About Last Night at UFC Vegas 33...
Decimated by injuries and unexpected cancellations, the show still went on at the UFC Apex on Saturday evening and it exceeded expectations
Sean Strickland Keeps Winning
Sean Strickland picked up his fourth straight win since returning to action last October, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Uriah Hall in his first main event assignment in the UFC, pushing his record to 19-0 in the middleweight division for his career.
The combustible California stuck his jab in Hall’s face from the outset, working at a steady clip and never really letting off the gas. He hurt Hall in a couple different spots, took his back at one point, and largely dominated the action, pushing his overall winning streak to five. It was an odd showing from Hall, who never seemed to get out of first gear, but credit for that goes to Strickland, who claimed control of the fight in the opening seconds and never relinquished it.
There is nothing flashy about Strickland’s approach, nor does he stand out in terms of his look or the things he says leading up to Fight Night, though he can say some wild stuff at times — he’s just a fundamentally sound, meat-and-potatoes boxer who has very good wrestling and a solid submission game in his back pocket in case he ever needs it. He came into the UFC as a highly regarded prospect, but lost that billing after an ill-conceived moved to welterweight and two years on the shelf following a grizzly motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career.
But he’s back, he’s won four fights in 10 months, and he’s a legitimate threat in the middleweight division, where he currently owns the second-longest winning streak behind reigning champ Israel Adesanya. He respectfully referred to Hall as a gatekeeper in the build to this contest and having forced his way through said gate, the streaking 30-year-old should find himself across from another marquee fighter with a single digit next to his name next time out.
Big Performance from Cheyanne Buys
Cheyanne Buys lost her promotional debut earlier this year, spending large portions of the fight being headlocked, unable to escape and incapable of getting her striking going for any real sustained amount of time. Saturday night, she showed off that striking, hitting Gloria de Paula with a perfectly-timed head kick that opened the door for her first UFC victory.
The seminal blow was eerily reminiscent of Eryk Anders’ finishing blow against Tim Williams a few years ago — a heavy kick to the dome at the exact moment it became legal, with Buys connecting just as de Paula’s plant hand came off the canvas. Somehow, the Brazilian didn’t go out, but as she tried to tie ups with Buys, the Las Vegas native powered her to the canvas, climbed into mount, and finished with heavy elbows soon after.
Buys has always been looked at as an intriguing prospect because of her ferocity and unquestioned nasty streak, and this effort feels like a glimpse at her potential. Now settled back home in Las Vegas and reconnected with the crew at Xtreme Couture, this could be the victory “The Warrior Princess” needed in order to build some momentum and start working her way up the divisional ladder.
Choo-Choo M*****F*****!
Jared Gooden asked for the opportunity to replace Mounir Lazzez and he made the absolute most of it, blasting Niklas Stoltze with a thunderous right hand early in the first to score the first victory of his UFC career.
For a part of Saturday, this fight wasn’t going to happen after it was scratched in the morning. But by the time the afternoon rolled around, the contest was back on and Gooden came out firing, throwing heat right out of the chute. While Stoltze did his best to stick to his game and respond where he could, “Nite Train” was too fast, too sharp, too powerful and as they two engaged in the center, Gooden landed flush with a technically flawed punch that simply carried too much power for the German to deal with.
After losing each of his first two UFC fights, this was a critical victory for Gooden, who has the raw materials to eventually grow into an interesting mid-pack addition in the welterweight division, but still needs more refinement. This effort gets him moving in the right direction, highlights what he brings to the table, and gives him a tremendous finish to add to his personal highlight reel.
Welcome to the Show, Melsik Baghdasaryan
He may not have earned a contract after collecting a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series last summer, but Melsik Baghdasaryan still got the call to the Octagon his weekend and walked out with a highlight reel finish, dropping contract winner Collin Anglin with a beautiful, heavy high kick less than halfway through the second round to secure the victory.
From the outset, Baghdasaryan’s speed advantage was apparent, as he pieced up Anglin on the feet and had him hurt late in the opening stanza. It was more of the same in the second and after the broadcaster team talked about Anglin keeping his right hand too low, “The Gun” uncorked a high kick that put him on the deck. A quick follow-up brought referee Mark Smith rushing in and gave Baghdasaryan easily the biggest victory of his career.
