‘UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman’ event review
Another slab of midweek mixed martial arts action is behind us and as has become customary, ‘UFC on FUEL TV 4′ was a highly entertaining free fight card, like the three FUEL TV events gone before. Some stunning finishes littered the card from top to bottom and an unbeaten contender turned in the performance of his career to call for a title shot – what lies ahead for the winners and losers in San Jose, California? Find out after the jump…
Weidman ready for Anderson Silva? ‘All-American’ thinks so, smashes Munoz in round two
Former NCAA wrestling sensation, Chris ‘All-American’ Weidman, was 4-0 in the UFC prior to his main event showdown with top middleweight contender, Mark Munoz, but was lacking that signature win to convince many he was title-ready. Last night, the New Yorker looked absolutely incredible and became an instant contender – and potentially, a serious threat – to UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.
Faced with an equally powerful wrestler, a heavy-handed one at that, Weidman wasted no time in landing a lightning-fast takedown just 40-seconds in. The Serra-Longo Fight Team prospect then spent the entire first round chaining guillotine attempts and front-headlocks while roughing up a bemused Munoz with short elbows for good measure.
The BJJ purple-belt took the round clearly and seconds into round two, had again picked a leg and put ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ on his back in the centre of the cage. After fishing for a brabo choke, Weidman was back standing where a beautifully placed standing elbow strike to the mush sent Munoz flailing to the canvas. Weidman landed a good 15 or more brutal right hands to the stricken Californian before Josh Rosenthal finally woke the hell up and stopped the fight, 1:37 into the second round.
Next for Weidman: We knew ‘All-American’ had the wrestling pedigree and were fully aware of his submission prowess. What we didn’t know, was that Chris Weidman has dynamite in his hands and finishing ability – welcome to true contender status, ‘All-American’. Now 9-0, the blue-chip prospect embarassed a man who was on the cusp of a title shot and Weidman has every right to call out the champion after that performance. However, let’s return to reality for a moment – the winner of UFC 149′s clash between Hector Lombard and Tim Boetsch, is going to be next in line. British top-dog Michael Bisping is looking likely to face Brian Stann. So, who does Weidman fight next to cement his number one contender status? Step forward, Alan Belcher – the winner of that, gets ‘The Spider’.
Next for Munoz: ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ was convinced he deserved a title-shot, but on that evidence, Munoz was far from ready himself and this crushing defeat may spur him on to make improvements. The bullish wrestler would be a great next opponent for Chael Sonnen, if the former title contender does indeed return to the Octagon.
Te Huna out-classes Beltran, but finds ‘The Mexicutioner’ a tough nut to crack
A light-heavyweight shootout acted as co-main event of the night in San Jose, and New Zealander James Te Huna picked up a third straight victory in the UFC but found hard-nosed brawler, Joey Beltran, impossible to put away.
A 10-8 first round saw the Kiwi stalk down a seemingly nervous Beltran, landing cleaner shots and keeping ‘The Mexicutioner’ on the backfoot. Late in the round, a series of clean uppercuts and then a clipping left hook sent Beltran down against the cage and Te Huna hammered away from mount but couldn’t finish the durable Californian who somehow survived the round.
The second frame was much the same, as Te Huna landed a takedown and roughed up the brawler from guard but was himself wobbled by a punch late in the round – not enough, however, to steal the round for Beltran. Te Huna went into cruise-control in the final round, but the two threw for the fences in the final seconds with both men landing flush shots before shaking hands respectfully at the final bell. All three judges saw it as a landslide for Te Huna, who took the unanimous decision.
Next for Te Huna: The Kiwi moves to 4-1 in the UFC and is slowly making a name for himself in the light-heavyweight division but needs one or two more wins before we can consider him a real title-threat. Te Huna broke a hand and a foot in round one, making the victory that much more impressive, and once he’s healed up could return to face French kickboxing kingpin, Cyrille Diabate.
Next for Beltran: ‘The Mexicutioner’ looked far better suited to 205lbs but his Octagon record remains in shoddy condition and unless he wins his next one, Beltran will be cut loose again by the UFC. However, the beauty of Joey Beltran is the fact he could make an exciting fight with a bag of cement. Give him Kyle Kingsbury, Jimi Manuwa, Vladimir Matyushenko or anyone else coming off a loss, for guaranteed fireworks.
Simpson cruises in welterweight debut, takes decision over Robertson
One of the more sluggish main card fights saw former middleweight contender, Aaron Simpson, make his welterweight debut against returning Kenny Robertson and the two division one wrestlers cancelled each other out at times.
