Smartest Guy at the Bar: UFC 186 Edition

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Standing in the shadow of the massive Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao boxing match, UFC 186 “Johnson vs. Horiguchi” on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal is the last pay-per-view before the Ultimate Fighting Championship rolls out its stellar summer lineup. Unfortunately, the Octagon’s latest foray into Canada has been on a rollercoaster ride that has left us all kind of tipsy. A headliner got hurt, a welterweight got promoted to contender and the prodigal son showed up without the right signatures. Still, the card is well-matched, with all but two of the bouts relatively close from a betting perspective. Plus, one of the sport’s premium champions faces a suitable challenger, and one of Europe’s most popular fighters throws down. Did I mention UFC 187 is less than a month away?

Related » UFC 186 Full Preview

HOW WE GOT HERE: This might take a while. A bantamweight title rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao fell through when Team Alpha Male’s only champion injured a rib, pushing the fight to UFC on Fox 16 later this summer. The previously scheduled co-main event between flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson and Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi became the marquee attraction. The Norifumi Yamamoto-trained Horiguchi earned a shot at the sport’s premier 125-pound fighter on the back of a nine-fight winning streak, with the last four of those victories taking place in the UFC ... Originally booked to partake in the pay-per-view's opening bout, middleweights Michael Bisping and C.B. Dollaway were briefly paired in the co-headliner while Rampage Jackson's status was in question. Both men are coming off losses, Bisping to Luke Rockhold and Dollaway to Lyoto Machida. ... Current No. 1 contender Rory MacDonald was paired with Hector Lombard in a high-profile welterweight showdown. The fight was scrapped with no reason given, until news broke that Lombard failed his UFC 182 drug test. Instead of lining up another dance partner for MacDonald in Montreal, Zuffa brass awarded him a title shot against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 ... Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson planned to return to the UFC against Brazilian brawler Fabio Maldonado. In wake of a three-fight losing streak and failure to see eye-to-eye with the UFC from a business standpoint, Jackson left the company for rival Bellator MMA in 2013. The grass was not greener on the other side, so the 36-year-old re-signed with the UFC despite his existing contract with Bellator. A temporary injunction forced “Rampage” out of his match with Maldonado, and former semi-professional hockey player Steve Bosse stepped in to replace him. However, the injunction was lifted on the 11th hour, allowing the UFC to insert Jackson back in the lineup. Oh, the webs we weave.

‘RAMPAGE’ IN FLUX: The Scott Coker era in Viacom-owned Bellator has been nothing if not intriguing. After stating there was not a single fighter out of his reach, Coker attempted to sign Gilbert Melendez (failed), went after Phil Davis (succeeded) and made it clear “Rampage” Jackson belonged to Bellator. However, a judge on Tuesday awarded Jackson’s services to the UFC, at least for the time being. Why would the UFC sign a Bellator fighter when there was a strong chance that the courts would put a kibosh on it? It wound up being a no-lose proposition. Whether or not “Rampage” was forced to sit out in Montreal, he was not going to be fighting in Bellator. That was a win in the UFC’s book. As the two rival promotions battle it out for fighter services, television deals and market shares, we will only see more and more of these situations play out.

USELESS FACT: Bisping may travel more than any fighter on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster. When the UFC needs a game fighter to headline a Fight Pass show in Macau or a Fox Sports 1 event in Brazil, it calls on “The Count.” Since 2013, Bisping has fought on four different continents and in five different countries: Brazil, the United States, Canada, China and Australia. It would take him 70 hours and 30 minutes to fly from his home in Southern California to each one of those stops, if you combined them into one long trip; and that does not include the promotional travel he undertakes for the company, as well. Bisping is 3-3 in that around-the-world tour. His record stood at 22-4 before it. Those frequent-flyer miles come at a price.

NOT DONE YET: With a win over Horiguchi, Johnson will push his current winning streak to eight fights. The tear would include six consecutive title defenses, placing him behind only Jon Jones (eight) and Jose Aldo (seven) among current UFC champions. He will also have defeated half of the flyweights in Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings, including Joseph Benavidez (twice), John Dodson, Ian McCall and John Moraga. A brief glance at that list might lead fans to believe Johnson has cleaned out the division and should look for greener, fresher pastures. Talk of a super fight with bantamweight champion Dillashaw comes up often but has not gained any real traction. For now, both champions have enough intriguing bouts available to them in their own divisions. Johnson still faces a possible rematch with Dodson, should “The Magician” get past Zach Makovsky at UFC 187; and prospects like Ray Borg and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo continue to develop. It falls upon UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby to keep Johnson busy with qualified contenders without rushing prospects to the front of the line. It is a delicate balancing act.

SAY WHAT: It is thoroughly enjoyable watching flyweight champion Johnson knock off would-be challengers. However, that experience is all too often tainted by banging one’s head against the wall in frustration that Sherdog’s No. 4-ranked pound-for-pound fighter is not a pay-per-view draw. As annoying as that dichotomy is to the Smartest Guy at the Bar, it is far more irritating to the champion himself. While it is never wise to tell off the fan base in charge of making sure your fight check clears, Johnson’s frustration is understandable. If you enjoy high-level, high-action fights with stakes, flyweight title bouts are must- watch happenings. Johnson explained his frustration to the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” program: “I’ve gone through trying to push myself onto people when it comes to sales. I’ve been in the retail market before. I’m not saying mixed martial arts is like retail, but my job is to go out there and perform at the highest level of mixed martial arts, keep on winning and keep my belt. That’s what I plan on doing April 25. Now, if people don’t want to tune in, that’s their [expletive] bad, but they’re going to miss a kick-ass fight between me and Kyoji Horiguchi.”

AWARDS WATCH: Johnson’s flyweight belt is comfortably attached to his waist, and as promising a talent as Horiguchi is, this is too much too soon for him. “Mighty Mouse” will execute a complete game plan en route to a mid- to late-fight finish of Japan’s best flyweight … Speaking of intriguing prospects, Thomas Almeida’s 17-fight winning streak, including 16 by stoppage, creates quite the résumé. A “Fight of the Night” performance against Tim Gorman in his promotional debut showed the 23-year-old was ready for the big time. He should score a performance bonus against Yves Jabouin … John Makdessi welcomes Shane Campbell to the Octagon. Makdessi’s varied, high-action striking assaults involve spinning techniques, which are always fun for the audience. Campbell has a wealth of muay Thai experience and is equally creative standing. Fan-friendly stuff from the local Canadians should earn them “Fight of the Night” checks.