The Sunday Aftermath – Cage Warriors 69 and UFC Fight Night Albuquerque

After last Saturday’s 22 fight extravaganza there was even more action this weekend for those who tuned in to Cage Warriors “Super Saturday” followed by the UFC’s visit to Albuquerque. It was a night of thrills and spills with some stunning action featured as well as a number of boring snoozefests. Here are my main takeaways.

Super Saturday

If you didn’t watch, you missed out. It was a novel idea which saw CWFC kick off the night with an undercard and followed it up with two consecutive main cards in the same arena. Vacant titles were up for grabs at the top of each card, making the evening peak twice as planned. Headlining the first portion of the show was the middleweight title fight as Jack Hermansson choked out Norman Paraisy in the 4th round after a dominant performance.

The second main event was for the lightweight title between Stevie Ray and Curt Warburton which ended in a nip and tuck split decision win for the Scot. All-in-all the show was a success. The only problem was the placement of the event. It was held on the same day as a UFC event and a week after two gruelling UFC events in one day. It just all gets a bit too much.

Having said that, CWFC put on a huge event just before they break for the world cup and I wouldn’t mind seeing them do it again. A bank holiday Sunday seems like a good fit in the future with the UFC having a monopoly on Saturday nights.

Cummins comeback

It was great to see Patrick Cummins kick off the UFC card with a victory following his short notice debut loss to Daniel Cormier earlier in the year. The former collegiate wrestler was made the butt of many a joke for a long time after giving up his job in a coffee shop to take a spot in the UFC before the DC. In actual fact, though, he has a strong base, great training partners and, after only six MMA fights, is a genuine prospect is one of the slimmest divisions. Patrick Cummins is back and track and someone not to be underestimated going forward.

Retirement Roundabout

Entering the UFC event on Saturday, three men stood out as being in bad need of a victory above the rest – Scott Jorgensen, Yves Edwards and Diego Sanchez. At thirty-severn years of age Edwards took on Piotr Hallmann with just two wins in his last seven while Jorgensen battled Danny Martinez and Sanchez, who dropped three of his last four (taking a mammoth amount of damage along the way), took on England’s Ross Pearson. It was a mixed night for the trio.

Firstly, it was Jorgensen who was in action as he saved his octagon career with a hard fought and relatively uneventful unanimous decision victory over a game Danny Martinez following three straight losses. Then, Yves Edward lost to a second round submission after a good start with the suggestion that, at his advanced age (in fighting terms) and his continuously declining record, it could be the last time we ever see the thug-jitsu master in the cage.

While co-main eventing the card, Sanchez looked like he had given up the unanimous loss to Ross Pearson before the judges somehow gave him the split decision. With his wild style and as one of the last remaining TUF 1 veterans Diego always has a special place in the heart of UFC president Dana White. So even if he had lost he might still be kept around. A win likely puts him on the Mexico card later in the year.

Championship charge

For Benson Henderson and John Dodson last night was the all important second fight after a championship loss. If you want to get back on track and in title contention again the second comeback bout is a must win. It signals a new run of success and reassert a fighter’s position in the division. Both men were involved in close fights. Dodson traded with John Moraga for almost two rounds before uncorking a nose-breaking knee to the face of his opponent forcing the doctor to call the fight between rounds.

With no clear challenger to the winner of next week’s flyweight title fight, Dodson may very well get another shot sooner rather than later. Henderson, despite a superb submission win (his first UFC finish), will have to go a step further due to the stacked lightweight division which is currently held up by the champion and challenger coaching the ultimate fighter. We didn’t learn much about either man last night. Nothing too positive and, more importantly, nothing too negative. They remain firmly in the mix.