10 Things I Like at UFC 264
From Dustin Poirier's biggest moment to a bunch of intriguing prelims, there is a lot about this weekend's event that piques my interest and has me excited about Saturday's pay-per-view
Poirier’s Superstar Moment
Over the last couple years, Dustin Poirier has gone from being a respected fighter in the thick of the title chase in the lightweight division to being widely regarded as the best active UFC lightweight and one of the best human beings in the sport.
This week feels like his moment in the spotlight, his chance to really bask in all that appreciation and attention, and potentially parlay that into becoming one of the biggest superstars in the sport.
While Conor McGregor is out here posting trash talk voice memos and IG screenshots, Poirier is on Embedded making his daughter laugh, talking about how much he misses his family, and generally ignoring all the nonsense. He’s locked in, as he has been for the last several years, really, and if he follows up his January knockout of McGregor with a similar effort in the third instalment on Saturday night in Las Vegas, “The Diamond” could the face of the UFC, and there are few more deserving of such an accolade.
Go look at his resume and you’ll see myriad points where he could have said, “This is the best I’m going to be” and settled into a lengthy career as living in the 6-10 range in either the featherweight or lightweight divisions. Instead, the proud native of Lafayette, Louisiana always picked himself up off the canvas and kept pressing, making whatever changes were necessary to continue making incremental gains towards his goals. He also stopped defining himself by his vocation, bringing depth and richness to his life through his family and his Good Fight Foundation, turning fighting into what he does instead of who he is.
And it’s all come together to produce a 7-1 (1 NC) record over his last nine fights, including an interim title victory, a shot at the undisputed lightweight crown, and recognition as one of the best in the game.
This fight feels like both a moment to recognize that ascent and a chance to take things to another level — a level few athletes reach — and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving individual.
Direction for McGregor
Regardless of how things shake out on Saturday night, we’re going to come away from UFC 264 with a much better sense of where Conor McGregor is headed in his mixed martial arts career. Now, “The Notorious” Irishman could certainly throw everyone a curveball and catch us by surprise once the smoke clears and the dust settles, but the outcome of this weekend’s trilogy bout with Poirier should tell us what to expect from McGregor inside the Octagon over the next 6-12 months, at least.
As I detailed earlier in the week, I genuinely believe that with a victory, the soon-to-be 33-year-old will take aim at the welterweight title, setting his sights on a December date with Kamaru Usman in hopes of becoming the first man to challenge for and potentially win gold in three different weight classes. It’s a fight that makes sense on a lot of levels and the kind of grandiose undertaking that McGregor traditionally gets up for. Remember, he wanted to have a big comeback year in 2020 before the pandemic derailed those plans, and now it feels like he’s shifted that forward to this year and this could be the next step.
But I don’t think a loss sends McGregor scurrying out of the Octagon and away from the sport for another extended break, as he’s already committed the first half of this year to getting himself in fighting shape and competing, and there are options out there for him no matter what happens this weekend. The obvious choice is a third bout with Nathan Diaz, while a bout with Jorge Masvidal for the BMF title feels like a very real option if Diaz doesn’t want to settle things, and I think we’ll get a good sense of which of those is most appealing to McGregor sooner, rather than later if he loses this weekend.
I’m hesitant to say the sport is better when McGregor is active because I’m an elitist snob that has always thought it was pretty freakin’ good and someone that doesn’t necessarily like the increased attention from outlets and personnel that otherwise show little interest in the UFC and its athletes when McGregor isn’t competing, but I will say it’s fun having an active McGregor around because there is no denying he brings a different kind of energy to things.
No matter how things play out with Poirier, I get the sense that this isn’t the last time we’ll see the Irish superstar inside the Octagon this year, and that we’ll get a fairly clear sense of what comes next for him very soon after this weekend’s festivities come to a close.
A Chance to Further Appreciate “Wonderboy”
After Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson defeated Geoff Neal in the final bout of 2021, I wrote that it was a classic effort from the now 38-year-old South Carolina resident — a tactical, fundamentally sound performance where he frustrated his opponent by manipulating and dictating how and where the fight was contested.
For the second straight fight and countless time in his UFC career, he forced another welterweight hopeful to deal with clean strikes and limited chances to respond, maintaining his in and out movement and striking advantage throughout the five-round affair, showing no signs of being closer to 40 than to 35. It was a vintage “Wonderboy” effort, but framing it as such feels like we’re not doing justice to what Thompson continues to do int he 170-pound ranks.
