The last time Ryan Jimmo donned the UFC brand was during his TUF 8 appearance vs. future Strikeforce fighter Antwain Britt. Although Jimmo lost by majority decision to Britt, he kept an optimistic outlook in that one day he would earn another chance to fight on MMA’s biggest stage, saying on his elimination episode, “Dana White said it was probably one of the better fights of the day so that’s good. The UFC already has their eye on me.”
It was with this drive that Jimmo commanded an undefeated record for the next three years to present day. In 2010, Ryan Jimmo faced UFC veteran Wilson Gouveia at MFC 25, where he grinded the Brazilian to a unanimous decision via striking and ground and pound. On October 7th of this year, the MFC Light Heavyweight champion ran into Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at MFC 31, where he won a controversial unanimous decision by meager margins of half a point by the judges (49-48.5, 49-48.5, 49-48).
Many critics believed that Sokoudjou won the fight, as he opened up a significant cut on Jimmo’s forehead via knee in the 2nd round. Later in the fight, Sokoudjou continued to apply ring aggression, landing left handed strikes in round 4.
Regardless of his previous bout, Dana White and the UFC once again have their eyes on the Canadian Light Heavyweight, as he will make his debut against Karlos Vemola on January 20th, 2012 at UFC Fight Night 26.
The question of whether Ryan Jimmo is ready for the UFC is quite arguable. If Jimmo couldn’t finish an overweight and unconditioned Gouveia (they fought at a catch weight because of Gouveia’s weigh-in) and could barely defeat someone who was cut from the UFC, does he deserve the jump from MFC to UFC quite yet?
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