‘UFC on FX 3: McCall vs. Johnson’ event review
‘UFC on FX 3′ is officially done and dusted after a hit-and-miss night of mixed martial arts action went down last night at the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The stakes were high for many of the fighters involved, none more so than UFC flyweight title grand prix hopefuls, Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson who met for a second time to determine who would go on to fight for the UFC flyweight belt. Now that the dust has begun to settle, MMABay is at hand to round-up the goings on last night and take a look at what lies ahead for the winners and losers as the UFC made a belated return to The Sunshine State.
‘Mighty Mouse’ leaves no doubt second time around, bests McCall to take his place in tourney final
The anticipated rematch between the UFC’s premier 125lb competitors, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall, didn’t disappoint and despite lacking the urgency of their first meeting, the main event still offered some eye-opening moments.
A visibly confident McCall was immediately put on the back-foot and after a takedown and some very brief top-control, ‘Mighty Mouse’ landed a short right hand standing that floored the Californian. ‘Uncle Creepy’ recovered as expected but Johnson had done enough to nick the first frame, 10-9.
But McCall was in no mood for the feeling-out process and despite sporting a cut on the bridge of his nose, he landed a few takedowns in round two – including a decent side-suplex – and threw some unorthodox strikes to possibly claw back a round, leaving the fight tensely poised going into the final round.
It was a false hope though, as McCall – noticeably more tired than when the two last met – could offer little in round three and while Johnson’s peppering strikes did little damage, the AMC Pankration flyweight scored a messy late takedown to banish any doubts. After another gruelling three rounds, the judges all swayed towards the still-fresh ‘Mighty Mouse’ who took the unanimous decision and his place in the tournament final.
Next for Johnson: The Washington native performed well and while he was never in danger of finishing McCall in the latter stages, Johnson is a worthy finalist having arguably beaten the world’s number one ranked flyweight twice in a row. ‘Mighty Mouse’ will face Joseph Benavidez for the first ever UFC 125lb title, probably around September/October.
Next for McCall: ‘Uncle Creepy’ was very, very disappointing. The man who could well have beaten Johnson a couple of months back was absent, and in his place we saw a tired and frustrated McCall who could never get into his groove. The charismatic flyweight will be back – why not sling him in there with fellow losing semi-finalist, Yasuhiro Urushitani? The winner would be launched straight into title contention, keeping the champion on his toes.
Silva shines, submits Brenneman in chaotic co-main event
In the co-main event, welterweight prospect, Erick Silva, continued to impress as he made short, decisive work of talented wrestling crossover, Charlie Brenneman. It was billed as ‘Indio’s toughest test to date – a hard-nosed, workaholic wrestler with the credentials to match – but the Brazilian made it look relatively easy.
Brenneman, as expected, came wading in and ate some solid shots before planting Silva on the canvas for mere seconds before ‘Indio’ regained the standing position and stalled at the cage to get the break. Another stuttering exchange was broken, and that was Silva’s cue to go to work.
The heavy-handed welterweight sprawled on a takedown attempt before nipping onto Brenneman’s back with ease and straightening him out before sinking in a textbook rear-naked choke. Brenneman briefly resisted, then tapped out at 4:33 of the very first round, handing ‘Indio’ another impressive stoppage that moves the Brazilian to 2-1 in the UFC.
Next for Silva: ‘Indio’ should be 3-0 since switching to the UFC and the X-Gym man looked great putting away a seasoned wrestler in Brenneman. The Brazilian is ready for a pay-per-view card slot, and will likely face Mike Pyle, possibly on the next Brazilian card seen as Pyle is the only American to win in that country in recent times.
Next for Brenneman: ‘The Spaniard’ was predictable, to put it bluntly. Impressive against bottom-tier welterweights, with the exception of a solid win over Rick Story, Brenneman has always struggled against the bigger names of the division and another demoralising stoppage gets added to the Pennsylvanian’s record. Brenneman needs a win badly next time out – his stifling style is hardly drawing new viewers to the sport – and could face fellow loser last night, Josh Neer.
