Ten Things We Learned: UFC 128

New champion

1. The Ceiling for Jon Jones is in a House on Mars

You shouldn’t be able to do those kinds of things to a fighter of “Shogun” Rua’s standing when you’re 23 years old and have only been training in the sport for three years. Re-read that sentence again and tell me if you have finally come to grips with the magnitude of what we saw this weekend.

We saw the future start right before our eyes, and it’s only going to get more impressive over the next five years.

There is no way to actually put a ceiling on the talents and potential of Jon Jones, seeing how he’s made everyone he’s ever faced look like rank amateurs. “Shogun” has never been beaten that savagely, nor have any of the other men Jones has decimated on his way to the title.

As Jones continues to grow physically, mentally and as a fighter, he’s only going to keep improving, adding more weapons to his already lethal arsenal and tightening up his techniques and strategies. There really is no way to measure just how successful Jones can become if he maintains the course he’s started.

2. Is It Me or Did It Just Get Really Awkward in Here?

The meeting between Jones and Rashad Evans in the cage was just plain weird.

In the span of the last six weeks, these two went from never fighting each other to Jones realizing that the champ has to fight everyone to cement his legacy and accepting that Evans is included in that group.

That got Evans all salty, leading to a bunch of now-confirmed speculation that he’d leave Greg Jackson’s camp if a fight with Jones was next on his schedule, and when the two were stood opposite each other in the Octagon on Saturday night, the awkwardness boiled over.

Both men were clearly uncomfortable, with a tinge of “whatever man” in their eyes; Evans subsequently told Ariel Helwani that he’s “done with Jackson.”

I understand wanting to get the ball rolling on the next title fight, but giving the heated and emotional situation a chance to mellow a little – and letting Jones bask in the moment of his impressive win – would have been a better decision.

Instead, the UFC pushed forward with this announcement and got a big ball of weird as a result.

3. Slow Down on the Superfight Talks

I believe Jones looks like a dominant force unleashed on the light heavyweight division and see a lengthy title reign beginning, but can we let the kid be champion for 17 seconds before the talk of a superfight with Anderson Silva becomes the central topic of conversation?

Lorenzo Fertitta, I’m blaming you for this one, seeing as it was your tweet that fueled much of the “Bones vs. Spider” speculation and discussion. I get where you’re coming from and think it would be an amazing fight, but there is a whole lot Jones needs to accomplish before meeting the middleweight champ.

For starters, he needs to actually defend the belt.

Two years ago, Lyoto Machida was thought to be unbeatable in the 205-pound division before “Shogun” showed his flaws and finishes him off to capture the belt. I too would make “Bones” the heavy favorite in his eventual meeting with Rashad Evans, but this sport has shown that no one is invincible.

Why not talk about Jones’s impressive win and the fight at hand before deeming the new champion untouchable and setting the fans into a tizzy about a meeting with Silva?

Battered Rua leaves the Octagon

4. Middleweight Might Make More Sense for “Shogun” in the Future

Rua is without question one of the top light heavyweights in the sport today, and a number of compelling and entertaining match-ups remain for him in the 205-pound division, but I can’t shake the thought that dropping to middleweight could bring out the best in “Shogun” moving forward.

The former champion has never been a chiseled specimen; he always has a little bit of dough around his midsection. He’s not particularly tall for the division or a guy who cuts down from an extreme weight to make the 205-pound limit either. As such, it stands to reason that with a shift in diet and direction, Rua could make the middleweight maximum.

If he chose to make the move, Rua would be an instant contender and someone who could legitimately challenge the champion Silva. He’d be an injection of new blood into a division that has felt lifeless for quite some time.

Getting dominated in a title fight like Rua did Saturday night is a very difficult thing to come back from, at least on the marketing side of things. He would need to go out and handily beat three, maybe four, elite light heavyweights before being in title consideration in my opinion. Even then it’s tough to imagine him facing Jones again.

Dropping to middleweight gives him a fresh start, fresh challenges and a fresh avenue of promotion.

5. Rematch with Cruz is Next for Faber

From the moment Urijah Faber announced his intentions to join the bantamweight ranks, a rematch with divisional champion Dominick Cruz was expected. After a pair of solid wins, Dana White has confirmed that “The California Kid” will be the next man to challenge for the 135-pound title.

The leader of Team Alpha Male earned his place in a championship showdown with a solid victory over a very game Eddie Wineland on Saturday night. Faber did a good job of shifting strategies between rounds one and two, using his hands more in the second, setting up his takedowns better and landing some decent blows in the process.

It wasn’t flashy, but it was more than enough to make a rematch with Cruz the next logical step for one of the UFC’s two new divisions.

Though White has frequently denied the rumor, I fully expect this bout to become the central character in Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, as an eight-week run on Spike TV would be the perfect vehicle for introducing both champion and challenger to a wider audience. Both guys have great personalities and are surrounded by great teams to help them coach the new recruits, and they really don’t like each other very much.

Miller after defeating Shalorus

6. Jim Miller Dominates, Cements Standing in Lightweight Division

Earlier in the month, Miller told me there was no way he was going to overlook Kamal Shalorus; beating the former WEC fighter was the only thing on his mind.

Saturday night, Miller proved himself a man of his word and then some, putting on a powerful performance against the previously unbeaten “Prince of Persia,” earning a third-round stoppage. It was also the seventh consecutive victory for the AMA Fight Club product, bumping his UFC record to 10-1 and placing him at the top of the list of lightweight contenders.

