Intelligently Defending 1.24.08: What's Next for the UFC 80 Fighters?
Posted by Ken Kobel on 01.24.2008
UFC 80 has come and gone. Now it is time for Intelligently Defending to take a guess as to where the UFC 80 fighters are now going with their careers.
UFC 80 is in the books and it far exceeded the hype. Of course, this wasn't too difficult considering there was very little hype to begin with.
Overall, it was a great night of fights with upsets, knockouts, and the re-emergence of the B.J. Penn that once amazed the MMA world.
Let's take a look at where the main card fighters are going from here.
Jorge Rivera vs. Kendall Grove
Winner: Jorge Rivera, TKO, Round 1
What's next for Kendall Grove
Any talk of Kendall Grove becoming a contender in the middleweight division needs to end right now. He may one day develop into one, but at this point he is not even close.
Grove has become just the second winner of TUF to lose two UFC fights in a row Diego Sanchez being the first. Unfortunately for Grove, it seems like his biggest weakness is something that is difficult to train his chin. In his last two fights he has been knocked silly and a look at his record shows that most of his losses prior to TUF came from being KO'd. In order to overcome this he needs to get better with his takedowns and learn to use his extreme reach to keep opponents at bay.
Never has a winner of TUF been forced to fight on the prelims. Kendall isn't quite there yet, but if he drops three in a row that is exactly where he will find himself. The UFC has a lot invested in the young Hawaiian and they do not want to see him lose again. His next fight will be as big of a lay-up' as we have ever seen. Look for the UFC to bring in a new fighter to take on Grove and don't expect this person to have any power in their hands whatsoever.
What's next for Jorge Rivera?
Not many people gave Rivera a chance which in hindsight was foolish but he took care of business at UFC 80. That was a huge win for Jorge good for him.
Rivera came into this fight with a plan to push the pace and that is exactly what he did. It was a dominating performance in which Jorge did not give Kendall a chance to breathe. After this fight the Conquistador' could make a decent run given the thin roster in the UFC's middleweight division.
Expect Rivera to find himself on the main card in his next fight. By the time you read this column we will know the winner of the Cote/McFedries battle at UFC Fight Night 12. The winner of this contest would make a great opponent for Jorge.
Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert
Winner: Wilson Gouveia, KO, Round 2
What's next for Jason Lambert?
Well, so much for Jason building momentum off of his knock-out of Babalu.
Lambert dominated the first round with his wrestling and some decent ground and pound. He was even able to power out of a triangle choke which marks the second fight in a row that he has successfully defended submission attempts from BJJ Black Belts. In the end he left his hands down and got knocked-out.
Lambert picked a bad time to lose. The light-heavyweight division is the deepest in the UFC and Jason Lambert will quickly plummet down the ranks with all the big names in the weight-class. His next fight will be on the prelims against a middle of the pack opponent. Alessio Sakara picked up a big win on Saturday and would make a good opponent for Jason. This is if Sakara doesn't drop to 185-lbs like he suggested he may do.
What's next for Wilson Gouveia?
It is not how you start but how you finish. And Wilson Gouveia was the one to finish things Saturday.
It was apparent that Gouveia was the weaker of the two men physically as Lambert dominated with his strength in the first round. Wilson's stand-up looked to be the much crisper of the two and it showed as he capitalized when Jason left his hands down and sent him crashing to the canvas with a huge left hand. This was an enormous win for Gouveia who is now 4-1 in the UFC.
Do not sleep on this American Top Team prospect. Wilson is a dangerous opponent with his knock-out power and BJJ Black Belt. His next fight will be on the main card and a great match-up would be against Sokoudjou. It would be a good bout that would let everyone get a better gauge of how good both men are.
Marcus Davis vs. Jess Liaudin
Winner: Marcus Davis, KO, Round 1
What's next for Jess Liaudin?
Liaudin was talking a lot of trash going into this fight and in the end he could not back it up.
Liaudin is now left with a shaky 12-9 record and the momentum from his first two UFC victories is gone. He trains in London so it is probable that the UFC will bring him back for a prelim fight the next time they travel to the U.K., but outside of that don't expect to see him again.
What's next for Marcus Davis?
It is official Marcus Davis is on a tear.
That is now eleven wins in a row and six in the UFC. To this point he has only been fighting middle-to-lower tier competition, but to his credit he has been ending the fights in impressive fashion. He has the tools to make a serious run at the top fighters in the division his hands are as good as anyone at 170-lbs, his ground-game is always improving, and he is one of the strongest fighters in the weight-class.
We will all get a chance to see how Marcus does against a top-tier welterweight in his next fight. The UFC has been reluctant to give him a big fight for whatever reason, but they will be forced to now. Most of the big-name welterweights are currently locked up in bouts -- so Davis will have to wait for opposition. Josh Koscheck would make a good opponent if he is victorious over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 82.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Winner: Fabricio Werdum, TKO, Round 2
What's next for Gabriel Gonzaga?
Gabe did not have it on Saturday.
Gonzaga had a solid first round in which he scored with some nice leg kicks and dominated with his physical strength. Things went south though once Werdum connected with a few knees. It was as if Gabriel became gun-shy after this point. He got a lot more tentative and seemed to start fighting not to lose. It cost him in the end and he now finds himself further down the heavyweight totem pole good thing for him the totem pole is not very tall.
Gabe's next fight will most likely be on a main card. People still know him as the man that high-kicked CroCop and he will be able to feed off that for a little while longer. He better start winning again soon though. Look for his next opponent to be the loser of the upcoming Mir/Lesnar battle.
What's next for Fabricio Werdum?
Werdum needed that win in the worst way after his Andrei Arlovski debacle.
In this fight Fabricio showed some very solid striking ability, especially out of the clinch. His time at Chute Box is paying off. Along with his stand-up, Werdum has some of the best ground work in the division.
We learned after the fight that Fabricio will get a title shot at the winner of Nogueira/Sylvia. This seems rushed given the fact that he is only 1-1 in the UFC while someone like Cheick Kongo is 4-1. Werdum's credentials outside of the UFC are decent and he has been regarded as a top-ten heavyweight for awhile now. He will be a handful for whoever is the champion, but the fact that he is getting a shot is a testament to how out-of-whack that division is right now.
B.J. Penn vs. Joe Stevenson
Winner: B.J. Penn, Submission, Round 2
What's next for Joe Stevenson?
That may have been the worst beating Joe has taken in his career.
Stevenson was in trouble early when he was hit with an uppercut that sent him to the canvas. He was soon cut by a glancing Penn elbow that caused Joe to bleed like a faucet. Stevenson fought until the very end, but was overmatched on all levels.
This was a bad loss for Joe, but he is still one of the better lightweights in the UFC. His next fight will no doubt be on a main card and will likely come against one of the many up-and-comers at 155-lbs. Frankie Edgar or Thiago Tavares would both make for great fights.
What's next for B.J. Penn?
"Sean Sherk you're dead!"
This was a great performance for B.J. although his cardio was not tested. If he fights like he did Saturday it may never get tested again because it would have been tough for anyone to last ten minutes with Penn on that night.
He will now fight Sean Sherk in a battle that was getting hyped even months before UFC 80. These two have not pulled any punches in their war of words and after Penn dispatched of Joe he met Sherk in the center of the octagon. This is going to be a great fight between two complete mixed-martial artists. You can throw the steroids talk out the window because Sherk is going to be as much of a beast as he ever was in preparation for this bout. The UFC hype machine will go all out to promote what should be a classic.
Conclusion
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