Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 48 and UFC Fight Night 49
Aug 27, 2014 - 12:05:50 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 48 and UFC Fight Night 49

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

The UFC pulled off another double header last weekend with UFC Fight Nights 48 and 49. Let's get right to it.

UFC Fight Night 48

UGLY: Ning Guangyou vs. Yang Jianping

This fight was one of the worst things I've seen in recent memory. If you didn't see it, consider yourself lucky.

UGLY: Zhang Lipeng vs. Brandon O'Reilly

Another garbage fight. It wasn't as bad as the last fight, but it was pretty bad.

GOOD: Tyron Woodley stops Dong Hyun Kim

Kim came out super aggressive, which I always appreciate, but he was too reckless here. This is a really good bounce back win for Woodley. Kim was coming in with a spinning back fist, and Woodley nailed him with the perfect counter punch for the finish. This is better for Woodley than it is bad for Kim. No question that this is a bad loss for Kim, but with his fighting style you basically expect this to happen sometimes. I also think he's on the level just below the top guys.

Woodley is right there on about the same level, but he's probably just a little ahead. I think that with the way Kim fights, we were likely to see an explosive finish here, and that's what we got. Woodley can build on this win and try to make a title run. This fight is exactly what was needed after the stinkers earlier.

GOOD: Michael Bisping stops Cung Le

The fight itself was pretty brutal. Le's face looked like hamburger meat at the end. He had cuts, scrapes, bruises, swelling, etc. all over his face. He looked unrecognizable. Bisping was teeing off on him in the later rounds, before getting the finish in the fourth round. If you're a fan of Le, this was hard to watch. He looked good in the beginning of the first round, but it was all downhill from there. Bisping found a pretty good rhythm and went to work. It's a nice win for Bisping, but I suppose it was expected.

I was rooting for Le, but I thought Bisping would win a close decision. I really didn't expect this. Bisping tore Le's face up. Bisping called out Luke Rockhold after the fight. That's an interesting fight, I think, even though it's not relevant to the title right now. I think Bisping and Rockhold would be a good fight for the UFC to make. As for Le, I think the UFC should give him another fight or so if he wants to keep fighting.


UFC Fight Night 49

GOOD; Chas Skelly submits Tom Niinimaki

Skelly looked very good in this fight. Niinimaki fought out of an earlier submission attempt, but Skelly stayed with it and got the finish in the first round. Good fight.

GOOD/BAD: James Vick vs. Valmir Lazaro

The GOOD comes from both guys just leaving it all in the cage. The BAD comes from the lack of technique. This was a sloppy brawl. It was fun, even though it lacked technique. I can live with that, as I'd rather have guys going in there to provide entertainment than going for a boring win.

GOOD: Max Holloway stops Clay Collard

Holloway beat the hell out of Collard. I admire Collard's toughness, but I question whether or not his corner should have thrown in the towel. I think you reach the point where you stop being tough and start being foolish. That was an absurd amount of punishment. As for Holloway, he can build on this and start making a run. He's certainly got the game to make waves in the division.

GOOD: Thales Leites stops Francis Carmont

The first round was pretty tentative, but Leites came out in the second and took over. Leites has hugely improved his striking, and it really showed here. He dropped Carmont with some power shots, and finished things on the ground. Leites is riding a good win streak, as he's now won seven in a row.

GOOD: Jordan Mein stops Mike Pyle

Mein showed good power, as he dropped Pyle quickly and then finished things off. I do wonder what in the world referee Dan Miragliotta was doing, though. He looked like he was stepping in to stop the fight, but then let Mein unload more shots on Pyle. That didn't make any sense to me.

GREAT: Ben Saunders submits Chris Heatherly

This was on the prelims, but made the main card broadcast. Saunders won it with an omoplata, which was a first in UFC history. It was really slick, too. What a way for Saunders to make his UFC return.

GREAT: Rafael Dos Anjos stops Benson Henderson

This was a great performance by Dos Anjos, as he stopped Henderson in the first round. I've heard people talking about an early stoppage, and I don't agree with that at all. Henderson clearly went limp, and only came to because Dos Anjos punched him again. John McCarthy was the referee here, and I think he absolutely made a great call for the stoppage here. Dos Anjos was only going to lay into Henderson more, McCarthy saved him from taking more punishment. I'm sure it's frustrating for Henderson, but he got caught. It happens.

Dos Anjos absolutely needs to be fighting a top three guy now. He just stopped Benson Henderson, and that's a big statement win. He's on a big roll, as he's 7-1 in his last eight fights, with the only loss coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Henderson just needs to go back to the drawing board. I don't think he was very close to a title shot anyway, so that's not a big concern there. I think he just needs to string together some big wins to work his way back to a title shot.


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