While Anthony Pettis can earn a title shot ahead of Miller with a win over Clay Guida, Miller is no worse than the 1A option at this point, and deservedly so. He’s done everything that has been asked of him over the last seven fights, winning them all and finishing his last two in impressive fashion.

The performances of both Miller brothers are even more impressive considering the heavy hearts they carried into the cage. Saturday would have been the second birthday of Dan’s daughter who passed away last May.

7. Marquardt Fails to Impress, Ponders Drop to Welterweight

Nate Marquardt is the MMA version of Nicholas Cage for me, and I really dislike Nic Cage.

My feelings for the man who has starred in such disasters as Gone in Sixty Seconds, Ghost Rider and Next stems from his quality performances in Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation. I know he can be very, very good, but all too often he hovers around alright, and as such, I just can’t bring myself to be excited about his next project.

It’s the same thing with Marquardt; he looked so good in dominating Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouuveia that his lesser performances, even when he wins, are disappointing.

While Dan Miller is a very tough out (he’s never been finished), he took this fight on seven day’s notice and everyone agrees he’s a notch below the upper echelon in the middleweight division. But there he was, hanging in with Marquardt, threatening with a guillotine in the opening frame and bringing out another okay-at-best performance from “Nate the Great.”

After the fight, Marquardt informed MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that he would like to drop down in weight and compete at welterweight in the future, provided the UFC is okay with the decision.

Personally, I think it would be an interesting move that would add some new match-ups to the calendar in the stacked but stalled welterweight ranks, and add further fuel to the now roaring fire of teammates facing each other; Marquardt is a long-time training partner of 170-pound kingpin Georges St. Pierre.

8. Schaub Scores KO Win, But Still Isn’t Ready for Primetime

I hate to break it to all the Pride loyalists and people pushing Brendan Schaub as a contender in the UFC heavyweight division, but beating Mirko Cro Cop doesn’t carry that much weight anymore.

It hasn’t actually carried any weight since Gabe Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo handed him back-to-back losses in the Octagon at UFC 70 and 75 respectively.

While Schaub scored the knockout victory many were expecting on Saturday night, it came at nearly the four-minute mark of the final round. Though Schaub was ahead on the scorecards, he hadn’t really done anything to overly distinguish himself prior to catch Cro Cop with a hard right behind the ear sent him crashing to the canvas.

As much as “The Hybrid” has put together a tidy four-fight winning streak, his rising in stature in the heavyweight ranks has more to do with the dearth of talent in the big boy division than his performances in the cage. Finishing Chase Gormley and Chris Tuchscherer were givens, and Gonzaga is by no means a legend, no matter how many times Joe Rogan said otherwise Saturday night.

It will take a marquee win before I’m convinced that Schaub belongs in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. The one time he’s stepped in with a legitimate contender, Roy Nelson knocked him out in before the first round ended. Until he avenges that defeat or does the same to someone else in the top tier, Schaub will remain a good prospect who isn’t quite ready for primetime.

Cane batters Marshall

9. Impressive Undercard Performances from Cane and Koch

Luiz Cane and Erik Koch served notice that they deserve to be mentioned as potential contenders in their respective divisions on Saturday night, as both earned impressive first-round finishes.

Cane bounced back from consecutive defeats to maul Eliot Marshall on Spike TV. It was a performance reminiscent of the dominant victories over Jason Lambert and Sokoudjou that earned him a place on the fringes of the light heavyweight top 10 prior to his two-fight slide. While Marshall was a last minute replacement and far from being considered elite, Cane made a statement in victory and returns to the outskirts of being a contender at 205-pounds in the process.

In the opening bout of the evening, Roufusport product Koch landed a short right hand flush on the chin of Raphael Assuncao that floored the Brazilian. It was an impressive way to kick of the UFC 128 card and Koch’s UFC career, and earned the 22-year-old a Knockout of the Night bonus in the process.

It was the third straight first round finish for Koch, and second straight Knockout of the Night award; he stopped both Francisco Rivera and Bendy Casimir in his last two WEC bouts prior to the merger. The lone loss of his young career came against the featherweight division’s top contender Chad Mendes, which should put Koch right in the mix in the 145-pound class moving forward.

10. The Judging Thought of the Night

While the two 30-27 scores got some people flustered, the judges got it right in Mike Pyle’s unanimous decision win over Ricardo Almeida. Watching the fight on Facebook and following the conversations on Twitter (@ESKHeavyMMA), there were a lot of people who had the result flipped in Almeida’s favor, but this was the right result in my opinion.

Though all three rounds were close, the results hinged on Almeida’s inability to do much with his takedowns and Pyle landing the great volume and impact with his strikes. Each time Almeida was able to get Pyle to the ground, Pyle either got back up to his feet quickly or Almeida sat in his guard doing very little, and it was nice to see the judges score those moments properly.

I had Almeida winning the opening round; he tagged Pyle and had him shaking out the cobwebs at one point, and scored with the uneventful takedown and some basic work in the clinch as well. But the final two frames were Pyle’s for me, as he did more in the striking department and removed most of the value from Almeida’s takedowns by getting back up and taking minimal damage.

This was one of those fights were you had to watch closely, seeing what landed and what didn’t, and finding a sweet spot between the value and effectiveness of a takedown that doesn’t go anywhere. For once, I was surprised to see that the judges got it right.

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