Be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and tie Anderson Silva’s record for the most number of consecutive title defenses in the UFC, but be made to do it on free television. That’s Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s predicament in this event, and it doesn’t help that Dana White likes to shove it into people’s faces that they know best when questioned why their champions tend to not get promoted properly. It’s understandable how he doesn’t want to be told how to do his job, but it’s also ridiculous how some of their champions are not made to look strong at all.
Only 4 fights in the UFC on Fox 24 main card due to Renan Barao vs. Doo-ho Choi being scrapped. That was supposed to be the headliner, which makes me even more pissed off for Mighty Mouse. That would’ve been a good fight, but something happened with that matchmaking as Choi declined it. It’s likely that the announcement was somehow made by mistake and Choi’s camp didn’t catch wind of it beforehand, thus the subsequent refusal.
UFC on Fox 24 Main Card
Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis
He needs to move up in weight now. He has nothing else to prove in the flyweight division. He may not break Anderson Silva’s record if he does so, but it’s definitely time.
I’m of the opinion that Mighty Mouse is the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world today. As far as pure competitors go, he’s the best right now, hands down. He has no pro wrestling charisma in him, but that’s just because that’s not who he is and he won’t become what he’s not. People should respect that.
Nonetheless, he should still do more to sell his fights more in some way.
I’m sure Wilson Reis was no pushover; he did take this fight to the third round before getting armbarred, after all. But he couldn’t touch the champ throughout the fight. Mighty Mouse was as methodical as always, making this another master class. He should be making Conor McGregor money for how good he is, but fight promotion just doesn’t work that way.
I think moving up in weight and getting a title shot against the bantamweight champion (whoever wins Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw) could help his chances. If he becomes a two-weight champ, that cements his legacy.
How the UFC doesn’t do jack shit in promoting Mighty Mouse as the P4P king is a travesty, in my opinion.
Rose Namajunas vs. Michelle Waterson
As much as I’m a fan of Michelle Waterson since I first saw her fight many years ago, I was behind Thug Rose Namajunas in this fight. She’s just a different animal, and she’s still only 24. I knew coming in that she had the better wrestling and ground game, but it seemed like she had the standup to go with it too.
Her last fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz was a bit disappointing in that it could’ve easily been Rose getting the win. Judging from that, she may be able to give champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk a run for her money, but Rose must not keep that fight standing. Either she becomes the superior striker overnight or level up her wrestling to mitigate Joanna’s infamous takedown defense.
The former did happen with Frank Mir vs. Minotauro Nogueira.
How Waterson took that head kick was also pretty crazy. If the fight had stayed standing, it could’ve gone her way instead. But now, Namajunas should get a title shot as her reward after UFC on Fox 24.
Robert Whittaker vs. Ronaldo Souza
See you later, alligator!
Bad luck again for Jacare in UFC on Fox 24. This takes him out of the title picture yet again, and it was a finish too in the middle of the second round to strikes — a head kick, followed by punches and elbows until the referee stoppage.
Whittaker’s star is surely shining right now. I’m sure no one expected this result since Jacare is so dangerous. But with this win (We can call it an upset, right?), Whittaker should now be in the middleweight title picture at the expense of Jacare, who is in limbo once again.
Jacare having just signed a new 7-fight contract before this fight must have Dana’s panties in a twist right now.
Renato Moicano vs. Jeremy Stephens
Anyone who can beat Jeremy Stephens is formidable in my book. I’m a Lil Heathen fan, so I was behind him in this fight. But Moicano had his number in this fight. It was entertaining with lots of activity, and Moicano certainly brought it. I’m not against this result at all; Moicano did do a lot more.
It seems like Moicano prepared for Stephens before UFC on Fox 24 by making sure to not square up with him, thus the constant movement. He set the pace and kept Stephens from getting a bead on him with his constant lateral movement. He also had a good jab, made use of tactical disengagements (“running away”), and even got a few takedowns.
How it ended up a split decision should have that one judge who gave it to Stephens (Marcos Rosales) be strapped down and questioned in a formal CIA interrogation. Perhaps it’s that much-maligned “running” that swayed that judge’s scoring, but that’s like saying Moicano should have his own nose be bloodied like he did with Stephens’ nose.
UFC on Fox 24 Preliminaries and Other Comments
I only got to watch one preliminary fight in UFC on Fox 24 as of this writing. I have a lot of my plate at the moment, so pardon me.
Roy Nelson got beaten by an up-and-comer again, thus cementing his gatekeeper status in the heavyweight division. I can’t really blame him though because Alexander Volkov is quite a specimen. From the name to the size of the guy, he’s full-on Ivan Drago (hence his nickname). He didn’t finish him, but still beat the snot out of him.
The fact that they put Mighty Mouse’s 10th title defense on free TV is nothing short of disrespectful. But the folks in the UFC are the promoters and they know best… Right, Dana? RIGHT?!
No, I’m not going to stop whining about that.
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