UFC Brooklyn: What’s Next For The Winners?

UFC Brooklyn: What’s Next For The Winners?

By Ben Jessop

The UFC kicked off their 2019 with a bang with a highly anticipated superfight between Henry Cejudo vs TJ Dillashaw, backed by a stacked main card and with a UFC legend on the prelims, the UFC were determined to get eyes on the screen for their debut on ESPN.

In typical UFC fashion, the run up to the event as well as the night itself, was shrouded in controversy. Mainly due to Greg Hardy being placed on the same card as Rachael Ostovich despite Greg handling a domestic abuse case whilst Rachael has been herself a victim of domestic abuse. Many fight fans saw this as horrendous planning and a weak stance from the UFC against domestic abuse but Dana White was solid in his stance that Greg deserved his UFC debut. Rachael had noted that she wasn’t bothered by him being on the card and just wanted to focus on her fight, sadly I think she’s been dragged into another domestic abuse situation for no real reason.

Henry Cejudo def TJ Dillashaw via Round 1 KO.

Our first piece of controversy. The champ vs champ superfight, over in 32 seconds. TJ Dillashaw came down to 125 to challenge the current champ Henry Cejudo in an attempt to become the champ champ. TJ looked excellent preparing for this fight, he took his usual scientific approach to his camp and looked ready for war a couple of weeks out.

But inevitably, the weight cut took its toll. Pictures began to appear online as fight night closed in that showed TJ looking really weak and depleted but we must also note that Cejudo also had to cut weight to make this fight, just not as much, naturally.

I was adamant, and even mentioned on the FightPost podcast before the fight took place that I couldn’t see any other result than TJ running through Henry and taking the win. Oh, how wrong I was. Henry came out strong, keeping TJ at distance before landing a strong head kick that seemed to rock TJ, Henry piled on the pressure at kept TJ under control until the referee Kevin Macdonald called the fight to an end.

The controversy comes from the fact many fans called an early stoppage by the referee and are convinced TJ would have recovered if given the opportunity, amongst these people, is also The Boss, Dana White who called this a “horrendous stoppage” and stated “it’s a superfight, let them fight.”

Many fans took to social media to voice their opinion on either side of the aisle, but the result remains the same. Henry Cejudo took the win, in spectacular fashion. He also claimed the brand new Legacy Belt in the process. The question is now, what next for Henry Cejudo? Well, based on the controversy this fight caused and for what’s at stake, a rematch at 135 really seems to be the best for both fighters. Cejudo has cemented himself as the champ at 125 with no real contender offering up any danger, Cejudo should take the opportunity to close down all the haters and doubters and shut this rivalry down at 135. TJ will of course take the fight without hesitation in his bid for redemption. Could be fireworks.

Allen Crowder def Greg Hardy via Round Two Disqualification

The controversy continues. Greg Hardy, the man who split opinions for month leading up the event, took the octagon for his UFC debut and created yet more controversy. He faced Allen Crowder on the opposite side of the canvas and people were concerned if Crowder would be able to stay away from Hardy’s KO power.

The first round started aggressively like anyone would have guessed but in reality, relatively well-balanced. Hardy landed a set of good strikes, but continued to throw real haymakers and failing to land which led to him being worn down by the end of the first round.

As the second round took a very similar path, Crowder was downed by Hardy and had one knee touching the canvas and at this point, Hardy piled a knee into the side of the head of Crowder. An illegal move. The referee stopped the fight but not before Hardy managed to land one more punch. People claim inexperience within the octagon as the reason that Hardy “mistimed” this knee. Take it how you want it. The win was given to Crowder as you would expect, but what’s next for him? I’m struggling to see a way forward for him at the moment. After losing in a round one KO to Justin Willis it will be interesting to see how he comes off of this win. Perhaps the controversy will propel him to a rematch with Justin Willis.

Gregor Gillespie def Yancy Medeiros via Round Two TKO

This fight was a one-sided affair from start to finish. Gillespie’s advanced wrestling really left Medeiros in a world of pain, he was basically held Medeiros against the cage and put in real work all the way through the first round and much of continued into the second.

Although, in the second round Gillespie was able to take Medeiros to the ground and managed to advance to back mount and throw real damage down on his opponent until 4:59 on round two when the referee called off the fight.

