What happened in UFC Fight Night 36? Did it meet our expectations and what are the consequences for the future?
I will discuss only the four fights here which I was looking forward to.
Charles Oliveira vs. Andy Ogle
Charles Oiveira was considered an exciting prospect in the featherweight division after dropping from lightweight, showing high level submission skills and decent striking to complement it. So much so that he even got a fight against Frankie Edgar despite a loss to Cub Swanson in his previous fight. But after two straight losses he was sent to the back of the division to show he is still worthy of being considered a potential prospect, taking a match against Andy Ogle – a relative unknown who has lost 2 of his 3 UFC fights, and was ranked at the lowly #125 FW accordingly.
To show he should still be considered as good as his reputation, Oliveira should have demolished Ogle. Quite frankly anything else would have been a disappointment. And something else happened: Oliveira did look better than Ogle, but he wasn’t able to control him for extended periods of time or hurt him. It looked like it was going to end in a not-too-impressive decision win for Oliveira when he was able to secure the triangle choke in the third round.
This was not an impressive enough performance out of Oliveira against such a mediocre fighter to prove he belongs in the top of the division yet, and the rankings reflect that, elevating him only 6 spots from FW #38 to #32.
Erick Silva vs. Takenori Sato
Like Charles Oliveira, Erick Silva too was considered an exciting prospect, being a very fast, very explosive, and flashy all-around fighter whose wins came in spectacular fashion and very quickly – until he came across the more solid wrestlers of the division, namely, Jon Fitch and Dong Hyun Kim. Like Oliveira he was sent back in the division to face the simpler challenge of Takenori Sato, who was undefeated in his last 10 fights.
In this short fight Silva made quick work of Sato, leaving no doubt who is the better fighter. Unfortunately, Sato didn’t show he is a worthy opponent. The first kick Silva threw hurt him and he went for a desperate single leg when Silva drew closer, and lost through hammer-fist strikes to his head while he was holding that single, which might be the first knock out of its kind. This performance was less indicative of Silva’s prowess than of Sato’s lack thereof. If we can learn anything about Silva from this fight is that in spite of Sato’s incompetence he was still able to take Silva down, if only for a second, through that sloppy single he was holding for dear life. Therefore this fight also doesn’t put Silva back in any interesting position. This is evident in the rankings as well, awarding Silva just 3 more spots and placing him at #27 WW.
[#6 W125] 
[#5 FW] 
[#16 FW] 
[#6 HW] 
