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This weekend wrapped up three months of waiting for a winner out of the Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall vs. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and closed the book on the greatest controversy to hit the UFC Flyweight division.
The great Flyweight judging scandal began in Sydney where the Flyweight tournament was to be played out, two fights and two winners who would meet at a later date. There was even the option of a ‘sudden death’ round in the event that there was a draw after three rounds.
Yet still, the NSW Combat Sports Authority managed to show the MMA world that our numeracy skills may not be that great and added up the scores from the McCall vs. Johnson fight incorrectly, announcing “Mighty Mouse” the winner – rather than the draw, and subsequent bonus round.
Fast forward three months and we get to UFC on fx 3, where the rematch happens and plays out similar to the first fight: an incredibly close bout that showcased speed, scrambles and skill of this weight division. However “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was able to maintain just a little more to take the prize, and a spot in the final against Benavidez.
The remainder of the main card didn’t disappoint and the winners and losers of the event can be found below.
Winners:
Mike Pyle
Mike Pyle came into this fight with a UFC record of 5-3 and still underdog to “The Dentist” Josh Neer. The 36-year-old proved everyone wrong after his big right hand hook KO of Neer sent the fighter to the ground in a fashion that some may consider the Iowan as the second to plank in the cage, if somewhat unintentionally.
While the beginning of the first round saw the two fighters trade blows back and forth, it looked to be Neer’s fight as the younger fighter clipped Pyle behind the ear and caused him to stumble backwards. While this is up for debate as Pyle claims he wasn’t stunned but rather played it up, the ending was absolutely decisive, flooring Neer for a first round KO.
So who’s next for Pyle? Given that Pyle is at the ripe age of 36, there may be a limit to how long he is intending to remain in competition. The welterweight division is a mess and although Pyle isn’t a threat to the title, there still are implications felt through the entire division.
How about a match-up with Matt Brown? Both fighters are in the same situation, coming off two wins and would make the match-up interesting, with Brown an all-round skill and brown belted Judo fighter (as well as blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) to Pyle’s all-round skill (although focus on the submission victory) and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Eddie Wineland
The win was desperately needed for Wineland, given he suffered two decision losses in his last fights against Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez since coming into the UFC from the WEC.
His fight against Scott Jorgensen was always going to be a barn burner, and one that UFC fans themselves voted to be included on the main card. While we saw a back and forth battle in the first round, it was his tactical skills in utilising footwork combined with moving his body out of line which kept Wineland just outside of Jorgensen’s range.
Wineland’s form was impressive, consistently moving away from his competitor’s line,and managed to unleash a powerful combination that dropped Jorgensen, before finishing the fight off with some ground and pound until the ref intervened. This was Jorgensen’s first finish loss in his UFC/WEC record but on a positive note both fighters received a bonus for fight of the night.
What’s next for Wineland? He’ll be sitting out until that nasty cut heals and really isn’t fussed about who he fights mentioning at the post fight interview that he wants the UFC to “Just keep me fighting. I’m a corn-fed hillbilly from Indiana and that’s how we like to get down.”
A fight between Wineland and Michael McDonald, who is coming off a KO win over Miguel Torres at UFC 145 would be interesting given they have a similar style, and McDonald has an unbeaten record within the promotion.
Flyweights
We got another chance to see the flyweights in action, which we cannot complain about. These guys are quick, explosive and provide a completely different viewing experience to that you get from those on the other end of the weight scale, the Heavyweights.
As we now have a winner we can not only look forward to another highly skilled bout between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson, but also the potential for another match up between “Mighty Mouse” and Ian McCall to complete the fighter’s trilogy in the future, perhaps even for the title.
Since the inception of the division within the promotion, the flyweight division has grown from the initial four to an eleven man strong division. Expect more names to be added as the year draws on.
Losers:
The State of Florida
Unfortunately it may be a while for the UFC to make a return to Florida given the lack of ticket sales for the nights card. With a crowd of $6,635 for a gate of $329,00 the UFC will shift it’s focus to other potential towns within the US, as well as internationally, who are starving for an event where they can be guaranteed a more profitable gate.
Leonard Garcia
Unfortunately Garcia experienced yet another loss, his third in a row, to a dominant Matt Grice. There was something off about his performance though – Leonard certainly didn’t look like the fighter who went through entertaining battles with the “Korean Zombie” Jung Chan-Sung.
Will he get cut? Given past history of other fighters, maybe. But given that he has been an exceptionally entertaining fighter in the past, he may get to live another day.
But the pressure is on: put in another performance like that and he may be walking out of the UFC door.
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