‘Quicksand’ continues charge up the rankings, smashes Neer in round one
When welterweight old-timers, Mike Pyle and Josh Neer, met on the main card, we expected a tough fight that would probably go the distance. In reality, ‘Quicksand’ continued to defy the critics with a stunning first round knockout of Neer, claiming ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonuses to sweeten the deal.
The two nullified each other on the ground early, but when they stood, Neer put Pyle on rubber legs with a shot before chasing down a visibly wounded ‘Quicksand’. Pyle, seemingly on his last legs, landed a picture-perfect right hand to the chin of the charging Neer, sending him face-first to the canvas. Pyle cooly walked away as the referee dived in save a stricken Neer from damage that wasn’t coming, and ‘Quicksand’ was awarded the stunning knockout victory at 4:56 of the first round.
Next for Pyle: The veteran’s impressive renaissance continues, and Pyle has now knocked out two opponents on the trot. This should mean a hefty push is coming the way of ‘Quicksand’, and being the UFC’s living, breathing litmus test for new talent, expect to see Pyle face Brazilian sensation, Erick Silva, in the months to come.
Next for Neer: The Iowan sees a two-fight winning streak halted in unbelievable fashion but Neer’s experience and reputation for exciting fights will keep him on the roster for one more roll of the dice. ‘The Dentist’ might face Charlie Brenneman or Rich Attonito, with the loser of either fight being cut loose.
Wineland shocks, breaks losing skid with stunning finish of Jorgensen
‘Fight of the Night’ honours went to perennial bantamweight contenders, Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen, who finally lit a fire under the crowd to kick the televised card off in style. The two put on a war to remember, and it was Wineland who surprised us all with a brutal stoppage of a previously unstoppable contender.
Wineland, 0-2 in the UFC before last night, came out confidently and started picking ‘Young Guns’ apart with crisp striking, dropping the wrestler to his rear with a shot and diving in to try and finish to take a clear-cut 10-9 round.
An early takedown in round two amounted to nothing for Jorgensen, but as the two stood Wineland was badly cut both above and to the lower-side of his left eye. Nontheless, Wineland still repeatedly tagged and bruised up his man, before landing a flush right hand down the pipe that folded Jorgensen horribly. ‘Young Guns’ was done for as Wineland landed a few extra touches before being pulled off the ruined Jorgensen at 4:10 of an explosive second round.
Next for Wineland: The former WEC champion breaks a horrible run and rockets up the rankings on both reputation and this performance. Not many, if any, knock out the gritty Jorgensen and to do so while hideously hacked open and bleeding hard is a great achievement for the experienced all-rounder. Wineland’s getting a top contender next, possibly Brad Pickett on the upcoming Nottingham card in September.
Next for Jorgensen: ‘Young Guns’ made a solid 2-0 start to his UFC career but now finds himself 2-2 and nursing an unexpected beating. Jorgensen remains a top contender, but will have his back to the wall when he returns to action, perhaps facing Japanese legend, Norifumi Yamamoto, with the winner clinging to the UFC ladder.
Preliminary Card round-up
A terrible undercard was headlined by a welterweight clash pitting grizzled wrestler, Mike Pierce, against BJJ stylist, Carlos Eduardo Rocha, and the two hardly set the pulses racing in what was a stodgy three-round affair. A confident Pierce clearly edged the first round, chasing down the Brazilian with strikes and landing a takedown as the clock wound down. The Oregon native stuck to the gameplan in round two, keeping ‘Ta Danado’s back to the fences, landing a takedown and containing the grappler for much of the round. Pierce quickly caged Rocha again in the final round and eventually got the fight to the mat where he turned up the heat as time evaporated, landing vicious ground and pound and clearly dazing a hapless Rocha as the buzzer intervened. Some bizarre judging offered up a split decision, with Pierce taking it as expected.
