UFC 128 Results: Jon Jones Vs Mauricio Rua Shocks
By Ben Bieker
Jon “Bones” Jones (13-1-0, #5 Light Heavyweight) def. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5-0, #1 Light Heavyweight)
You could just tell that Shogun was not a 100 percent in this fight. I am not taking away from Jon’s performance, but Shogun could not fight to the best of his ability. There is no fault in that though because he had been hurt. He could not take a warm-up fight, he could not fight anyone but the number one challenger, and he could not have fought any harder. He just became winded too early in the fight; after the first round he had no gas. Shogun will be back but this fight was a disappointing one for his fans.
Jon’s performance, again, proved why he is one of a kind. Every time he takes a step up in competition and fights someone that should give him a challenge, they don’t. He betters himself and has a master game plan in their defeat. I don’t know who can stop his combination of unique, powerful striking, powerful ground and pound, and effortless wrestling. Supposedly Rashad Evans will give it a shot, but I doubt he will do much good.
Next for Jon Jones: Rashad Evans is up next.
Next for Mauricio Rua: He needs a fight to get his legs back under him, and someone who will give him a fight. I would not be opposed to Stephan Bonnar. He is not the highest level fighter but a good fight to tell where Shogun is after his third leg surgery.
Co-Main Event:
Urijah “The California Kid” Faber (25-4-0 #10 Bantamweight) def. Eddie Wineland (18-7-0, #9 Bantamweight) by unanimous decision
Urijah was right in stating that Eddie Wineland has a bright future ahead of him. I did not give him a chance in the world to take the fight to Urijah that he did. He won that first round soundly and stuffed all the take down attempts. Urijah found his groove in the later rounds, but Eddie was the one that impressed me. He is only 26 years old which is easy to forget after you know how long he has been fighting. He will be back better than ever. Urijah on the other hand seems to be on a collision course with Dominick Cruz. He may get the title shot, but depending on if Dominick is still going to be out for a while, or if they want them to coach the next Ultimate Fighter that fight may have to wait.
Next for Urijah Faber: Assuming Dominick is healthy put on the fight. The sooner the better.
Next for Eddie Wineland: Joseph Benavidez showed why he is number two in the Bantamweight division again tonight, but with two losses to the champion he will have to wait until the title changes hands or he cleans it out. Eddie would be a good matchup for him, and one I would watch.
Jim Miller (20-2-0, #4 Lightweight) def. Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus (8-0-0-2) by TKO at 2:15 of round 3
Not much to say about this fight. Jim has been doing what he does since he joined the UFC. He beat on his opponents the whole fight until he could secure the win by any means needed. People will say a win over Kamal does not do much for his case as a title challenger, but I think his performances do. In his last two fights he has submitted a BJJ black belt and won by TKO. This was only his second TKO of his career, and only his fifth finish in the UFC. Pundits like to compare him to Jon Fitch, but he is not even close. He is proving to be a much better fighter with new finishing prowess.
Next for Jim Miller: I am not saying that Anthony Pettis does not deserve his title shot because he does. The fact is that Jim deserves one too. So, if clay Guida beats Pettis then Jim should fight for it, but if Pettis wins then he should fight for the title. If he does not fight for the title then he should get the winner of Benson Henderson and Mark Bocek.
Next for Kamal Shalorus: Kamal got stepped up in competition way to fast. He needs to fight someone like Gleison Tibau so the UFC brass can figure out where he fits in the UFC.
Nate “The Great” Marquardt (31-10-2, #4 Middleweight) def. Dan Miller (13-5-0-1)
I really feel bad for Dan Miller he fights so hard, but is unable to pull it off every time he fights tough competition. Most of the time he is getting out powered rather than outclassed. He can beat almost anyone outside the top ten of Middleweight division, but that does not matter when your sights are set on the belt. It is a credit that he has not been finished in any of his losses, but that is not the solace he wants after a fight. Maybe he should try a weight cut down to 170 to see if he can get an advantage that way.
Nate fights how he does every time a title shot is not on the line. When he fights someone when it matters he cracks. He got mad that Dana called him a mental midget, but how is it not true. His fights against Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, and Yushin Okami he looked bad. Now, he fights like a real top ten fighter. It is mind boggling and he will need to get that sorted out before he starts challenging the top of the heap again.
Next for Nate Marquardt: Rich Franklin said he will fight anywhere the UFC wants him to and I would love to see that fight. A fan can always hope.
Next for Dan Miller: Back to the drawing board, and let him fight his first opponent of the night nick Catone as his performance shows he is ready for a step up.
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub (8-1-0) def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-9-2-1) by KO at 3:34 of round 3
Mirko did not look like his old self, but he did look good. He came in gunning for a win, but he did not get it. Brendan showed what he meant when he was ready for the big leaguers. After, what I thought was, an abysmal fight against Gabriel Gonzaga he proved everyone he is ready with his knockout of Mirko. He has big names in his future, and one that may be sooner than he thinks.
