About Last Night at UFC Vegas 27...
Brilliant efforts in the main and co-main events resulted in title contenders emerging on Saturday night
Polished, Professional Effort from Rob Font
The team captain of the New England Cartel collected the biggest win of his career on Saturday night, as Rob Font authored a masterpiece against Cody Garbrandt, picking apart the former champion over five rounds to sweep the scorecards and push his winning streak to four.
From the outset, Font was the superior striker, using his clean, patient approach to pick apart Garbrandt from range, mixing in calf kicks and front kicks to the midsection to keep “No Love” off balance and backing up. While Garbrandt implemented more takedowns than normal early, getting Font to the canvas three times over the first time rounds, he was ineffective from top position, and once they returned to their feet, Font immediately got back to work.
This was a calculated, measured performance by the 33-year-old, who solidified his place in the Top 5 and cemented himself as a legitimate title contender with this one. He refused to get baited into a slugfest or deviate from the plan, backing away whenever Garbrandt coiled into position to uncork something along the cage; resetting and resuming his methodical, surgical efforts. You never would have known this was Font’s first main event and the first time he’s ever been into the championship rounds; that’s how patient and disciplined he was from the jump.
Nothing But Questions for Garbrandt Going Forward
You never want to overreact to one effort and you especially don’t want to put too much into a loss against an elite competitor like Font, however it’s hard not to come away from this fight with a bushel of questions about where Garbrandt fits in the division and whether we’re ever going to see anything close to the guy that won the title with a masterful performance at the end of 2016.
The last four-plus years have been difficult for Garbrandt, as injuries, losses, and then a nasty bout of COVID-19 have all contributed to him falling to 1-4 since defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 207.
He was more reserved and restrained on Saturday, which helps him avoid the kind of wild sequences where he’s been caught before, but it also shuts down some of what he does best and limits his offensive efforts. There were times where it looked like he wanted to just shed the game plan and get wild, but didn’t, and while he had a couple quality moments, Font largely shut him down and dominated.
Garbrandt is only 29, but he was knocked out in three consecutive outings and took a bushel of shots this evening, so it will be really interesting to see how he responds after this one. There are scores of potential matchups out there that would be appealing, but it’s imperative that Garbrandt takes some time, recovers, makes a smart decision about his next fight because diving back into the deep end of the bantamweight talent pool could be a recipe for disaster for the struggling former titleholder.
Esparza Makes a Massive Statement
Carla Esparza delivered the kind of performance that earns you a title shot in her co-main event showdown with Yan Xiaonan, busting open the Chinese contender late in the first and earning the stoppage midway through the second after spilling more of her crimson on the canvas.
Right out of the chute, Esparza put Yan on the mat, taking her down twice in the first 30 seconds and keeping her there for the entirety of the frame. For much of it, the former strawweight champion hunted for submissions and maintained top position, landing short shots that did limited damage. But towards the end of the round, Esparza crashed home and elbow that opened up Yan’s forehead. After putting her on the mat quickly to begin the second, “The Cookie Monster” worked her way to the crucifix position, raining down more punches and elbows, prompting referee Keith Peterson to step in and stop the fight.
Many viewed this as a title eliminator, with the winner likely to challenge Rose Namajunas for the title later this year. Given their history and her performance on Saturday, Esparza should get the opportunity to run it back with Namajunas, whom she beat to become the inaugural titleholder in the 115-pound weight class in the championship finale on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. It’s a compelling matchup and no other contender has looked as impressive as Esparza has over these last handful of fights, punctuated by a blistering effort on Saturday night at the APEX.
Norma Dumont Could Be a Factor
Listen — she’s not some work to do, especially when it comes to her weight management and conditioning, but if Norma Dumont can get those things sorted out, she could become a factor in whatever division she occupies. Saturday night, the Brazilian earned the biggest win of her career, landing on the happy side of a split decision verdict against former title challenger Felicia Spencer, showcasing quick, sharp hands and sturdy takedown defence before running out of steam down the stretch.