Traditionally speaking, fighters aren’t supposed to age this well and persist this long without losing a step or two, but in his tenth year on the UFC roster and after 16 appearances inside the Octagon, the last dozen against elite competition, Thompson looks every bit like the elusive, technical striker that strung together seven consecutive victories to land a shot at the welterweight title, and that’s after the 1-3-1 stretch that followed that lengthy run of success.
Each of his last two bookings have left like matchups designed to catapult his opponents, Vicente Luque and then Neal, to the next level in the welterweight division, and each time, Thompson has made it clear that not only is he not a stepping stone, but that he’s still a contender in his own right. Now he’s paired off with Gilbert Burns in a fight that clarifies where the winner stands in the division, but doesn't necessarily bring them any closer to a championship opportunity, and it feels like another instance where the battle-tested veteran should, based on historical evidence, take a step back.
But at this point, it seems like the safer course of action is to wait until “Wonderboy” actually starts showing genuine signs of decline before suggesting his days as a legitimate title threat are over, and to appreciate this truly unique talent.
Tricky Spot for “Sugar Sean”
Sean O’Malley is in a no-win situation on Saturday night.
Originally scheduled to face Louis Smolka, “Sugar” instead faces newcomer Kris Moutinho, a 28-year-old New England product with a 9-4 record who tagged in for the dangerous Hawaiian when he was forced out of the matchup early last week. As of this writing, O’Malley is a -1000 favourite on Bet365.com, meaning you would need to wager $1000 on him to win in order to make $100 profit.
O’Malley is expected to storm through Moutinho, but therein lies his conundrum:
If he looks outstanding and collect a first-round finish, he’s simply doing what he should do given the circumstances, but if he struggles even a little or somehow happens to lose, it’s a catastrophic result for the confident, flamboyant bantamweight hopeful.
He’s a burgeoning superstar as a result of his early success and help captive by it at the same time — expected to deliver highlight reel finishes without breaking a sweat because that’s what he’s predicted and delivered on multiple occasions, while being labelled “overrated” and subjected to greater scrutiny whenever he doesn’t meet those incredible standards.
Technically, O’Malley is the real deal — fluid, powerful, and unafraid to take risks, trusting in his skills, his reads, and his sharp reactions — and while there are maturity issues that could be dialled in a little more, he has all the markers of a future contender and potential champion, none of which should change if he doesn’t blow through Moutinho as anticipated on Saturday night.
This is a tricky spot for the technicolor standout, and it will be interesting to see how he responds.
Fighter I Can’t Quit: Max Griffin
Max Griffin is one of those guys that took a slightly longer road to get to the UFC, as a result, you could see from the jump how much being on the biggest stage in the sport meant to him.
He wore his passion for his craft and his desire to succeed on his face and on his sleeve at all times, and when the results didn’t come often enough through his first nine UFC appearances, you could tell that it didn’t sit well with him. Sure, he’d built a reputation for being a consistently entertaining fighter and a tough out for anyone on the welterweight division, but a 3-6 record still stings no matter how many times you try to re-litigate those close losses and questionable decisions.
But two fights back, Griffin started working with a mental coach who told him to stop taking things so seriously when he’s inside the cage; to be more of the playful, excitable, go-with-the-flow person that he is in his every day life.
He listened and literally beat the ear off of Ramiz Brahimaj’s face, having fun the entire time and coming to the realization that his mental coach was on to something. Four months later, he turned out Song Kenan’s lights with a quick, clean one-two along the fence less than halfway through the opening round. This weekend, he’s facing Carlos Condit in a dream matchup that could also vault him to the fringes of the Top 15 if he’s able to extend his winning streak to three.
It was never a question of want or talent with Griffin, but rather application, and more specifically, trusting in himself that he’s capable of just letting things go and being successful. Now that he believes that fully, the 35-year-old NorCal native has become one of the more compelling dark horses in the 170-pound weight classes, and I’m always going to pay close attention to those types of guys.
Chaos Alert: Niko Price vs. Michel Pereira
Like everyone else with a pulse, mine accelerated when I first heard that two of the greatest wild men in the UFC welterweight division, Niko Price and Michel Pereira, had been scheduled to fight each other at UFC 264.
Then I thought back to Pereira’s last bout, a highly anticipated, explosive pairing with Khaos Williams at the end of last year, and remembered that the Brazilian who I wouldn’t hesitate to describe as “wildly unorthodox” prior to that contest actually toned things down a ton and fought rather conventionally.
For a minute, I was sad, and concerned that this too would fail to live up to expectations, morphing from a would-be hurricane of kicks and punches and chaotic attacks into a traditional kickboxing match, but then I remember that Niko Price is physically incapable of being in a normal fight, and I was happy again.
