NEWARK -- The UFC isn't confirming Luke Rockhold is the next No. 1 contender at 185 pounds -- but do they really need to?
The most lasting image of Saturday's event inside the Prudential Center might have been Ronaldo Souza walking out of the Octagon, following a dominant performance against Chris Camozzi that lasted all of 153 seconds.
The Brazilian raised his arms to the crowd, which drew a tame response. He made the "belt" motion across his waist. Crickets.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan didn't interview Souza. The telecast needed to move on to the main event. Apparently, tapping Camozzi in under three minutes still wasn't quick enough to buy Souza some time on the microphone.
If it's any consolation, Souza's bad luck (his original opponent, Yoel Romero, was forced to withdraw from the fight one week ago due to injury) wouldn't have made much of a difference on the night anyway, as far as title shots are concerned. That aforementioned mic Souza never got his hands on, Rockhold symbolically dropped it by the end of the night.
As impressive as Souza (22-3) has been in the UFC, he's not more of a title contender than Rockhold (14-2), who choked out Lyoto Machida in Saturday's main event and also has a win over Souza from September 2011.
Expect the UFC to hold off making anything official at least until Chris Weidman fights Vitor Belfort next month at UFC 187. Hopefully around or before that time, the UFC will find out if it's been cleared for Madison Square Garden in December. The deadline on that decision is mid-June, when the New York legislative session ends.
Either way, if you're looking for drama in naming the No. 1 middleweight contender, you won't find much. It's going to be Rockhold. Here are the rest of the grades from the UFC event.
(A+) Max Holloway (Round 3 submission win over Cub Swanson)
In a night that was chalk full of "torch passing," I think Holloway's beatdown of Cub Swanson was the least predictable going into the event. In fact, all the other young guns who won were actually betting favorites (VanZant, Dariush, Sterling, you could even add Rockhold to this list). And while it's not like we've never seen Swanson dominated before (we just saw it in November, actually), it's previously been done on the floor. No one has made it look this easy against Swanson on the feet before. Believe in 'Blessed.'
(A+) Luke Rockhold (Round 2 submission win over Lyoto Machida)
Did any small part of you cry out at some point during this fight, 'Luke! Don't hurt him!' Show of hands, be honest. It's OK, I did, too. Which part was it? When he was targeting the side of his head with tomahawk elbows from back mount? When he tossed him to the ground in the second round like he was a throw pillow? This fight was supposed to be competitive! Minutes in, I just wanted Machida to avoid serious injury. Outside of Conor McGregor, is there any other title contender in the UFC with more momentum than Rockhold?
(A+) Ronaldo Souza (Round 1 submission win over Chris Camozzi)
It was what it was. You obviously can't take anything away from Souza, who stepped up and did his job as efficiently as humanly possible -- and at the same time, you can't really blame the New Jersey crowd for not going crazy about it. It would have felt like cheering the lion from the African safari who tears the poor antelope to shreds. Watching Souza submit Camozzi in the first round for the second time in two years ... it just was this formality that had to happen before the main event -- like washing your hands before dinner. Not fair, but again. It was what it was.
(A) Beneil Dariush (Unanimous decision win over Jim Miller)
Ever since Ramsey Nijem TKO'd Dariush one year ago in Abu Dhabi, I think I've subconsciously been waiting for it to happen again. Almost as though I tagged Dariush as that 'world-class grappler who unfortunately lacks elite speed and athleticism on his feet and is destined to either submit his opponent or get badly out-struck while flailing for takedowns.' And to be clear, he was never that guy -- it was far too early in his career to label him in that way -- but after he lost to Nijem, I thought he *might* be that guy. These last two wins have really put that to bed.
(A) Aljamain Sterling (Round 3 submission win over Takeya Mizugaki)
Sucked the life right out of Takeya Mizugaki by thoroughly man-handling him in grappling exchanges. If you look back on Mizugaki's career, he is the definition of that often-used term 'gate-keeper.' He's lost the fights he should have lost and won the fights he should have won. Every single fighter who has defeated Mizugaki since 2009 has either held or fought for a WEC or UFC title, so it's safe to Sterling is in good company with this dominant win.
