About Last Night at UFC Vegas 28...
Leading you through the takeaways, talking points, and ramifications from Saturday's fight card at the UFC APEX
‘Bigi Boy’ Back in Business
Jairzinho Rozenstruik was back to his familiar form on Saturday night, earning a last-second stoppage win at the close of the first round in his main event showdown with Augusto Sakai.
Four months after an uncharacteristically passive performance against Ciryl Gane, Saturday’s main event started similarly, with “Bigi Boy” spending much of the frame stalking Sakai, trying to draw out opportunities to counter. But late in the frame, the fighter from Suriname pressed forward, catching Sakai along the cage and felling him with a sharp right hand, chasing him to the canvas with several heavy blows that prompted referee Herb Dean to halt the fight before time expired. Sakai looked to object, but was tipsy as he got back to his feet and sporting a gnarly gash over his left eye, both of which showed the stoppage was timely.
This was precisely the kind of performance Rozenstruik needed in order to maintain his place in the pecking order in the heavyweight division, where consecutive setbacks can cost you several spots in the rankings. Now back in the win column and likely to remain at No. 6 in the hierarchy, there are a few interesting options available for the former kickboxer and fearsome finisher going forward, with a matchup against Curtis Blaydes feeling like the most likely option right now.
Five and Counting
Marcin Tybura extended his winning streak to five with a come-from-behind, first-round stoppage win over Walt Harris in Saturday’s co-main event.
Early in the fight, the Polish veteran got clipped and appeared on the brink of getting finished, as Harris crashed forward winging shots, looking to get Tybura out of there. To his credit, the former M-1 titleholder wisely clinched up and slowed Harris’ momentum, giving himself time to clear his head. Soon after, Tybura caught a kick, swept Harris to the canvas, and moved around to his back, where a stream of unanswered punches with Harris flattened out forced the stoppage.
There is nothing flashy about the 35-year-old, but he’s extremely effective, having registered five straight victories since his first-round stoppage loss to Sakai out here in Vancouver two Septembers back. He’s collected stoppages in each of his last two outings, and should climb higher in the rankings when they update early next week, putting him in a position to face a more established contender later this year.
The UFC already has one Polish veteran standing atop a division in Jan Blachowicz — could Tybura be next?
Grind, Grind, and Grind Some More
Roman Dolidze picked up a unanimous decision victory in the middle of Saturday’s main card, hanging onto Laureano Staropoli for long stretches of their three-round middleweight contest, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone that tuned in.
Throughout the contest, Dolidze was content to clinch and circle around to the back of Staropoli’s waist, nullifying his offence while offering very few strikes of his own. It was effective in that he neutralized Staropoli and was able to play to his strengths, but it certainly wasn’t pretty, and prompted most watching — and the broadcast crew on the call — to wonder why referee Keith Peterson wasn’t breaking them up and restarting them in space.
I’m of two minds on this, because I absolutely hate stand-ups and am not really a fan of separating fighters unless their chest-to-chest along the cage, stalled in over-under or body lock positions, but I also understand the need for competitors to be working towards a finish and providing action.
Personally, I dislike the idea of rewarding Staropoli by breaking them up when he showed a very limited ability to escape those positions himself. As much as I would love to see Dolidze be more active, either hunting for submissions, trying to advance positions, or simply landing a few strikes, I also don’t think you should repeatedly take away a position when getting there is exactly what he’s trying to do.
It’s a tricky spot and something I’m sure I’ll discuss more here throughout the year, but for now, I think everyone agrees that it’s just good to have this one behind us.
Fight of the Year Contender
Santiago Ponzinibbio and Miguel Baeza went shot-for-shot over three rounds in a Fight of the Year contender midway through Saturday’s main card, with “The Argentine Dagger” coming away with a come-from-behind victory.
Baeza was sharp to start, punishing Ponzinibbio’s lead leg while controlling the distance and tempo of the contest. But the veteran found his footing and started to have a little success towards the end of the round, and parlayed that into getting the better of things in the second and third, outlining the previously unbeaten upstart in each of the final two frames to earn 29-28 scores across the board to secure his first victory in two-and-a-half years.
After having his six-fight winning streak paused by two years of medical issues and losing in his return in January, you have to be happy to see Ponzinibbio get back into the win column in this one. Most anticipated this would be an exciting battle and the exceeded expectations, as the two traded blows throughout the final round with the decision hanging in the balance.
