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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor
Last Saturday's UFC 165 card in Toronto was quite simply a great event. Let's get to it!
GOOD: Mitch Gagnon rallies versus Dustin Kimura
Kimura hurt Gagnon badly with a body kick, but Gagnon was able to get the takedown and buy himself time to recover. From there Gagnon started attacking on the feet, went for a guillotine, secured it, and got the win in the first round. It was a great effort from Gagnon, and a nice win. Rallying like he did shows good heart.
GOOD: Stephen Thompson stops Chris Clements
Thompson controlled the first round with his striking, but he also showed some grappling that wasn't there before. It's a work in progress, but he's definitely shown improvement. As they moved to the second round, Thompson continued his striking assault and knocked Clements down twice, leading to the knockout. A very good performance from Thompson, this was a solid win.
BAD: Ivan Menjivar vs. Wilson Reis
This was a pretty dull fight. Reis got some takedowns, but didn't do much with them. Credit goes to Menjivar for that, but Reis should have been able to take advantage of Menjivar gassing hard.
BAD: Miles Jury vs. Mike Ricci
Again, a dull fight. Just kind of blah. They showed flashes, but ultimately it fizzled out. Very disappointing fight.
GOOD: Khabib Nurmagomedov dominates Pat Healy
I can't dock too much from Nurmagomedov for not finishing Healy, who's very tough. This was a very dominating performance from Nurmagomedov, who asked for a title shot after the win. I wouldn't go that far, as that seems quite extreme, but he's on his way. I think Nurmagomedov needs at least two more wins over quality competition before he can get a title shot. On the other hand, if he goes out there and crushes a top five lightweight then maybe you could consider it.
Some of this also depends on the health of T.J. Grant, who's currently recovering from a concussion. I would hope the UFC would be extra cautious with Grant's concussion. If Nurmagomedov tears through a top level opponent you could give him the winner of UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis vs. Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 9 in December, but that's only if Grant continues to show symptoms from his concussion. Otherwise, you make Nurmagomedov fight once more, then give him a title shot if he wins again.
BAD: Costa Philippou vs. Francis Carmont
Carmont controlled the fight and got the decision, but it was very dull for the most part. There wasn't much to this fight other than Philippou being ground into paste. The best part of the fight was Carmont yelling like a Dragonball Z character every time he threw a punch, even when he was way off.
GOOD: Brendan Schaub submits Matt Mitrione
Schaub set the D'Arce choke up with some nice striking before getting the submission in the first round. Neither guy is anywhere close to a title shot right now, but it was a nice fight.
GREAT: Renan Barao looks terrific against Eddie Wineland
Wineland came out early in the first round and pressed the action, but then Barao took over and he looked like a beast. His crisp striking in the first led to the second round, where Barao landed a spinning back kick and finished Wineland with strikes on the ground. Barao just looks unstoppable at times. Wineland is no joke, and Barao was starting to take him apart.
After so much time away I don't think Dominick Cruz can beat Barao. Having been out of the cage for so long makes it unfair for anyone to expect Cruz to win against Barao, who's proven he's one of the best fighters in the world. Maybe down the road Cruz can beat Barao, but it almost certainly won't happen anytime soon.
GREAT: Jon Jones retains his title against Alexander Gustafsson
A lot of people are calling this the best fight in UFC history. That's certainly up for debate, but there's no question that this was the toughest fight Jon Jones has ever had. Part of what added to the fight was the intensity. Whether you were rooting for Jones or wanting to see him lose, you were on the edge of your seat. The only other time Jones has come this close to losing was when Vitor Belfort almost submitted Jones to an armbar, and that lasted for seconds. This was five rounds of Jones near losing, though to be fair there were several times where Jones was clearly winning. He also nearly finished Gustafsson several times.
This was an absolute war and you get the sense that this will propel Jones forward and make him even better. I want to say the same about Gustafsson, but you never truly know how someone will react to coming so close and coming up short. I believe that Gustafsson will respond well to this, but we've all seen athletes in this situation shrink later. I certainly hope that Gustafsson comes back strong. I'm all for an immediate rematch, but I wouldn't complain too much if they gave Glover Teixeira the next title shot.
The main reason for that is that it gives Gustafsson a chance to recover from the highs of nearly winning and the lows of losing after being so close. I don't know Gustafsson, though, so perhaps he doesn't need any time and it would be best for him to get right back to it. For this reason I think Gustafsson should be allowed to decide when he gets his rematch. He deserves one, without question, but it's not without risks. If he loses to Jones again, he's essentially out of the title picture until Jones is no longer champion unless he defeats every other challenger.
As for Jones, I think this fight makes him even better. He survived the toughest test he's ever faced. He fought through adversity and came out the other side stronger. I think Jones will respond and try to shore up any deficiencies in his game. It's amazing that Jones is still so young and as good as he is, and it's very exciting that Gustafsson is the same age. Both men are only 26 years old. That makes things very interesting and very exciting when you think about the future for both. How good will both be in three or four years?
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
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