In what was yet another UFC installment filled with plenty of if’s, but’s and maybe’s, UFC 175 is now in the books.
The event went down at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 175 featured a double header as Chris Weidman defended his Middleweight championship strap against Lyoto Machida in the main event, while Ronda Rousey took on what was exemplified as her ‘toughest challenge to date’ in Alexis Davis in her fourth women’s Bantamweight title defense in the co-main.
Weidman had to eek out a victory over a very game opponent in Machida, who brought the fight to the champ for 25 whole minutes. Machida was battered in the early stanzas but found his mark in the latter rounds, peppering Weidman with shots continuously in his bid to capture the strap. It wasn’t enough, however, as Weidman’s dominance in the early frames was enough in the judges’ eyes to merit a lopsided decision victory.
Rousey, meanwhile, needed only 16s to dispatch Alexis Davis. The Olympian dazzled in the big stage once again, landing a huge right hand from the get-go and following it up with a knee and a trademark judo toss, before continuing the onslaught with repeated punches to Davis’ head. Referee Yve Lavigne had seen enough at that point and mercifully stopped the contest.
Stefan Struve suffered an unfortunate near fainting spell just after the main card commenced on pay-per-view, forcing doctors to scrap his bout against Matt Mitrione.
Elsewhere, a broken toe did little to deter Uriah Hall from picking up a decision triumph over Thiago Santos, while Russell Doane notched a somewhat fortunate split decision call over Marcus Brimage on the main card’s opener.
So with that, it’s that time again where we at MMASucka.com play “matchmaker” and derive match-ups that could materialize for the main card winners. Sitting on the matchmaker’s armchair is no easy task by any standards so if your solutions differ from ours, state them in the comments section below.
Let’s get started!
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- Name: Russell Doane (14-3)
- Who he should face next: Mitch Gagnon (11-2)
Hawaii’s Russell Doane is slowly racking up victories in his collar and is already a perfect 2-0 under the UFC banner this year. While it would be foolish to have the Hawaiian matched up against a promotional veteran next, having him paired up against Canadian prospect Mitch Gagnon, though, would be sensible. Gagnon has picked up three straight victories since a defeat in his promotional debut, and with both fighters hovering no where near the title picture at this point in time, it’d be perfect to have them fight one another, possibly, by year’s end.
- Name: Uriah Hall (9-4)
- Who he should face next: Sean Strickland (15-0)
This fight, quite simply, will be huge draw on paper. Strickland has opened his UFC career remarkably well, garnering victories over the likes of Bubba McDaniel and Luke Barnatt. Hall, on the other hand, is on a two-fight winning skid himself, after an 0-2 start to life in the octagon. A match-up which sees a great clash of styles, Strickland is a formidable foe with both knockout and submission abilities under his belt while Hall’s incredible and accurate striking fitnesse has conveyed volumes. Put them together and you have all the ingredients for a one great spectacle.
- Name: Ronda Rousey (10-0)
- Who she should face next: Cat Zingano (8-0)
At this point, the only challenger left for Ronda Rousey to face is Cat Zingano. The women’s Bantamweight champ has ran through everyone put in front of her lest Zingano, who has been tipped to face Rousey on more than one occasion in the past. Zingano had some personal problems to settle since her victory over Miesha Tate last year and that had limited her time in the octagon. Rousey, in the meantime, left the arena relatively hurt, and is expected to face a spell on the sidelines after suffering a gash on her hand. Furthermore, with a reported knee surgery on the horizon, it might be a while before we see the champ back in action. Either way, it’s a foregone conclusion that both women should meet sometime later this calendar year.
- Name: Chris Weidman (12-0)
- Who he should face next: Vitor Belfort (24-10)
Although Weidman did enough defeat Machida, his work in the 185-lbs division is far from done. Weidman has a myriad of challengers in the contender’s pit for his throne but one man who truly deserves his shot after a stellar run is Vitor Belfort. The question of his TRT levels continues to persists but if the Brazilian can get everything sorted and prove to both the masses and fans that he can compete at a normal state, he should be the logical choice to face Weidman next.
For full UFC 175 results, click here.
*Photos credit: Ultimate Fighting Championship
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