UFC 211 was this past weekend and it was a stacked show. Let’s get right to the rundown.
UFC 211
BAD: David Branch vs. Krzysztof Jotko
This was a largely boring and dull fight. Branch won the decision, but he’s not going to win any fans fighting like this. Maybe the great prelims spoiled me, but I didn’t care for this fight at all.
GOOD: Frankie Edgar stops Yair Rodriguez
This was a dangerous fight for Edgar. Rodriguez is an up-and-comer, but Edgar is a perennial title contender. A loss here would really have damaged that. There was no danger here, as Edgar completely mauled Rodriguez. He could have finished him in the first round, but Rodriguez was too tough. Things just continued in the second round as Edgar poured it on and really busted Rodriguez up. He closed the eye of Rodriguez and the cageside doctor stopped the fight before the third round. Good win for Edgar, as he keeps himself in the title picture. I know he’s lost twice to UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, but a win like this makes it so hard to pass him over for another title shot.
GOOD: Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal
This was an ultra close fight. They battled primarily on the ground, but Masvidal had some success on the feet. Maia won the split decision, and he’s likely to get a title shot against UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. I think Woodley has the wrestling to beat Maia, but Maia is so incredibly good on the ground that he can get a submission at almost anytime. Masvidal takes a little step back with this loss but it does come against an extremely tough guy. Many fighters have lost to Maia so I think he’ll be back.
GOOD: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Andrade
I’m a big fan of Jedrzejczyk, but I’ll be honest, this wasn’t the most exciting of fights. She completely dominated an extremely tough fighter in Andrade. This was a highly impressive victory, a clinical display of the striking ability of Jedrzejczyk. She was able to do just about anything she wanted to do. Andrade was fighting hard, but when you’re facing someone on the level of Jedrzejczyk, it’s going to take an almost superhuman effort to beat them. Jedrzejczyk is one of the best fighters in the world, bar none. I can’t put her above UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, but she’s approaching that level of greatness. She’s already in that rarified air of being discussed as one of the best fighters in the world, and if she keeps winning like this, she’ll be mentioned in the discussion of best of all-time.
GOOD: Stipe Miocic stops Junior Dos Santos
JDS hurt Miocic early with some legkicks, but Miocic powered through it and took him out. There’s not a whole lot else you can say about it, he just smashed him. JDS is a tough guy, though the wars he’s been in might be taking a toll on him, and Miocic beat him up. Miocic might be the best heavyweight the UFC has ever had. That said, he’s got a long way to go before you can start talking about best heavyweight ever, but he’s certainly in the mix for best UFC heavyweight ever.
I don’t know who Miocic fights next, but I do know that I’m extremely excited and interested in seeing it. No matter who it is, he’s going to have a huge hill to climb because Miocic looks like he’s here to stay. Maybe I’m just hoping, but this might be the best the UFC heavyweight division has ever been. There’s plenty of good contenders for Miocic to face, it’s just a matter of who’s going to separate themselves from the pack. It might not matter, though, because if Miocic keeps fighting like this, he’s going to walk through almost anyone.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: HYDEN’S TAKE: GSP-Bisping possibly slowing the division down even more, and the new UFC Women’s Flyweight Division
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow Frank on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
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