Though Baeza comes away with his first professional loss, he’ll be a better fighter going forward as a result of this contest, as he showed he can hang with an elite talent, but also will have a few elements to work on in the future that will allow him to improve and advance. As for Ponzinibbio, the 34-year-old should rocket right back into the thick of things in the welterweight division, and be a dangerous assignment for whomever he’s paired off with next.
Welcome to the UFC, Gregory Rodrigues
Just a couple short weeks after claiming the LFA middleweight title, Gregory Rodrigues answered a short-notice call to compete in the Octagon and parlayed that into his first UFC win, out-striking Dusko Todorovic to collect a unanimous decision victory on Saturday.
Rodrigues was the sharper, more effective striker throughout the three-round affair, landing the heavier, more impactful shots in a contest that took place almost entirely on the feet. While Todorovic had some success of his own, the Brazilian newcomer consistently landed with sharp counters and clean hooks, stopping the young Serbian in his tracks as he looked to close the distance and get into striking range.
This was a great showing for Rodrigues, who has now won three straight since losing his Contender Series appearance opposite Jordan Williams last summer. The 29-year-old is now 10-3 overall and has won nine of his last 10, positioning him as someone to keep an eye on in the fluid 185-pound weight class in the second half of the year.
Dominant Performance from De La Rosa
Montana De La Rosa made the most of her fight being elevated to the main card on Saturday, securing the first technical knockout victory of her career, earning the stoppage by raining down a torrent of elbows and punches late in the second round against Ariane Lipski.
In each round, the former Ultimate Fighter contestant dragged the fight to the canvas and dominated the action from there, busting up Lipski with an elbow from top position in the first before doing the same on the other side of her face in the second. When the opportunity presented itself, De La Rosa climbed into mount and unleashed, forcing Lipski to cover up and referee Keith Peterson to step in and halt the action.
Still only 26 years old, this was the best performance of De La Rosa’s career and could be a harbinger of good things to come. She’s started working with the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado and you could see the connection she’s already built with Eliot Marshall in this fight, as she followed her coach’s instructions to a tee. She gained a lot of good experience early in her career and has always had the athletic potential to be a fixture in the Top 15, but the consistency and coaching always seemed to be the missing piece.
Now that the coaching is in place, perhaps the consistency will follow, with a move back into the rankings not too far behind.
Preliminary Card Takeways
Swedish veteran Ilir Latifi secured his first win in the UFC heavyweight division, earning a split decision nod over Tanner Boser in what turned out to be the final preliminary card fight of the evening.
Everything came down to how you scored the opening frame, where Latifi put Boser on his back for two minutes, but had very limited offensive output, as the Canadian clearly won the second and “The Sledgehammer” controlled the vast majority of the final stanza with his wrestling. As it turned out, two of the three judges believed Latifi did enough to win the first round, and therefore the fight, giving him his first victory in more than three years.
In a night filled with decisions and close contests, the 10-8 scorecard for Boser in Round 2 was the most questionable of the prelims. While he stung Latifi with a right hand that glanced off his eye and swarmed, looking for the finish, the Allstars Training Center staple was never close to getting finished and had solid offensive moments following that brief period of concern. On the whole, judges has been better this year and in recent years, but there are still questionable scorecards every weekend and this was one of them.
Muslim Salikhov pushed his winning streak to five on Saturday, out-hustling fellow veteran Francisco Trinaldo over the course of three rounds, navigating a nasty eye poke early in the third to complete the impressive effort.
The soon-to-be 37-year-old “King of Kung Fu” lost his UFC debut, but has been perfect since, using a mix of quick striking attacks and sharp, timely takedowns to keep opponents off balance, and he stuck to that blueprint on Saturday. In each of the first two rounds, Salikhov put Trinaldo on the deck, and in the third, a couple timely takedowns helped him avoid the continued forward pressure of the Brazilian. Because of his age and inconsistent schedule, Salikhov probably isn’t going to be making a run at contention, but he should remain an entertaining figure in the middle of the division for the next few years.
After having one fight stopped due to an eye poke earlier in the evening and this one altered by a similar miscue, you have to wonder when the UFC will take steps to address the issue, and when, if ever, referees will penalize competitors for these kinds of fouls because inadvertent or not, they clearly have an impact on their opponents, and therefore the fights. Just like every other infraction that transpires inside the cage, if they’re never punished, their is never any real impetus for athletes to correct things and diligently work to not make those mistakes.