While Pereira might want to keep his crazy in check, Price won’t let him fight comfortably or methodically on Saturday because he’s actually allergic to being in a boring fight and allowing his opponents to do anything but engage on his terms. That might mean he gets knocked out or submitted or has to go through hell in order to get the victory, but Price is up for all of that, exclusively, every time he steps into the cage, and this weekend will be no different.
I very seldom do this, but I feel confident enough to say that I guarantee this will not be a boring fight.
Get at me on Twitter if I’m wrong.
I Want to Know More About… Ilia Topuria
Through two UFC appearances, Ilia Topuria has posting consecutive victories against very different opponents, in very different methods, to solidify his place in the division and establish himself as one of the top up-and-coming talents in the featherweight division.
This weekend, the 24-year-old prospect takes on wily veteran grappler Ryan Hall in a matchup few were eager to take, but one that could continue to elevate Topuria’s standing in the 145-pound weight class, which is why I’m ultra-keen on seeing how this one plays out.
Hall is the kind of guy that can make you look bad if you’re not really careful — he’s a submission wizard with unique entries and setups, uses an awkward karate-based approach on the feet, and is significantly better than his “just rolled out of bed” appearance and “I don’t know how I did that” victory shrug suggest. He may give off serious “guy that lives down the street from me and works at Best Buy” vibes, but he’s a decorated grappler, legitimately talented and dangerous mixed martial artist, and someone that can frustrate you to no end inside the Octagon; just as Gray Maynard.
It’s a lot of any fighter to contend with, yet alone someone with 10 fights under his belt that is still developing and finding his way on the biggest stage in the sport.
But initial indications suggest Topuria is more than capable of dealing with the challenges Hall presents and I want to see if that read is correct, because if it is and he’s successful again this weekend, we could be looking at the next great emerging prospect in the featherweight division.
Middleweight Hopefuls Collide
Dricus du Plessis and Trevin Giles were supposed to fight earlier this year before visa issues forced du Plessis out of the contests, leaving Giles to square off with and ultimately edge out Roman Dolidze.
Now they’re paired off again in the first televised preliminary card fight of the evening and I’m every bit as curious to see who emerges victorious and how as I was the first time they were matched up together.
South Africa’s du Plessis has been tremendously successful to this point in his career, boasting a 15-2 record with an early career loss to eventual UFC competitor Gareth McLellan and a knockout loss at the hands of KSW standout Roberto Soldic in a championship rematch roughly six months after du Plessis had done the same to the Croatian standout. He earned a first-round knockout win over Markus Perez in his career, and at 27 and sporting 11 victories in his last dozen fights, is just now entering what should be the prime of his career.
Giles beat a host of former and future UFC competitors on his way to the Octagon and got off to a 2-0 start with stoppage wins at light heavyweight and middleweight before taking a break to complete his time at the police academy. He stumbled in his first two fights back, losing to savvy veterans Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert, but has since collected three straight victories, flashing the potential that made him a name to watch upon arrival and an intriguing prospect to this day.
One of these men is going to earn the best win of their UFC careers this weekend and it will elevate him to a new tier in the middleweight division, opening up opportunities against more established names and more tenured competitors, earmarking the victor as one to keep close tabs on going forward.
On top of that, there is a very good chance that someone is going to get (clears throat) knocked the fuck out, man, and I think we can all agree that that is something worth tuning in to see.
Showing BT Some Love
Brad Tavares has literally grown up before our eyes inside the UFC Octagon.
He arrived in our living rooms as an inexperienced 22-year-old, knocking out highly regarded prospect Jordan Smith to earn his way on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he advanced to the semifinals and proved to be a potential future contender in the middleweight division. He debuted on the finale with a win over Seth Baczynski and followed it up by knocking out veteran Phil Baroni to establish himself as a fighter on the rise, and pretty much since then, he’s been a fixture in the Top 15.
While he’s never quite reached the point of being considered a contender in the 185-pound weight class, there is still something remarkable and commendable about spending nearly a decade as a ranked fighter while amassing a 13-6 record inside the Octagon.
Back in January, he returned from more than a year on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury to halt a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over Antonio Carlos Junior, turning in the type of fundamentally sound, measured performance that has become his signature over the years. This weekend, he seeks a second straight victory as he takes on fellow divisional stalwart Omari Akhmedov on the early prelims.
There haven’t been many incendiary moments through Tavares’ 19 UFC appearances to date, but grind out that kind of career, constantly facing tough competition while holding down a place in the rankings for nearly a decade is an achievement and accomplishment unto itself, and one that should earn guys like Tavares far more praise and recognition than they currently get.