About Last Night at UFC Vegas 21
Looking at the takeaways, talking points, and general fallout from Saturday's event in Las Vegas
An Unsatisfying Ending
An accidental eye poke brought Saturday’s main event between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad to an unexpected halt just 18 seconds into the second round.
Looking to set up a left kick, Edwards extended his left hand with his fingers pointed out, and one caught Muhammad in the right eye, prompting the Chicago native to scream out in agony and drop the canvas. The doctor came in to check on Muhammad, who said he could not see, and the bout was immediately halted, resulting in a No Contest between the welterweight combatants.
Edwards looked very good in the opening round, wobbling Muhammad with a high kick midway through the round while showing no ill effects of more than 18 months on the sidelines. Of note, he did receive a warning from referee Herb Dean during the opening stanza for having his fingers extended after grazing Muhammad’s left eye in an earlier exchange.
This is an unsatisfying ending all around.
For Edwards, it’s a frustrating conclusion to a long-awaited return, and leaves him wondering where he goes next as he comes away without a victory. For Muhammad, it’s a crushing way for his overdue big break to end, regardless of how things played out in the first. No one comes away feeling good after this one and it leaves everyone with far more questions than answers going forward.
You would hope that Edwards doesn’t lose his place in the pecking order as a result of his non-result, and that the UFC could get him booked again relatively soon against a top-ranked opponent. As for Muhammad, the most important thing is that he avoids injury and is able to fully recover in a timely manner, and after that, you’d also like to see him get another quality matchup given how willing he was to face Edwards.
It’s a disappointing way to end an otherwise entertaining night of action inside the Octagon, and it will be interesting to see how everything shakes out over the next couple weeks and months.
Ryan Spann Makes a Statement
Last time out, Ryan Spann had Johnny Walker on roller skates, got a little loose, and let a victory slip from his grasp. Saturday night, the Fortis MMA product showed he’d learned from that experience, altering his tactics when he had Misha Cirkunov hurt and ensuring he left Las Vegas with a victory in tow.
The towering and talented light heavyweight dropped the Latvian-Canadian with a clean right hand early in the contest, and rather than follow Cirkunov to the canvas, the called him back to the feet, took a measured approach, and sealed the deal, putting the Top 15 fixture on the deck with a left hand to the temple, putting him away with a series of hammerfists before the emotion poured out of him in the center of the cage.
I spoke with Spann’s head coach Sayif Saud prior to the contest and he sang his charge’s praises, labelling “Superman” a legitimate contender in the 205-pound weight class, and if you know anything about Saud, you know he’s not one to hype up anyone — including his own athletes — without reason.
The 28-year-old has all the tools, both in terms of his physical gifts and his abilities inside the Octagon, and it has long felt like it was just a matter of Spann reaching the point where he believes in himself as much as those around him have always believed in him.
Saturday night feels like it might have been that moment.
One Shot
Dan Ige needed one shot to stop Gavin Tucker and get back into the win column.
The highly anticipated featherweight clash only lasted 22 seconds, as Ige fired a counter right into the mush of Tucker as the Newfoundland and Labrador native threw a looping hook. It was a perfect counter that landed dead center, sending Tucker falling to the canvas and giving Ige a walk-off victory that makes each of his nicknames — “Dynamite” and “50K” — feel extremely apt.
This was expected to be a competitive affair after Tucker pushed his winning streak to three with a pair of quality performances in 2020 and Ige established himself as a Top 15 talent after registering victories over Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza before dropping a decision to Calvin Kattar in his first main event assignment. Instead, the Las Vegas-based Hawaiian showed that he was on a different level than the tattooed Canadian, blasting him with a single clean shot to secure the victory.
Following the contest, Ige called for an opportunity to face Chan Sung Jung, who landed on the wrong side of a one-sided beating last time out against Brian Ortega. They’re only separated by a couple positions in the rankings as of this writing, and that could change once they update following this event, so in terms of the pecking order in the 145-pound weight class, this one would make sense, and after a performance like that, it feels like Ige should get to call his shot.
A Big Win for One of the Good Guys
Davey Grant advanced to the finals of the bantamweight competition on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, losing to Chris Holdsworth. That bout took place on November 30, 2013 and in the seven-plus years since, the 35-year-old from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England has managed just six appearances, as injuries have stifled his activity and kept him from building momentum.
That all seems to be a thing of the past now, though, as Saturday night, Grant earned his third consecutive victory — and in only 16 months no less — knocking Jonathan Martinez out with the same left hook that laid waste to Martin Day last summer on Fight Island.
