An amazing comeback and the debut of a new weight class were the main storylines coming out of UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann. We now have a new set of questions swirling around the stars from the evening. Joseph Benavidez did what he needed to do to earn a place in the flyweight title fight, but his opponent is up in the air, as a scoring mistake caused what we thought was Demetrious Johnson’s win over Ian McCall to be corrected after the event and changed to a draw. Here are a few suggestions as to what should be next for both the winners and losers from this event:
Martin Kampann vs. Jake Shields
This rematch must be made. When Jake Shields made his Octagon debut in 2010, Martin Kampmann was the man to welcome him. In a highly-competitive bout, Shields was able to pull out a split decision victory, and many people still believe Kampmann was the true winner of the fight. With both men coming off wins, each competitor needs another victory to continue gaining momentum within the division in 2012.
A rematch between these two fighters would be a hotly contested battle. Kampmann would be very aggressive from the start, looking to use his striking to bully Shields around the cage. Jake, on the other hand, would continually look for takedown attempts to avoid the Danish striker’s strength. Kampmann made the mistake of becoming one-dimensional during their first bout, leaving himself open to takedowns and not utilizing his grappling to potentially slow down Shields on the mat. He wouldn’t make the same mistake in the second fight. He should outclass Shields on the feet, and do enough on the ground to avoid Shields’ submissions while working his way back to his feet, and earn himself a decision victory.
Thiago Alves vs. Charlie Brenneman
It must kill Thiago Alves to know that he was 48 seconds away from getting his hand raised. He made the mistake of lunging for a double leg takedown and leaving his neck exposed, allowing Martin Kampmann to secure the guillotine choke. This is a tough loss for Alves, who has now gone 2-4 since his defeat at the hands of Georges St. Pierre back in 2009. The former number one contender to the title is now on the cusp of being an afterthought in the welterweight division.
Charlie Brenneman is a fighter who would love to take Alves’ place as a big name at 170. He was almost at that point when he stepped in on short notice to defeat Rick Story, but that hype train was derailed when Anthony Johnson nearly kicked his head off. However, he started his 2012 off in the right way by defeating Daniel Roberts, and a fight against Alves would help both fighters reestablish themselves.
Brenneman has shown a weakness against strikers while Alves has struggled against wrestlers. The question in this bout is which fighter would be able to institute his game plan first and maintain it for the duration of the fight. Alves would have to chip away at Brenneman’s front leg to slow the wrestler down and set up the rest of his strikes. “The Spaniard” would be working to move forward to set up takedowns and control his opponent. In this bout, I would expect Alves to be able to land multiple strikes and keep Brenneman off balance. He has also built a strong defensive wrestling base that should be enough to stop some of the takedown attempts from Charlie and enable him to land his strikes. My pick would be Alves by technical knockout in the third round.
James Te Huna vs. Brandon Vera
James Te Huna hits hard. Now that we’ve gotten the most obvious comment of the post out of the way, we can continue. Te Huna’s ability to put fighters away has earned him 10 victories by way of knockout. Since those abilities are often lauded in the world of mixed martial arts, he has the makings of rising star within the UFC, which is in need of new faces in the light heavyweight division. Matching him against a one-time upstart Brandon Vera would be a great test to see how far he can possibly go.
“The Truth” burst onto the scene when four fights into his career he defeated Fabiano Scherner by TKO. With seven of his 12 victories coming by TKO, he has shown that he doesn’t mind standing and trading with the opponent in front of him. He was supposed to fight Thiago Silva later this year, but had to step away from the bout due to injury.
A Te Huna-Vera fight would be a standup battle that should be over quickly. Vera has shown the ability to control and grapple with opponents, but I do not believe he would be able to take Te Huna down nor avoid takedowns from the Australian fighter. However, Te Huna wouldn’t be looking for the takedown, and would instead remain standing, with the intent to knock Vera out. Both fighters would trade blows until Te Huna uses those trademark uppercuts which have caused so many fighters trouble, and earn himself another TKO victory.
TJ Waldburger vs. John Hathaway
In his last two bouts in the Octagon TJ Waldburger has put on a grappling clinic. Against Mike Stumpf at UFC Fight Night 25, he locked on a triangle choke in the first round to bring that fight to a close, and last Saturday night, he chose the armbar to get Jake Hecht out of the way in way in less than a minute. What struck me is the way he was so quick in applying both holds and ending the fights. At 15-6 with 12 wins coming by way of submission, it’s no secret how Waldburger is looking to close each night out.
John Hathaway is an interesting prospect at welterweight. After defeating Diego Sanchez at UFC 114, many expected him to become a new contender in the weight division. However, he was defeated by Mike Pyle later that year before pulling out a close win over Kris McCray at UFC Fight Night 24. Injuries kept him out of the Octagon since then, and he’s set to make his next appearance at UFC on Fox 3.
This would be a fight that places grappler against grappler in what may not be an “exciting” fight by fans’ opinion, but would still be a grappling clinic. What makes Waldburger my pick in this bout is the way he seamlessly transitions from position to position, even if he is in a bad spot. He has the ability to attack from multiple positions, and I think that would give him an advantage against Hathaway. This bout would be a worthy addition to a free television broadcast.