A Sanda practitioner, Dumont has failed to hit the bantamweight limit each time she’s attempted to compete in the 135-pound weight class, winning a catchweight bout against Ashlee Evans-Smith before having a bout with Erin Blanchfield pulled on weigh-in day after missing weight by a considerable margin. This shift to featherweight was mandated by the UFC and she looked good, controlling a good portion of the contest against a durable competitor that had previously only been beaten by icons Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg.
Dumont said she wants to fight at bantamweight and stay active, which is a noble wish, but first she has to get her weight situation sorted. If she does, “The Immortal” could become an intriguing figure because the raw materials to build upon are there and opportunities are plentiful. Either way, this was a good showing against a quality opponent, and a strong building block effort heading into the second half of the year.
Ricardo Ramos Still an Intriguing Featherweight
After getting back into the win column with a unanimous decision victory on Saturday, Ricardo Ramos showed he’s still an intriguing figure in the featherweight division.
The 25-year-old Brazilian used a takedown-heavy attack to sweep the scorecards in his clash with Bill Algeo, putting him on the deck four times in the first and eight times over the course of the three-round affair. While he wasn’t able to do too much with any of those takedowns, Ramos repeatedly scurried around to the back quickly, looking to sink in his hooks and attack chokes, forcing Algeo to defend, neutralizing his offence in the process.
Watching Ramos’ grappling, he appears hurried, moving a little too quickly at times, which results in him losing positions or failing to maintain control in the positions he wants most. We saw it in his loss to Lerone Murphy last summer on Fight Island, and although it didn’t cost him nearly close to as much here, it’s one of those things that he’s going to need to address in order to maximize his potential in the talent-rich 145-pound weight class.
If he can dial it in, Ramos has the potential to be a dangerous addition to the division, as he’s long, creative, and constantly improving, and he’s still a couple years away from reaching his athletic prime. This was a good win after an extended layoff and a couple delays, and makes Ramos one to circle back around to next time out.
Conditioning is Crucial
Jack Hermansson showed just how important conditioning is when you’re trying to climb the ladder in the UFC, rebounding from a slow first round to turn up the pace, the pressure, and the punishment to win going away against Edmen Shahbazyan.
Out of the gate, Shahbazyan looked terrific, firing off crisp jabs, defending takedowns, and showing no ill effects from suffering the first loss of his career last time out, but in the second, “The Joker” closed the distance and started coming on, putting Shahbazyan on the deck a couple of times, edging out the 23-year-old on the cards to enter the second knotted up at 19s. And then in the third, the veteran cranked it up another notch, dragging Shahbazyan to the canvas early and busting him up with punches and elbows, pulling away more and more the later the round went on.
This was an outstanding effort from Hermansson, who gets back into the win column after suffering a decision loss to Marvin Vettori in December, and a disappointing effort for Shahbazyan, who has now lost two straight in ugly fashion after starting his career with 11 consecutive victories and a host of early stoppage wins. He’s faded hard in consecutive fights, and after jumping back into the deep end after his first loss, the road to contention just became twice as long and flecked with even more difficult questions that he’ll need to answer if he wants to reclaim his upstart status any time soon.
Note: I had to dip out during the Jared Vanderaa / Justin Tafa fight, which is why I didn’t write about it; hearing/seeing it was a fun fight, so I’ll check it out later for sure.
Preliminary Card Thoughts & Takeaways
Ben Rothwell did what Ben Rothwell does, patiently picking his shots, battering Chris Barnett on the feet before clamping onto his signature gogo choke to get the finish just over two minutes into the second round.
Rothwell never quite rose to being a legitimate title challenger in the UFC heavyweight division, as an untimely injury stalled his rise several years back, but he’s a consummate professional and the kind of veteran stalwart you need in the middle of every weight class. He’s tougher than a three-dollar steak, always comes forward, and can hurt you standing or choke you out, creating a “pick your poison” situation for overmatched adversaries and a difficult night at the office for anyone with ambitions of being a contender.
