Fight Fixin’ is a fantasy matchmaking article that comes out after every major event and features possible matchups for main card winners and/or losers from the previous event.
Lyoto Machida
In the main event of UFC on FOX 15, Lyoto Machida had his worst performance as a middleweight yet, as he was absolutely thrashed by Luke Rockhold en route to a second-round submission defeat. Machida just didn’t look like the same fighter we’ve come to expect, and after such a devastating loss, I really wonder where his head is at now, as well as how much longer he wants to fight, considering he’s already been to the top and won it all.
If Machida decides to stick around, then his next fight should come against the loser of the upcoming middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. We’ve already seen Machida vs. Weidman, but a rematch would be great. However, it’s more likely Machida would face Belfort, and I think a fight between these two Brazilian strikers would be amazing for everyone to watch; I’m crossing my fingers that it happens.
Fight to make: Machida vs. the loser of Weidman vs. Belfort
Chris Camozzi
In the co-main event, Chris Camozzi experienced déjà vu, as once again he was submitted by Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in the first round, this time by armbar. Camozzi is a warrior for stepping up to take this fight on short notice, but once again he was outclassed, and he heads back to the drawing board.
Camozzi has lost his last five UFC fights, and is on the verge of being cut yet again. Another middleweight close to being cut is Tom Watson, who recently lost a decision to Rafael Natal. Both Camozzi and Watson have losses to Natal in the last year, and with both guys in a similar spot at 185 lbs, I say match them up and see who gets to stay in the UFC and who goes.
Fight to make: Camozzi vs. Tom Watson
Cub Swanson
In a featherweight fight, Cub Swanson was beaten down by Max Holloway for nearly the full 15 minutes before tapping to a guillotine choke in the waning minutes of the fight. Swanson has now lost two in a row after his ascension to the top of the 145-pound ranks, and at this point he’s closer to getting cut than getting a title shot.
For his next fight, let’s have Swanson face Ricardo Lamas. With both men coming off of destructive, one-sided beatings, I think it’s time to have a rematch of their first fight, which came four years ago at UFC on Fox 1. That was an awesome fight that Lamas won, but perhaps the rematch will be different. There’s only one way to find out.
Fight to make: Swanson vs. Ricardo Lamas 2
Felice Herrig
In the women’s strawweight bout that opened up the main card, Felice Herrig was dominated for three rounds en route to a lopsided decision loss to Paige VanZant. Herrig did show some nice submission attempts in this fight, but overall she looked terrible, and she’ll head back to the drawing board after this one, hopefully to clean up her game.
Another strawweight who looked terrible recently was Joanne Calderwood, who was submitted by Maryna Moroz in her UFC debut last weekend at UFC Fight Night 64. Calderwood is a great striker, but her ground game is very questionable at this point, and Herrig is pretty tricky off her back, especially with her armbar attempts. So I say match these two up and see who the better fighter is.
Fight to make: Herrig vs. Joanne Calderwood
Patrick Cummins
In the light heavyweight bout that closed out the prelims, Patrick Cummins was brutally knocked out by Ovince St-Preux. Cummins showed some good takedowns, as usual, in the fight, but his striking looked awkward as heck and his defence was flawed, leading to the second knockout loss of his UFC career.
I like Cummins, but he needs to work on his striking. Similarly, I think Jan Blachowicz, who lost last weekend to Jimi Manuwa, needs to work on his wrestling. Both guys are in their thirties, and while both are decent fighters, I say pit these two foes against one another on an upcoming card, and let the two determine who the more complete fighter is, and who really has no future in the UFC.
Fight to make: Cummins vs. Jan Blachowicz
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UFC on FOX 15: Machida vs. Rockhold took place on April 18, 2015 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
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