-Urijah Faber proved he still the 2nd or 3rd best bantamweight in the world in his dominant win over Scott Jorgensen. Faber is always dangerous and probably will be getting his last title shot in 2014 after Dominick Cruz returns.
-Scott Jorgensen has now hit his full potential, based on the fact that he hasn’t shown any improvement in his last few fights. I highly doubt he’ll ever get a title shot now.
-All this talk of Uriah Hall being over rated is ridiculous. Young fighters with superstar potential lose. It’s a part of the learning experience. Some world champions become champion staying undefeated, but others like Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva lose some fights along the way to eventually become who they are now. Anybody who thinks Hall is all hype and will go a similar path that Phillipe Nover went is factually wrong. Hall destroyed very good fighters on TUF. He just needs the right coaches and the right environment to overcome the mental lapses. Jon Jones didn’t become the fighter he is today until he started training with Greg Jackson. I see Hall needing similar coaching to be successful.
-I’m also under the belief that although Hall under performed, Kelvin Gastelum is still a blue chip prospect at welterweight and could grow into a title contender in the next few years as long as he continues to improve.
-Cat Zingano stole a victory from the jaws of defeat! Two judges had Miesha Tate winning the first two rounds of the fight meaning that if the fight went to a decision, Tate would have won. But the right fighter won. Although Zingano showed jitters and was terrible in the 1st round, she got a hold of herself midfight and started to take over. It wasn’t a case of Tate gassing out. It was just a case of the better fighter winning. Not too sure how she’ll do with Ronda Rousey though. Due to the lack of experience Zingano has in high profile fights, I think Rousey will use intimidation to win the fight before it even starts.
-Travis Browne is a legit heavyweight contender and I see him getting a title shot in 2014. If it wasn’t for him blowing out his knee against Bigfoot Silva, it could be Travis Browne fighting Cain Velasquez for the title in May. I think a fight with Alistair Overeem would be highly entertaining.
-Unless Bubba McDaniel gets over the jitters, he won’t last in the UFC. He’s becoming the ultimate underachiever.
-Josh Samman needs to improve his takedown defense but is smart enough to improve and should carve out a career in the UFC.
-Luke Barnatt and Collin Hart had an entertaining fight but neither has enough talent to do too much.
-Dylan Andrews does have upside and could become a great fighter and great draw for the UFC in Australia.
-Clint Hester looked bad until his sudden knockout over Bristol Marunde. I’ll be surprised if he wins anymore fights in the UFC.
-Bart Palaszeki’s loss to Cole Miller sums up how his career has gone lately. He has talent, but can’t figure out how to put it all together to win big fights. I think Miller should have been cut awhile ago, unfortunately this earns him a reprieve.
-Maximo Blanco looks good against strikers but against more well rounded fighters, he loses.
-Don’t sleep on Daniel Pineda. He continues to improve and get better. Justin Lawrence is no slouch. Impressive win for Pineda.