Introducing John Hathaway
As expected, UFC 114 served as a coming out party for the unbeaten young Brit. While seriously outmatched in the name recognition department, Hathaway got the best of Diego Sanchez in every other area of their meeting in Vegas.
The early knee that floored Sanchez was the highlight moment of the night, but the entire fight was a showcase of the impressive array of skills Hathaway brings to each contest. His wrestling, particularly his takedown defence, is very strong and his length was a deciding factor in last night’s outcome.
Beating a big name like Sanchez will put him on the map with a lot of people, and another step up the competitive ladder is coming soon. Get used to hearing his name because John Hathaway is going to be making waves in the welterweight divisions from here on out.
You Win Some, You Lose Some
Before WEC 48 hit pay-per-view, Zuffa scored a big win with the insane battle between Leonard Garcia and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Their slugfest sent more spectators to the PPV event and showed the positive impact Prelims Live on Spike can have on a card.
Last night’s contests? Not so much.
While both fights were solid, they were unspectacular, with both Dong Hyun Kim and Efrain Escudero earning unanimous decision victories in relatively uneventful encounters. There were no knockdowns, no stagger-inducing exchanges and no cause for viewers to change their minds.
You can never predict what is going to happen with these fights – or any fight for that matter – but fights featuring high-level judokas (Kim) and a kid who has had training camp troubles (Lauzon) aren’t really recipes for success.
Guillard is Getting Better
Making the move to Albuquerque and Team Jackson is clearly paying dividends for Melvin Guillard.
Saturday night, he stopped late replacement Waylon Lowe with a perfectly placed knee to the guts, improving to 2-0 under the guidance of MMA’s Master Yoda and his collection of coaches and teammates. What was more impressive was that the knee came following a stuffed takedown.
Prior to the move to New Mexico, Guillard was victimized by takedown artists and submission fighters. Against Lowe, an All-American wrestler, Guillard had little issue defending the shot and used his blend of speed and striking to end the night early.
Always considered to be a potential contender if and when he could put it all together, Guillard looks like he’s found a home and renewed dedication to climbing the lightweight ladder.
Introducing Cyrille Diabate
Yes, I’m using the same setup as I did above with John Hathaway, but not because I’m lacking creativity. Just as Hathaway introduced himself to a new audience Saturday night, so too did Diabate.
The French kickboxer who had previously been seen as the striking coach for Dan Henderson’s American charges on Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter earned a first round knockout over Luis Cane in his UFC debut. While that achievement alone is a worthy accomplishment, how he did it might be the more indicative of what the future might hold for “The Snake.”
Cane rocked him out of the gate, dropping Diabate to the canvas before the Frenchman got back up, dusted himself off and then did the same to the former Top 10 contender. Diabate’s length and striking ability could make him a formidable addition to the light heavyweight division moving forward.