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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Despite the loss of the original main event, Saturday's UFC on Fuel TV card still provided an entertaining and noteworthy night (or day in North America) of fighting action. A number of fighters stepped up with some big performances, some left fans shaking their heads, and all in all it was an enjoyable fight card. Here's what stuck with me out of the event:
--There's already been a lot of grumbling about Gegard Mousasi's performance against Ilir Latifi, but I honestly don't see how else he would have approached it. He was obviously the better fighter, and on five day's notice he had no reason to go crazy against a replacement opponent, regardless of the level. Latifi was not a danger to him so long as he was on the outside and getting jabbed in the face, so Mousasi played that intelligently and continued to score in patient spurts without putting himself at risk. More than anything, Mousasi needed to win, this wasn't a spot where he needed to be the most impressive he could be. He'll fight a better fighter the next time out, and we'll see what he brings against a higher level of competition when he's fully prepared for that type of fight. I can't criticize him for playing it safe here, because it was the smart thing for him to do.
--Ryan Couture had no business being put against Ross Pearson in his UFC debut. He'd only had seven career fights prior to this UFC debut, and though he's held his own against a number of fighters, including K.J. Noons in January, Pearson was just a much superior striker, with a ton more power than Couture. It was a one-sided matchup, and that was made clear with Pearson's assault in the second round.
--Matt Mitrione blew through Phil De Fries, launching an absolutely brutal series of strikes after an awkward collision brought the fight to the ground. It was quick, and exactly what Mitrione needed after two straight losses sandwiching a lengthy layoff last year. He's not a fighter who's going to get himself into title contention in the UFC, but he's still a solid heavyweight who is exciting more times than he's not, meaning he'll have a spot with the UFC as long as he can continue doing what he did in Sweden.
--Brad Pickett and Mike Easton had one hell of a fight, but there's no reason it should have gone down as a split. Pickett reverted back to his brawler ways for most of the fight, but he complimented his superior striking game with some good grappling as well, becoming not only the first fighter to plant Easton on his back, but to keep him there at times as well. To his credit, Easton never gave up and fought hard through the entirety of the 15-minute fight, but Pickett was the better fighter, hands down. He was mostly effective with his strikes, picked Easton apart against the cage on numerous occasions, and continued moving forward and trying to press things in the fight from start to finish. Very exciting fight, and Pickett continues to keep himself in the spot of barrier to the elite.
--Another fighter keeping himself in the mix in the UFC is Diego Brandao, who picked up another solid win over Pablo Garza. Unfortunately, it seemed like Garza wasn't all there mentally in that fight, and he definitely seemed like a poorer version of himself than we've seen in a long time. Despite that, Brandao looked good. He saw his opening for that arm triangle choke and transitioned to it very quickly, and in doing so secured his third win inside the Octagon. And actually, his loss to Darren Elkins isn't looking so bad in retrospect, so he can continue his move up the ladder after one of his better performances.
--But speaking of "mentally not there" performances, I have no idea where Robbie Peralta was in his fight against Akira Corassani. It sure didn't seem to be in the cage. He had one real moment of success in the fight, when he scored a knockdown in the second round, but his failure to follow up negated that advantage, and he ultimately lost because of a head-scratching performance.
--There were three standouts on the Facebook preliminary card, with comeback wins from Reza Madadi and Tom Lawlor, along with a fantastic UFC debut from Irish prospect Conor McGregor. Both Madadi and Lawlor were behind in their fights, Madadi from a head kick knockdown in round one against Michael Johnson, and Lawlor by an injured leg from getting thrown around by Michael Kuiper. However, in both cases, they turned things around, with Madadi scoring a third round anaconda choke, and Lawlor latching onto a great guillotine choke to earn respective submission wins.
--Conor McGregor seems like the real deal in the featherweight division. Marcus Brimage isn't a top ranked opponent, but he had won three straight fights in the UFC, and had halted the hype trains of a couple of fighters already. McGregor avoided that fate with a fantastic performance, staying comfortable in the cage and making his striking exchanges look easy before ultimately scoring a knockdown and a TKO win. It was great to see, and very much a standout on a night of entertaining action.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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