My latest column at MMAOddsbreaker.com is my Rating the Card article, where I will take a look back at all the major MMA events and recap the event and then give my overall score of the card. For this instalment of the column, we will look at UFC On FOX 15. The first fight of the Fight Pass prelims saw Eddie Gordon and Chris Dempsey take on each other in a middleweight bout. This wasn’t a great fight despite what commentator Joe Rogan was saying, but it was pretty closely contested, at least. Rating: 3/10 Next was a featherweight bout between Jimy Hettes and Diego Brandao. Brandao was able to punish Hettes with his wrestling and ground and pound, and after busting open Hettes’ ear the doctor called a stop to the fight. It was a fun one before it ended, at least, but I didn’t agree with the stoppage. Rating: 5/10 Then it was a welterweight bout between Tim Means and George Sullivan, which was a one-sided beating in Means’ favor. His striking looked great, as always, but it was his wrestling that surprised as he was able to take Sullivan down and eventually submit him. Means looked great, and I’m excited for his next fight. Rating: 7/10 The first fight on the televised main card was a bantamweight bout between Aljamain Sterling and Takeya Mizugaki. Sterling’s wrestling was dominant in this bout and was eventually able to land an amazing arm-triangle choke from the bottom in the third round. Mizugaki didn’t offer much, but it’s clear Sterling is a great prospet, and I can’t wait to see how far he can go in his career. Rating: 7/10 Up next was a light heavyweight matchup between Gian Villante and Corey Anderson. This was a really fun fight that won the Fight of the Night away. Villante and Anderson stood and traded for three rounds and with just a minute left in the fight Villante was able to land a big punch on Anderson and finish him. Very fun fight, and both men were deserving of their bonus. Rating: 8/10 Then it was a light heavyweight matchup between Ovince St-Preux and Patrick Cummins. Cummins showed some solid wrestling, but OSP was able to get back up every time he got taken down and eventually clipped Cummins and finished him. OSP is a real contender at 205lbs right now, and I’m excited for his next fight. Rating: 7.5/10 And the last televised prelim was a lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Jim Miller. This fight wasn’t even close, at all, and at times it dragged on, but Dariush dominated from bell to bell. It wasn’t the most fun fight to watch, but it wasn’t bad either. Rating: 5/10 The opening main card bout saw Paige VanZant take on Felice Herrig and it was just an utter beatdown for three rounds. VanZant showed a great pace and ground game just like in her UFC debut, and if she can keep improving, at only 21 years of age she has a very bright future in the fight game. I just wish Herrig was more competitive in this fight. Rating: 6/10 Then it was a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Cub Swanson. Most expected a close, competitive fight, but it was anything but. Holloway owned Swanson in this fight from bell to bell and earned an amazing submission in the third round for the biggest win of his career. Holloway is a bonafide contender, and at only 23 years of age, the sky is the limit. Rating: 8/10 The co-main event was, no surprise, a first-round stoppage win for Ronaldo Souza over Chris Camozzi. I don’t think anyone expected anything differently from the fight, but good for Souza to get the job done once again. Rating: 6/10 And in the main event of the evening, Luke Rockhold dominated Lyoto Machida en route to a second-round submission. This was the breakthrough performance Rockhold was looking for, and he looked absolutely amazing in this fight, although Machida definitely looked terrible. I can’t wait to see him fight for the title next. Rating: 8/10 Overall, I’d give UFC on FOX 15 an 8.5/10 rating. I think from top to bottom this was one of the most complete cards of the entire year, one that featured a number of exciting finishes, as well as a number of upsets. It was a wonderful card, and if UFC 186 next week is anything close to this, I’ll be a very happy man.
