MMASucka

UFC’s debut on Fuel TV debuted last night with a six-bout offering on the station capped off with an early Fight of the year candidate when Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger put on an instant classic that left the pro-Ellenberger crowd begging for another 10 minutes of action.

As always I will break down what comes in the future of those who left Omaha, Nebraska with their hands raised last night.

Jake Ellenberger:

In one of the signature performances of his career that those who witnessed it won’t soon forget Ellenberger used his opponent’s aggression against him picking him apart with counter strikes and hooks to the body and possibly breaking the nose of the former title-challenger.

Sanchez took control of the tiring Ellenberger in the final frame but it was too little too late for the former Ultimate Fighter who threw everything but the kitchen sink at Ellenberger but he wasn’t able to put him away.

The next step for Ellenberger is simple, a rematch with the UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit – Most are advising the Greg Jackson trained striker to wait in the wings for George St-Pierre’s return in November but that is a long ways away.

Right now Condit has the most momentum behind him he has ever had while he’s fresh off the win over Stockton’s Nick Diaz, why squander that?

Ellenberger and Condit met in 2009 in the promotional debut of Ellenberger and he wasted no time making an impact almost beating the former WEC champ and ringing in a 10-8 score card in the first frame before Ellenberger took over to win a split decision.

The narrative for a rematch writes itself and is the logical next step for both men; I don’t see why it won’t happen.

Stefan Struve:

Struve isn’t someone I categorize as an elite top-level heavyweight, he presents a fan-friendly style going balls to the wall looking to kill or be killed but he has silently chipped away a respectable record going 7-4 in the UFC and having won 3 of his last 5 fights.

I don’t think he’s ready to tussle with the Dos Santos’ and Velasquez’s of the world but pairing him up with the winner of UFC 144’s heavyweight tilt between Mark Hunt and Cheick Kongo would be appropriate.

Both men are known for having high-level striking with Hunt even being a former K-1 kick boxing champion so pairing them up with Struve will make an interesting fight and push the winner into the top-ten ranks.

Ronny Markes:

Markes has been an unproven prospect before last night; the once beaten middleweight had never fought in the UFC’s middleweight division and didn’t get an easy opponent to greet him in Aaron Simpson.

Both men battled for fifteen-minutes and when all was said and done there were varying score cards but the ones that mattered gave the fight in favor of the 23-year-old Brazilian.

At first glance it looks as if Markes has the tools to tangle with the big boys at 185-pounds down the line but putting him on a fast-track there isn’t the right move for him, a fight with the winner of Constantinos Phillipou and Court McGee.

Phillipou and McGee are two men that the UFC has high-hopes for to stick around for a while much like Markes and would be a good test to see if he’s ready to keep climbing that ladder.

Stipe Miocic:

Miocic was thrown in the cage with Phil De Fries with one purpose – To risk future brain damage in a barn burner of the fight that satisfies the Nebraskans in attendance and that’s what they got, for 43 seconds – That’s all it took for the Croatian kickboxer to put him away.

Miocic sports an unbeaten record with two victories in the octagon and has looked impressive both outings, pairing him up with a tough winning heavyweight would be appropriate – Someone like Mike Russow.

Russow is unbeaten in four octagon appearances and recently edged John Olav Einemo, while I don’t expect Russow to be walking around with UFC gold anytime soon he is a tough wrestler with a sturdy chin and heavy-hands and will show us where Miocic stands.

TJ Dillashaw & Ivan Menjivar:

There have been many questioning the worth or potential of Dillashaw following his first professional loss to John Dodson but he proved his naysayers wrong last night with an absolutely dominate performance nabbing five 10-8 rounds according to the judges.

This Team Alpha Male product is still a work in progress but I have a feeling that the finished product is going to be something pretty special, a solid test for him moving forward would be the other man who got his hand raised in the opening fight of the Fuel telecast, Ivan Mejivar.

Menjivar is a long-time veteran of the sport with a bigger bag of tricks than almost anyone in the game, “The Pride of El Salvador” put on a thrilling four-minute fight that had the crowd gasping at the near-finishes on both ends but he proved to be too much for The Ultimate Fighter cast-off John Albert.

Pairing these two up will give Dillashaw a real test at 135-pounds while also putting on a thriller of a fight because Menjivar brings action and violence to the table in many shapes and forms.

UFC on Fuel TV 1 delivered with action in all shapes and forms whether it be back and forth bloodbaths like our main event saw or seesaw affairs and crushing submissions, it delivered a bit of everything.

The 170-pound main eventers collected the Fight of the Night for their fifteen minute battle that got everyone in Omaha, Nebraska on their feet.

Knockout of the Night was awarded to heavyweight slugger Stipe Miocic who made short work of Phil De Fries in 42 seconds giving him his second-straight octagon victory.

And finally Submission of the Night was awarded to bantamweight star Ivan Menjivar who fought off an early onslaught by The Ultimate Fighter veteran John Albert but was able to put him away before the round concluded with a rear-naked-choke.

