UFC 191. What next for the winners?

Last Saturday night saw UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson continue his clean out of the division with a dominating unanimous decision win over John ‘The Magician’ Dodson, the seventh title defence of his career.

UFC Flyweight Champion, Demetrious Johnson

The UFC 191 main card also saw Frank Mir losing a unanimous decision to Andrei Arlovski in a very underwhelming co-main event, former Light Heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson knocked out Jimi Manuwa in the second round, Corey Anderson beastin through Jan Blachowicz to a decision win, Paige VanZant submitted Alex Chambers via armbar in the third round. So whats next for the winners from UFC 191.

1.Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.

Coming off his seventh title defence. There is very little if anything left for Mighty Mouse at 125lbs as contenders have been very far and few between. There are only a few plausible options left that fans will have any interest in. At flyweight the most realistic option is going to have to be the winner between Henry Cejudo and Jussier Formiga in November. Both men are ranked in the flyweight top five and neither have fought Mighty Mouse. For the UFC, Cejudo would make more sense and would make what is already a hard sale for them in Demetrious Johnson a little easier as they would be able to sell Cejudo as both undefeated and as a Olympic Gold medal winner. Failing that, assuming that Dominick Cruz and Raphael Assuncao don’t return from injury in time, perhaps a super fight at Bantamweight against TJ Dillashaw would make sense for Demetrious Johnson

2. Andrei ‘Pit Bull’ Arlovski.

UFC Heavyweight AndreI Arlovski.

Pit Bull Arlovski was coming off one of the craziest fights in MMA that I have ever seen against Travis Browne at UFC 187 in May. Arlovski has been on an a very impressive streak, worthy of a title shot since his return to the UFC in 2014. Saturday nights fight against Frank Mir was a fight that was heavily promoted as being ten years in the making and unfortunately it didn’t deliver the much overdue fireworks that people had expected (myself included) it would, especially after Frank Mir’s huge knockout against Todd Duffee in July. With UFC President Dana White announcing that the Werdum vs Velasquez rematch for the title not taking place until next March, it casts Arlovski’s next step into doubt. He is deserving of a title shot as things stands but it means that it would be nearly a year before he would get it. Realistically his next move is the winner of the Ben Rothwell / Stipe Miocic fight in Dublin for the undisputed number one contender spot. Or as Ariel Helwani and Marc Raimondi alluded to on their post fight show for MMAFighting.com, perhaps a match up against the greatest fighter to never fight in the UFC, Fedor Emelianenko would make sense for Arlovski.

3. Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

UFC Light Heavyweight Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

Rumble got back to winning ways following his defeat to Daniel Cormier for the Light Heavyweight belt back in May at UFC 187. The former UFC Welterweight showed exactly why it is that he is the most feared knockout artist in the Light Heavyweight Division with a brutal knockout of Jimi Manuwa in the second round. Having just lost to current Champion Daniel Cormier, this fight was essentially to establish if Rumble was still there at the top, this fight proved that and then some so perhaps the winner of the main event of UFC 192 between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustaffson makes sense for him, if not a fight against the winner of the Ryan Bader / Rashad Evans would make sense, especially if the former Champion Jon Jones makes a quick return to the sport and slides straight in against the winner of Cormier / Gustaffson.

4. Corey ‘Beastin 25/8’ Anderson.

Corey Anderson defied the bookies odds to steamroll through former KWC Champion, Jan Blachowicz in a lob sided three round light heavyweight bout. Anderson came off a loss to Gian Villante in April and needed to make a big statement so that his first loss of his career wouldn’t turn into a losing streak. Anderson will now look to continue his momentum generated from winning on his first PPV main event and make a push into his divisions top ten. Someone like Ilir Latifi would make sense for Anderson. Sitting just inside the rankings at number fifteen, he would be the perfect gauge for Anderson at this point in his career, especially considering how new he is to the sport and also how he is also still young at twenty five.

5. Paige ’12 Gauge’ VanZant.

UFC Strawweight Paige VanZant

The question causing headaches for the UFC matchmakers, what to do with Paige VanZant? Her third round submission victory over Alex Chambers has some people calling for a title shot for the twenty one year old, and to be fair, she has a better case for one than current challenger Valerie Letourneau has. But at only twenty one and untested against the top five of the division, perhaps it is wise to slow down her rise up the ladder. A lot of people want to see her face Canadian Randa Markos. Markos is coming off a victory against Irish woman Aisling Daly at UFC 186 in Montreal back in April. Currently ranked number seven, a spot below VanZant, this fight would make the most sense for Paige. Despite her incredible talent and potential, throwing her in against the champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk right now would be a poor move for the UFC. They have a superstar in VanZant who is herself not even looking for a title shot at this stage. A year or two to work on her striking defence would be very wise for 12 Gauge, especially with the likes of Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadhela sitting at the top of the division.

