What’s Next For The Winners From UFC Boise

What’s Next For The Winners From UFC Boise:

By Jon Prentice

Boise, Idaho played host to its first ever UFC event this past weekend and we had a show littered with good fights, strange decisions and crazy hammerfist finishes. So with UFC Fight Night 133: Dos Santos vs Ivanov in the books, let’s take a look at what could be next for the main card winners.

Junior Dos Santos (18-5):

The main event saw the return of perenial heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos following a USADA suspension. The failed test in question took place in August 2017 however it was determined via a USADA investigation that “Cigano” was the victim of a tainted supplement and he had his suspension reduced to six months. Dos Santos’ first task upon his return was to welcome newcomer Blagoy Ivanov to the UFC.

Ivanov, the former WSOF heavyweight champion, had only one defeat to his name prior to the bout, however “Cigano’s” experience and sharp boxing saw him take a comfortable unanimous decision (50-45 x3) victory as the fight lasted the duration of the scheduled five rounds. Working on the outside for the majority of the fight, Dos Santos’ reach advantage played a key role as he fired the jab over and over, keeping Ivanov at range and enabling him to outstrike the Bulgarian debutant throughout the contest.

Dos Santos has now alternated wins and losses over his last eight bouts, with three of his four losses coming in heavyweight title match ups to Cain Velasquez (x2) and Stipe Miocic. He has beaten a who’s who of heavyweight contenders over his career and it would appear he still has more to give. He has called for the trilogy fight with Miocic which definitely makes sense given both competitors current stand point, however if that doesn’t materialise I would like to see him take on Derrick Lewis in a potential number one contender fight.

Sage Northcutt (11-2):

The co-main event saw “Super” Sage Northcutt overcome early adversity to pick up the first win of his UFC career whilst competing in the welterweight division.

Ottow knocked Northcutt down almost immediately as the bell sounded for the first round, however Northcutt showed heart to whether the storm and scramble out of several choke attempts to make his way back to the feet. Sage looked the better man whilst they were standing and as the contest entered the second round Ottow was visibly fatigued.

During round two Northcutt caught Ottow with a stiff left hand as he was coming in that sent him crashing to the canvas, a little ground and pound later and the referee stepped in to give Northcutt his first win at welterweight at the third attempt of trying.

At just 22 years old, Northcutt definitely has time on his hands and the possibility to progress a long way in this sport. Training at Team Alpha Male has definitely helped with his development and he looks a lot calmer now, especially in the grappling exchanges, than earlier on in his career. With the victory this weekend Northcutt is now riding a three fight win streak having defeated Michel Quinones and Thibault Gauti at lightweight.

So what next? That all depends on which weight class Northcutt turns to as he has a tendancy to switch between lightweight and welterweight. I prefer him at welterweight despite being 1-2 in that class. I think his power is more pronounced and he will have a better gas tank at the weight, so having picked up his first win in the division I would like to see him stay there for his next bout. I think a match up with Carlo Pedersoli would be a fun stand up battle that wouldn’t be too much of a giant step up in competition for Northcutt to make.

Rick Glenn (21-5-1):

Glenn got back to winning ways picking up a split decision victory over Dennis Bermudez, in the process subjecting his opponent to his 4th straight defeat. In a back and forth fight that really could have gone either way, the judges deemed that Glenn did enough on the feet and caused enough damage off his back to warrant the win. The majority of the first round was spent standing with both fighters doing damage to one another. Rounds two and three saw Glenn get taken down on multiple occasions, however whilst his opponent remained content on holding position on the ground, Glenn attacked with elbows off his back and remained constantly active as he eked out the win.

Glenn is now 3-2 in his UFC career and he appears to be making improvements having switched camps to Team Alpha Male. He has a very similar relentless pressure style to TAM team-mate Darren Elkins however Glenn does prefer to keep the fight standing. Having won three of his last four, with the loss coming to the very talented Myles Jury, he deserves a step up in competition and I think that a match up with Calvin Kattar would be a good direction to go. Kattar is hovering around the number 15 ranking and has defeated the likes of Andre Fili and Shane Burgos but most recently suffered defeat to Renato Carneiro. A win for Glenn in that match up would outline his potential in the division, but also gives Katrar the chance to get back in the win column.

Niko Price (12-1 1NC):

Niko Price picked up a sensational KO victory over Randy Brown with one of the craziest knockouts I have seen in a long time, that earned “The Hybrid” a $50,000 performance of the night bonus!

During the second round of the contest with both competitors on the canvas, Price looked to drop back for a leg lock whilst Brown was on top of him. “The Hybrid” then switched up his position and held Brown’s head in place with one leg whilst delivering five brutal hammerfists from his back, the second or third of which put Brown to sleep and earned Price his eleventh career finish to date.

Price is an extremely dangerous opponent for anyone in the welterweight division and he has picked up impressive wins in his UFC career to date over Brandon Thatch, Alan Jouban, George Sullivan and now Randy Brown. His sole loss came at the hands of Vicente Luque who himself is an exciting prospect.

Going forward I think that a fight with Curtis Millender would be a hugely entertaining encounter and one that would pit two emerging talents against one another. The UFC may not be too keen on the idea of throwing two talented prospects against each other but I would be all in on this fight if it was put together.

Chad Mendes (17-4):

Following a lay off of over two and a half years due to a failed drugs test and a subsequent USADA suspension, Chad “Money” Mendes got straight back to business picking up a first round TKO victory over the dangerous Myles Jury in his return fight.

After a short feeling out process which saw neither fighter commit to much, halfway through the first round Mendes feinted with the right and landed a huge over hand left that dropped Jury. Mendes swarmed and landed repeated ground and pound forcing the referee to intervene, resulting in the Team Alpha Male man picking up his first win since April 2015.

Having been away from the game for so long, and now at 33 years old, many were wondering if Mendes would be the same upon his return, however he silenced the doubters with his first round finish picking up a $50,000 performance of the night bonus in the process.

Post fight Mendes jokingly called out Brock Lesner before more realistically calling for a fight with any of the featherweight division’s top five. Currently 2-3 since 2013 I would like to see Mendes get another win to his name before he gets a top five guy. Personally I would love to see Mendes vs the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung as I think that would be one hell of a fight. If that doesn’t go down then I think that Mendes vs Mirsad Bektic would be a pretty good alternative.

Cat Zingano (10-3):

“Alpha” Cat Zingano let out a scream of joy and relief as her name was called out as the unanimous decision winner following, her fight against Marion Reneau having gone the distance. The win was Zingano’s first since 2014 following three straight defeats to Ronda Rousey, Julianna Pena and Ketlen Vieira in a four-year spell that also saw her sidelined for almost two years.

Zingano dominated the wrestling and grappling exchanges, taking her 41-year-old opponent down almost at will as she pressed the pace and engaged the clinch wherever possible. Whenever Reneau managed to get back to her feet, Zingano would impose her wrestling superiority once again and take the fight to the mat where she held a clear advantage.

The win could give the former title challenger a new lease of life and a run towards the title in the bantamweight division, and I think she should line up opposite another former title challenger in Raquel Pennington in her next outing. The two have met previously back in 2012 under the Invicta banner where Zingano came out as the winner via submission, however with options limited at the top of the division I think the fight makes sense for both of them at this point.