Both were bleeding early into round one but the striking then took a backseat as the two exchanged takedown attempts with ‘A-Train’ taking over. For three rounds, more or less, Simpson landed short takedowns against the cage and peppered Robertson with ground and pound from all angles. After three rounds, Simpson took a no-brainer of a unanimous decision to mark a successful debut at 170lbs.
Next for Simpson: The Arizona native looked gaunt but seems to have retained his power and with his wrestling base, could be a solid addition to the welterweight division. A fight with another former middleweight, Demian Maia, could be next for the ‘A-Train’.
Next for Robertson: Despite falling to 0-2 in the promotion, the grappler has lost to two top welterweights and is clearly UFC standard, compared to some at the bottom of the division. Expect Robertson to get a do-or-die fight against BJJ stylist, T.J Waldburger.
Carmont submits Vemola after back-and-forth middleweight barnburner
An exciting middleweight clash on the main card saw French all-rounder, Francis ‘Limitless’ Carmont, move to 3-0 in the UFC in style, as he out-foxed Czech wrecking machine, Karlos Vemola.
A thrilling first round saw Vemola attempting a few gorilla-like guillotine chokes while the 6ft 3in Carmont came close to securing a keylock and just about won the grappling exchanges. In round two, Vemola took a flush front-kick to the mouth but charged for a takedown; in the ensuing melee, with both men reversing on the mat, Carmont secured a crucifix position that trapped Vemola’s right arm. From there, ‘Limitless’ sunk in the rear-naked choke and forced the tap at 1:39 of the second round.
Next for Carmont: The Montreal-based Carmont’s training with GSP and co seems to be rubbing off and the athletic middleweight is a serious prospect to keep an eye on. Great on the ground, with good reach and size, ‘Limitless’ is slowly living up to his nickname and could face a fellow surging prospect such as Ronny Markes or Costa Philippou before the year is out.
Next for Vemola: It’s usually kill or be killed when Vemola enters the cage so expect the Czech to get another shot from Joe Silva, probably against Brazilian slugger Luiz Cane.
Dillashaw dominates, taps out Lee in short order in San Jose
Team Alpha Male bantamweight, T.J Dillashaw, moved to 2-1 in the UFC with his best performance to date last night as the Californian made quick work of British prospect, Vaughan Lee. Lee came out confident, backing up the wrestler with a flurry but Dillashaw soon seized an errant high kick to dump Lee to his back hard.
In the scramble, Dillashaw leapt onto the back of the BJJ black-belt and in no time, had applied a rear-naked choke / neck crank hybrid and dragged Lee to the mat, the Brit tapping on the way down. ‘The Ultimate Fighter 14′ finalist picked up the submission victory, 2:33 into the very first round.
Next for Dillashaw: Now 6-1, Dillashaw has the tools to become a serious contender in the bantamweight division and the former division one wrestler finally gets the finish he was chasing. Expect Dillashaw to face TUF Brazil standout, Hugo ‘Wolverine’ Viana, perhaps on the undercard of UFC 153 in October.
Next for Lee: The well-rounded Brit falls to 1-2 in the UFC and made a rookie mistake last night, especially taking his high-level ground game into consideration. Lee will get a final bite at the cherry though, possibly against another former TUF veteran, John Albert.
Dos Anjos continues to improve, dominates Njokuani for three rounds
The opening main card fight of the evening came in the lightweight division, as Brazilian contender Rafael Dos Anjos continued to improve and impress, manhandling Nigerian-born muay thai stylist, Anthony Njokuani.
Dos Anjos exchanged strikes with the knockout artist, mixing it up with powerful takedowns and slams to keep ‘The Assassin’ guessing and pretty much controlled all three rounds as a hapless Njokuani could only stay afloat. Dos Anjos, predictably, took the lopsided unanimous decision verdict.
Next for Dos Anjos: After a stuttering start in the big leagues, the BJJ black-belt is now looking quite the contender with ever-improving striking and now, wrestling, to compliment his natural talent. The Brazilian could be the next test for unbeaten Chechnyan prospect, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Next for Njokuani: ‘The Assassin’ looks lost whenever he faces a strong grappler and the Texan falls to 2-3 in the UFC, making his next fight a must-win scenario. Njokuani could tangle with knockout artist, Jeremy Stephens, for a spot on the roster.
Preliminary Card round-up
How about ‘Bruce Leroy’? Bantamweight prospect, Alex Caceres, saved his UFC career last night with an impressive submission victory over Jackson’s MMA veteran, Damacio Page. The inexperienced former TUF favourite found himself fighting off his back for much of round one, but Caceres relished it and almost tapped out the veteran after getting a triangle-choke locked up tight and mounting Page. ‘The Angel of Death’ survived, but in round two, ‘Bruce Leroy’ made it count – tapping out Page with another tight triangle, 1:27 into the round.
