What’s Next For The Losers Of UFC Brooklyn?

What’s Next For The Losers Of UFC Brooklyn?

By Dan McConnell

The first ever UFC on ESPN card took place last night in Brooklyn New York. I will be taking a closer look at what I believe where the losers of this card go from here.

Henry Cejudo defeated TJ Dillashaw via first round TKO

After all the weight cutting questions around the current bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, he had no issue with making championship weight coming it at 124.6 pounds on Friday.

The fight started off with both fighters throwing strikes to feel out their opponent, the flyweight champion Cejudo landing the more effective strikes, initially clipping TJ who fell and was forced to scramble for a takedown to recover a safe position. Referee Kevin McDonald called the fight at just 32-seconds into the contest/

Dillashaw said he was caught behind the ear and perhaps a bit wobbly, but far from rocked and not at all out of the fight. He was not a happy man with the stoppage. After the fight both fighters acknowledged a rematch, which I believe should happen at 135-pounds but TJ seems keen to make championship weight at 125 again and fight for the opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. Either make sense.

Allen Crowder defeated Greg Hardy via DQ illegal knee

All the talk this week was around former Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys NFL defensive-end Greg Hardy and his UFC octagon debut, a man who has domestic abuse chargers against him with domestic abuse survivor Rachel Ostovich on the same card. But this is not my main issue.

Hardy placed on the co-main of the UFC’s first ever ESPN card didn’t sit well with me. The problem is his inexperience in MMA, more so his outside issues. This was a bad move on the UFC’s part and resulted in a huge amount of backlash.

Hardy’s inexperience showed against a game Allen Crowder. In the first round Hardy came out swinging, throwing ferocious power in an attempt to KO Crowder like he has done to his three previous opponents. Crowder was smart and used his wrestling to nullify the power of Hardy. In the second round Crowder was trash talking Hardy which eventually led to Hardy throwing an illegal knee, while Crowder had one leg and arm still on the canvas. Referee Dan Miragliotta was disgusted and waved the contest off, victory going to Crowder via DQ.

For Hardy I personally hope we don’t see him fight for the UFC for a very long time, at least until everything calms down. He should feature of a pre-lims fight night card later on in the year if Dana White grants him a second chance.

Gregor Gillespie defeated Yancy Mederios via second round TKO

The New York-native Gillespie took the first round comfortably, effectively using his wrestling and clinch against the fence to halt the striking power of the Hawaiian Mederios. The former All-American Wrestler Gillespie showed why he was unbeaten in 12 fights, putting together an excellent game-plan to stop his opponent who has vicious strikes seen in previous contests.

Gillespie continued with the same rinse and repeat method, getting top mount and forcing Mederios into constant unpleasant positions. Gillespie continually attacked the back for submissions but it was the ground and pound that finished the contest, with his opponent unable to defend himself.

Yancy Mederios reminds me of Cowboy Cerrone, he will fight anyone, anytime and anywhere. I would like him to go back up to welterweight and face a very game Carlos Condit who has been on a poor losing streak with Yancy losing two in a row, both fighters need something to kick-start their careers.

Joseph Benavidez defeated Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision

This fight was the former flyweight title challengers second back from injury, has Benavidez ever looked better? He dominated all five rounds which showed on the scorecards with all giving him 29-28 over the fight rounds. Ortiz was unable to land anything of real significance, you could tell the experience was with Benavidez who absolutely used this to his advantage.

Dustin Ortiz who was on a three-fight winning streak, the best of his career. This loss will be a bitter blow to the flyweight, considering the entire division is still up in the air. If the division does stay, I would like to see him face a guy like Brandon Moreno, a fighter he has already lost too. This rematch would allow Ortiz to get one back and allow the fellow flyweight’s ahead of him to take shape.

Paige Van Zant defeated Rachel Ostovich in the 2nd round via armbar

As previously mentioned, this fight was given a lot of media attention because of the horrific news regarding Rachel Ostovich which we all well know. Also, this was Paige’s first fight back from injury who has been out for over a year, a lot of eyes where on this fight on the main card.

The former Ultimate Fighter competitor Ostovich came out and immediately took Paige down, she was able to maintain her position but unable to step her left foot over PVZ body to gain full mount and properly do damage. Ring rust seemed a huge factor for Paige who took a full round to find her feet. In the second Rachel was able to land another takedown but didn’t do much damage, eventually getting caught in an armbar.

Rachel Ostovich has had a rough past few months, deserves a break from the sport and time to reflect on how admiral her performance was and desire to take this fight, despite the circumstances. Rachel is on a two-fight losing streak, I would like to see her face Barb Honchak who has lost two of her own fights in the UFC and also a former TUF competitor.

Glover Teixeira defeated Karl Roberson in round one via arm triangle choke

Karl Roberson took this fight on short notice and also fought a weight class above his natural division. Glover was supposed to face Ion Cutelaba who withdrew due to injury.
Just like the Benavidez fight, the experienced man stayed calm. Glover Teixeira faced a barrage of strikes from Roberson who came out swinging and was able to get top mount, adding ground and pound. The BJJ master, Teixeira was able to withstand this position when the fight looked almost over. Roberson got caught on the mat underneath the former light-heavyweight title challenger who was able to transition into an arm triangle choke and finish the fight in the first.

This is Karl Roberson’s fourth fight in the UFC, and is now 2-2 with the company holding a 7-2 record. Roberson will go back to middleweight, I want him to face Eryk Anders who is 3-3 in the UFC and ranked. The loss to Glover certainly hasn’t hurt the stock of Roberson the former Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series competitor.

Other fights to make:
Alex Hernandez v Dan Hooker
Ariane Lipski v Myra Bueno Silva
Vinicius Moreria v Nick Roehrick
Mario Bautista v Aiemann Zahabi
Te Edwards v Kyle Bochniak
Belal Muhammed v Niko Price
Kyle Stewart v Alex Reyes

Photo Credit: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images