The Remix, Vol. 16: Kamaru Usman impresses, Pedro Munhoz arrives and Cody Garbrandt continues to slide

E. Spencer Kyte

•
The Remix, Vol. 16: Kamaru Usman impresses, Pedro Munhoz arrives and Cody Garbrandt continues to slide image

Every week, we’ll release a new MMA mix tape entitled “The Remix” that looks back at not only the biggest stories of the last seven days, but some of the ones that aren’t getting enough attention too, with some weekly awards and a prospect to watch going forward added in for good measure.

Can’t say enough about Kamaru Usman’s dominant effort

As Kamaru Usman was putting the finishing touches on his dominant championship victory over Tyron Woodley on Saturday night, Twitter started to collectively ponder the last time we saw a challenger stroll into the Octagon and put it on a defending champion in such a manner.

 

 

Whether it was Velasquez’s drubbing of dos Santos to re-claim the heavyweight strap or dos Anjos pulling the plug on “The Showtime Era” before it could really get started, it had been a minute since a champion landed on the business end of a beating the way Woodley did on Saturday night, which tells you just how special Usman’s performance was at UFC 235.

The new champion set a record for the greatest differential in total strikes in UFC championship fight history, while out-landing Woodley by more than 100 significant strikes en route to collecting his 10th straight victory inside the Octagon, which makes him just the fourth man to go 10-for-10 to begin his UFC career.

 

 

 

What really stood out about Usman’s performance is precisely what he said following the victory — he’s not the best at any one thing and it’s not necessarily pretty, but my lord does he put everything together well and have the type of skills, attributes and approach that are going to continue to make him a problem for anyone wanting to take his place atop the welterweight division in the future.

His length and strength really stood out on Saturday, as he was able to keep Woodley in a body lock while still being far enough away to avoid catching knees to the midsection from the champion, who offered very little over the course of the 25-minute affair. While Woodley is on the stockier side, Usman has done the same thing to taller fighters as well and should be able to reproduce a reasonable facsimile of that performance against just about anyone going forward.

That’s not to say he can’t be beaten or is poised to embark on a St-Pierre-esque reign in the 170-pound ranks, but “The Nigerian Nightmare” is a nightmare matchup for welterweight title hopefuls and continues to get better with each appearance.

As great as he looked on Saturday, Usman still has another level he could climb to in the future, which makes what he did to Woodley all the more impressive.

Another win for unheralded standouts everywhere

Entering his bout with Cody Garbrandt on Saturday night, not a lot of people were overly high on Pedro Munhoz’s chances or particularly enthralled with what the 32-year-old Brazilian had done in the Octagon leading up to this contest.

After stopping the former champion in impressive fashion, there are bound to be a lot more people checking for “The Young Punisher” going forward and it’s about damn time.

If you know me, you know I ride for unheralded fighters who have amassed strong records while remaining largely anonymous to the majority of fans and many of my contemporaries within the media; guys like Leon Edwards, Alexander Volkanovski before he sparked Chad Mendes, Gregor Gillespie, and Munhoz prior to Saturday night.

In a way, it’s fitting that Petr Yan took to Twitter to lobby for a matchup with Munhoz (which Munhoz declined) following his win over Garbrandt, as the Russian newcomer has garnered far more attention through his first four UFC appearances than Munhoz has received over his 11-fight tenure, despite having faced and beaten better competition on the whole than Yan.

 

 

 

 

I know there are a finite number of column inches available prior to each event and we all have to make sure to tell the stories that generate the most traffic and land in the audience’s wheelhouse, but we also need to make sure that standout fighters like Munhoz don’t get overlooked and overshadowed to the point where they’re relative unknowns to fans as they head into massive fights.

Hopefully this performance will be enough to ensure Munhoz gets the recognition he deserves as a legitimate threat and wildly-entertaining fixture in the bantamweight division.

The fall of Cody Garbrandt

Garbrandt’s masterful win over Dominick Cruz is starting to look like an aberration.

Over his last three fights, the former bantamweight champion has suffered three stoppage losses and in each contest, the finish has come when “No Love” threw caution to the wind and entered into an ill-fated exchange where he disregarded the things that carried him to the top of the heap in the first place.

Saturday night against Munhoz, Garbrandt got back to his feet after getting knocked down momentarily and charged forward, looking to exchange with the iron-jawed Brazilian. There was none of the movement, the defense, the structure that allowed him to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge his way to a unanimous decision win over Cruz at UFC 207.

Instead, Garbrandt offered the same wide, forced hooks that cost him during each of his two bouts against TJ Dillashaw and just like the current titleholder, Munhoz was able to weather the storm and connect with a bomb of his own that put Garbrandt down and produced the finish.

Garbrandt is a tremendous talent — his speed and power are exceptional — but far too often, he goes on autopilot, looking to make up for every time he gets cracked by landing one or two of his own, at which points he casts aside some of his best attributes and becomes infinitely more hittable. Munhoz pulled Garbrandt into the exact type of fight he had planned for an got the result he anticipated.