After getting dropped late in the first round, Grant came out more aggressive in the second and took the fight to Martinez, who was 4-1 in his previous five bouts and ascending in the bantamweight division. Just passed the midway point of the round, both men fired off left hooks, and while Martinez landed a glancing blow, Grant landed true, putting “The Dragon” on the deck.
The affable Brit limped out of the cage with a swollen foot that he suggested might be broken — because of course it would be — but that wasn’t going to be enough to take the megawatt smile off his face as he spoke with Daniel Cormier following the victory. Given everything he’s dealt with over the course of his career and the perseverance he’s shown, it’s hard not to be happy for the suddenly streaking veteran as he finally gets to show the world what he’s capable of inside the cage.
Fun Fight, Close Fight, Bad Scorecards
Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth battle on Saturday night, entering the third round deadlocked and turning up the output and intensity in the final frame. While both men had their moments, the consensus online was that Kape landed the more telling blow, especially down the stretch, where he connected with a flying knee and another heavy knee to the midsection before the final horn sounded and the verdict was handed over to the judges.
Much to the surprise of most watching at home and scoring online, the judges awarded the victory to Nicolau, who landed on the happy side of the split decision.
The striking statistics had Kape ahead in the third by a considerable margin, while the Brazilian landed a couple brief takedowns that didn’t result in any damage and therefore shouldn’t have been given too much weight. While I’m hesitant to ever declare a close fight a robbery — and this was a close fight — it certainly feels that two of the three judges charged with turning in 10s and 9s got it wrong.
All three officials had it even heading into the third, with Nicolau winning the first frame where he was more active, more effective, and scored a little on the ground, and Kape taking the second after letting loose with his striking and peppering the returning Nicolau with quality shots throughout. But in the third, Chris Lee and Bryan Miner favored Nicolau, leaving Kape aghast when the scores were read and everyone at home frustrated by what feels like another failure by the people tasked with getting these things right.
To be clear, the third round was close, but Kape’s blows had the greater immediate impact, especially down late. As a result, Nicolau walks away with a successful return to the Octagon, and the highly regarded Kape drops to 0-2 inside the Octagon, facing a must-win situation next time out.
Another Week, Another Illegal Knee, But Handled Much Better
The main card opener between middleweights Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart was delivering the kind of chaotic, explosive action everyone anticipated through the first four minutes of the opening stanza, with Stewart hurting Anders early and “Ya Boi” turning things around to put the Londoner on the ropes late.
And that’s when it happened.
With Stewart on a knee along the fence, desperate to survive the final 30 seconds after spending the previous minute getting beat up, Anders threw and landed an illegal knee to the side of Stewart’s head. While far from the clear, obvious, and devastatingly impactful blow that ended last weekend’s bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, as Stewart got a hand up to take some of the blow, it was clearly illegal and brought the bout to an immediate pause.
This time, however, it was handled in a much better manner.
Referee Herb Dean quickly called the doctor into the cage, who spoke with Stewart and advised the referee that he shouldn’t continue, prompting Dean to wave off the action. As much as Stewart wanted to continue and many on social media objected to the decision, this is always the right way to handle things — take it out of the athlete’s hands, because more often than naught, they’re going to want to continue, even if it’s not in their best interest.
The bout was declared a No Contest as per the Unified Rules (incidental blow, hadn't completed a round) and chances are we’ll see these two run it back in the near future, but for tonight, it was an unwanted call-back to the disappointing conclusion to last weekend’s bantamweight title clash.
By the way: I saw some folks were trying to compare Anders’ knee and Stewart’s reaction to the blow delivered by Yan at UFC 259 and those people are idiots throwing out a false equivalency. Today’s was partially blocked and in the moment; the shot Yan landed was straight to the dome and came after a beat or two when he was advised that Sterling was down.
Preliminary Card Bullet Points
Angela Hill made a statement in the final preliminary card bout of the evening, putting it on Ashley Yoder from start to finish to snap a two-fight slide. “Overkill” was as sharp as she’s ever been, peppering Yoder from range and hurting her whenever they got in close, combining clean boxing with excellent knees to the body in the clinch, giving Yoder no space and no chance to wrestle and grapple.
Hill was frustrated after losing a pair of close decisions against ranked veterans Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson to close out her 2020 campaign, and annoyed when no one ahead of her in the rankings would sign to face her. She begrudgingly settled for a rematch with Yoder, whom she beat five years ago, and turned in the kind of dominant effort most anticipated. The 36-year-old has shown considerable growth since her time on The Ultimate Fighter and should be back in line for a date with a familiar name next time out.