A six-pack of fights kicked off tonight on Fuel TV with a clash between two talented bantamweight talents – Ivan Menjivar has been playing this game since it was still in diapers, a veteran of 32-fights he walked into the octagon following two-straight wins over Nick Pace & Charlie Valencia since his UFC return.

John Albert first raised eyebrows as a cast-member of the 14^th installment of The Ultimate Fighter – He walked onto the show with a 6-1 record after recently suffering his first defeat.

Although he was eliminated from the series early by eventual winner and flyweight hopeful John Dodson he earned his way onto the UFC roster when it counted smashing the face of Team Mayhem’s Dustin Pague.

Menjivar got his hand raised when all was said and done but it didn’t come without a fight – In one of the most action-packed rounds I’ve witnessed in a long time the fight hit the floor early with Albert showing off some slick grappling skills having the Canadian in danger early with a heel hook as well as hammering him with several unanswered strikes.

But before you knew it Menjivar took control of the fight, took the back of his opponent and secured a rear-naked-choke that was set up by some hard-shots to move to 3-1 in the UFC.

Post-fight Menjivar revealed that he thought about MMA pioneer and Japanese sensation Kazushi Sakuraba when he was getting beaten by the rookie which inspired him to come back.

Ivan Menjivar was one of the more respected names in the burgeoning sport of mixed martial arts during the early 2000′s. The diminutive Salvadorian-Canadian fought a veritable who’s who list of the sport while fluctuating between lightweight and welterweight. Clashes against his current training partner Georges St. Pierre when he was a fresh-faced youngster, Matt Serra, Shaolin Riberio, Caol Uno, Jeff Curran, Urijah Faber have forever engrained Menjivar’s name in the sport. But in 2006, Menjivar retired following a loss to Bart Palaszewski in the IFL, just as the sport was starting its rise to the mainstream. Now he looks to continue his reinvention in the sport as a bantamweight when he takes on John Albert at UFC on Fuel 1.

Two things preceded Menjivar’s decision to walk away from the sport at an early age. The first being a need for knee surgery, the second was becoming a father for the first time, and then a second. But the lure of competition was just too much for Menjivar to leave behind. After a dominant win in his comeback fight for W-1, Menjivar was picked up by the WEC, which was of course absorbed into the UFC. Now riding a two-fight win streak in the world’s largest promotion, Menjivar is careful to keep both feet firmly planted on the ground.

It’s fun to be at that level. To say to the people I do a sport, I love and enjoy it. That’s what UFC means to me. It’s not really about the popularity or the money, but it’s more special and fun to be there for the people and show them what i do.

After fighting at weight classes that were a stretch for the 5’6 Menjivar, he looks to have found a comfortable home at bantamweight. The growth of the sport has necessitated the making of lighter weight classes and given fighters like Menjivar a chance to shine.

It’s closer to the boxing system, because weight makes a difference in a fight. I know I can fight against 170 pounders, but because my body shape isn’t proportional, I’m not as good a fighter [at that weight]. The more categories you have, the more good fights we’re going to see. Because the guys are at the same weight and same body shape and they can give 100% of their talent and experience against each other. It’s a good thing.

Menjivar’s debut in his second tour de force with the UFC came in April at Toronto’s Skydome in front of a record-setting 55,000 screaming Canadians. Menjivar did not disappoint his adopted countrymen as he emerged with a first round TKO victory over Charlie Valencia. Fighting in front of a home crowd that large may have thrown other fighters off their game, but Menjivar was able to remain focused on the task at hand.

When I fought, I didn’t realize [the crowd]. I was too focused on the fight. But after the fight, I came out to corner Georges, and ‘oh wow, it’s big here!’. I couldn’t believe the amount of people and the amount of noise they were making. I was really happy to be part of the show, we made history that night. My name is in the history books in Canada because of that, I’m really happy.

When the talk turns to his upcoming fight against Albert, Menjivar seems almost nonchalant. He is truly a man whose experience has brought him calm, and a belief that if he puts the work in ahead of time, the result will not be in doubt.

It’s a good match-up, a good fight for both of us. I want a win but I don’t care if I lose. So I don’t feel pressure on me. I just want to go out there and give three rounds of everything I have and just enjoy the fight. The fifteen minutes of fighting are nothing compared to the two months I have of training. So I just want to go out, have fun and enjoy it. [The fight] depends on what he wants to do. For me, I just want to have fun and play the beautiful MMA game.

It’d be fun to fight those guys. They’re real professionals. I want to be part of that, but I have to be ready to be at that level. They have great teams and train full-time. I have to have more money, for one, and two I need to be ready for that.

I was working there, they fired me. What happened, they gave the contract to another company. the new company came in and they fired like 16 people for no reason. We’re like ‘what’s the problem?’We were supposed to work with you and they said ‘no’. So right now, we have a lawyer working on the case and that’s another fight. Some people were working there for like 20 years, it’s not fair. We’ve got questions and that’s another fight coming soon. I want to give elbows to those guys.

Thanks to Firas and all the Tristar team. Thanks to my family and thanks to the fans. Because of you we can have a career. Have fun, and don’t drink too much during the fights. That’s important.