Great fights on Fox 20

Last night on 7/23/16 UFC on Fox 20 took full flight, now it was not the greatest card ever, but it was definitely one to watch. Great match ups, I just want to take a few moments and talk about three of the fights I found to be interesting. Even though I felt there were five strong fights.

Francis Ngannou vs Bojan Mihajlovic

Here I found an interesting match up of two gentlemen with crazy KO power but, what we found out was one person was willing to fight and the other was willing to run. Bojan was moving around the cage refusing to battle on the inside with Francis. Now maybe the size and weight difference to Bojan made him realize that he was not in just any kind of battle, but I would think if you are training to fight you are ready for anything. Bojan circled and circled looking for his moment to strike, however when the moment showed itself Francis was ready for the strike and countered well. Bojan was blocking the hammerfist and strikes coming down, but I think Herb Dean has to stop the fight. There was great cover provided by Bojan and strikes were not landing, but Bojan was not doing anything on the ground to make moves which cost him the fight.

But it is pretty tough to figure a game plan when a guy can hit like this:

Edson Barboza vs Gilbert Melendez

Edson was riding the victory he had over Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, and was ready to take on another former champion in Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez. Now the fight had great back in forth contact and at one time, I truly believed Edson was in trouble trying to fight on the inside with Gilbert. Gilbert's boxing is incredible and felt Edson was in trouble trying to battle with his boxing. Gilbert had the advantage on the inside but was in serious trouble outside of the range, where Edson was able to use his kicking power. Edson stayed smart to keep Gilbert out of range, especially when you have someone who was willing to bang with Diego Sanchez:

But I also felt Gilbert should have kept stepping past the kicking range and force Edson to battle. Gilbert can throw four or five combo punches with quickness and land, Edson did it smart by taking steps back and forcing Gilbert to him. Then again Gilbert had to becareful about stepping into Edson because of the kicking power Edson has, who else could forget about this kick:

Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of that kick, what ended up happening was Edson kept hitting Gilbert in the knee and eventually it gave out. Gilbert had to alter his stance in the third round and know he was in trouble, he had to battle with one leg and chose to keep fighting (my hats off to him for that). Great fight all around but, once Edson got in his zone that was all she wrote.

Holly Holms vs Valentina Shevchenko

Let's look at the craziness of this fight, both fighters were coming off of loses: Holly to Tate, Shevchenko to Nunes. Now Tate was able to submit Holms with a desperation take down which lead to Holms going to sleep. Nunes was able to beat Schevchenko in major decision but, only won rounds 1 and 2 while Schevchenko won the 3rd.

When these two strikers met in the ring last night, it was a Tae Kwon Do artist vs a Muay Thai fighter. It showed why Muay Thai is a dangerous art form as Valentina was able to gain and control the upper hand on Holly for five rounds.

Holly who is coming off an incredible KO of Rhonda:

Lost in her first title defense against Tate and is desperately looking to get back in the win column, but taking the fight versus Valentina was probably not the best choice. She was able to outstrike her and out grapple her with ease. When you have kicks like this:

it is to be expected. Valentina demanded respect and got it from the rest of the women's division. I would expect Valentina to be next in line to fight Nunes but feel she should have to go through Tate or Rousey first before she gets that shot at the title. I think Nunes is in trouble for rounds 3 through 5 if they get in the ring again but, let us see how Nunes does in her first defense against whoever Dana chooses.

With these wins from Francis, Edson, and Valentina it shows there are some great things coming to the UFC. I feel Francis needs a fighter in the top ten to test his ability. I think Edson deserves to be tested with Dos Anos before getting a shot at Alverez. and Valentina with her great striking needs to be tested against Tate or Rousey, once she gets past them, it's on to Nunes or the current champ. What are your thoughts on these three fighters.

Guys also do not forget to check out "The Middle Flipper" Cat does amazing things with the Dolphins and her articles are fun to read. Till next week we will be covering Jake Ellenberger and his match up with Matt Brown next week as we get ready for UFC 201!!!