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With the main event fight hyped to its maximum, UFC 145 swept through Atlanta with light-heavyweight Champion Jon Jones (16-1) retaining the title in a five-round battle with ex-teammate Rashad Evans (17-2-1).
While the champion moves on to the next challenger in the always entertaining MMA veteran Dan Henderson (29-8), Jones will certainly have to put on a better show than what was seen today, with an average performance bar some hard-hitting elbows that seemed to derail Evans’ fighting spirit.
In truth, the night really belonged to those fighters who supported the main event, turning out some outstanding performances that not only won them bonus money honours, but also provided fans with the entertainment we have come to expect from a UFC card.
And with that, we have the winners and losers of UFC 145.
Winners
Ben Rothwell
For a fighter who went from a force to be reckoned with in the International Fight League to sitting at a below average record within the UFC of 1-2, Rothwell (32-8) certainly had to pull out all stops in order to gain the win over fellow heavyweight Brendan Schaub (8-3).
Schaub had a much better record within the promotion, and looked to be getting the better of Rothwell landing a huge elbow that rocked him. While Schaub was looking to finish the fight, running in to capatilise on his elbow, Rothwell countered with a left hook that ended with Schaub on the ground, resulting in a TKO at 1:10 of round one.
Rothwell also won the knockout of the night bonus.
With a division that is so full that it’s bursting at the seams, what’s next for Rothwell? All will have to be revealed after the battle of the heavyweights at UFC 126 when the division itself will be much clearer.
It would be interesting to see Rothwell fight the likes of Cain Velasquez or Shane Carwin and see whether he can hang with the bigger boys of the heavyweight division.
Rory MacDonald
The Rory MacDonald (13-1) hype train continues to steamroll through the welterweight division thanks to a second round TKO of British fighter Che Mills (14-5 (1 NC)) at 2:20.
MacDonald took control of the first round after Mills proceeded to land a right hand which resulted in the Canadian going for a takedown, taking the round thanks to some great ground positioning through a mounted crucifix and some ground and pound.
While most of the talk is centered around whether the younger MacDonald could overtake training partner Georges St. Pierre on top of the welterweight division, MacDonald himself will not fight for the title if it’s against his mentor.
Next step for MacDonald could be to fight the winner of Josh Koscheck and Jimmy Hendricks in order to progress up the ranks.
Additionally, with his fight against interim champion Carlos Condit going his way until stopped with seven seconds to go, MacDonald could be a real threat to anyone looking towards the title.
Travis Browne
The recipient of submission of the night honours due to an arm-triangle on competitor Chad Griggs (11-2), Browne (13-0-1) also managed to put an end to the winning streak of the 6”1′ heavyweight, who was debuting in the UFC coming off some big wins in Strikeforce.
Browne seemed to be the underdog, however put it all to rest through the effective use of knees, taking Griggs to the ground and catching the submission at 2:29 of round one.
For Browne, he will also be paying attention to the next few cards, given that most of the heavyweight division is tied up in these bouts.
Browne is on a three-fight win streak and could look to facing someone like Mike Russow (15-1 (1 NC)) in the near future.
Losers
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson
With one hype train continuing, another one ended when Matt Brown (14-11) became the first person to hand “Wonderboy” Thompson (6-1) a loss since he turned pro in MMA in 2010.
Thompson fought back in the three-round battle through a convincing second round, which saw Brown on the back foot and at times in trouble, but the fight was really all Brown, with the time spent on the ground showing excellent control and overall domination of the young fighter.
Thompson should get through this first loss and focus on the holes in his game, and make sure that he keeps his hands up during the fight, something that was a constant issue with his stance.
For the next fight, we could potentially see Thompson matched up against the likes of DeMarques Johnson.
Marcus Brimage and Maximo Blanco
For the first fight of UFC 145 Marcus Brimage (5-1) against UFC debut fighter Maximo Blanco (8-4-1 (1NC)) had the potential to be in the running for fight of the night. What we received was something entirely different that ended with both fighters looking to qualify for the Olympic gymnastics team via a series of backflips and tumbling after the final bell.
While it looked like Brimage took the first, both fighters traded what they threw in the second and continued into the third, much to the dismay of the crowd. Brimage ensured that he looked to be the more aggressive fighter in the cage and took the win via split decision (29-28, 28-29 and 30-27).
While the crowd was booing the finish, the decision by each to participate in aerobatics left the crowd, and fans at home, scratching their heads as to why this energy wasn’t better utilised in the fight.
Brimage moves 2-0 within the UFC, while Blanco is left searching for the form he had before his Strikeforce debut against Pat Healy in September 2011.
Miguel Torres
This hasn’t been the best six months in Miguel Torres’ (40-5) career, with the ex-WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) Bantamweight champion being fired and re-instated from the UFC over comments made on Twitter, then being on the receiving end of a Michael McDonald (15-1) uppercut that saw him end up on the floor at 3:18 in round one.
Unfortunately there was no chance for Torres to show the crowd how he envisaged the fight, with McDonald taking control and executing his way, throwing quick combinations and finally catching the more experienced fighter.
Torres is now in danger of release if he loses his next fight, although the promotion has been releasing fighters for less. Perhaps his next fight could be someone like Alex Caceres (6-5), who is coming off a loss from UFC 143.
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