Jeff Monson vs. Another Guy I’ve Never Heard Of

Jeff Monson (30-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will appear against up-and-comer Tony Sylvester (11-2 MMA) for Rock N Rumble III in Cleveland, Ohio. Monson has been on fire lately, destroying some of the best fighters in the sport, while Sylvester has been off of the radar, but he dropped a recent unanimous decision to Chris Tuchscherer (17-1-0-1 MMA) . Tuchscherer is the real deal and will be taking on Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (10-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC 102 (where he will be a huge underdog and probably get smashed, but that’s another point altogether).

Monson is coming off of a huge submission win over Sergei Kharitonov in April, continuing his now six fight roll which includes victories over future TUF competitor “Big Country” Roy Nelson (13-4 MMA) , former UFC and Pride tournament winner Mark Kerr (15-10-0-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez (34-10 MMA, 5-2 UFC) .

Whether Monson is on the verge of becoming a top ten heavyweight is highly debatable, and it certainly won’t happen if he’s fighting unknown fighters like Sylvester. Unfortunately, Monson is not taking a step into a major organization, and that’s going to make it difficult for him to take on respectable opponents. Staying in Japan, fighting for World Victory Road, seemed like a good idea, or moving into an organization like Strikeforce (who I’m sure would be happy to have him), but since he’s going to continue to fight in small shows, he’ll be able to rack up the wins, but he’ll have a tough time garnering respect.