Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 170 "Rousey vs. McMann"
Feb 26, 2014 - 12:45:19 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 170 "Rousey vs. McMann"

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

UFC 170 was this past weekend, with Ronda Rousey once again defending her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship. Let's get right to it!

GOOD: Prelim decisions

Zach Makovsky took the clear decision over Josh Sampo, who fought well and made it close, but there's no doubt that Makovsky won. Makovsky moves closer to a title shot, but it's going to be hard to unseat UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson.

Aljamain Sterling beat Cody Gibson in a battle of UFC newcomers. Sterling looks like he'll be a contender eventually, he's got potential.

Rapheal Assuncao beat Pedro Munhoz in a fight that Assuncao really should have finished. This wasn't a very exciting fight. It wasn't bad, it just didn't like up to what it should have been.

Alexis Davis edged Jessica Eye in an extremely close fight. Davis got the split decision and moves a bit up the division, which is already thick with contenders. I liked this fight more than I probably should have.

GOOD: Stephen Thompson stops Robert Whittaker

Thompson got the TKO here after some big shots staggered Whittaker and then dropped him. This was a fun fight, it basically played out almost exactly how you thought and hoped it would.

GOOD: Mike Pyle stops T.J. Waldburger

Pyle got the stoppage in the third round in a fight that was never really in doubt. Pyle controlled the fight. Waldburger did well at times, but you never got the sense that Pyle was in danger of losing. Referee Herb Dean didn't stop the fight until Waldburger had taken much more abuse that he should have. I thought that was much worse than the stoppage in the main event, which I thought was a good stoppage.

GOOD: Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia

MacDonald took the decision after losing the first round to Maia. I wouldn't exactly call this a great win, but it was good and solid. He still has to do more if he wants to get that hype train back on the tracks, though. A couple more performances like this and he does it, but we need to see this MacDonald again.

GOOD: Daniel Cormier stops Patrick Cummins

This was a no-win situation for Cormier. If he loses, he lost to a no-name guy. If he wins, he beat a no-name guy. However, Cormier did the absolute best you could hope for in this fight. When you're in the cage with a guy who doesn't belong in there with you, you make that apparent. That's exactly what Cormier did, he went out there and blasted Cummins. This win doesn't do much for Cormier other than add a +1 to his win column, but there was so much that could have gone wrong here. He navigated it safely and can now move to a fight that will be more meaningful to him.

GREAT: Ronda Rousey stops Sara McMann

Another first round finish for Rousey. What makes it even more exciting, though, is that this was a TKO finish off a brutal knee to the body of McMann. I thought that referee Herb Dean made a good stop here. McMann went down to her knees holding her stomach. Rousey pounced and was swinging while McMann did nothing to defend herself. It wasn't until Dean jumped in that McMann started grabbing at Rousey. I thought it was a very good stoppage. McMann just got caught. Rousey was showing some good striking. I mean, she was bringing it. She proved yet again that she's not just an armbar machine. It was a great win for her.

There's a group of people out there who are now going to start talking about Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino facing Rousey. There's a small number of people out there who accuse Rousey of ducking Cyborg. I find that ridiculous. I understand they're big Cyborg fans, and that's fine, but the idea that Rousey is ducking anyone is absurd. To me, this is like saying that UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao is ducking (as of now) UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. I'll admit that isn't the best example, though. I did bring up Aldo because there had been conversation that he moves up to face UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis. In a way, this gives some ammunition to those who are saying that Rousey should move up to face Cyborg.

There are some issues with this, though. Cyborg isn't a UFC Champion. The UFC doesn't have a 145 lb. women's division. Cyborg isn't under a UFC contract. What business reason would the UFC have to sign a catchweight fight between Rousey and Cyborg? I think the UFC should sign Cyborg to a contract laden with incentives and termination clauses and things of that nature. The contract would stipulate that Cyborg would have to win one fight at 135 lbs. before facing Rousey for the title. Dana White has said that he wants to see Cyborg make weight at least once outside of the UFC before signing her. I think they should just cut out the middle man and sign her themselves, with the contract stating that they can cut her if she misses weight. Make sure that she cuts weight the right way, and we could have a huge title fight on our hands.

*************

The UFC has matched Bellator's offer to Gilbert Melendez. The terms of the deal are very favorable to Melendez. I think this is a huge moment for fighters. I keep thinking back to when Reggie White signed with the Green Bay Packers of the NFL as the first big free agent. White helped to usher in the era of free agency for players and I think this deal does that to a degree. It's jumping the gun, I know, but this feels huge. This feels like the beginning of something that will go down in history as a game-changer.


Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank