UFC Boise: Dos Santos vs. Ivanov - Winners and Losers

UFC Boise turned out to be a bit of a controversial event. There were numerous close contests that judges seemed to see differently than the viewing public, resulting in many unhappy campers amongst fans and fighters. More unhappy viewers were created in a tit-for-tat main event between Junior dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov. Dos Santos emerged victorious using his length to outpoint the stout newcomer, though Ivanov proved to be game.

Not all was bad out of the Gem State. There were several flashy finishes, including a never before seen hammer fist off the ground from Niko Price and a thunderous return for former title contender Chad Mendes. In fact, the event was fun to watch sans the main event. Did I mention there was a helicopter spin too? Let’s get down to who came out winners and losers.

Winners

Sage Northcutt: Now that the UFC isn’t cramming the kid down our throats, Super Sage is becoming more likeable all the time. His post-fight speech talking about powerful words and how we need to be more respectful to each other was a perfect awe shucks moment. How can you hate Northcutt when he says stuff like that? It’s like hating kittens! Oh yeah, he scored a badass KO of Zak Ottow too for his first win at welterweight. We can overlook the fact he was nearly KO’d ten seconds in… right?

Rick Glenn: Glenn is a testament to what being active can do for a fighter. Though Dennis Bermudez took him down at will over the final two rounds, Glenn delivered some serious offense from his back over the second round whereas all Bermudez did was maintain control. So to all the naysayers… who was doing more damage? It isn’t like Glenn wasn’t winning the striking game when they were standing either. Props to the indestructible one.

Niko Price: Remember how no one was excited about Price’s UFC debut? Six fights in and only a single loss on his resume, every win well before the 15-minute time limit. I’d say we were wrong about the youngster. Continuing the theme of ground strikes from off the back – though technically, this fight came first -- Price secured his best finish when he knocked out Randy Brown with a single hammer fist from off his back. Mad props to anyone who can produce something we haven’t seen before. Price just did that.

Chad Mendes: Money is back! Sure, the crowd was beginning to boo before Mendes unleashed his powerful left hook before finishing him off with GnP. But are they going to say that finish wasn’t worth the wait? I don’t think so. Featherweight division beware….

Cat Zingano: While I don’t want to call it Zingano’s best performance ever, I do believe it was the smartest. In the process, she picked up her first win in almost four years, likely ending the title aspirations of Marion Reneau in the process. Zingano has been through a lot, but her post-fight speech indicated a renewed vigor out of the former title challenger. Given it’s impossible to dislike the Alpha Cat, I’m down to see her streak back into title contention.

Alexander Volkanovski: The Aussie proved he’s for real, executing the perfect strategy against the indestructible Darren Elkins. When he couldn’t finish Elkins in the first round – though he came thisclose – he let off the gas to make sure he’d have the energy to withstand whatever Elkins might throw at him late in the contest. It played out perfect and announced the arrival of Volkanovski as a force to be reckoned with. Featherweight division beware take two….

Raoni Barcelos: I felt there wasn’t enough hype around Barcelos’ UFC debut. Not that I believed he was going to become a contender, but he deserved his shot a few years ago. The Brazilian provided me a little bit of redemption with an impactful KO combination that will anchor his highlight reel for years. Even if Barcelos doesn’t fly up the rankings, he at least proved he can be a fun fighter to watch.

Liz Carmouche: This may have been the best performance we’ve ever seen out of Girl-rilla. Not to say it was a flawless performance, but she put together an intelligent performance, often the very thing that prevented her from hanging with the elite of whatever division she has competed in. I’m wary of jumping on the bandwagon after just one good performance, but she can ride high for now.

Mark De La Rosa: There is a strong chance most people will end up forgetting about De La Rosa’s win over Elias Garcia a little way down the road. That’s not a knock on De La Rosa. Even when fighters make it big, their first UFC win goes unnoticed. Quick, name Conor McGregor’s first UFC win. However, De La Rosa did provide a hell of a moment when he spun out of the triangle attempt of Garcia about midway through the first round. Many fighters have UFC wins without providing a memory. De La Rosa picked up both.

Jessica Aguilar: Much was made about Roxanne Modafferi picking up her first UFC win last week. Just as much should be made about Aguilar’s first UFC win as Aguilar’s road to featured a lot of bumps over the last few years after being a longtime staple to women’s MMA before it hit the mainstream. She isn’t the fighter she once was, but she proved she still has something in the gas tank. Great win for the OG.

Innovation: I know I’ve said it already, but I can’t recall seeing hammer fists from the back KO an opponent or a helicopter spin to break a submission hold. It’s nice know there’s always the possibility to see something new in MMA.

Featherweight division: The return of Mendes and emergence of Volkanovski provides the division with several new possibilities near the top of the division. Neither Max Holloway nor Brian Ortega has faced either Mendes or Volkanovski. Not to mention there are several other up-and-comers such as Zabit Magomedsharipov and Renato Moicano who haven’t faced a lot of the top guys. Things should remain interesting for a long time at 145.

Losers

Junior dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov: To the credit of dos Santos and Ivanov, they didn’t fight horrible fights. Unfortunately for the viewing audience, it made for a poor stylistic contest aesthetically. Because of that, this win does nothing for dos Santos despite Ivanov being a quality opponent. The less said about the main event the better.

Dennis Bermudez: I’ve had plenty of sympathy for Bermudez in the past. I believe he was totally robbed against Andre Fili last January. However, I couldn’t find it in my heart to feel bad for him against Glenn. Sure, he secured a bunch of takedowns… but can someone tell me what he did with them, particularly in the second round. It’s the fourth loss in a row for Bermudez, meaning he could find himself on the chopping block. Bermudez is better than that, but results are needed in the Octagon and it’s unfortunate Bermudez doesn’t have them.

Randy Brown: I feel bad for Brown. He looked like he could be close to securing a finish as he was scoring some solid GnP before looking to address his positioning. The ever-opportunistic Price capitalized on that and required a single well-placed hammer fist to put him out. Even worse, Price followed up with several more before the ref noticed Brown was out cold. I got a feeling Brown isn’t going to remember the first KO loss of his career.

Myles Jury: Jury had worked hard to rehab his image after a pair of humiliating defeats to Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira. He looked like he was about to make a name for himself as a force to be reckoned with again. Then he met the left hand of Mendes and Jury’s back to just being another name at featherweight. Poor guy….

Marion Reneau: I don’t know what the 41-year old was thinking when she was content to operate out of the guard against Zingano. Zingano was happy to take the fight in that direction and it cost Reneau and likely ended her title aspirations. Here’s hoping Reneau’s time as a top ten fighter aren’t over as she’s fun to watch. However, at that age, you never know when she might fall off a cliff.

Jennifer Maia: I was amongst those that believed Maia would come in and announce herself as one of the best in the newly created flyweight division. It isn’t like she was facing poor competition in Invicta. While Carmouche deserves credit for her performance, something looked off for Maia as well. Regardless, not the start that was expected for her UFC debut.

Jodie Esquibel: I suppose it would be more appropriate to put her corner in the loser’s corner as they foolishly told her she won the first two rounds, but Esquibel still didn’t do enough to take control in the final round. There is no guarantee she gets another fight in the UFC, but Esquibel will need a win to extend her career if she does.

Judges: Generally, judges can get a pass if they’ve had one bad decision on a card. They exceeded their limit. How no one gave Volkanovski a 10-8 first round is inexcusable. Awarding the decision to Alejandro Perez was pretty bad too. Many would say Said Nurmagomedov’s win was worse. Though I thought the Glenn win was just fine, many disagreed. It

Neither

Eddie Wineland: Though Wineland was a lot more judicious in his movement, he put together a good performance. Hell, he even dropped Perez in the first round to show he still has some pop in his punches. But the judges disagreed… no surprise given you’ve already seen where they ended up on the night. Is it just me, or did the judges ignore his body work?

Alejandro Perez: The dude must hide a rabbit’s foot or something in his jock strap as he comes out on the winning side of every close decision he’s in. If you look on MMA Decisions, you’ll see the third fight out of seven since Perez’s last loss that the media believes went in favor of his opponent. And yet, Perez’s uninspired undefeated streak continues. I wonder if he plays the lottery…

Darren Elkins: Though his six-fight win streak is now over, he still lived up to his reputation as a durable banger in a loss. There aren’t a lot of people on the planet who would have made it out of the first round the way Elkins did, finding his way to the final bell. He’s still a perpetual underdog and is still an ideal gatekeeper to the elite.

Justin Scoggins: I didn’t think Scoggins lost that fight. In fact, I couldn’t find anyone on Twitter who thought he lost it. However, unlike the Wineland fight, I didn’t consider Scoggins’ loss to be a robbery. Then again, I know I’m in the minority there. The UFC has shown more lenience to fighters on losing streaks similar to Scoggins, but Scoggins will have zero room for error from there.

Good MMA article from bloodyelbow