Kamuela Kirk made the most of his short-notice debut, registering an upset win over Makwan Amirkhani with scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28.
As is often the case, Amirkhani started well, hitting a big suplex and multiple takedowns in the first, but the efforts depleted his gas tank, and from there, Kirk was the far more effective fighter. “The Jawaiian” threatened with a deep triangle choke / armbar combination and quality offence off his back in the second before doing just enough to win the third and the fight, setting himself up for an even bigger opportunity with a full camp next time out.
This is a brutal result for Amirkhani, who has now lost two straight and three of his last four. He’s 32 years old and after struggling against ranked opposition prior to this, a poor showing against a short-notice opponent is a rough look for the charismatic, but poorly conditioned veteran. If this turned out to be his final appearance in the Octagon, I wouldn’t be surprised.
For the third time this year, a fight ended in a No Contest as a result of an accidental foul.
Mason Jones dominated the action against Alan Patrick from the outset, busting up the Brazilian veteran in the late stages of the first round, to the point that no one would have objected if Patrick’s corner kept him from heading back out for the second. That didn’t happen, and after Jones controlled the opening two minutes of the middle stanza, primarily with his wrestling, he accidentally poked Patrick in the eye in the midst of a striking exchange and the bout was paused. “Nuguette” told ringside physician that he couldn’t see and the bout was halted.
It’s 100-percent the right verdict based on the rules, but man does it suck for Jones, who won every second of that fight and still comes away without a victory. This was the kind of quality effort I was hoping to see from “The Dragon” in his second UFC start and regardless of the official result, his performance showed he’s still one to watch in the lightweight division going forward.
Manon Fiorot picked up her second consecutive second-round stoppage win on Saturday, running through short-notice replacement Tabatha Ricci in a one-sided affair.
From the outset, the size and striking differences were apparent, as Fiorot towered over Ricci, a natural strawweight, and picked her apart from range, utilizing an assortment of kicks to gauge the distance before getting loose with her hands a little more in the second. Midway through the frame, “The Beast” connected with a shot that sat Ricci down, and from there, is was academic. This was a mismatch, so you don’t want to put too much into the result, but Fiorot does deserve credit for doing exactly what you want to see from someone in this position, dominating from start to finish and getting Ricci out of there in timely fashion.
In a division where contenders are in short supply and champion Valentina Shevchenko dispatches them as quickly as they can emerge, the 31-year-old from Nice, France could find herself getting an expedited push in the 125-pound weight class, especially after a second straight dominant effort.
The featherweight clash between Sean Woodson and Youssef Zalal didn’t turn into the back-and-forth affair many (me included) were expecting, instead turning into a gritty affair determined by Woodson’s ability to defend takedowns and get off a little more offence, leading to a split decision victory for the Contender Series graduate.
Woodson is an anomaly in the 145-pound ranks — a towering prospect standing six-two with a 78-inch reach, and though he started slowly, he found a rhythm, found a home for a higher volume of strikes, and secured the victory. Because of his size, his strikes come out a little slower than most, but when he can get the jab going and use his length effectively, he can be a problem.
After a 3-0 start to his UFC career, Zalal has now dropped three straight. His pace slowed and effectiveness waned as the fight went on, both of which he’ll need to address if he hopes to get back into the win column next time out, whether that’s inside the Octagon or not.
There was very little action in the opener between Claudio Puelles and Jordan Leavitt, as each round was controlled by just a couple takedowns and extensive top control time. After Leavitt won the first, Puelles won the final two rounds, putting the Contender Series grad on his back with relative ease at the outset of each of the next two frames to secure the clean sweep of the scorecards.
This was one of those fights that highlighted the importance of athleticism and fluidity of movement inside the Octagon, as Puelles had a clear advantage in each realm and used them to dominate over the final 10 minutes. In instances where the competitors are relatively close in experience and skills inside the cage, those two elements can be major difference-makers, as we saw on Saturday.
Puelles has been in the UFC for a few years now, but had been limited to just three appearance prior to tonight. He’s still only 25 and did this camp at Sanford MMA, which is something to track going forward. As for Leavitt, this felt like a flat effort where he just couldn’t get out of first gear, so it will be interesting to see if he can correct things next time out.