With the last card of March officially in the books, we give UFC 158 a look back to see where all the involved parties could be potentially moving going forward...
Moving Forward for the MAIN CARD
Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz - GSP is who we thought he was...despite the pre-fight talk from Diaz which visibly annoyed GSP, we did not see the champ off the rails at any point in the affair as he dominated Diaz for five rounds. As expected, we saw a lot of takedowns and positional control from St. Pierre, Diaz didn't really work too fast in the first two rounds to either prevent, get up from, or generate offense from his back off the takedowns. Rounds three and four however did see better offense from Diaz as he seemed to wake up a bit, stuff a few takedown attempts and begin to create range with his shots. GSP to his credit did stand and trade with Diaz for almost half the fight, even getting the better of a few exchanges in maybe several instances, however it did look like GSP was fatigued by this a few times as well. An impressive performance from GSP, however Condit arguably gave him a tougher fight, Diaz could have benefited from more action earlier however he never got it to the level to ever impose any danger to the champ unfortunately. GSP vs Hendricks conceivably could be ready to go in Vegas by the fall or even the end of the year. As for Diaz, I'd just love to see him in interesting fights (maybe Josh Koscheck?) as any top ranked WW right know will likely be too strong for him. Then again, there is always lightweight....hmmmm...
Carlos Condit vs. Johny Hendricks - This was clearly a fight of the year candidate, so much action on the feat, takedowns, scrambles, a highly technical bout despite Hendricks winging wild shot at Condit as he chased him all over the cage. If wasn't as sloppy as Bermudez vs Grice or even Silva vs Stann, but satisfying on many levels especially considering the rank of the fighters and the prize at stake (#1 contendership). GSP vs Hendricks is now definitely in the the immediate future while Condit likely can get any rematch he might like to get back in the win column (vs. Ellenberger, vs Kampmann, vs Diaz, etc).
Jake Ellenberger vs. Nate Marquardt - Like Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger is the real deal. High level wrestling, great athleticism, bombs for fists. Marquardt might have protested the stoppage initially but there was no mistaking that he was put to sleep by Ellenberger thunderous fists. Another big win would likely thrust Ellenberger back into title contention, a rematch with Condit could be good or even a potential scrap with Strikeforce champ Tarec Safferdine. As for Marquardt, two brutal beats at welterweight don't help his cause, however he is a name fighter so I think he get another shot at maybe a mid-tier WW as he clearly is not in the top 10 any longer.
Chris Camozzi vs. Nick Ring - This could have been a much more exciting fight but alas both men just really couldn't pull the trigger on the high level action, however it still as a decently technical fight. Was surprised how Ring kept his hand so low throughout, could have cost him some in the judges eyes as he did end up eating some shots from that. I think Camozzi is deserving of a Top 10 after a streak of 4, maybe Hector Lombard would be interesting, as for Ring I'd like to see him scrap with some of the UFC's Brazilian talent.
Colin Fletcher vs. Mike Ricci was about as boring as I expected it to be, neither man really being overly aggressive in terms of looking for a finish or to do anything exceptionally threatening. I don't know why this was on the PPV in the first place. While I was hoping Fletcher might pull a crafty sub from the bottom he was finely out boxed by Ricci who just looked more technically proficient in all areas. I think we'll see Fletcher at least one more time likely on a TV card overseas while I think Ricci will probably get an lower tier opponent on the main card of another TV event.
Stars from the PRELIMINARY CARD
TJ Dillashaw - Great finish from the surging bantamweight, really starting to gain some momentum in the division, I think a bout vs the loser of next month's Mike Easton vs. Brad Pickett match makes a lot of sense here.
Rick Story - It was nice to see the Rick Story of old show up again in Montreal, a win and a respectable finish should help him right the ship back into the waters of contendership once more. However Story still needs to gain some more steam to be in the top of the division again. A bouts vs Jordan Mein would be great however instead of interrupting the rise of a potential new prospect, now might be the time of a redux of the Marquardt vs Story.
Jordan Mein - It should be noted that Dan Miller had never been finished by strikes before he ran into Jordan Mein. Impressive debut from another Strikeforce prospect, Mein looked pretty imposing at welterweight. As much as I'd really like to see him in there with a decent, powerful striker though, a bout with Dong Hyun Kim might work best.
Darren Elkins - Despite the controvesial stoppage, under review of replay is was warranted as Carvalho was very likely not going to be improving his position any so he was essentially saved from unneeded punishment. Elkins is one of the few featherweights on a strike of any significance right now. A top 10, if not top 5 opponent is warranted. Why not Chad Mendes since all his other opponents appear to drop out due to illness for one reason or another.
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