Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 55 and UFC Fight Night 56
Nov 12, 2014 - 1:50:14 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Fight Night 55 and UFC Fight Night 56

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

UFC Fight Night 55 and 56 were this past weekend, and both were very different shows. FN 55 was a pretty good event, whereas FN56 sucked. Here's my rundown on the shows.

UFC Fight Night 55

UGLY/GOOD: Soa Palelei stops Walt Harris

The finish was GOOD, but the rest of the fight was UGLY. It was hideously boring. Not much else to say other than that, though I give Palelei credit for going for the finish with the ground-and-pound.

GOOD: Robert Whittaker stops Clint Hester

This wasn't a great technical fight, but it didn't have to be because it was very entertaining. It was the exact right fight to have after the lumbering heavyweight fight prior. This was Whittaker's middleweight debut, and he looked good in it. There was some nice back and forth action between the two, though Whittaker was controlling things more.

GOOD: Al Iaquinta stops Ross Pearson

This was a pretty big upset, as Pearson is a ranked fighter, but Iaquinta stopped him dead in his tracks. Pearson probably won the first round, but Iaquinta took the fight to him in the second, dropped him, and got the finish. This is a big win for Iaquinta, as it gives him something to build on.

GOOD: Luke Rockhold submits Michael Bisping

We all knew that Rockhold would likely win, but he still had to go out and follow through. He looked really good in this fight, too, as he stayed patient and fought the way he wanted to fight. He did most of the damage, and then dropped Bisping in the second round and submitted him. There's no question that this is a statement win for Rockhold. I don't know if he should get the next middleweight title shot, as I think Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza has a strong case as well, but Rockhold does have a victory over Jacare from a few years ago. I think that either Rockhold or Jacare would be a good choice for the next title shot, after UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman defends against Vitor Belfort.

The UFC could always have Rockhold fight Jacare with the winner getting the next title shot, but I'd rather the belt be defended as much as possible. I think either guy would be a good choice, and the other could get a stay-busy fight or something. I think that would work out pretty well.


UFC Fight Night 56

BAD: Juliana Lima vs. Nina Ansaroff

This was a bad, dull fight. Lima won the decision. There's not much to say here as there wasn't a lot of action.

BAD: Dhiego Lima vs. Jorge De Oliveira

Another bad fight. Lima won the decision. This was a slightly better fight than the previous one, but that's not saying much.

BAD: Claudio Silva vs. Leon Edwards

Another dull fight, but also some very sloppy moments. Silva won the split decision.

BAD: Warrley Alves vs. Alan Jouban

I didn't really care much for this fight. It was a close fight, but it just didn't do anything for me. Alves won the decision. Some were saying that Jouban got robbed, but quite honestly I don't care enough to want to rewatch the fight to see for myself. In real time I agreed with Alves winning it, but I wasn't paying close attention so I can't say definitively.

GOOD: Ovince St. Preux stops Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

There was a part of me that was hoping that Shogun would somehow be able to summon it up one more time to win this with a knockout, but that's nostalgia on my part. It's nothing against OSP, I just remember watching Shogun in PRIDE and being a fan. The guy in the cage was a pale imitation of the Shogun I remember. OSP went in there and whooped Shogun in 34 seconds. That basically closes the door there.

I've known Shogun was done as high-level fighter for quite some time, but now you start entering that territory where he's endangering himself by getting back in the cage. That's why I think Shogun should retire. Unless he's only going to fight wrestlers who can't punch, he shouldn't be in there anymore, all he's going to do is get hurt. I give OSP credit for doing what he had to do, but this was a bit of a sour way to end a crappy night of fights.

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