What’s Next For The Winners At UFC Hamburg?

What’s Next For The Winners At UFC Hamburg?

By Jon Prentice 

UFC Fight Night 134 went down this past weekend from Hamburg marking the promotions sixth visit to Germany. The event was very decision heavy with ten fights in total going the distance, matching the UFC record, however there were some entertaining bouts and fun moments despite the lack of finishes. So what is next for the main card winners?

Anthony Smith (30-13):

Smith put on the performance of a lifetime as he destroyed another legend in the light heavyweight division, on this occasion it was former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua who was on the receiving end.

Early on in round one with both fighters trading shots, Smith caught Rua with a stinging punch sending the Brazilian backpedaling across the cage. Smith stalked him down landing looping hooks and eventually pressing his opponent against the cage where unleashed one hell of an elbow that put Rua out on his feet. A couple of blows later and referee Marc Goddard was pulling Smith away and tending to Rua’s crumpled frame after just 89 seconds of the first frame.

Smith has looked great since moving to light heavyweight having smashed Rashad Evans in a minute and following the win over the number 8 ranked Rua he will find himself in the rankings when they are updated. Post fight he called out Gustafsson but he has been ruled out of a potential clash due to injury. Light heavyweight is pretty thin on the ground when it comes to contenders, however Smith is certainly throwing his name in the hat. A fight with Jimi Manuwa could be one hell of a stand up battle and a win would definitely put Smith amongst the top echelons of the division.

Corey Anderson (11-4):

Anderson stepped in on short notice to take on the ever dangerous Glover Teixeira, in the process picking up his most impressive win to date. Anderson worked well behind the jab and took Teixeira down on multiple occasions throughout to dominate and pick up the decision win as the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.

Anderson now has back to back wins to his name over Teixeira and Patrick Cummins and will be looking to further move up the rankings having defeated a former title challenger and number 3 ranked LHW in Texeira. As previously mentioned it is slim pickings at the top of the 205lbs division but I would go for Anderson vs Latifi next. Latifi is ranked at number 4 and was due to take on Teixeira this past weekend before pulling out with injury. Both are on a two fight win streak and another win for either over the other could see them in line for a title shot in the near future.

Abu Azaitar (14-2-1):

Germany’s own Azaitar got off to winning ways in his UFC career, picking up a unanimous decision victory over Vitor Miranda in his promotional debut.

In a very scramble orientated match up, Azaitar wound up in the better positions on the ground, did more damage on the feet and landed crucial takedowns at important moments to get the nod from the judges 30-27 x2 and 29-28.

Azaitar already has some solid wins on his resume including one over current UFC middleweight Jack Marshman and the victory this weekend takes Azaitar to nine wins and one draw from his last ten bouts. A match up against Gerald Meerschaert who also has nine wins in his last ten would be a good test as to how Azaitar stacks up in the division.

Marcin Tybura (17-4):

In a clash of the heavyweights it was Marcin Tybura who managed to end his two fight losing streak as he defeated 6 foot 11in Stefan Struve in another fight that went the distance.

Tybura managed to take his opponent down with ease in each of the three rounds, working ground and pound including a big elbow that opened up a nasty cut underneath Struve’s bottom lip as he went on to secure the much-needed victory.

Tybura returns to the win column following back to back losses over Fabricio Werdum and Derrick Lewis and I think a fight with Francis Ngannou should be next up. Ngannou is himself riding a two fight losing skid and will be desperate to get a win which is definitely attainable against Tybura, whereas a win for Tybura would really push him up the rankings and show that he can hang with the big boys of the division.

Danny Roberts (16-3):

Roberts defeated late notice opponent David Zawada via split decision in a fantastic back and forth contest that earned both competitors a $50,000 performance of the night bonus.

Roberts was in for a tougher test than many anticipated with Zawada landing several takedowns and going for multiple submission attempts throughout. On every occasion Roberts would work his way out and end up in a dominant position. Both fighters scrambled their way to the last 30 seconds of the final round where they traded bombs with Zawada covering up as the final bell sounded. The majority of the judges scored it in Roberts favour who now has back to back wins to his name.

Post fight with Dan Hardy, Roberts called out top ten 170lb’er Neil Magny, however I think that is a step too far too soon for “Hot Chocolate”. The UFC could opt to rebook Alan Jouban who Roberts was originally slated to fight, but if they went in another direction I would like to see a fight between Roberts and Niko Price who is also on a two fight streak having recently KO’d Randy Brown in fantastic fashion via hammerfists from his back. If the two were to meet it could be another fight of the night contender for sure.

Nasrat Haqparast (9-2):

Haqparast put on a relentless and very impressive display as he consigned Marc Diakiese to his third straight defeat in the opening clash of the main card.

Haqparast gave Diakiese no space to show off his flashy kicks throughout the contest, and his high striking output looked to really wear on Diakiese who looked fatigued as the fight wore on. Haqparast landed a takedown 90 seconds into the final round and despite Diakiese getting back to his feet he didn’t have enough in the tank to really threaten as the fight slipped away from him. The judges scored the bout 30-27 x2 and 30-26 to give Haqparast his first win in the organisation having lost his opening encounter to Marcin Held.

Haqparast looked very impressive in the lightweight showdown and I would like to see him go up against someone a little more experienced in his next bout such as Vinc Pichel who is currently 4-2 in the UFC.