After a very lackluster UFC 149, they bounced back with a fantastic UFC on FOX 4 event. The prelims had their ups-and-downs, but the main card inarguably was a home run. Let’s take a look at the real winners and loser from Saturday night.
Winners
Mauricio Rua
“Shogun” delivered the second entertaining war in a row for the fans, but this time came away with a definitive knockout victory instead of a close decision loss. It is tough to argue that Rua deserved a light heavyweight title shot over Lyoto Machida, being that everyone and their grandma expected Vera to be finished inside two rounds.
The damage Shogun’s body has accumulated over a 10-year fight career has raised some serious questions about how long he can remain a top contender. Still, let’s not knock a guy who put on a great performance on Saturday night and walked away with a victory.
Brandon Vera
As expected, Vera ended up losing, and as a matter of fact, was knocked out in brutal fashion. However, “The Truth” exceeded all expectations by going nearly four full rounds with a former UFC champion. Personally, I even thought Vera won round two, even though many people will disagree.
For the first time in ages, Vera looked like the highly-touted prospect who could throw hard-hitting combinations with the best of the best. More often times than not, moral victories in the fight game are overstated, but this was not one of them.
By showcasing great heart and skill, Vera earned himself at least one more fight with the world’s premiere fight league, as well as the respect of many fans.
Lyoto Machida
Machida won the light heavyweight sweepstakes and can quite possibly meet Jon Jones for the second time in roughly one year’s timeframe. Machida’s knockout of Ryan Bader was masterful, as the season eight “Ultimate Fighter” played right into “The Dragon’s” game by throwing big punches and hoping for the best.
The Brazilian deserves a lot of credit for tagging Jones with some good shots in their first fight at UFC 140, but I really don’t think a win over Bader warrants another title shot this soon.
Honestly, fans should be pulling for a Dan Henderson upset Jones at UFC 151, as Machida is not going to do any better against “Bones” a second time around.
Joe Lauzon
In 22 career victories, Lauzon has never let it go to the judge’s scorecards and Saturday night was no exception. After two-and-a-half rounds of non-stop action, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist locked up a triangle choke out of nowhere on an exhausted Jamie Varner. The former WEC lightweight champion had no choice but to tap.
While Lauzon will likely never make his way to a UFC title shot, he continues to one of the most entertaining 155-pounders in the business. Lauzon received both “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors, marking an incredible nine fight bonuses in his past 11 fights.
Mike Swick
After about 28 months since a professional fight, and over three years, since his last victory, American Kickboxing Academy’s Mike Swick came back with a devastating knockout.
Swick showed how bad he wanted this one by surviving a first round onslaught by DaMarques Johnson and battling back to score “Knockout of the Night” in the second. Swick will probably never be a title contender again, but he has a feel good story and can still put on some entertaining fights for the fans.
Losers
Ryan Bader
Coming off of a convincing win over a former champion in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 144, Bader looked completely outclassed by another former title holder in Lyoto Machida.
Bader simply couldn’t close the distance and was shrugged off easily the couple of times he managed to get a hold of The Dragon. Perhaps Bader’s win over Rampage was more of a testament to how much the PRIDE star was fallen, as opposed to how much “The Ultimate Fighter” winner has improved.
An easy match to book next is Ryan Bader vs. Brandon Vera, but we already know “The Truth” isn’t going to beat a high level wrestler. Should Chael Sonnen decided to go back to light heavyweight, a match up with Bader would pique the interest of the fans.
Jamie Varner
“C-4” has nothing to be ashamed of for his bout Saturday night. Yes, he gassed out badly, but accepting a fight with a fringe top 10 opponent on just five weeks notice is certainly commendable. Also consider that Varner’s UFC 146 win over Edson Barboza was on May 26.
We learned that fighting twice within a roughly two month span is a bad idea, but we also learned that Varner still has the ability and the desire that made him champion years ago. A rematch with Shane Roller would give Varner a chance for redemption in a very winnable fight.
DaMarques Johnson
Like a lot of “The Ultimate Fighter” alumni, “The Darkness” just isn’t very good. Johnson has the striking and grappling to provide a challenge for a lot of fighters, but he isn’t particularly good in any one area.
As we saw last night, Johnson doesn't have a great chin either, so it’s tough to say where he goes from here. Odds are, the 30-year-old will beat someone no one has heard of in his next fight and remain a test for up-and-comers in the UFC.