(A) Paige VanZant (Unanimous decision win over Felice Herrig)
What a gift VanZant is to the UFC. An attractive 21-year-old female, who doesn't fear the spotlight and goes full-on banshee for 15 straight minutes when she fights. She handed Herrig her back on a silver platter multiple times in this fight, mostly due to being overly aggressive, but that's just how VanZant rolls. It's probably the 21-year-old in her coming out. No need to think too many steps ahead -- just get out there and go. It produces something that is incredibly entertaining to watch. If I'm a female strawweight, I want to fight VanZant, but I know I better be prepared.
(B+) Ovince Saint Preux (Round 1 KO win over Patrick Cummins)
It was kind of funny watching OSP's strategy. On one hand, he appeared to be fighting relatively cautious -- and one would think the reason behind this would be to avoid the takedown. But when he did choose to open up, it's not like he was pawing a light jab. He tried to take Cummins' head off with a head kick or light into him with a spinning back-kick to the gut. He paid for these moves several times, including one case in which Cummins timed a shot and eventually threw him on his head, but he always scrambled back up. The uppercut he landed was a money punch.
(B+) Tim Means (Round 3 submission win over George Sullivan)
It's pretty hard not to compare Means to Matt Brown at this point. Both faced drug addictions that nearly consumed their lives. Both came out on the other side, built winning streaks that defied odds -- and both also happen to have the same penchant for standup violence. Means pours it on his opponents, whether it be knees and elbows from the clinch or straight punches at range. This guy is all offense all the time. Why not have Means vs. Brown for the all-violence award in 2015? Shouldn't we have this? Why can't we have this?
(B+) Gian Villante (Round 3 KO win over Corey Anderson)
Chris Weidman was about to tear the Octagon apart celebrating Villante's right hand. This win was about leg kicks and what opens up when you land a lot of leg kicks, but it was probably even more so about heart, because Villante ate some leather in this fight and kept going. After watching this fight for three rounds, I'd probably say Villante was the less-talented fighter in the cage but he gutted out a victory here and it was nice to see the UFC reward him with a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
(C-) Jim Miller (Unanimous decision loss to Beniel Dariush)
Miller has been tapping grown men for close to a decade now, so you can't blame him for turning to his bread and butter against Dariush -- but I have to say, I do question his decision to sell out on armbar and guillotine attempts that eventually put him on his back underneath a big lightweight with a strong grappling pedigree. Everybody has a specific style, but at the same time, unless you're clearly better than everyone, you can't fight everyone in the exact same way. Miller is too good of a lightweight to get handled the way he did.
(D) Chris Camozzi (Round 1 submission loss to Ronaldo Souza)
He avoids an 'F' for stepping up to the plate and fighting a beast of an opponent in Souza -- but to be fair, it was a ticket back into the UFC. As much courage as Camozzi showed in taking the fight, he also showed common sense. When an opportunity to rejoin the UFC roster presents itself, in a co-main event none the less, you jump on that.
(F) Lyoto Machida (Round 2 submission loss to Luke Rockhold)
Poor Machida wandered into oncoming traffic, plain and simple. You don't want to hit the panic button after one fight -- and this guy was relatively competitive in a five-rounder against Weidman nine short months ago -- but one has to be a little concerned about the 36-year-old's future, right? He already turned in his 'change weight classes to revamp your career' card. As fantastic a middleweight as he's been, that blazing speed of his hasn't gotten it done against the top of the division -- and 'blazing speed' is one of the first things to go post-35. Worried?
(F) Cub Swanson (Round 3 submission loss to Max Holloway)
Counting the Frankie Edgar drubbing in November, we've essentially watched eight consecutive rounds of Swanson losing. Badly. As embarrassing as the Edgar fight was, in such a big moment, Swanson would have still been in a halfway decent spot with a good showing against Holloway. Instead, he was run out of the building again. This is an unforgiving sport, where an 0-2 skid can all but erase a 6-0 run -- and that's where Swanson finds himself now. If you need him anytime in the next few months, check near the drawing board.