Joe Stevenson Defeats Spencer Fisher

Joe Stevenson did exactly what he needed to do to win this fight. He had some fun trading punches with Spencer Fisher. However Joe never let Spencer get too comfortable there. Joe made it clear he wanted things on the ground. Even when he was unsuccessful with a takedown, it did enough to get Spencer off his game. Fisher has good stand-up skills, but he really needs to improve the rest of his arsenal first.

Joe on the other hand has a great top game. Fisher is not the athlete or the ground technician that can deal with Joe's best offense. Joe uses his strength, as well as his technique to control his opponents. He obviously loves the crucifix position.

As Roy Nelson has taught us, you don't need powerful strikes to finish a fight. In all fairness to Joe, those elbows looked pretty good. Certainly, it was a worse experience than having your daughter repeatedly slap you.

Stevenson must be happy to be finishing fights again. The problem is, there's lots of strong lightweight wrestlers in the UFC. Then there's guys like BJ Penn and Kenny Florian who are great at everything. Joe's going to have to keep on evolving (hint: get better at striking) if he wants to get any where near a title shot again.

Next Fight: Chael Sonnen vs. Yushin Okami

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