Diego Sanchez – Martin Kampmann: Shocking UFC Results
By Ben Bieker
Main Event:
Diego “The Dream” Sanchez (23-4-0) def. Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann (17-5-0) by unanimous decision
Another decision loss for Martin that he did not deserve. The judges fell into the ploy that Leonard Garcia uses to cheat so many decision wins. Flurries and wild strikes should not win rounds but somehow they do. It makes no sense to me, but then again I am not a judge or a fighter. I am just someone who watches fights and reports on them. That is why it upsets me to report on fights like this when the loser should not have been the loser. Martin losses two in a row that he does not deserve to lose. This fight along with the Jake Shields fight goes as losses on Martin’s record, but he should have won both.
Next for Diego Sanchez: Well, he is technically on a two fight win streak over two good opponents. Plus, with his now “Sound” finely tuned body he could take on anyone. At this point a rematch with Josh Koscheck would be good for both fighters to see where they are in his career.
Next for Martin Kampmann: Loser of Story versus Alves would be a good match for him.
Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” Munoz (10-2-0) def. C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway (11-3-0) by KO at 0:54 of Round 1
People want to complain about this stoppage, but it was a good one. You can’t believe a fighter when they say it was a bad stoppage because they were out. That is like taking a mathematician’s diagnosis on a headache. The two things don’t match up. If someone is out they wouldn’t know when it was stopped, let alone if it was just. Good fight for Mark though as he makes his only loss against number one contender Yushin Okami.
Next for Mark Munoz: Chael Sonnen wants to return to the UFC so let him fight essentially the new version of himself in Mark Munoz.
Next for C.B. Dollaway: It is a loss but nothing to be ashamed of. If he can put the “bad stoppage” behind him he should be fine. The winner of the upcoming Mario Miranda Aaron Simpson would be a good match.
Chris Weidman (5-0-0) def. Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara (15-8-0) by Unanimous decision
Chris did what I thought and brought his potential into the fight, and used it to dominate. Given it was not the best performance, but it was on two weeks notice. His next fight should be better if he has the time to prepare. Sakara is always in this position, given he will never fight for the belt, but he is a good fighter and will stick around. Sakara will be around for a while, and he will be a good benchmark for upcoming fighters to compete against.
Next for Chris Weidman: I know Maiquel Goncalves has a lot more fights than Chris, but I think the fight would be good.
Next for Alessio Sakara: If Jorge Rivera sticks around after his last fight I am still interested in seeing the rematch.
Brian Bowles (10-1-0, #5 Bantamweight) def. Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page (12-6-0) by submission at 3:30 of Round 1
Two fights against the same person, and two wins the same exact way. Brian Bowles has thrown his hat back into contention in the 135 pound division. The layoff didn’t hurt him as he dominated his opponent. Some people will say Damacio was giving Brian fits with his aggression at the beginning of the fight but that is not what I saw. Damacio was landing but none of his power punches were. Every time that Damacio would wing a power punch Brian’s speed made him able to take a step away from the punches. Then Brian would find his openings and boy did he when he cracked Damacio. The fight could have easily been stopped by punches if Brian wanted it to be that way, but he finished by any way possible with that submission.
Next for Brian Bowles: With the winner of Eddie Wineland versus Uriah Faber in line for the next title shot. Brian should take on the winner of Miguel Torres versus Brad Pickett for the shot after that.
Next for Damacio Page: I am sure no one would care if Damacio mixed it up with Antonio Banuelos in the cage.
The UnderCard on Facebook:
Danny “Last Call” Castillo (11-3-0) def. Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (31-13-0)
Joe has now hit all time low in his career. Being knocked out in his last fight, being 0-3, and 3-6 in his last 9 is not a good spot. He may be gone from the UFC after the loss, but after the fight he put on it is not hard to see why the UFC may keep him around. The fight went from the floor, to the ground, and the clinch. Joe did loss but he put on a hell of a performance. I think Joes days as an elite MMA fighter are gone, but he can still give a hell of a fight to any up and coming Lightweight fighter. Danny should that he had more skills than I gave him credit for. With the vicious knock out in his last fight, and his beating of a former title contender in this fight he is on his way up. He has a few losses in his past that will hold him back but soon he may be able to be fighting with the top guys.
Next for Danny Castillo: Matt Wiman is also coming off a win over a tough competitor, and has some sketchy losses in his past. A fight between the two would show who needs to be fighting the top guys at 155.
Next for Joe Stevenson: Hard to say as he may need to drop down a weight class to continue his career as a top fighter. Who even knows if he still has a job after tonight. Cole Miller could be a good fight if he stick around.
Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate (17-7-0) def. Steve “The Cure” Cantwell (7-4-0) by unanimous decision
This fight was all Cyrille in more than one way. It looked like Steve was content to just stand there and get punched. He did not offer to much offense besides trying to strike, but when you are striking with a top level striker it is hard to win. Cyrille was relentless in kicks and punches, and to Steve’s credit he took every shot and came back for more. I don’t know what level ring rust played into his performance, but it was not Steve’s best moment in his fighting career.
Next for Cyrille Diabate: A fight with Kyle Kingsbury or Jared Hamman could produce fireworks.
Next for Steve Cantwell: I hope they give him one more shot in the UFC. He just came back off a long layoff and is still very young. A fight against Anthony Perosh would be good for both fighters.
Shane Roller (10-3-0) def. Thiago Tavares (15-4-0) by KO at 1:28 of Round 2
Let’s just say that Shane keeps doing the fans a favor. First he official sends off Jaime Varner, and does not allow him the luxury of coming back to the UFC. Now, he has shown the ability of WEC Lightweights. Many people said the WEC lightweights were a lesser form of any UFC Lightweight, but if this fight was any indication of things to come, I would say be careful to any fighter taking on someone from the WEC. The first round may have been Thiago’s round, but the second was his last. Roller put a stop to Thiago’s night in the second round and solidified himself as someone to watch. At 7-2 in the Zuffa promotion, and his two losses coming to Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson he could have a very bright future.
Next for Shane Roller: He needs a step up in competition. Someone right out of contendership, that would catapult either with a win into a fight against the top of the UFC’s Lightweight division. Ross Pearson would be a good fight for him to continue his run up the Lightweight ladder.
Next for Thiago Tavares: Spencer Fisher because whoever losses that fight will most likely been on their way out of the UFC.
Dongi “The Ox” Yang (10-1-0) def. Rob “The Rosedale Reaper” Kimmons (23-7-0) by TKO at 4:47 of Round 2
This fight was dominated by Dongi which is what he needed after his disappointing debut. He showed what type of control he can have on the ground by utterly dominating Rob there. The fact that Rob is no slouch there makes the win that much more impressive. This fight determined who is going to stay or go in the UFC. The ground and pound on that Dongi laid down when he was on the ground was brutal too. The bout was stopped when it should have been, regardless of what the crowd thought.
Next for Dongi Yang: Could be a good opponent for Court McGee when he returns.
Next for Rob Kimmons: Back to the local circuit. Also, he should look into dropping down to 170. It was his plan for a while, but the way he was out muscled here shows something needs to change.
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (12-3-0) def. Dave Branch (8-2-0) by submission at 1:44 of round 2
So much for the vaunted submission game of Dave Branch. He is a pupil of Renzo Gracie, but he has not shown the BJJ one would expect from a student of the first family of MMA. In this fight, Palhares did what he does in most fights. He submitted his opponent with a leg lock. While Dave did not get completely outclassed by Palhares he did have much to offer him for offense. Pretty soon Palhares will have the most wins by leg locks. With his only losses coming to the top his weight division in Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt he should not be eased back into competition. He needs someone in the top of his class as obviously his level is higher than most.
Next for Rousimar Palhares: Many people are calling for Bisping to fight the likes of Wanderlei or Vitor Belfort, but I would rather Rousimar fight him. Wanderlei is past his prime and Vitor is coming off a devastating loss. Rousimar are likely candidates to fight for the belt soon, so why put either of them in with people that don’t deserve to get a title shot.
Next for Dave Branch: Chris Camozzi is coming off a big loss. Matching those two up would put the pressure on someone to perform.
Igor “The Duke” Pokrajac (23-8-0) def. Todd “Bulldog” Brown (15-3-0) by TKO at 5:00 of Round 1
Igor is becoming quite the fighter to watch. His record stands at 2-3 in the UFC, none of his fights have been short on action. Now, he comes out and completely destroys Todd. Given Todd is not any where near the upper echelon of the UFC 205 division, not to mention he may not even belong in the UFC, but to do that to someone who has fought their way into the organization is good for someone’s morale and their career. To talk about last minute stoppages would be an understatement too. It is not that this win was come from behind, but he got the fight stopped exactly when the round ended. Talk about timing.
Next for Igor Pokrajac: A fight with Tim Boetsch would definitely sell tickets for any UFC show.
Next for Todd Brown: He will need to find a new home because after two straight losses your days are numbered in the world’s top organization.