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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist Going into UFC Fight Night 15 I had some expectations for the show and was armed with predictions, but soon found that neither mattered much, as this show was nothing like what I expected. I truly was not all that excited for this card and while I was looking forward to seeing a few of the fights, I wasn't counting down the days in anticipation of it, either.
It seemed like this show was going to be much like an exhibition as Houston Alexander, Ed Herman and Mac Danzig were definitely the favorites to win on paper and certainly the fighters that perhaps the UFC would have hoped could come out victorious. By no means were they all matched up with easy opponents, but most of us predicted that the three would win; and it looked like this would be a way for Alexander to get off the losing streak and a showcase for former TUF fighters.
Ever take a new job somewhere and see a few of your new co-workers and immediately judge someone unfavorably before having the chance to become acquainted with them? Once you realize they are actually not so bad you feel a twinge of guilt for being so judgmental but defend this feeling by noting that you had been correct so very many times before. UFC Fight Night 15 is something I terribly misjudged going in. I found this to be a very good night of fights with plenty of action and an equal amount of drama to be found and in no way am I disappointed with what I felt looked like a disappointing card. I stand corrected and sat very entertained as I enjoyed the show.
Houston Alexander was the first to be upset. It wasn’t necessarily an upset but rather more like a letdown for so many who are fans of the fighter. Houston was poised to jump into the fray at 205 lbs. after destroying Keith Jardine at UFC 71 and dispatching Alessio Sakara in similar fashion. This guy looked powerful and it appeared we had another dangerous striker to watch in future fights with the class of the division. Thiago Silva would knock the train off of its tracks at UFC 78 as he mounted Alexander and landed punches which not only caused the referee to call a halt to the action but after watching the replays showed that Houston was indeed knocked out as a result of these blows. Alexander would face off against James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 13 and was promptly knocked out in a record tying eight seconds by way of superman punch. All of a sudden it seemed as if all of the hype in the world was all for naught as Alexander was knocked off of the pedestal quicker than he was placed upon it.
Enter Eric "Red" Schafer who would either send Houston out of the UFC or simply become cannon fodder for Alexander to gain back some of the luster his star had lost in recent fights. This was not to be and in front of a television audience and a huge hometown crowd cheering on, Alexander succumbed to Schafer by way of an arm triangle with only mere seconds left in the very first round. Dana White had mentioned before that maybe Houston would need to ply his trade elsewhere for a while if he lost this fight and it is a certainty that this will be the last time we see Alexander on a card of this magnitude for some time.
Perhaps he leaves the UFC altogether and works his way back but for now it seems that as quickly as he had burst on the scene that he is now going to disappear. Houston Alexander is an exciting fighter as long as the fight takes place while standing and is really out of his element on the ground. Perhaps he can become a better fighter but at his age I think the best he can do is what he is already capable of doing and that we were in love with the knockouts rather than the fighter. We are always going to love the guys who hit the home runs but you need to be able to do more than that if you wish to compete successfully in today's MMA and Alexander is far too one dimensional of a fighter to go any further.
Ed Herman was next to fall as he lost a split decision to Alan Belcher in a fight that really could have gone either way. Admittedly I have never been a fan of "Shortfuse" Ed Herman, but I had respect for his abilities and really expected him to pull off the win in this fight. Alan Belcher's nickname is "The Talent" and from all that I had seen of him up until this point the nickname "Kind of Talented" would have been more fitting. He is only 24 years old and he could definitely be a fighter to watch but make no mistake about it, this fight was meant to shine the spotlight on Ed Herman.
Herman could have done a lot more in this fight and really needs to work on his striking in order to give himself more of a chance to win. I had Belcher winning this fight and can see the argument for it going the other way but by no means do I feel Herman was robbed. Tough loss for Herman and it really does make you wonder what Herman can be capable of against upper echelon fighters, but Belcher does not come out of this looking like a star for having beaten "Shortfuse".
I really enjoyed Alan wishing his mother a happy birthday after the fight and it was a refreshing change to hear something like that then a laundry list of sponsors, though Belcher did spit out a few of those as well. Alan won the fight he probably wasn't supposed to and the story is not necessarily where Belcher goes from here but more likely about what is in store for Ed Herman in the future. Ed is a solid fighter but he achieved his status solely because of having been a finalist on "The Ultimate Fighter" and his next fight in the UFC may place him in a must-win position. He is young enough that he can develop into a better fighter but I feel a change of scenery would benefit him and that he may be better served by finding a new camp and leaving Team Quest behind should he wish to become a more well rounded fighter.
Clay Guida then upset Mac Danzig, but was this really an upset at all? Again, it was someone that the UFC would not have minded winning in Mac Danzig, being a TUF winner, and being victorious is always hailed as a great thing but I expected Clay to pull this one off and come out with a victory of his own. I really like Mac Danzig. He’s probably the only vegan photographer that I know of and not a bad fighter to boot, but his stamina was no match for the never ending tank which Clay Guida brings with him.
This fight had me on the edge of my seat and was a fun match to watch at least in my opinion. While many can say that Guida seemed to be too comfortable laying on top of Danzig without doing a whole lot to advance his position or finish the fight, the fact is that Danzig was unable to get Guida off of him and had no answer for every takedown that the "Carpenter" hammered down on him. Clay Guida never quit in this fight, and while he may not have gone for the kill he was a source of perpetual motion; which was in decided contrast to Mac Danzig's seemingly vegetative state which was probably a result of his not being prepared to deal with the frantic pace that is a Guida signature.
