Diego Brandao: This guy’s pure talent and viciousness should scare the shit out of the 145 lb divison. Everything he throws is to put you out and his leg kicks are just vicious. I don’t think the word jab is in his vocabulary. That may be his only issue when he faces more technically strong competition. Since he puts everything behind all of his shots, they are fully committed and as Bermudez demonstrated, that’s how you can catch a guy if you time him right. That being said, Brandao also showed his awesome recovery ability and sick ground game by locking in a textbook arm bar through the haze after being rocked. We could see Brandao challenging for the UFC title within 2-3 years if he keeps developing, and since he’s camping out with Greg Jackson in New Mexico, I’d say he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
Dennis Bermudez:He showed he’s more than a wrestler. His standup looked awesome, albeit he played right into Brandao’s slugging game but he was actually holding his own. He’ll continue to improve drastically and learn from this experience as his overzealousness is what got him caught in an armbar…although that tends to be typical for a lot of wrestlers as they start out in higher level MMA.
John Dodson: He belongs in the Flyweight division whenever the UFC starts one. He’s pretty much a Demetrius Johnson clone, just not as refined and even harder to take down due to his agility and strength. Man, I cannot wait to see what kind of battles Dodson, Johnson, and Joseph Benevidez will put on. It’s a great way to open up Flyweight. But in the meantime, Dodson will be exciting at Bantam, but he’ll get bullied by the larger guys at this weight.
T.J. Dilleshaw: He couldn’t handle Dodson’s quickness in the standup and couldn’t get a grip on him either. Dilleshaw’s got talent and he’ll get his opportunity to continue fighting for the UFC, but he he’ll probably end up a mid level fighter or a possible gatekeeper.
Johnny Bedford: Jury’s still out on this guy. Running through an overmatched and undersized Louis Gaudinot doesn’t prove much.
Tiger Schulmann’s MMA: I remember debating with trainers and fighters about this one, but for now, this team remains a joke. Gaudinot, a Team Tiger Schulmann’s rep is decent, but he has no future in the UFC even when they open up Flyweight. TSMMA’s has yet to produce a decent UFC prospect and they’re nowhere close to schools like Greg Jackson, American Top Team, or the myriad of other teams making a name for themselves. They used to be Tiger Schulmann’s Karate and jumped on the MMA bandwagon about ten years ago. TSMMA will keep trying, but when you see a Tiger Schulmann’s next to every Wallmart in every strip mall on the east coast, well let’s just say it’s hard to take any McDojo seriously.
AND FINALLY….THE COACHES FROM TUF 14
Michael Bisping: This guy’s been begging for a title fight since he came into the UFC, but it’s never going to happen. He’ll always be the “fight before the number 1 contender fight” that leads to a title fight for other Middleweights. Everyone pretty much walks through his weak strikes because he just doesn’t hit very hard. He has to win by outworking and out-teching his opponents to a decision. He’ll never be more than high mid level middleweight. He lacks the natural ability to get to the top.
JASON MILLER: Fun character, but sorely lacking in skills. His standup isn’t even serviceable and his stamina was lacking. His slow motion takedown attempts after the first round might have been a byproduct of coming after his adrenaline dump, but the skill still seems nonexistent. He has a lot to prove if he wants to stay in the UFC because sarcastic comments and blonde hair aren’t enough to keep you from getting cut.