Next for Pierce: The wrestler has a tidy record and has fought some of the best in the division, but Pierce is annoyingly predictable and his unfriendly fighting style of pinning opponents to the cage for long spells will hold him back. Pierce and former friend, Rick Story, have fallen out as of late nd if Story can get past Brock Jardine in two weeks’ time, these two could find themselves settling it inside the Octagon.
Next for Rocha: ‘Ta Danado’ falls to 1-2 in the UFC but to his credit, he didnt fold and took on one of the more under-rated contenders in the welterweight division after spending over a year on the treatment table. The submission wizard could face German prospect, Pascal Krauss, to see which foreign import gets to stick around.
A gruelling battle, also in the welterweight division, saw former TUF contestant, Seth Baczynski, take on undefeated rookie, Lance Benoist and the two put on yet another hard-fought three-rounder in Fort Lauderdale. The 6ft 3in Baczynski, one of the biggest 170lb’ers in the business, fought off Benoist’s attempts to leap to guard and ended round on top, but Benoist looked good in round two as he took down ‘Polish Pistola’ and contained him for much of the round, possibly evening the score with the judges. A close final round saw Baczynski finally land a big knee up the middle from clinch, busting Benoist wide open and leaving him gushing blood for much of the round. Baczynski recovered from a stint on his back to finish strongly, raining blows down on a bloodsoaked Benoist to steal the round, and the fight, as he took the split decision.
Next for Baczynski: The well-rounded Arizona native is now 3-1 in the UFC, winning his last three. The lanky welterweight is ready for a step-up and that could come in the shape of English prospect, John Hathaway, as two of the division’s biggest guys look to bust into the title picture.
Next for Benoist: Seemingly undersized, Benoist falls to 1-1 in the UFC and 6-1 overall but the Nebraskan never looked out of his depth and will definitely be given another shot for his bloodshed. Expect Benoist to face another TUF alumni, Justin Edwards, later in the year for a spot on the roster.
A featherweight fight with potential failed to deliver as Jackson’s MMA veteran, Leonard Garcia, saw his career take a terrible blow as he fell to Oklahoma’s Matt Grice. All three rounds followed a similar pattern, as Grice – whose striking looked much improved – did enough standing before landing easy takedowns on the brawler. ‘Badboy’ was lost off his back, and Grice simply stuck to the task and ground out a no-brainer of a unanimous decision.
Next for Grice: The decorated grappler defied the odds last night and impressed as he calmly shut down the aggressive Garcia. ‘The Real One’ will get another fight as he looks to improve upon a 2-4 UFC record, perhaps against rising star Jimy Hettes.
Next for Garcia: The dole-queue. ‘Badboy’ has looked dreadful in defeat one too many times in the UFC and make no mistake, this was supposed to be a winnable fight against a featherweight who’s torn between the sport and his day job as a police officer. Garcia is clearly no match for the division’s best and after this lacklustre performance, he won’t get the chance to defy that statement.
A huge upset in the bantamweight division saw the heavily favoured Jared Papazian square off against mild-mannered TUF graduate, Dustin Pague, with both men 0-1 in the UFC. The uber-aggressive Papazian waded in early and a lazy takedown attempt proved to be ‘The Jackhammer’s undoing. Pague reversed the brawler to the mat, landing expertly in mount before softening up the veteran with elbows. ‘The Disciple’ then deftly took Papazian’s back, patiently working in the rear-naked choke that forced a grimacing Papazian to tap out at 3:21 of round one.
Next for Pague: Now 11-6, the enigmatic bantamweight has saved his UFC career for now and looked excellent once he took the striker to the ground. A beautiful submission sends the Virginian to 1-1 inside the Octagon and Pague could face intriguing Mexican prospect, Erik Perez, in the months to come.
Next for Papazian: ‘The Jackhammer’ falls to 0-2 in the UFC, losing a contentious decision to top prospect, Mike Easton, and now being mauled by one of the division’s lesser names. If the Armenian-American wants to stay in the UFC, he’s going to need to follow through on his flirtations with 125lbs.
