The Hit List: The five top moments from UFC 186
Saturday's UFC 186 was low on hype but big on action. From top to bottom, the Montreal card delivered amazing fights from champions, contenders and rising prospects alike.
Read on to find out our five top moments from UFC 186 and then let us know yours on Twitter and in the comments section!
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson overcoming the fights within the fight
It has always been fun to watch Quinton "Rampage" Jackson fight, and it still is. So, his UFC return Saturday in Montreal was sure to be a good time.
However, seeing the former world champion back in the cage was made especially satisfying for fans given all that Jackson had to go through to even step foot in the Octagon. Upset that he decided to leave them, Jackson's immediate previous promotion, Bellator, sought an injunction to keep him from fighting in the UFC 186 co-main event. At first, it appeared as though Bellator would succeed.
An injunction took Jackson out of the fight with Fabio Maldonado. That is, until another judge saw fit to lift that injunction just last Tuesday, and "Rampage" was rebooked against the Brazilian. Up until weigh-ins on Friday afternoon, however, there seemed to be uncertainty as to what exactly would happen.
Steve Bosse stayed waiting in the wings to fight Maldonado if necessary, and the uncertainty took its toll on all fighters involved. "This was the most stress I've ever had for a fight," Jackson said after the event, where he won a decision over Maldonado.
"I hope I never have to go through it again."
Despite the added stress of not knowing whether or not he'd have to make weight, whether he'd get paid and every other consideration that Jackson had going through his head, the fighter said he trained harder for this fight than any previous one in his nearly 15-year career.
It paid off. Jackson was more energetic in his movement and diverse in his attack than he had been in years. Instead of simply swinging wide power hooks as he had been wont to do of late, Jackson once again showed a nice jab, good knees from the clinch, light footwork and kicks, in addition to his usual excellent head movement.
After training hard and enduring some extra stress, Jackson showed that he can still be more than a celebrity ticket-seller. Quinton Jackson is still an excellent fighter and should have some solid fights ahead of him if he continues this approach.
Demetrious Johnson's constant movement
Because most fight fans don't train, haven't fought and watch the incredibly complex and nuanced action that occurs in the UFC Octagon with a few beers sloshing around in their bellies, they may miss all that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson does in the cage.
He's quick on his feet and with his strikes, but when he needs to adjust, he is adept at pressuring opponents until he gets them to the ground. Once on the mat, Johnson never stops moving in an attempt to get to better position, striking and hunting for fight-ending submission holds.
Against the likes of the excellent challengers he has had to face (and make no mistake about it, Kyoji Horiguchi may be young, but he's an excellent, dangerous and well-rounded contender), there is usually no assured way to get from Point A to Point B easily or fast.
To win as he has, Johnson often needs to make changes mid-fight, wear down opponents and beat them up a bit before he can take them out. But watching him do so is a wonder.
Johnson does indeed wear his opponents down, and he has been taking all of them out of late, as well. Johnson is a veritable perpetual motion machine in the ring, and whether he is appreciated for it by fans and observers quite yet, it is a sight to behold and the reason he has dominated a division with some of the UFC's best athletes.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier gets, and deserves, the star treatment in Montreal
While walking through downtown Montreal earlier this week, I noticed one corner occupied by a Reebok store. That was striking enough, as I didn't realize those existed.
What caught my attention next, however, was how this dedicated brand store of the UFC's new exclusive clothier had full-window posters of UFC 186 undercard fighter and Montreal resident Olivier Aubin-Mercier. If Reebok is going to give attention, focus (and hopefully lots of money) to more deserving but still relatively unknown fighters, then bring on more strange pumpy shoes from my youth that are making a comeback!
Aubin-Mercier not only got that Reebok endorsement, but also one from one of the world's most respected and supposedly bad-ass restaurants (sadly, this writer wouldn't know first-hand, because he couldn't get a reservation this past week) in Joe Beef. That's pretty heady (and tasty) stuff for a young fighter like Aubin-Mercier.
He proved more than worthy of it in taking out a very game and good David Michaud at UFC 186. The two exchanged punches on the feet and engaged in a technical grappling match against the cage and on the mat.
Aubin-Mercier stayed patient and skillfully hand-fought his way from the back to secure a rear naked choke victory. His hometown crowd loved it, and he probably felt like a million bucks.
Hopefully, he'll continue along his way to more big things and excellent performances.
Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman III
Sarah Kaufman had twice before beaten Alexis Davis in a rivalry going back eight years. In their third fight, at UFC 186, both bantamweights looked evenly matched on the feet and looked on their way to another tight battle like their epic second fight in Strikeforce.
However, Davis turned a corner and cut a mean angle off her back, away from the cage, and ultimately secured a straight arm bar finish. Davis exorcised the demons of her last fight -- a quick loss to champion Ronda Rousey -- and finally got a clean win over her rival Kaufman.
Alexis Davis (white) got back on track with a nasty arm bar submission win over Sarah Kaufman, at UFC 186.
You had to feel bad for Kaufman, but you couldn't help but be happy for the scrappy and technical Davis.
Michael Bisping's conditioning
Before UFC 186, Michael Bisping told us that his conditioning advantage is all in his head. What he meant was, in training, he simply pushed past points where many others chose to stop.
As a result, he finds himself able to push further in fights. He did just that against CB Dollaway Saturday in Montreal.
Bisping got as good as he gave early on in the standing striking department against the wrestler and was dropped by a left hook in the first. When "The Count" got back to his feet, he ate more shots and wobbled around on wiggly legs.
He managed to fire back hard at the close of the first period, however. Then, over the next two rounds, Bisping out-pointed Dollaway on the feet and defended just about all of his takedown attempts.
Bisping's decision win was an impressive come-from-behind victory, predicated on the superior conditioning (mental and physical) that has been his hallmark for many years.