After three straight stoppage losses, the former champion has some major work to do in order to get back into the title mix. More importantly, there are some serious changes he needs to consider if he even hopes to make that happen.

The talent is there — we’ve already seen it — but now it’s about becoming a more composed fighter who is able to dictate the terms of engagement and draw opponents in rather that chasing knockouts and paying the price when they don’t come as readily as they once did.

Fight of the Weekend: Weili Zhang vs. Tecia Torres at UFC 235

Munhoz and Garbrandt was four minutes of awesomeness and the two title fights were masterful efforts, but in terms of the fight that provided the most crucial takeaways while being entertaining and fun, I’m going with the main card strawweight scrap between Zhang and Torres.

“The Tiny Tornado” is basically the measuring stick for whether or not you’re worthy of being a contender in the 115-pound weight class, which is why this matchup was so interesting when it was announced. Zhang had rolled to 18 straight wins, but this was a major step up in competition and the best version of Torres is someone who presents problems for quality fighters.

Zhang’s strength and power proved to be the deciding factors in this fight, as she was able to land the bigger shots and bully Torres for the majority of the contest. While there are still technical adjustments and improvements for her to make, this win sets her up as a fringe contender in the strawweight division and should land her an even bigger fight next time out.

Personally, I’d dial it back a little and let her continue to gain seasoning and face more established talent, as there are plenty of names already in line at the top of the 115-pound weight class. Either way, this fight showed that Zhang is much more than a bulldozer who can maul overmatched competition and was entertaining from start to finish.

Submission of the Weekend: Ben Askren’s bulldog choke on Robbie Lawler at UFC 235

No, I’m not going to try to make the case for Lawler being out and Herb Dean doing the right thing by stopping the fight; Lawler was good, Dean screwed up and Askren handled it all brilliantly after the contest, saying exactly the right things and steering straight into the backlash and vitriol.

But dropping this here gives me a chance to address Askren’s debut and overall impact thus far and even if you’re not a fan, you have to admit that “Funky” has found a way to instantly insert himself in the thick of things in the welterweight division.

He was entertaining throughout Fight Week in Las Vegas, crushed his post-fight interview, and went back to napalming others in the 170-pound ranks on Twitter as soon as he was done with his obligations on Saturday night. Plus, he took a Death Valley Driver and several punishing elbows from Robert Glenn Lawler and rallied to take the fight to the former champion, so there is that too.

Askren is the kind of heel that Colby Covington wishes he could be and the UFC desperately needs right now. Skip the rematch with Lawler since neither of them are interested and let him pick a fight with someone of his choosing, sell the hell out of it on social media and then watch people flock to see him fight.

Askren gets it and he’s a pretty damn good fighter too.

Knockout of the Weekend: Johnny Walker knees Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235

After his first couple quick finishes, you could make a case that Walker had beaten a pair of solid, but unspectacular fighters; guys who had never cracked the Top 15 and hadn’t given anyone reason to believe that they were capable of doing so in the future.

But Cirkunov was a legit Top 10 talent and the flamboyant Brazilian wasted no time in getting him out of there too, connecting with a perfect flying knee 36 seconds into the opening round to register his second win in 28 days and third win in five months.

 

 

I’m not quite ready to call him a threat to Jon Jones’ title, but there are pieces of Walker’s game that make him a real interesting addition to the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division.

As much as he’s always smiling and goofing around right up to the point the fight starts, Walker is all business once things get underway and does an excellent job of using feints to get reads on his opponents and find openings to attack. That’s something that could potentially set him apart and was a big key in his finish of Cirkunov on Saturday.

There is a lot about what Walker brings to the table that makes him a tough matchup going forward — he’s long, explosive and unpredictable, plus he relishes the moment, rather than being bothered by it — and with his burgeoning stardom, it shouldn’t be too long before we see him in the Octagon again.

Prospect to Watch after this Weekend: Edmen Shahbazyan

When you’re one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster and coming off a 38-second stoppage win, you have my attention.

Shahbazyan looked outstanding on Saturday night, stuffing Charles Byrd’s initial takedown attempt before putting him out with a series of elbows to the side of the head a la Travis Browne. Now 2-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall, the 21-year-old is definitely someone to keep tabs on going forward.

Because he trains out of the Glendale Fighting Club and has ties to Ronda Rousey, Shahbazyan is likely to receive more attention than your traditional middleweight neophyte, but don’t let his famous connections obscure the fact that he’s shown real tangible skills that make him a true prospect to track in the 185-pound ranks.

After gutting out a win over Darren Stewart in his debut, “The Golden Boy” went on the offensive in a position where most instinctively opt to play defense, shoving Byrd’s head to the inside and firing off a series of elbows that put him on the canvas. Those little things are quality markers to make note of as he works his way up the ranks and if he continues to progress at the rate he has thus far, Shahbazyan will have a bright future in the UFC.

E. Spencer Kyte