didn’t claim to win the fight but instead was angry that the scores were added wrong. This was a good point by McCall as he was seemingly taking control of the fight at the end of the second round and may very well have brought that into the 4th round. At UFC on FX 3 Johnson was looking to prove to everyone that he was the true winner of that fight. McCall on the other hand was looking to prove that his former #1 Flyweight ranking was not a fluke as he had unfinished business with Johnson. Both men faced off in the main event at UFC on FX in a typical light weight class fight. Both fighters came out fast but Johnson got the quick advantage earning a takedown a minute into the fight. McCall went to the ground but he was able to pop up quickly and get back to the stand up game where he tried to get Johnson into a slugfest. Johnson did not fall for it as he circled and waited for his chances which eventually came as Johnson caught McCall with a counter right that sent the fight to the ground. McCall did not get completely dominated in the round though as he got up again and stuffed a takedown but did go to the corner bloodied up. The second round saw McCall get a takedown although he did not do much with it and then saw McCall catch Johnson with a big uppercut. It wasn’t enough to stop Johnson though as he continued to come forward while McCall continued to beat him up. Another takedown and a slam helped McCall to take the round. The third round was very even as both fighters saw their chances with McCall able to win the stand up battle but Johnson able to earn a few takedowns. Ultimately the judges decided the fight again and like last time they decided that Johnson was more active. This time though it was a unanimous decision victory for Johnson and there was no re-calculation after the fight. For Johnson that meant that he would get a shot against Joseph Benavidez for the first ever Flyweight Title. For McCall it meant another loss to Johnson and a spot among the rest of the Flyweight Division where he will look to get a title shot after the first champion is decided.
The rest of the card on paper seemed extremely boring with some fights having storylines to get you interested but many having none. Then again the UFC always seems to know what they are doing as the fight card was very exciting. In all the main card had only one fight go the distance and that was the Main Event. To kick off the main card on FX Scott Jorgensen and Eddie Wineland were out to prove that the Bantamweight division is no slouch. They went all out in the fight going back and forth until Wineland showed his power in the second round knocking out Jorgensen. Then came Mike Pyle and Josh Neer who represented two very powerful welterweight fighters. The power came out as it took only one round for Mike Pyle to earn the KO. Then came Erick Silva and Charlie Brenneman in a fight that Silva wanted so badly in order to overcome some controversial fights in his UFC career. His last fight was the most controversial after he was Disqualified from the fight after punching his opponent in the back of the head multiple times. Silva was back in the octagon looking to get back into the thick of the title fight. He did just that against Charlie Brenneman as he was very impressive in submitting Brenneman in the first round via rear naked choke. The anticipation for the card may not have been great aside from the main event but the whole card turned out to be another great live UFC fight.
The UFC handed out $40,000 bonuses to the best of this great card with plenty of fights to choose from. The “Submission of the Night” went to Erick Silva for his Rear Naked Choke victory against Charlie Brenneman. The “Knockout of the Night” went to Mike Pyle for his devastating KO of Josh Neer in the first round of their Main Card Fight. The “Fight of the night” went to Scott Jorgensen and Eddie Wineland for their back and forth war that ended with Wineland earning the KO victory in round 2.
Fight Results:
Main Event:
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson def. Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall [Flyweight Tournament]
(Unanimous Decision)
Main Card:
Erick Silva def. Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman
(Submission; Rear Naked Choke, Rd. 1)
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle def. Josh “The Dentist” Neer
(KO Rd. 1)
Eddie Wineland def. Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen
(KO; Rd. 2)
Undercard:
Mike Pierce def. Carlos Eduardo “Ta Danado” Rocha
(Split Decision)
Seth “Polish Pistola” Baczynski def. Lance Benoist
(Split Decision)
Matt “The Real One” Grice def. Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia
(Unanimous Decision)
Dustin “The Disciple” Pague def. Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian
(Submission; Rear naked Choke, Rd. 1)
Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means def. Justin “J-Bomb” Salas
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Buddy Roberts def. Ciao “Hellboy” Magalhaes
(Unanimous Decision)
Henry “Sicario” Martinez def. Bernardo “Trekko” Magalhaes
(Unanimous Decision)
Sean “The Punisher” Pierson def. Jake “The Hitman” Hecht
(Unanimous Decision)
Upcoming Events:
UFC on FX 4: Maynard vs. Guida (Friday June 22nd; 9:00 pm ET)
– Free Live on FX/Sportsnet
– Atlantic City, New Jersey (Revel Casino)
– Main Event: Gray “The Bully” Maynard vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida
– Notable: Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout vs. Spencer “King” Fisher
UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II (Saturday June 23rd; 10:00 pm ET)
– Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Mineirinho Gymnasium)
– Main Event: Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs. Rich “Ace” Franklin
– Notable: Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum vs. Mike Russow
– Notable: Yuri “Marajo” Alcantara vs. Hacran “Barnabe” Dias
UFC 148: Sonnen vs. Silva II (Saturday July 7th; 10:00 pm ET)
– Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
– Main Event: Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs. Chael Sonnen [Middleweight Title]
– Notable: Forrest Griffin vs. Tito “The People’s Champ” Ortiz
– Notable: Cung Le vs. Patrick “The Predator” Cote
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