Charles Jourdain lands a jab between the guard of Marcelo Rojo. (UFC / Getty Images) Following the first winless year of his professional career, Charles Jourdain made sure that he got back into the win column to start 2021, turning up the intensity in the third round of clash with Marcelo Rojo to put away the UFC newcomer. Unsure of the scores heading into the final stanza, the French-Canadian featherweight cranked up the aggressiveness coming out of the corner, dropped Rojo with a clean shot down the pipe, and never really allowed him to recover, continuing to attack until referee Mark Smith was forced to stop the fight late in the round.
Still just 25 years old, Jourdain has already established himself as an all-action fan favorite, adding to that Saturday by attacking with several flying attacks including the first ever “Showtime Hammerfist,” where he kicked off the fence and dropped a shot on the downed Rojo. As he continues to gain experience and tighten up his skills, the former TKO two-weight champion could find himself fighting for a place in the Top 15.
Rani Yahya doesn't look like someone to be particularly fearful of inside the Octagon, but make no mistake about it, the Brazilian is a menace on the canvas and a nightmare matchup for anyone hoping to make headway in the bantamweight division, as Ray Rodriguez found out on Saturday night. One takedown in the first allowed Yahya to control the frame, and another in the second gave the 36-year-old the setup he needed to methodically work for an arm-triangle choke that forced Rodriguez to tap.
The unassuming Brazilian is now 12-4-1 (1 NC) in the UFC and 8-2-1 over his last 11 fights, with six of those victories coming by way of submission. He’s never going to be someone talked about as a potential contender or perhaps even a ranked fighter, but Yahya is an exceptional fighter and a dude you want no part of if you’re trying to work your way up the ladder in the 135-pound weight class.
Nasrat Haqparast lands a kick to the forearms of Rafa Garcia. (UFC / Getty Images) Highly regarded lightweight prospect Nasrat Haqparast turned in the kind of performance that illustrates why so many believe he has tremendous upside on Saturday, outworking the game and durable Rafa Garcia in a thoroughly enjoyable scrap where both fighters should take a step forward. Haqparast, who entered as the biggest betting favourite on the card, out-struck Garcia throughout, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards for his second consecutive victory.
This was the kind of effort Haqparast needed against a talented, but short-notice replacement. He took a step back with a rapid first-round loss to Drew Dober last January, but has since posted consecutive unanimous decision wins to once again start moving in the right direction in the loaded lightweight division. Though things didn’t go his way on Saturday night, Garcia showed he belongs on the UFC roster, and should look even better with the benefit of a full training camp next time out.
Flyweights Cortney Casey and JJ Aldrich engaged in a competitive, entertaining scrap in the middle of the prelims, with Aldrich coming away with a split decision victory. The second seemed like the only clear round of the fight, as Aldrich dragged Casey to the canvas two-minutes into the frame and kept her there for an extended period, roughing her up with ground-and-pound along the way.
This is another tough pill to swallow for Casey, who entered with a 5-7 record inside the Octagon and a resume littered with tough assignments and split decision setbacks. For the record, I had it 29-28 for Casey, giving her the narrow edge in the first and a clear victory in the third, with all but one media member turning in scores at MMADecisions.com seeing it the same way.
As it turns out, all three judges gave the final round to Aldrich, which is one of those things I’m going to need to go back and watch again because watching it live, I thought Casey did much more damage on the feet and quickly scooted back to her feet when Aldrich momentarily put her on the deck.
Jinh Yu Frey lands a kick to the body against Gloria de Paula (UFC / Getty Images) Tactical win for Jinh Yu Frey in her clash with Gloria de Paula, using her significant grappling advantage in the first and third rounds to grind out a victory over the Contender Series alum. In each frame, the former Invicta FC champion closed the distance, secured a body lock, and put the inexperienced Brazilian on the canvas, keeping her there for the duration of the rounds en route to a unanimous decision win.
This was an important victory for Frey, who dropped each of her first two appearances to talented young fighters Kay Hansen and Loma Lookboonmee. She did an outstanding job of listening to and implementing Fortis MMA head coach Sayif Saud’s directions in the third, putting de Paula on the ground quickly in the pivotal final frame, and dominating the action through to the final horn.
Matthew Semelsberger kicked off the night in spectacular fashion, blasting Jason Witt with a right hand down the pipe 15 seconds in that put “The Vanilla Gorilla” down the count. Witt began the fight by throwing a naked low kick and when he threw it a second time, “Semi the Jedi” pulled the trigger and Witt crashed to the canvas in a heap.
After a winning effort in his debut where he looked good, but not great, the 28-year-old delivered the kind of performance that forces you to sit up, take notice, and make a point of circling his name for next time out. This is one of those “Okay — I see you!” type of efforts and with opportunities frequently coming up for short notice fights, it shouldn’t be long before Semelsberger is back in action.
