NEW CHAMPIONS CROWNED, NEW CHALLENGES AWAIT

Probably the biggest news stories to come out of last week’s epic fights were the crowning of new champions in both the Women’s Bantamweight division and the Lightweight division. Amanda Nunes was looked upon as cannon fodder by most experts and fans, but it appeared that know one informed her of that fact. She looked crisp and vicious in her one round demolishing of Miesha Tate in the main event of UFC 200. With some well placed punches and aggression she was able to seize the title with an emphatic submission victory. From the looks of things the UFC has a few options they can go with for potential challengers to Nunes’ crown. She could either face the winner of Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko, Ronda Rousey should she decide to return to action, or, and perhaps the most intriguing, battle with Julianna Pena. Eddie Alvarez also captured UFC gold as he blasted Rafael dos Anjos with punches in the first round of their bout. Alvarez used great movement, some well placed kicks, and a looping right hand and dos Anjos found himself in all sorts of trouble. Now that the former Bellator Lightweight champion is now the UFC champion the next most intriguing match up would be against newcomer Will Brooks. Brooks had an entertaining and competitive match with Ross Pearson, is a former Bellator champion himself, and has already issued a challenge to Alvarez. The problem is that not enough people know of Brooks in the mainstream, so it appears that only time will tell if the two former Bellator champions face off next. BROCK’S RETURN Brock Lesnar’s victory over Mark Hunt was pretty impressive just for the fact that the former Heavyweight champion hadn’t competed in more than four years. To come back and triumph over a fighter the caliber of Hunt. Lesnar proved not only that he can still have a successful future in fighting, but that he has the ability to take a shot and keep pushing forward. Though it’s unclear if Lesnar will fight ever again, the fact is that all eyes are on the former champ and the sky is the limit for the WWE/UFC superstar. JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK VS CLAUDIA GADELHA Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha. That’s right, wrote it twice, don’t care. There are few times when a grudge match lives up to the all the hype. The Strawweight championship was contested by two of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world and Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha both showed what it takes to be a champion in the UFC. Though Gadelha may have lost the match her stock hasn’t fallen much after her performance against the champion. Now that Joanna has defended her belt once again the only thing fans can do is sit back, kick their feet up, and absorb the championship level performance she put down this past weekend. Did you enjoy the fights this weekend? Follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share, like, and comment to show your support.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.