Here are some thoughts from Fight Night 22:

Cole Miller defeats Ross Pearson via submission, Rd. 2

I pretty much hit this one on the head… Just saying.

Midway through the first round I thought Ross was settling in nicely. I even thought he rang Cole’s bell a few times. It seemed the second round would be the end of the American Top Team Fighter with the Brit pouring it on. I was wrong.

Cole showed tremendous progress in this fight by keeping his calm and not wildly shooting for takedowns. He started to find his range in the second and the combo that sent Pearson to the mat was beautiful. From there, he got the choke and that’s all she wrote. Well done.

Next for Miller: I wish he could have had a rematch with Joe Lauzon since their quarterfinal fight on TUF5 was somewhat controversial. It would have been a nice test for both men and serve as a springboard into title contention. Alas, Joe has instead been thrown to the Saucy Aussie Georgey S. in a fight where he is outmatched.

Anyway, Cole will definitely stay on the main card and a fight with Kurt Pellegrino will give us a better idea of where Magrinho is at.

Next for Pearson: A tough loss for the TUF9 champ, but he can rebound against fellow FN22 loser, Gleison Tibau.

Jim Miller defeats Gleison Tibau via decision

I wouldn’t have complained with whoever the judges gave this to. It all came down to what they hold in higher regard – damage or takedowns. It was one of those fights that lend itself well to those who say MMA needs a more concrete stance on how to judge a fight and what counts for what.

In the end, they got it right as the two times Miller rocked Gleison should have counted more than Tibau’s takedowns that he did little with. That said, I was pretty impressed with the Brazilian’s wrestling. I realize he was the much bigger man, but he still rag-dolled a D1 wrestler on occasion.

Next for Miller: I think a battle with Kenny Florian would make a lot of sense. If Jim wins, he is primed for a title shot. If Kenny wins, he is right back in business.

Next for Tibau: As mentioned, I’d like to see him fight Ross Pearson.

Charles Oliviera defeats Efrain Escudero via submission Rd. 3

Charles Oliviera is good – real good. I saw flashes – albeit to a lesser scale – of Jose Aldo in this fight with his lanky limbs throwing flying knees and leg kicks. Efrain was totally taken by surprise by the stand-up of do Bronx. Once that happened Hencho’s gameplan was out the window.

After getting a knee to the groin in the third, Charles came out with renewed fire to end the fight – a great sign for the size of his heart. Pretty soon he was on Escudero’s back and that was all she wrote.

As good as a win this was for Oliviera, I think something was wrong with Efrain. He missed weight by three pounds and I still haven’t heard any explanation as to why. On top of this, he didn’t look his normal self in there. I would have liked to see him take his chances inside Charles’ guard. He was landing some nice shots in there at the end of round 1.

Next for Oliviera: Hopefully, the UFC doesn’t hot shot him up the ladder. He still has a ways to go before title contention and a bout with the winner of Guillard/Stephens would be natural progression.

Next for Escudero: Hopefully this was just a small bump in the road for the 24-year-old because he did not look good at all last night. I think a bout with Terry Etim would do well to get one of those men back on track.

Nate Marquardt defeats Rousimar Palhares via TKO, Rd. 1

This one was just bizarre. I don’t know what Palhares was thinking protesting in the middle of the fight, but it cost him when Nate smashed his face.

It’s a shame too because that was turning into a really good fight. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, there will be no controversy as everyone – including Rousimar – has stated that Marquardt was not greased.

Next for Marquardt: The loser of November’s Okami/Belfort clash. Some people are saying he should get the winner to set-up a #1 contender fight, but I think whoever wins in Germany will get the shot automatically.

Next for Palhares: I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight Dan Miller.

The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck

As for TUF I really wasn’t paying as much attention as I would have liked, but here are some guys who looked pretty good. As always, it will take me until about midway through the show to have their names.

- The first dude who Koscheck coached that knocked the guy out in 13 seconds
- The red-headed guy GSP crossed off
- Bruce Leroy
- Michael Johnson (I remember his name because the Giants have a safety named Michael Johnson)
- The fisherman with the cool guillotine

I looked up Nam Phan’s record since I always hear his name. He has lost seven times and outside of those seven losses, I haven’t heard of a single guy on his record. Not a good sign.

Stay lucky,
Ken