SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
March - 2015
35
4. Johny Hendricks vs. Jon Fitch – UFC 141
3. Junior dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum – UFC 90
Coming into the fight Jon Fitch was considered
the permanent number two guy in the welter-
weight division. He defeated everyone they put
in front of him, except Georges St. Pierre. He
also went to a draw with B.J. Penn just prior
to the Hendricks fight, but who could fault
him for that. Hendricks on the other hand had
beaten mid level talent and lost to Rick Story a
few fights back. No one expected Hendricks to
win, but he did. Only twelve seconds into the
first round and Fitch was out cold. It didn’t seem
real, and it kind of seemed like a fluke knock
out. Hendricks has gone on to prove himself by
capturing the title. Though he recently lost to
Robbie Lawler, no one would be shocked to see
the belt around his waste once again.
At the time, Junior Dos Santos had a profes-
sional record of seven wins and one loss that
he accumulated on the regional scene. A seven
and one, regional fighter, fighting in the heavy
weight division had absolutely no business in
the Octagon with Fabricio Werdum. A revered
veteran of Pride, Werdum was as heavy favorite
coming into the fight. Some betting sites had
him as high as -600 favorite over the relative
unknown Dos Santos. Dos Santos put himself
on the map that night with a knock out victory
in the first round and he hasn’t looked back.
He is now a former UFC champion, a perennial
contender, and the second biggest name in the
heavy weight division.
2. T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao- UFC 173
1. Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman I – UFC 162
Leading into the fight, T.J. Dillashaw was viewed
as a top five fighter. He was considered talent-
ed, but not yet prepared to face the likes of then
champion, Renan Barao. A prominent member
of Sacremento based, Team Alpha Male he was
viewed as the future, but how could he defeat
Renan Barao? It turns out the answer to that
question was dominantly. He put he hands on
Barao in the first round, and Barao was one step
behind him for the rest of the fight. The odds
on Dillashaw were as high as +765. With their
rematch in the near future the odds are quite
different now. Dillashaw is a -265 favorite over
Barao and it’s now difficult to imagine him get-
ting derailed any time soon.
Leading into the fight their were some Weidman
proponents, but mostly it seemed impossible to
imagine Anderson Silva losing. It wasn’t about
Weidman’s skills, people believed in Weidman.
It was more about Silva and his aura of invin-
cibility. He had lost before, but it was a distant
and faint memory. Considered the greatest of all
time, how could he lose to someone with only
nine fights at the time. Weidman came in and
shocked the world by knocking out Silva. Not
only did he knock him out, but he did it while
Silva was disrespectfully mocking him. We all
know how things have gone since then. Weid-
man defeated Silva a second time, an defended
his belt against a very talented Lyoto Machida.
He now seems unstoppable, and there isn’t a
fighter on the roster that would make him the
underdog again any time soon.
