The UFC put the Paige and Sage Show on big FOX, and if they were hoping for impressive wins to elevate their respective profiles, it backfired spectacularly. Paige VanZant was promoted like an HBO Boxing A-side fighter, highlighting her time on Dancing With the Stars, airing a 1-on-1 interview with Erin Andrews, and Michelle Waterson (or Michelle Waterman, as Mike Goldberg called her) ran through Paige in under 4 minutes. Waterson looked fantastic, outstriking VanZant before tossing her to the canvas and then sinking in a rear-naked choke that rendered Paige unconscious. You may remember VanZant’s line about preferring to go out cold than tap out, of which she did the latter vs. Rose Namajunas.

As for the co-main event, Sage Northcutt and Mickey Gall actually put in a pretty damn fun fight, but Gall was the one who dug deep from a rough start to the 2nd round and dropped Super Sage, then took his back and got the fight-ending rear-naked choke. Gall also took Northcutt down multiple times in the 1st round, and grading the fight as a whole, Mickey was the better fighter. Mickey has since stated his plan to drop down to 155 (which seems insane), as well as call out Dan Hardy. For Northcutt, he’s still 20 years old, but it’s time to go to a real camp and stay there. Gall had Firas Zahabi in his corner. Sage still has his career managed by his dad. You tell me who has the upper hand.

More thoughts on tonight’s UFC on FOX 22 show:

Main Card

• It doesn’t have to be at UFC 207 given it’s two weeks away, but Jessica Andrade needs an opponent, and Waterson made tonight’s fight look easy, so… I’m just saying.
• VanZant obviously is a ways from title contention, but she’s still more than good enough to beat the middle and lower tiers of 115. It’s a different story for Sage Northcutt, however. His last three fights tell me that the only fighters he beats in the UFC are ones who probably shouldn’t be in the UFC. Basically, the UFC can only book him against the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel right now.
• As a whole, this was one of the worst UFC broadcasts I’ve ever seen on FOX. That Dominick Cruz-Cody Garbrandt interview was cringeworthy. Cruz had his usual great zingers but they ended up talking over each other plenty, and some of the broadcast was blanked out by the censors because Cody used naughty words. Absolute trainwreck. They had Skip Bayless talk about Ronda Rousey, and I immediately switched to something else. I have no idea what the hell tonight’s broadcast was, but it certainly wasn’t quality.
• Urijah Faber nearly ended his career with a one punch KO of “One Punch” Pickett, but Pickett is still tough as hell and survived a brutal 1st round. Still, “The California Kid” ended his career as a winner, taking a 30-26 (x3) decision in front of his fans. It’s been a great run for Faber, he never captured UFC gold, but his peak years were in the WEC, and if you’re new to the sport, you have to watch Faber’s time as the dominant force in the WEC’s featherweight division. A thank you to Urijah Faber for some great memories and many great fights, finishes, and I wish all the best to him in retirement.
• By the way, Joe Martinez couldn’t do the announcing of Faber’s final fight, because he’s at the Bernard Hopkins retirement fight as Golden Boy’s ring announcer.
• Alan Jouban and Mike Perry weren’t expected to last the distance, but it did go to the scorecards, and Jouban was the deserved winner. Perry’s offense was basically rendered useless after round 1, and Jouban schooled him with his more multi-faceted striking, particularly that steady dose of kicks to the body and to the head. Good win for Jouban, and while Perry may have punching power, his limitations were exposed tonight.

Preliminary Card

• Scotland’s Paul Craig recorded the only finish on the FS1 prelims, submitting Luis Henrique da Silva with a nice armbar early in round 2. Craig moves to 8-0 and seems like a good talent to watch at 205 lbs. Don’t ask me what he said in the post-fight interview, though. Direct your translation requests to actual Scotsman Iain Kidd.
• Mizuto Hirota beat Cole Miller in a really really dull fight. You have to question Miller’s mindset, given how much he’s voiced his displeasure with the UFC, and how much that has affected his desire to keep competing. Even before that was made public, Miller has not looked objectively good in a fight in over 2 years. This is probably the last time we see the TUF 5 alum in the UFC.
• Colby Covington’s striking looked improved, and he used his striking to set up his takedowns on numerous occasions, as he shut out Bryan Barberena to win a unanimous decision. Keep an eye out on Covington as a possible top 15 fighter in 2017. Oh yeah, and apparently he won this fight having torn his MCL a month ago.
• James Moontasri was tattooing Alex Morono’s ghostly pale body with hard kicks, but Morono took over in rounds 2 and 3 with his boxing and his elbows in the clinch. Morono pretty much had Moontasri out on his feet in the 3rd, but he settled for a decision win. Moontasri isn’t UFC material and I think he’s headed back to the regional scene.
• Josh Emmett and Scott Holtzman put on a hell of a fight, with Emmett taking the win on the scorecards. These two lightweights set a ridiculous pace from the opening frame, but Emmett’s striking was tighter and more powerful, and that combined with winning some of the key scrambles proved to be the difference in this one.
• Leslie Smith’s striking and pressuring style worked brilliantly against the much-touted Irene Aldana, and “The Peacemaker” pulled off the upset win over Aldana by unanimous decision. Smith nearly finished Aldana in the 1st round with a big right hand, but while she didn’t get the knockout, fans were treated to an extremely entertaining striking contest, and it deservedly won Fight of the Night.
• Takeya Mizugaki actually was looking pretty good with his striking against Eddie Wineland, but Mizugaki isn’t known for his power, and Wineland is, so the end result was Wineland stopping Mizugaki in the 1st round. I have no issue with the stoppage given Mizugaki looked out of it after both knockdowns. Wineland picks up another knockout win, while Mizugaki endures another knockout loss.
• The Fight Pass card kicked off with Sultan Aliev winning a horrifically boring split decision over Bojan Velickovic, followed by flyweight prospect Hector Sandoval turning in an impressive unanimous decision win over Fredy Serrano.