Ok, maybe it’s not a Guida signature as Jason seems to do nothing at a fast pace but perhaps a Clay Guida signature. At any rate it seemed as if Danzig wanted this fight over with more than Clay wanted to finish it and as such it was a no-brainer to me that Clay got the nod. Definitely an upset as a TUF winner goes down in defeat on a fight card airing before the next installment but this can not be disappointing to anyone who enjoys fighters who go all out as Clay Guida is definitely on the list of fighters to watch in the lightweight division.
The main event of the evening pitted Nate Diaz against Josh Neer in what was expected to be a solid matchup between two guys who can flat out go, and one of the premier young submission artists in the world in Diaz. This fight was absolutely worthy of being a main event and while I knew it would be a good match, I wasn't expecting it to be as excellent as it turned out to be. I would love to see a rematch between these two but I don't expect we will see that for at least the time being and I have even more respect for both fighters as a result of their equally skilled performances.
Nate Diaz stepping over and pulling away each and every time that Neer had his arm was nothing short of amazing to watch as I can't think of too many fighters who would attempt this and far fewer who could conceivably pull it off. Nate Diaz went from submission attempt to submission attempt to yet another submission attempt, and he is like a series of dominos falling to the ground as it is just one after the other and all are executed with surgical precision.
For Josh Neer to withstand this onslaught tells me more about Neer than I ever thought I knew about him before. This is a tough young man who battled a pit bull with five heads and came out with all of his limbs. While Josh Neer is by no means positioned at the top of the lightweight food chain, he is a serviceable fighter who hung in there with one of the more promising fighters and won the fight in the eyes of one judge, and certainly a few fans watching this card. Nate Diaz definitely deserved the win and I look forward to seeing him fight again; and wouldn't mind seeing Nate take on Clay Guida as I think that has all the makings of a fantastic fight.
To think that we have not seen the best Nate Diaz yet is something that is as unbelievable as the raw talent that this kid possesses. While the stars may no longer shine as bright for Ed Herman and Mac Danzig and the stars have certainly fallen in regards to Houston Alexander, on this night in front of a large audience it was made official that Nate Diaz is going to be considered a star in a very short time. Diaz can get better, and he has time ahead of him to do so, which is good for him but bad for anyone he faces. I would say it is a great thing for the UFC but Nate is a Diaz and he is on the same branch of the tree as Nick and to say these two are polarizing is one heck of an understatement. It could very well be that Nate's antics are the only thing that could keep him from reaching his true potential in the sport and hinder him from becoming a more marketable fighter.
For everything that Nate Diaz is when the bell rings, he takes away from this by uttering some really stupid remarks. I know that there are plenty of people who are fans of the Diaz brothers and when it comes to being talented fighters I cannot say that these two are anything but, however they take away from this each and every time they flip the middle finger or run their mouths. Nate had no right to call out KJ Noons or reference Elite XC in any way, shape or form during his post victory interview segment with Joe Rogan. While he did not say Noons' name expressly nor did he mention Elite XC by name, everyone knew exactly what he was talking about.
Any grievances that Nick has towards KJ Noons or Elite XC should be expressed towards those parties and in the proper setting. Nick surely doesn't need his brother to do his talking, and I imagine that Nate was using this forum as a way to stand up for Nick, but this was neither the time nor the place for such remarks. This doesn't help the UFC at all and it just gives the critics more fuel with which to keep the fires of hatred burning towards the brothers.
For all the talk about KJ being a coward, the facts are that Nick Diaz has exhibited some of the most childish behavior in the short history of this sport and for him to be in a position of honor is simply something I cannot take seriously. I truly believe that had Nick remained in the cage after losing to Noons and acted like a professional rather than a churlish boy, he would be more than likely to have gotten that rematch signed already. There were no favors done at all when Nick and Nate entered the cage after Noons defeated Yves Edwards and began to posture as if they were street gangsters protecting their turf; it simply made a serious challenger to the belt look like a sad joke.
At this point I really don't expect much more from Nick and he is clearly the type of bully who enjoys dishing it out but cannot accept being on the receiving end of similar slights towards him. Nate Diaz would be best to not emulate his slightly older brother and to speak volumes with his work in the octagon rather than be known for mumbling on the microphone. Nate Diaz is a burgeoning star in the MMA world and could possibly be the next great fighter in the lightweight division, but he is going to have to put himself in a position to where the fans want to see him fight rather than wishing he and his brother would just go away due to their boorish behavior. Simply put, Nate Diaz doesn't need to talk trash as he is that special of a fighter. Actions like those he routinely exhibits outside of the fights just aren't doing him any favors and could slow down his ascent rather than speed things up.
UFC Fight Night 15 was an excellent night of fights and in my opinion ends up as one of the better UFN's that have ever aired. When you don't expect too much, you will never be let down, but in this case I went into this with low expectations and proceeded to find myself blown away by how good this card turned out to be. This night of fights was the co-worker who looked to be someone I wouldn't want to hang out with but once I spent a little time around him I ended up picking up the bar tab. At least in this case the fights were free but I would have paid for this show.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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