Rankings Update (Dec. 3)
The rankings have been updated following this weekend’s limited amount of action. Fighters with the most movement in the rankings are listed below.
Biggest Winners
Mamed Khalidov
The big winner of the week was MMA’s #1 prospect Mamed Khalidov. Khalidov notched his 6th straight win over a UFC veteran. Though Khalidov’s recent opponent, Kendall Grove, took the fight on short notice, Grove still was coming in hungry knowing that a win would likely earn him a return ticket to the UFC. Khalidov recently turned down the UFC’s latest offer to join their company, citing his desire for non-exclusivity in order to continue competing in his native Poland where the UFC has never visited. There were also rumors that Khalidov wanted a higher starting salary than was originally offered by the UFC. Khalidov supposedly had signed with Strikeforce a couple of months ago, but those rumors seem to be off base as well considering Strikeforce’s pending demise. Regardless of all the negotiations drama, Khalidov showed Saturday that he could finish a viable UFC-caliber fighter. Tim Boetsch and Demian Maia were unable to finish Grove, yet Khalidov did. That has to speak volumes considering that Boetsch and Maia are Top 10 contenders.
Andrey Koreshkov
Koreshkov, a protege of Bellator middleweight Alexander Shlemenko, took home the Bellator welterweight tournament crown as he defeated Lyman Good in a close decision. Koreshkov arguably was ahead going into the final round where he surprisingly took Good down to the floor and rode out the final couple of minutes for the win. Koreshkov’s striking is a big threat, evidenced by his win over Marius Zaromskis. Koreshkov will likely move on to face Ben Askren, and should he be able to stay on his feet has a chance at scoring the upset.
Biggest Losers
Lyman God
Lyman Good put up a great fight against Andrey Koreshkov, but he fell short of winning the welterweight tournament due to his inability to take Koreshkov down. Good’s entire gameplan was puzzling as he chose to stand and trade with Koreshkov rather than using his strength and wrestling where Koreshkov seemed overmatched. Instead, Good traded strikes with Koreshkov for much of the fight before being taken down himself in the 3rd round. Every viewer could see that Koreshkov was completely gassed in the 3rd round, but Good could not pull the trigger, which has ultimately been the story of his career. Good has been way to willing to have his fights go to the judges and seems to fight way too cautious. If Good ever expects to take that next step in his career he has to start turning up his aggressiveness and work for finishes.
Kendall Grove
Kendall Grove had an opportunity to knock off MMA’s top prospect, but he ultimately came up short, losing via 2nd round submission. Grove has to be admired for accepting the fight with Khalidov on such short notice. The odd thing was that Grove claimed UFC matchmaker Joe Silva had told him to accept the bout in order to earn his way back in the UFC. Yet, it was also revealed in that same interview that Grove had to sign a multi-fight deal with KSW to fight Khalidov. Thus, if Grove had defeated Khalidov, he would have been locked into a contract with KSW rather than return to the UFC. What was Kendall Grove’s manager thinking? It was probably a decent paycheck for Grove, but I doubt he was truly looking forward to ever fighting for KSW again after the grueling travel time.
Other Fighters in Action this Weekend:
Dileno Lopes (Flyweight, Top 25, Top 10 Free Agent, Top 10 Prospect) – defeated Stenio Silva Barbosa via 1st round Submission
Kiyotaka Shimizu (Flyweight, Top 25, Top 10 Free Agent, Top 10 Prospect) – defeated Yuki Yasunaga via 3rd round KO
Alexander Sarnavskiy (Lightweight, Bellator Top 10) – defeated Tony Hervey via decision
Michal Materla (Middleweight, Top 10 Prospect) – defeated Rodney Wallace via 1st round KO