This was the 52nd fight and 39th win for “Big Ben,” who is 3-1 in his last four and could inherit the “veteran litmus test” role in the division previously occupied by Andrei Arlovski.
Happy for my guy Court McGee, who snapped a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision win over Claudio Silva on Saturday.
I’ve been close with Court for a number of years (which is why I don’t really write about him much) and I know how much he has put into this throughout his career, battling through myriad injuries and surgeries and struggles to continue pushing forward, chasing victories inside the cage. There have been a few close decisions that didn’t go his way, some moments where it looked like he might be coming to the end of the road, but Saturday night, he looked better than he has in a number of years. While he slowed in the third, it was a clear, quality victory for “The Crusher.”
Eleven years after winning The Ultimate Fighter, he’s still competing on the biggest stage in the sport and still collecting victories, which is a testament to his persistence and drive, and the kind of thing you love to see for such a great dude.
Here’s what I said about Bruno Silva heading into Saturday’s fight with Victor Rodriguez:
I want to see if he looks as good this time as he did against Buys, and get a better read on whether he’s someone with real upside that lost to tough competition (Dvorak, Tagir Ulanbekov, Khalid Taha) or a guy that got a shot because of his association with “Triple C,” which would make him the modern day version of Charlie Ward.
If I’m wrong and being a dick, I’ll own it, as always, but I don’t think I’m wrong and I don’t know if this weekend’s short-notice pairing with Rodriguez, who got sparked in his previous appearance, is going to provide the kind of answers I’m looking for when it comes to Silva.
Silva showed out, blasting Rodriguez with a beautiful knee before putting him down with a clean right hand down the pipe to secure his second win in as many months. It was a tremendous encore effort for the Brazilian “Bulldog,” and the kind of performance that is pushing me closer to changing my mind on him. My one lingering hesitation is that Rodriguez isn’t as established as some of the other guys he’s faced and struggled against, so I’d like to see him in there with a bigger name again before offering a more complete assessment.
Very strong performance from Josh Culibao to secure his first UFC victory, staying patient and composed during a rocky start before piecing up and picking apart Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.
The Chinese newcomer landed a takedown early and used it to control the position of the fight through much of the first round, but he failed to do any damage or really advance positions, and when Culibao got back to his feet, “Kuya” got to work, taking the fight to Nuerdanbieke. From then on, the Australian featherweight worked behind a smooth one-two that repeatedly found a home and carried him to victory. After losing his debut and battling Charles Jourdain to a draw last summer, this is a strong, well-rounded effort from Culibao to claim his initial triumph inside the Octagon.
Having a late opponent shift can be challenging for a number of reasons, but David Dvorak had no issues this weekend, making quick work of Juancamilo Ronderos to push his record to 3-0 inside the Octagon, 20-3 overall, and extend his winning streak to 16 fights.
This was the kind of effort you like to see from an emerging fighter in this situation, as he took it to Ronderos from the outset, stinging him on the feet early and often. As soon as he had Ronderos hurt, Dvorak swarmed for the finish, fishing his forearm under the late replacement’s neck as he was transitioning to the back, securing the tap with a one-armed rear-naked choke. This was one-way traffic from the outset and the kind of big-time effort that should put more eyeballs on the 28-year-old “Undertaker” going forward.
Damir Ismagulov remains someone to keep tabs on going forward in the lightweight division, returning from a nearly two-year absence to collect a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Alves in Saturday’s opener.
The streaking lightweight is now 4-0 in the UFC and riding an 18-fight winning streak, including victories over Joel Alvarez and Thiago Moises. He has tremendous length and a fluid, fully formed game that makes him dangerous wherever the fight takes place, and after getting his sea legs under him again this weekend, we should see an even more complete, more sustained effort from him next time out.
Lightweight is a shark tank, but he’s looked like someone capable of having a number next to his name in the not too distant future, depending on what kind of opportunities come his way in the next 12 months.