It always amazes me how quickly some fighters fall off in their careers, but the case of UFC featherweight fighter Maximo Blanco is especially perplexing.
I first heard about Blanco, the former King of Pancrase, back in 2010 when he was over in Japan tearing up the Sengoku Raiden Championships. He had seven fights in Sengoku, and he won six of them, all by knockout, and the only loss was actually a knockout, too,
only it came as the result of an illegal soccer kick (therefore a DQ).
Only 25 years old at the time, the Venezuelan mixed martial artist quickly gained word of mouth when videos of his vicious knockouts in Japan went viral on the internet, and fans started salivating at the idea of him coming over to the United States and fighting the best of the world in the UFC.
With a 6-2-1 (1 NC) record, Blanco signed with Strikeforce and debuted for the promotion as a lightweight when he took on Pat Healy in September 2011. But while Blanco came into the bout with high expectations, Healy was just too slick for him and managed to overcome a dominant first two rounds by Blanco to win by submission in the third. It was a loss that both snapped Blanco’s six-fight win streak and sapped most of the hype behind him, because the perception at the time was that Healy was a journeyman, and that it was Blanco’s fight to lose (we’ve since come to realize Healy’s a fringe contender, but only in hindsight).
The match with Healy was Blanco’s first and only fight in Strikeforce, as his contract was transferred to the UFC and he was moved to the featherweight division. Making his 145-pound debut, Blanco took on Marcus Brimage at UFC 145 and the two engaged in a very competitive three-round fight. Unfortunately for Blanco, though, he was on the losing end of the judges’ split decision, as two judges awarded the fight for Brimage 29-28 (as an aside: I scored the fight 29-28 in Blanco’s favor, but it was very close).
From knocking cats out left, right, and center in Pancrase and Sengoku to losing to Healy and Brimage, it’s really hard to understand what exactly happened to Blanco – I honestly don’t know — but it’s clear that he hasn’t been able to realize his true potential fighting in the U.S.
With two straight losses in Zuffa, Blanco smartly decided to take some time off to think about his career and heal nagging injuries, and he’ll finally return from his year-long layoff this weekend when he takes on Sam Sicilia at the TUF 17 Finale.
This should be a very good fight between two guys who love to brawl. But honestly, Blanco is way more skilled in every area of the game (besides punching power, which Sicilia runs away with), and he should win this fight. The key word there is “should,” because he should have won the fights with Healy and Brimage too, and he lost both of them.
If Blanco loses to Sicilia, there’s no doubt the UFC will be letting him go, and at that point the options will be limited for the 29-year-old, because I doubt Bellator would be interested in him coming off a three-fight losing streak.
So Blanco needs to win this weekend, and he needs to win in impressive fashion. He needs to prove that I and so many others weren’t wrong about him, that he can still be a dominant force in mixed martial arts, and that he can still be a contender for the UFC featherweight title.
He can’t wait any longer to show his potential; he needs to perform now, because the label “prospect” can only stick so long. This Saturday night in Las Vegas, it’s Blanco’s last chance.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale is due to take place on April 13, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think the TUF 17 Finale will be.
