UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy is done and over with, and we have a few key guys who could be involved in some very interesting match ups in the future.
In Sunday night’s headliner, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone made his welterweight debut against up-and-coming prospect Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. The Brazilian stepped up on two weeks notice after Tim Means pulled out of the Pittsburg card following a failed drug test. Cerrone and Oliveira clashed, but the bout only took two and a half minutes as Cerrone tapped Oliveira out with a triangle choke in the first round. Cerrone looks to have a bright future at 170, and there are some interesting bouts that may await him for his next bout. I like the idea of Cerrone vs. Lorenz Larkin or Tarec Saffiedine.
In the co-main event of Sunday’s UFC Fight Night, we saw Derek Brunson smash Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Roan Carneiro. Brunson extended his winning streak to 4-0 while Carneiro’s 6-0 streak was cracked. Carneiro was a little too inclined to get the fight to the ground, and allowed Brunson to get on top of him against the cage. From there, Carneiro was unable to control the posture of Brunson while he got tee’d off on en route to the first round finish. Immediately afterward, UFC middleweight Uriah Hall posted a video nominating himself to fight Derek Brunson at UFC 197. UFC 197 takes place on April 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will feature the UFC light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, with a co-main event attraction between Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo. Uriah Hall currently sits at #11 while Brunson is at #13, but will most likely move up a spot after finishing #15 Roan Carneiro.
One of the stand out performances from UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy was Cody Garbrandt‘s first round KO victory over late replacement Augusto Mendes. Garbrandt, known as one of the bantamweight division’s best strikers, improved his UFC record to 3-0 with his win. Garbrandt was scheduled to face #11 ranked John Lineker, but Lineker dropped out after he was diagnosed with dengue fever. Assuming that Lineker will get healthy soon, I’d like to see this fight still happen. However, if Lineker is no longer an option, #12 Frankie Saenz is another fantastic option. This match up will definitely test Garbrandt’s wrestling defense as Saenz represents a stocky, gritty wrestler with solid boxing skills. Another fighter I’d like to see Garbrandt face at some point is #6 Michael MacDonald. He’s probably a little too far along the ladder, but Garbrandt is definitely a prospect to keep an eye on.
#8 Dennis Bermudez captured a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over #12 Tatsuya Kawajiri. Bermudez snapped a two-fight losing streak with this win, and will most likely be taking on a top 10 fighter for his next bout. Bermudez has losses to Ricardo Lamas, who is ranked above him, and Jeremy Stephens, who is ranked below him. I don’t think many would object to a rematch between Bermudez and Stephens in a hopeful attempt that it could recreate their epic throw down at UFC 189. However, another great match up would be Dennis Bermudez vs. Charles Oliveira. “Do Bronz” Oliveira was last seen giving Myles Jury a rough featherweight debut when Oliveira tapped him out in the first round. With that said, Oliveira failed to make weight, so Oliveira’s next bout may not take place at 145 lbs.
Another stand out performance at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy was Chris Camozzi‘s first round TKO over MMA veteran Joe Riggs. Camozzi landed a barrage of 6 brutal knees to the head; most were blocked, but in doing so Riggs most likely injured his arm, and was later finished by one to the head. In Camozzi’s second stint in the UFC, he is now 2-1 with wins over Riggs and Tom Watson. Camozzi vs. Roan Carneiro is a logical match up to make if the UFC is wanting to get Carneiro a chance to get back to the winning ways, or give Camozzi a chance to get ranked. Another intriguing match up is Chris Camozzi vs. Tamdan McCrory. “The Barn Cat” recently pulled off a successful return to the UFC by tapping out Josh Samman. A win for either Camozzi or McCrory here could sneak them into the top 15.