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UFC 191 Preview. Corey Anderson Vs Jan Blachowicz.

Jan Blachowicz & Corey Anderson.

I am going to try and catch up on these blog posts. I had my graduation from University College Dublin on Tuesday and a few other things so I will try to catch up on my preview for UFC 191.

I will look at the contest between Polish fighter and No.12 ranked Jan Blachowicz (18-4) and The Ultimate Fighter season 19 winner Corey “Beastin 25/8” Anderson (6-1) as they face off in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Both men are making their PPV debuts despite both coming off loses in their previous bouts.

I think that this fight was originally scheduled for the prelim card, especially with a high profile bantamweight fight taking place between ranked fighters Fransisco Riviera and John Lineker on the penultimate fight of the FOX Sports prelim card. On rankings alone that fight makes a lot more sense to be on the main card, however Fox Sports also needs some higher profile fights to attract people to watch their prelim show and ultimately to sell more PPV’s in the process for the main card. Regardless both Anderson and Blachowicz have a massive opportunity to show their fighting potential in front of a larger global audience that neither man has ever fought in front of before.

Corey Anderson comes off the first professional loss of his career this past April to Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night New Jersey. In a very entertaining back and forward stand up fight that received Fight of the Night honours, Corey became the victim of a relentless barrage of legs kicks from his opponent Villante that he failed to check, which ultimately cost him his mobility and the fight.

Corey is a relative newcomer to the sport having only turned pro before his appearance on the Ultimate Fighter back in 2013.  As was alluded to on the fight commentary, Villante was the highest profile fighter that Anderson had probably ever fought and it will be a learning curve for him as to the importance of checking leg kicks on your lead leg. The New Jersey fight wasn’t all bad for Corey, he still showed some signs of potential, particularly with his cardio, his striking and the strength of his chin. At 25 years old, he is not even in the prime of his career yet. Having achieved all that he has achieved and shown some incredible talent since turning pro in 2013, it is safe to say that Corey Anderson is a potential top ten challenger. If he can overcome his opponent, No.12 ranked Blachowicz this Saturday night, it is fair to say his next opponent will be in that murderers row which is the top ten of the UFC Light Heavyweight Division.

Jan Blachowicz, a former champion of Polish MMA Organisation KSW has wins over several UFC veterans including Houston Alexander and Goran Reljic. He made his UFC Debut last October in Stockholm with an impressive TKO win over Swede Illir Latifi in the first round. Jan’s next fight in the UFC saw him return to his home country of Poland in April this year where he spent the majority of his professional career fighting in KSW. There in the co main event of UFC Fight Night Krakow, Jan took Jimi Manuwa to a judges decision for the very first time in Manuwa’s sixteen fight career. Despite losing the unanimous decision, Blachowicz’s stock has risen massively. He showed some incredible stand up against a relevant UFC veteran and one of the better strikers in the Light Heavyweight Division. In his two UFC Fights, his Muai Thai style kicking has been his stand out. His kick to the body of Latifi in Stockholm ended the fight barely two minutes in, and he nearly knocked out Manuwa in the third round of their fight with a high kick to the head.

Anderson will have a very tough fight in front of him, Blachowicz has a lot of experience in the cage, something Anderson does lack. Jan has fought twenty two times professionally, three times as many fights as Anderson has had. For Anderson to win, he will need to get the fight to the ground and if he can’t, at least stay out of range of the leg kicks of Blachowicz. He showed he had knock out power against Matt Van Buren, and wrestling skills against Justin Jones. He will now need to combine both to overcome the veteran Blachowicz. A win for either man will be life changing, having only fought on the Polish scene and then on two UFC Fight Pass cards, a main event in Las Vegas on a PPV will expose Blachowicz to a whole new audience. For Anderson it is a chance to prove that he has what it takes to move up the UFC rankings and like Blachowicz, a chance to show who he is in front of a whole new audience. A lot on the line for both men in a bout which is flying very much under the radar.

My prediction. Anderson by Unanimous Decision.