Next for Caceres: The charismatic bantamweight climbs to 7-5 and again, looked far better than his record implies last night as he deftly tapped out a far more experienced opponent. ‘Bruce Leroy’ could face American Top Team prospect, Ken Stone, later in the year.
Next for Page: The former WEC standout falls to 0-3 and despite being in three exciting fights, Page has been submitted in all three and is clearly on borrowed time in the UFC. Expect the veteran to be released in the weeks ahead.
An exciting flyweight contest saw former bantamweight standout, Chris Cariaso, face another former TUF graduate, Josh Ferguson as both men made their debut at 125lbs. The two kept up a frantic pace for three straight rounds, with both landing hard shots and trading takedowns to warm up the crowd in the HP Pavilion. After fifteen minutes, Cariaso took a hard-fought unanimous decision to mark his flyweight debut.
Next for Cariaso: ‘Kamikaze’ has now won three in a row and deserves a bump in competition. There are few flyweights on the roster, but Cariaso matches up well with either Louis Gaudinot or John Dodson.
Next for Ferguson: ‘Taz’s record looks in poor shape, but the 7-5 scrapper looked way better last night than he did at 135lbs and could well be handed a final chance to impress, probably against Tim Elliot or a UFC newcomer.
It was a fine night for middleweight prospects and unbeaten Texan, Andrew Craig, had plenty to smile about after wiping the smirk off Rafael Natal’s face with a highlight-reel knockout in a solid undercard bout. In round one, the Brazilian came close to finishing the rookie, putting him on seriously wobbly legs with punches and swarming him with strikes on the ground, but a bloodied Craig hung on and saw out the round. The tables were turned in round two, as after taking more punishment from the grinning ‘Sapo’, Craig suddenly landed a shin to the dome that sent Natal falling to his back – landing a couple more punches to leave the Brazilian out cold, 4:52 into the frame.
Next for Craig: Now 8-0, Craig picks up a second UFC victory and does it in some style, showing heart, a good chin and a nose for a finish. That was Craig’s toughest test to date, but expect the well-rounded prospect to face a strong wrestler such as Tom Lawlor when he returns to action.
Next for Natal: ‘Sapo’ snatches defeat from the jaws of victory and sees a handy run of form end, but Natal should get another shot in the UFC and that could come in November when the UFC heads to China. The Brazilian could face Japanese veteran, Riki Fukuda, in a loser-goes-home fight.
The worst – and weirdest – fight of the night came in the welterweight division as undefeated Brazilian newcomer, Marcelo Guimaraes, was made to look entirely average as he struggled to get past Dan Stittgen. ‘Magrao’ had clearly never fought an American wrestler before and the result was three rounds of jostling against the cage as both men screamed and hollered out throughout the fight. It was frankly, embarassing, as neither welterweight was actually doing anything to warrant a banshee wail. After a painful fifteen minutes, Guimaraes was very fortunate to take the split decision.
Next for Guimaraes: ‘Magrao’ climbs to 8-0 but was hardly the top-ranked prospect we expected to see and the Brazilian needs to really raise his game when he returns to action. Guimaraes could face Dan Miller to see where he really stands at 170lbs.
Next for Stittgen: The Illinois native falls to 0-2 in the UFC and 7-3 overall, which should be enough to see ‘The Anvil’ released in the near future.
The opening fight of the night was a corker, as bantamweight Raphael Assuncao put the hurt on Japanese prospect, Issei Tamura, and showed remarkable improvements in his striking game along the way. The BJJ phenom threw some textbook spinning back-kicks and the like to dominate round one and rock Tamura more than once, before really turning up the heat in the second. Almost off the bell, Tamura threw caution to the wind in the corner only to eat a counter left that had him on rubber legs and Assuncao flurried with a barrage of punches that forced the referee’s hand just 25-seconds into the round.
Next for Assuncao: The Brazilian looked impeccable last night and climbs to 2-1 in the UFC, meaning a bigger test is on the horizon for Assuncao, who could face TUF veteran Johnny Bedford possibly at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro.
Next for Tamura: The Krazy Bee prospect falls to 1-1, 7-3 overall, but should get another shot at 135lbs where he could act as the welcoming committee for a new signing such as Chico Camus.
That’s all for ‘UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman’ and the FUEL TV cards continue to outshine both the FX cards and even recent pay-per-views. We’ve got more high-level mixed martial arts heading our way this weekend with ‘Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy’ this Saturday, July 14th. Stay tuned to MMABay in the days ahead as we preview the main card action, including two prestigious title fights.
By Steve Davies
Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.