Next for Brendan Schaub: Shane Carwin wants a fight, and Brendan wants to step up. Sit is always best when fights make sense.
Next for Mirko Filipovic: Is he done? I don’t know. It may be best, but I would watch a fight with him and Big Nog in UFC Rio.
The Under Card:
(Spike TV) Luiz “Banha” Cane (11-3-0-1) def. Eilot “The Fire” Marshall (10-3-0) by TKO at 2:15 of round 1
I thought Eilot was ready to be back in the UFC, but Cane was ready to return. He may have gotten knocked out twice, but that did not make him gun shy. He completely destroyed Eilot in this fight, not letting him start his own fight. If he continues like this he will reach the top again fast.
Next for Luiz Cane: I want to see him fight Igor Pokrajac. their two styles would bring fire to the ring.
Next for Eilot Marshall: Hopefully not back to the local circuit as he never should have been cut first. Hopefully, he stays and fights someone like Steve Cantwell for a spot.
(Spike TV) Edson Mendes Barboza Jr. (8-0-0) def. Anthony Njokuani (13-5-0-1) by unanimous decision
First time he goes to a decision and it was not an easy fight. Anthony did not roll over for Edson’s professed standup ability. He made it a dog fight, but it was good for Edson. I never like when a fighter keeps destroying people and never puts in actual fight time. I believe it gets to their head. Like Jon Jones’s fight against Stephan Bonnar decision wins show them that they need to push harder. Both fighters may not be back.
Next for Edson Barboza: He needs his ground game tested because to let him keep beating up other stand up fighters is a disservice to his career. Shane Roller just got a big win so match the two up.
Next for Anthony Njokuani: 1-3 in his last four fights will spend the end to his Zuffa career.
(Facebook) Mike “Quicksand” Pyle(21-7-1) def. Ricardo “Cachorrao” Almedia (13-5-0) by unanimous decision
Mike Pyle is slowly making himself a true contender in the Welterweight division. He way have not had the best fight tonight, but he did show that his one true weakness, submissions, he is getting better at. When Almedia could get it to the ground he could do nothing. That may be a comment more on Mike’s wrestling ability than his submission defense, but I will take it as a positive. With both fighters being at the tale end of their career this fight showed who is making one last run, and who is going to be having to contemplate their next step.
Next for Mike Pyle: He needs to keep moving up the ladder. The top fighters need fresh blood so throw him to the lion. Josh Koscheck needs a fresh opponent.
Next for Ricardo Almedia: The loser of the Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy may have their career on the line with a loss. Ricardo could fight them for a spot in the UFC.
(Facebook) Gleison Tibau (22-7-0) def. Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (16-6-0) by split decision
Gleison beat someone I thought should have won. Kurt may have suffered from the same thing that Shogun did in the main event. Ring rust. He has been out 9 months after blowing out his knee and came back really quick. We also saw this in the Joe Lauzon Sam stout fight when fighters return too fast. He will now have to come back from a staggering 0-2 deficit while Gleison ups himself to 3-1 in his last four fights. His only loss came to Jim Miller.
Next for Gleison Tibau: WEC import Danny Castillo.
Next for Kurt Pellegrino: Bart Palaszewski will need an opponent to debut against int he UFC.
Joseph Benavidez (14-2-0 #2 Bantamweight) def. Ian “The Barn Owl” Loveland (14-8-0) by unanimous decision
Joseph continues you to prove why he is the second best Bantamweight in the world. Even when he is in trouble he can still pull out a win. In the first round he did not do his best, but he came back to win. He even further made a case for a Flyweight division as his two losses to the champion, and his mentor will be fighting for the belt soon.
Next for Joseph Benavidez: Who doesn’t think he should fight Brian Bowles?
Next for Ian Loveland: Showed heart in this fight. A match with Antonio Banuelous would not be out of the question.
Erik “New Breed” Koch (12-1-0) def. Raphael Assuncao (16-4-0) by KO at 2:32 of round 1
A new contender made his announcement to the MMA world in this fight. Erik had been a good fighter, but after the loss to Chad Mendes he got a fire lit under his ass. The training with Duke Roufus and his gang has been paying off too. Finishing his last three opponents in under6 minutes means he needs a step up in the competition.
Next for Erik Koch: Manny Gamburyan should be returning soon. He last fought for the belt and would be a good test for Erik’s new found abilities.
Next for Raphael Assuncao: Done. 1-3 in the last four and your gone.
Nick “The Jersey Devil” Catone (9-2-0) def. Constantinos Phillippou (7-2-0) by unanimous decision
He meant he wanted a fight no matter the weight. He just beat of Constantinos that showed himself unworthy of fighting in the UFC yet. He got poked in the eye, and when the fight was not stopped he absolutely destroyed his opponent. Unrelenting in striking on the ground Catone cuts Constantinos multiple times. It was a good fight for him after such a long layoff.
Next for Nick Catone: He should still get his shot against Dan Miller.
Next for Constantinos Phillippou: One and done most likely.