Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC on FOX 15
Apr 22, 2015 - 12:45:10 PM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC on FOX 15

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor

UFC on Fox 15 hit New Jersey this past weekend. Here's my rundown of the event.


UFC on FOX 15

GOOD: Paige VanZant vs. Felice Herrig

It's actually a bit of a stretch to go straight GOOD on this, but it wasn't a bad fight. It was fine for what it was, it just wasn't all that great. VanZant kept working hard and grinding and she took Herrig out. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective.


GOOD: Max Holloway submits Cub Swanson

I underestimated Holloway going into this. Either that, or I overestimated Swanson. I really thought Swanson would come out here ready to take Holloway apart after the way he lost to Frankie Edgar. However, Holloway wouldn't allow Swanson to do anything even close to that. Holloway took it to Swanson from the start and just stymied him at every turn. Swanson never got comfortable and Holloway stayed on the offensive the whole fight. I really liked how Holloway kept working for the finish, and finally got it in the third round. I love it when fighters keep trying to win even when they have the decision locked up. This is a bigtime win for Holloway.

GOOD: Ronald "Jacare" Souza submits Chris Camozzi

Nobody thought that Camozzi would beat Jacare, but you tip your cap to him because he took the fight on short notice. This was an absolutely dominant performance from Jacare, and he definitely threw his name in there for a title shot. There's not much else to say other than Jacare submitted Camozzi quickly and slickly. Seeing the submission and the way Jacare worked for it and got it is much better than hearing about it.

GREAT: Luke Rockhold submits Lyoto Machida

As dominant as Jacare Souza looked in the previous fight, Rockhold looked ten times as dominant. Machida is far from a bum, but Rockhold ripped through him like he was some guy off the street. This was absurd, a guy the caliber of Machida doesn't get beaten like this.

I've seen a lot of Rockhold fights, but I've never seen him like this. He's at a level that makes you sit up and take notice. I mean, he just completely destroyed Machida. I'm a big Jacare Souza fan, and I was leaning towards him getting the next middleweight title shot, but I can't sit here and say that he deserves it over Rockhold.

UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman will finally (finally) fight Vitor Belfort at UFC 187, and then we get to see Rockhold fight the winner. It feels like Weidman and Belfort have been scheduled to fight each other twenty times already. Between them and UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, it feels like an injury-plagued version of Groundhog Day. I don't know if Rockhold will become champion, but I do hope that we all get a chance to see him fight for the title this year. If Rockhold fights the way he did against Machida, I think he beats either Weidman or Belfort. It's asking a lot for him to be that on-point every fight. He is in the zone right now, though, and I couldn't bet against him. Let's just hope we don't get a continuation of the "fighter hurts himself, pulls out of fight" trope we've been seeing far too often here lately.


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