By Adam Martin
Three Stars of the Week is a new weekly addition to sportsnet.ca where week we’ll take a look back at three figures in the world of mixed martial arts who had special performances. This will include not only fighters, but also coaches, cornermen, promoters, and anyone else who had a noteworthy showing during the week.
Without further ado, here’s last week’s three stars…
1. Matt Brown
I never thought I’d be saying this, but Matt Brown is a title contender in the UFC welterweight division.
That’s right. Matt Brown, the same man who had a 12-11 record less than two years ago, the same man who has been finished by submission nine times, and the same man who once lost three straight fights in the UFC is nearing a title shot.
It’s pretty crazy to think, but this is mixed martial arts, and anything can happen — and often, it does. Brown, who has been fighting in the UFC since 2008, is currently riding a five-fight win streak inside the Octagon with his latest victory coming in a gigantic upset over Canadian prospect Jordan Mein at UFC on FOX 7. It was a fight that Brown was supposed to lose, but he didn’t listen to what the oddsmakers or what the fans had to say as he punished Mein en route to a brutal, second-round TKO victory.
I admit I wasn’t buying Brown. I thought his win streak over guys like Mike Swick (nearing the end of his career), Luis Ramos (cut from the UFC), Stephen Thomson (one-dimensional) and Chris Cope (also cut from the UFC) made him overrated, but after the way he handled Mein, I admit I was completely wrong.
With another win or two over top-10 level talent, don’t be surprised if you see Brown fighting for the UFC welterweight title. I still can’t get my head wrapped around that, but I have to give credit where credit is due, and Brown deserves all the credit in the world for turning his career around when everyone was counting him out.
2. Duane (Bang) Ludwig
Team Alpha Male probably wishes Duane (Bang) Ludwig had been their coach for the last five years, as the UFC welterweight and former world champion Muay Thai fighter has been an absolute godsend to the California-based camp.
Since Ludwig took over the head coaching reigns at Team Alpha Male, the camp’s UFC fighters are 8-2 with four knockout wins. For a camp that was once known as primarily wrestling-based grapplers, Ludwig has added the striking element they had been lacking and now their fighters are looking like one-man wrecking crews every time they step into the cage.
Look at T.J. Dillashaw, for instance. Before Ludwig took over Dillashaw was a solid bantamweight fighter but everyone would have called him a wrestler. Since working with Ludwig, though, Dillashaw has two straight TKO victories and is quickly climbing up the 135-pound ranks.
Ditto for Chad Mendes, who is knocking guys out left, right, and centre. And ditto for Joseph Benavidez, who finished Darren Uyenoyama with body punches at UFC on FOX 7. After all of their victories, each of these fighters gave the credit to Ludwig for helping them, and he deserves all the praise he has been getting for the work he’s done.
Team Alpha Male fighters have historically choked in title fights, but with Ludwig in their corner, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they snapped their nasty losing streak in championship matches and if someone from the camp finally brought home a UFC title to California.
3. Josh Thomson
The last time Josh Thomson stepped foot in the Octagon was on August 21, 2004, when he was on the wrong end of a highlight-reel head-kick KO from Yves Edwards in a fight that, back then, was for the right to be called the uncrowned champion at 155 pounds.
Since that loss, Thomson took his talents overseas to Japan where he fought for Pride and some other shows but most of his fights in the past nine years took place in Strikeforce, where he became the organization’s lightweight champion and where he and Gilbert Melendez put on one of MMA’s all-time best trilogies.
When Strikeforce merged into the UFC, no one knew how Thomson would fit into the lightweight division. But with his stunning head-kick TKO on former title challenger Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 7, there’s no question that Thomson is a legit contender to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.
With Anthony Pettis gone to featherweight, the win over Diaz puts Thomson right up there in the UFC’s 155-pound division. Even though he’s 34 now and even though his body has taken a ridiculous amount of punishment over the years, Thomson is still an incredible talent and is capable of putting on the kind of show he did on Saturday against Diaz if he’s healthy. And that’s the big if. Because if does stay healthy, don’t be surprised if Thomson fights for the belt in the near future. And if he can’t stay healthy, it wouldn’t be the first time an MMA fighter didn’t live up to their potential due to injuries.
