UFC Fight Night 94 Recap

By Muk

Last night's FS1 card featured two good fights so our main events, first with the matchup of middleweight contenders of Derek Brunson and Uriah Hall, who were both in need of a big win against a ranked opponent, and lucky for Brunson, that win came his way via first round TKO. Brunson caught Hall with a big shot that sent him to the canvas and then followed up with a few big ground and pound strikes, and the fight was stopped - but it may have been premature. Hall did protest a little after his defeat, claiming he could still defend himself, and we all know how that game can go, and just how difficult it is for the referee's to get the call right. Brunson then called for a title shot after his victory which was a bit excessive to me, as Hall is in no way a top 5 fighter in the division, especially in this division with all the top 5 fighters facing off against one-another. Brunson did however extend his win streak to 5 at 170 pounds, and he is riding a 4-fight-first-round-knock-out streak, that ties him with Shane Carwin at second all time, trailing Don Frye (5-fight-streak). Hall on the other hand suffered his first knockout loss since September 2010, going nearly 6 years without being finished by strikes. 
In our main event, we had lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Michael Johnson facing off, in a must win battle for both men, as Poirier looked to place himself among the top 5 in the 155 pound division, and Michael Johnson looked to rebound from his loss to Nate Diaz a few months back, and remind us that he is still the man to defeat Edson Barboza. Johnson came out fast and strong and he quickly put Dustin away with a first round knockout, giving Poirier his first loss since returning the the lightweight division. Michael Johnson may have landed himself a big time fight in the process as well, as Anthony Pettis tweeted out that he would like to face Featherweight Champ Jose Aldo, or Michael Johnson next, if Aldo has other obligations with his 145 pound interim belt. Pettis is as electrifying as a fighter comes, and I would love to see either of those two fights made a reality.