Last night at the San Diego Sports Arena fans were treated to a great night of UFC action. From the top to the bottom of this card it packed awesome submission victories, TKOs and hard fought battles. Last night also gave birth to new possible contenders and furture great match-ups. To start off the night we seen an explosive knock out by the "Fire Ball Kid" Takanori Gomi as he was able to catch Tyson Griffin with a spectacular right hand on Tyson's chin. It was a little surprising to see someone take Griffin out in that way as I believe that was the first time he has been put to sleep like that. Going into this fight Gomi might of been fighting for his chance to stay in the UFC after losing that battle with Kenny Florian but he came out and finished in awesome fashion. Now that Gomi has shaken off the UFC jitters and has put a win up he can now go back to training hard and look forward to his next fight. I don't see Gomi getting into the title mix right away after this win but the way he ended the fight, it tells me he is well on his way. If he can continue putting wins behind him. For Gomi's next opponent I would like to see him in with the likes of Efrain Escudero, Melvin Guillard or possibly Clay Guida. I think those would be exciting match-ups for him and really see if he is ready to move on up to title contention.
In the next bout we saw John "DoomsDay" Howard step into challenge the hard punching Jake Ellenberger who just came off a TKO victory over Mike Pyle. Both these guys are power punchers and could end a fight at any time. I was really looking forward to this bout as John Howard is one of my favorite fighters. This guy always talks to his fans on twitter and is a wonderful father so I look up to him. During the fight it went back and forth from Ellenberger getting rocked to Howard getting taken down. When Ellenberger was on top he rained down devastating ground and pound which started to show on Howard's face. When the fight was on the feet Howard was landing good shots that were getting Jake a little dizzy but when Howard went in for the kill Ellenberger would take him down. Gong into the 3rd round the mouse that was developing on John's left eye was looking pretty grotesque. Herb Dean stopped the fight to have the doctor take a look and shortly after that the fight was called declaring Jake the winner by TKO. It was a hard fought battle between these two men and John Howard showed a lot of heart as he kept working to somehow get the win but unfortunately he took to much damage. Jake is ready for his next bout but he did state that he would be interested in a rematch with Howard, so lets see what the UFC has in-store for these two warriors in the furture.
In the fight before the main we got to see two fighters with agendas. Both Yushin Okami & Mark Munoz were looking to make their way into title contention. Munoz was riding a 3 fight winning streak going into last nights fight. After watching Chael Sonnen have his way with Okami I was thinking that Munoz would have success in the take-down department but Okami showed that he learned from his last fight that would not happen again. Okami was very impressive in stopping the take-downs of Munoz and displaying great stand-up striking. Every time Munoz attempted a take-down Okami sprawled like a mongoose moving from a snake strike. When Munoz did get Okami down he got right to his feet. After the 3rd round the scores were read and Munoz did win on one of the judges cards. Now Okami looks forward to another fight and a possible match-up with another top contender. I think it would be interesting to see him in the cage with the likes of a Chris Leben or a Michael Bisping. Those would both be great fights to see.
In the main event we had Jon "Bones Jones vs Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko. Leading up to this fight everyone was excited to see how Jones would handle a top fighter like Valdimir. I think that we were not expecting the fight to end so quickly but it did. Jones should off his skills right away with a great take-down and then some signature elbows from the top that eventually ended the fight. Jones worked very quickly to get out of Matushenko's half guard to side control were he was able to lock in a crucifix. Once Jones had Vlady in that position it was just a matter of time before the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Jones was able to rain down elbows with explosive power and speed to the side of Vladimir's head. I don't think Matyushenko was expecting Jones to take it to the ground right away which might of threw off the game plan. Jones is defiantly showing the world that he is ready for a fight against the top 8 light heavy weights in the UFC. He is still very young at the age of 23 but his skill set is way above most other fighters. To see him in the cage with the likes of a Machida or a Rampage will be a sure test for the young phenom. There is one question that still needs to be answered. How does Jones react to getting caught with a big shot? That is the question everyone is asking. Can Jones come back from adversity after a big shot and can he stay composed in a pressure situation? We shall see. As for his next opponent I would like to see him step in against a Ryan Bader, Forest Griffin or possibly Vitor Belfort. All of these fighters would test his chin and his fortitude. So lets all set back and see what the UFC has for Jones in the future. I know one thing this guy has title shot written all over him.
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