A lightweight tussle pitting blue-chip prospect, Justin Salas, against the more experienced Tim Means backfired on the matchmakers last night as Means turned in a flawless performance to hand Salas his first UFC defeat in brutal fashion. Means landed an early punch that had Salas dancing all over the cage – the wrestler dived for takedowns in a sad manner while taking numerous knees and punches from ‘The Dirty Bird’. Another sloppy takedown attempt from Salas wound up with him face-down as Means landed the finishing touches to the clearly done Salas, giving him the TKO stoppage at just 1:06 of the first round.
Next for Means: The New Mexican moves to 2-0 in the UFC and he’s just handed a highly-rated prospect their ass on a plate. Means deserves a bump in competition and the 6ft 2in lightweight could face Birmingham’s Paul Taylor on the U.K card in September for guaranteed fireworks.
Next for Salas: The Colorado native was simply trounced last night, and Salas falls into the ‘relegation’ battle with a 1-1 UFC record and an aching face. The wrestling prodigy needs a win to ensure he’s kept on the books, and could face fellow wrestler, Marcus Levesseur, for that privilege.
A stop-start middleweight affair saw two UFC debutants play out a stale three-rounder with American, Buddy Roberts, handing unbeaten Brazilian, Caio Magalhaes, his first career loss. Roberts badly hurt ‘Hellboy’ with a right hand to the temple round one and while he was unable to capitalise, the Jackson’s MMA prospect ground out an ugly but effective decision over the BJJ black-belt.
Next for Roberts: The lanky middleweight may have underwhelmed, but the hard part starts now as Roberts will likely face heavy-handed TUF favourite, Tom Lawlor, or the winner of this month’s bout between Nick Catone and Chris Camozzi.
Next for Magalhaes: The stocky middleweight showed absolutely nothing last night – you’d never think ‘Hellboy’ trains regularly with the killers at Nova Uniao. The grappler is in a do-or-die situation when he returns to action, probably facing wrestler Clifford Starks.
Another turgid undercard affair saw lightweights, Henry Martinez and Bernardo Magalhaes, battle for a place in the promotion and show little to no urgency for the entire fifteen minutes. An achingly poor fight centred around the BJJ stylist’s inability to take Martinez down consistently and standing, Martinez edged what was a complete stalemate. The Jackson’s MMA prospect did enough, barely, to earn the unanimous decision.
Next for Martinez: A BJJ black-belt, Martinez hasn’t shown much of his skills in two UFC fights but the prospect at least improves to 1-1 in the promotion. Being a Greg Jackson prospect, Martinez might be suggested as a feasible first opponent for recent TUF winner, Michael Chiesa, when the bearded one recovers from a hand injury.
Next for Magalhaes: A typical BJJ guy with zero takedown ability, ‘Trekko’ has looked abysmal in his two UFC outings and two lopsided decision losses will spell the end for Magalhaes. Expect the Brazilian-Australian to be trimmed from the roster in the weeks ahead.
The Facebook prelims broadcast was kicked off by welterweights, Jake Hecht and Sean Pierson, who partook in one of the most uneventful fights in recent memory. Hecht cut open Pierson’s scalp in round one, but the two were exhausted going into the second and it became a chore to watch. Canadian all-rounder Pierson landed the better shots and did just enough to earn a painful-to-watch unanimous decision.
Next for Pierson: The Toronto native finally snaps his losing streak and saves his bacon, Pierson will be back and an interesting fight could pit the welterweight powerhouse against rising British star, John Maguire.
Next for Hecht: ‘Hitman’ falls to 1-2 but most tellingly, drops back-to-back losses while looking close to terrible. Hecht is clearly not big-leagues material and this loser-leaves-town fight will be sending the welterweight back to the bush leagues in the near future.
That’s a wrap for ‘UFC on FX 3′, and after a two week break the action returns to FX on Friday, June 22nd as ‘UFC on FX 4: Guida vs. Maynard’ goes down in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Stay tuned to MMABay for all the breaking news surrounding that card, in the weeks to come.
By Steve Davies
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