This allowed Gillespie to continue his perfect, unbeaten, record within the UFC and is on route to the top. What’s next for Gregor Gillespie? Personally, I’d like to see him come up against Dan Hooker. With Hooker coming off a loss to the beast that is Edson Barboza back on December 15th 2018, it’d be a great fight for Gregor to push up and an opportunity to get Hooker with another win in the bag.

Joseph Benavidez def Dustin Ortiz via decision

Another flyweight bout took place in Brooklyn, with two of the best in the weight class. The flyweights came out in force at this event to prove to Dana that the flyweight division is worth saving.

Benavidez came out in this rematch with a good understanding that his grappling would be the winning ticket in this fight and it was just that. The first round belonged to Benavidez from the off and if you had any doubt, he was able to drop Ortiz right at the last moment of the first round. Ortiz shone in a few sections of the fight, including a read naked choke during the closing round of the seconds but despite this, it was really Benavidez’s fight. He landed six takedowns throughout the rounds and managed to keep a relentless pressure on his opponent.

Benavidez has won his last eight out of nine fights and this marks his second in a row. His record also includes a win over the current champ Henry Cejudo. With this in mind, the argument would be that Benavidez deserves another title shot and if I was him I would wait for that opportunity to come through because it will, if the UFC decide to keep the weight class alive. If Cejudo doesn’t take the rematch with TJ at 135, him facing Benavidez would definitely get eyes on the screen for a flyweight bout, which would be exactly what the flyweight’s desperately need.

Paige VanZant def Rachael Ostovich via Round Two Submission

Whilst avoiding the controversy surrounding Ostovich, this fight was always a good matchup. VanZant was coming off a one year layoff due to a broken arm in her last fight.

The fight began with a flurry of leg kicks and consistent grappling from both fighters, it certainly wasn’t a fan favourite as the fight spent a lot of time hidden in the grasps and tangles of the wrestling with Ostovich knowing she doesn’t want to stand with VanZant.

During round two, VanZant managed to utilise her striking more efficiently and this broke Ostovich down to the point that VanZant was able to get Ostovich onto her back and fire some heavy shots, it looked like an arm break or dislocation from Ostovich that brought the fight to an end.

Unfortunately for Rachael, this time round, VanZant had the edge but what is next for Paige VanZant? Realistically, VanZant will want to continue to be active after such a long layoff and can use this win to propel her to the next level. Montana De La Rosa is due to fight Nadia Kasseem at UFC 234 – it would be interesting to see Paige facing off with the winner of this fight.

Glover Teixeira def Karl Roberson via Round One Submission

39-year-old UFC vet Teixeira faced down Karl Roberson in Brooklyn and there were high expectations for the young fighter to take down the old-timer but this was not how the fight planned out. Roberson begun the fight really well and rocked Teixeira really early in the first round but the experience of Teixeira really showed and he managed to secure an arm-triangle at 3:21 of the first round. This is the 24th finish of Teixeira’s career and Roberson first loss in the UFC.

Glover Teixeira has made his next step abundantly clear, calling out Shogun Rua in a main card showdown in Brazil. Two real UFC legends going at it is something no fan can surely turn down?

Donald Cerrone def Alex Hernandez via Round Two TKO

It would be impossible for me to run through what’s next for the winners of this event without mentioning the Fight of the Night. One of the best in the business took on one of the UFC’s young talents. Hernandez has proven himself to be a really dangerous fighter inside of the octagon and was nothing short of confident in the run up to this fight.

Amazingly enough, Cowboy came into this fight the underdog but it wasn’t long until the experience took its toll on Hernandez. Cowboy relentlessly picked him apart, landing vicious combinations and a solid head kick that rocked Hernandez enough for Cowboy to move in and capitalise on the opportunity.

What could be next for Cowboy? Like you haven’t already heard. Conor McGregor has called out Cowboy, and Cowboy is willing to fight McGregor in enemy territory. A match-up that makes Dana White’s eyes turn to dollar signs. I, for one, would be really excited if they were able to make this match up. If anyone deserves the payday, it’s Cowboy and Conor needs a win in the bag before fight fans will even consider him having another run at the title.

A lot of fans are suggesting that Cowboy shouldn’t get this shot before Poirier or Iaquinta which I can understand, but Tony Ferguson has to be matched with Khabib and I just don’t think we, as fans, should place a fight against Conor McGregor on the same pedestal as the world title shot. Poirier and Iaquinta are in the path of a McGregor fight and a title fight in the coming years.