UFC on Versus 6 reaction: Immediate post-fight thoughts and commentary

The UFC on Versus 6 event took place tonight and it was a very exciting night of fights. We had a war in the first televised fight between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig. We had a huge powerbomb slam from Stefan Struve as he was on his way to submitting Pat Barry. Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson put on great performances in the UFC bantamweight title fight. Let’s talk about the fights:

• The Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig fight is the best fight I’ve seen in a LONG time. Those guys set an incredible pace in the first round and those guys went at it standing and on the ground. Danzig was looking to counter the offense of Wiman and did so effectively at times. Wiman was very effective with short elbows in the clinch and short elbows after taking Wiman down with his wrestling. I said in my preview that Wiman’s wrestling ability would be the difference in this fight and that’s mostly true. However, Wiman’s constant pressure and ability to inflict damage on Danzig on the feet and on the ground certainly played a huge part as well. Great great fight and it was good to see the judges score the fight exactly how it should have been scored. 29-28 across the board for Wiman.
• The Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman fight was a one sided beatdown while it lasted although it may have ended a bit premature. We can’t predict the future, but I think Brenneman was going to continue to take punishment for the duration of the fight until it was stopped as he was on rubber legs when the headkick landed. Brenneman probably was able to keep a few brain cells since he didn’t have to take anymore damage. He simply had nothing for Johnson and the size difference between the two was apparent as Johnson defended Brenneman’s takedowns with ease. Could Johnson quietly become a legit threat to Georges St. Pierre?
• The Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve fight started off kind of slow with both fighters trying to feel one another out. It got REAL interesting once the fight went to the ground as Barry brought back shades of Rampage Jackson powerboming Ricardo Arona back in PRIDE. However, the huge slam only made the triangle choke tighter and he was forced to tap. I wrote that all Barry had to do was throw leg kicks and he would win the fight. He was doing just that before getting careless with his distance. I wonder if the UFC will keep Barry around as it’s obvious that he’ll never be a contender in the UFC heavyweight division and has lost 3 out of his last four. Man, something told me to go with Struve via submission!
• The Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson fight was a very fast paced fight. I was surprised by Johnson’s performance as he was even quicker than I gave him credit for. I thought Cruz won all of the rounds with the second round being the closest round and if I were to give Johnson a round it would have been that one. I was surprised that Cruz was breathing heavily in the second round and I wasn’t sure he would be able to keep up with the pace of the fight. However, he continued to push and bring the fight to Johnson with takedowns and dominant positions on the ground. Johnson did an excellent job of defending the rear naked choke in the third round and being mounted in the fourth round. When the UFC implements the flyweight division I expect Johnson to drop down and definitley be one of the top guys there. So who’s next for Dominick Cruz? A rematch with Brian Bowles?