Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 189 and TUF 21 Finale
Jul 15, 2015 - 11:40:20 AM HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 189 and TUF 21 Finale

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

UFC 189 was this past weekend, and it was quite the show. The TUF 21 Finale also took place over the weekend, so let's get right to the rundown for both.

UFC 189

GREAT: Thomas Almeida stops Brad Pickett

This was awesome. The first round was a wild, back and forth affair that saw both guys doing big damage. There was just a ton of action and it was a fantastic first round. Then the second round started and Almeida connected with a flying knee for the knockout. Simply incredible.


GOOD: Gunnar Nelson submits Brandon Thatch

Nelson impressed on the feet, as he dropped Thatch. Then, he worked hard for the finish. He got a body triangle on and eventually locked on a rear-naked choke. Very good fight, and an excellent way to respond to the first loss of his career in his last fight.


GREAT: Jeremy Stephens stops Dennis Bermudez

This was a real brawl. Both guys were giving it their all in an incredible fight that went back and forth the entire time. Both guys were throwing heavy during the entire bout, and Stephens caught Bermudez with a flying knee for the finish. Great fight.


GREAT: Robbie Lawler stops Rory MacDonald

This was a very, very good fight, with the added tension and drama elevating it to GREAT. I'm kind of torn on this. As I was watching the fight, I thought it was really good. Then I checked out Twitter, the Torch, and other sites, and I see people calling it the best fight they've ever seen and stuff like that. I just don't see it like that. I thought the Stephens-Bermudez and Almeida-Pickett fights were just as exciting, if not more so. It being a title fight elevates things for a lot of people, I suppose. I still think the fight was absolutely fantastic, I just don't think it's the guaranteed Fight of the Year, or Best Fight Ever.

I don't want to rain on this fight, though, because it truly was awesome. The first round sucked because they started tentatively, but things heated up quickly. Lawler was tagging MacDonald and ended up breaking his nose, but then MacDonald started unleashing hell and damn near finished Lawler. At one point I thought the ref might step in and stop things, but Lawler was allowed to continue. He kept battling, but he entered the fifth round needing a finish to retain the UFC Welterweight Title. A finish is what he got, too, as he dropped MacDonald and got the stoppage. It was a roller-coaster fight, which seems to be the theme here tonight.

So, I disagree with some on how to rate this fight, but one area that I hope a lot of people are in agreement about is that Johny Hendricks should not get the next title shot. Frankly, I don't think he's done enough to deserve it. A lackluster lay-and-pray win over Matt Brown isn't enough to give a guy a title shot in my eyes. I would rather MacDonald get a rematch, though that's not the way I would go. I would have Tyron Woodley fight Hendricks, with the winner getting a title shot, as well as have MacDonald fight Carlos Condit, with the winner of that possibly getting the title shot after that. I just don't think you give a guy a title shot after one win unless its a very impressive win or he's a long-time champion.


GREAT: Conor McGregor stops Chad Mendes

I'm a believer in McGregor now. It's hard not to be after this win. Yeah, Mendes planted him several times, but McGregor fought through it. He battled through adversity and came out on top. I still think that UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will likely beat McGregor, but that's because Aldo has looked untouchable in the cage. I won't be surprised if McGregor beats Aldo, but I can't pick him to do so. Aldo has beaten the best the division has to offer. McGregor is an extremely formidable challenge, but Aldo has built his legacy on turning back formidable challengers.

This was such a tense fight. There were some very dull moments where Mendes had McGregor on the ground and wasn't doing much, but it was so tense because there were very real questions about McGregor's ability to combat the wrestling of Mendes. We saw what McGregor is capable of here, and he showed better takedown defense than I thought he had. He got took down, but he also prevented some takedowns as well.

When McGregor dropped Mendes at the end of the second round and the crowd exploded, that's the kind of moment you dream about as a sports fan. Not only was this a tremendous moment in and of itself, but your mind immediately springs to the coming fight between Aldo and McGregor. That was one of the most anticipated fights of the year before, and now you can multiply that by ten. I don't know when McGregor-Aldo will finally happen, but it can't come soon enough.


TUF 21 Finale

BAD/GOOD: Maximo Blanco stops Mike De La Torre

Blanoc showed good power to immediately drop De La Torre, but then referee Yves Lavigne stepped in for some reason. Blanco likely would have gone on to finish De La Torre anyway so it's not a huge deal, but that's still an extremely early and bad stoppage. That said, though, I would much rather have a stoppage like this than one where the ref steps in too late.


GOOD: Michelle Waterson submits Angela Magana

I admit to being still drunk off of UFC 189 because I enjoyed this fight more than I should. It was one-sided, but it was a nice debut for Waterson, who got the submission in the third round.


GOOD: Jorge Masvidal stops Cezar Ferreira

This was a good win for Masvidal as he made his welterweight debut. He landed a slick elbow to start the finish and called out Matt Brown afterwards. That'd be a really good fight.


BAD: Michael Graves vs. Vicente Luque

This fight sucked. Too much lay-and-pray from Graves, who got the decision.


BAD/GOOD: Kamaru Usman submits Haydar Hassan

The first round was pretty dull and lifeless, but then Usman came out in the second, tried for, and got, the submission. He stayed after the finish well, and was rewarded with winning TUF 21.


GREAT: Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson stops Jake Ellenberger

Thompson's striking was so on-point here that he was doing whatever he was wanting. Ellenberger had no answer. Thompson finished the fight late in the first with a sick head kick. The kicks Thompson was hitting were like out of a movie and the finish was incredible. Great stuff by Wonderboy.


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