Another member of the Glendale Fighting Team and a decorated kickboxer before making the full transition into MMA, this was a blistering debut effort for the promising 29-year-old, who has won five straight since losing his professional debut and established himself as one to watch with an effort like this.
Witt, Barberena Combine for Fight of the Year Contender
It’s not going to take home the award at the end of the year, but when ballots get cast and Honourable Mentions get mentioned, Jason Witt and Bryan Barberena deserve to hear their names read aloud because holy hell did those two lunatics beat the ever-loving snot out of one another on Saturday night.
Witt, who came away with the majority decision win, relied on takedowns through out the contest, but also touched up “Bam Bam” a few times in the first two rounds. In the third, however, the returning Barberena went bonkers, taking the fight to Witt and putting him on the brink of being finished a couple different times, with referee Keith Peterson taking a close look on more than one occasion. But Witt hung tough, drove through a couple takedowns to halt Barberena’s onslaught just long enough, and came away with the victory.
This is the kind of fight that everyone loves in the moment (as they should) but often forget about when awards season comes around, simply because the names aren’t big enough and giant moments stick in our minds easier. That being said, these two absolutely merit mention because Saturday’s main card opener was all kinds of awesome.
Criticism Deserves Full Context
There was a lot of “look how bad this card is?” chatter in the 36 hours leading up to fight night, as athletes failed to make weight and bouts fell off the lineup to where the original 15-fight card was whittled down to 10 by Saturday night.
It wasn’t a great collection of bouts. Save for the main event, no other contest featured competitors that both had five or more UFC appearances under their belt, turning this into a night to get a closer look at some new names and see if they could flash enough potential to make you remember to tune in again next time they compete.
Being critical of the final collection of fights is fine, I just wish that the full context was given because it’s not like this was the lineup the UFC originally intended to present this weekend. As Steven Kelliher from Tapoligy tweeted out Saturday morning, this card had as many cancelled or altered bouts as it did actual fights heading to the cage at the start of the day… and then another one got cancelled.
Now, even without the cancellations, this wasn’t an A+ card by anyone’s estimation, even me, Captain Positivity, but crushing the collection of athletes that ended up making the walk to the Octagon on Saturday night at the APEX without acknowledging the myriad bouts that fell apart doesn’t present the complete picture of things.
I’m all for being critical and voicing frustrations; I just want it to be accompanied by all the facts.
Preliminary Card Talking Points
Chris Gruetzemacher got dropped by a left hand early in the first and it looked like his night was going to over early. Instead, the grimy veteran got back to his feet and took the fight to Rafa Garcia from that point forward, walking away with a unanimous decision victory in the final preliminary card fight of the evening.
A contestant on Season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter, this was only the veteran’s fifth appearance since coming off the show and winning on the finale, as myriad injuries have left him on the sidelines for extended periods. He entered with a 2-3 mark, but had shared the Octagon exclusively with quality competition, and his veteran savvy and overall toughness showed through on Saturday as he rallied to collect his third UFC victory.
Whether you want to call it a donnybrook, a slobberknocker, or a brouhaha, this was a wildly entertaining scrap between a couple lightweights looking to cement their place on the roster and make a name for themselves with fight fans, and both did in this one. There was nothing pretty about this fight — it was just a grimy battle fought mostly in a phone booth — and it was absolutely terrific.
The biggest talking point from the featherweight fight between Kai Kamaka and Danny Chavez was referee Herb Dean not taking a point following an ugly eye poke that put Chavez on the deck midway through the second round.
After warning both athletes about their fingers being extended earlier in the fight, Kamaka pawed forward and Chavez screamed out in pain as he fell to the floor. For more than 90 seconds, it felt like the bout wasn’t going to to continue, and when it did, everyone assumed Dean would deduct a point. Instead, he marched across the cage and gave Kamaka a “stern warning,” promising to take “more than a point” if there was another foul. Soon after, Kamaka landed a low blow and Dean took a point, which proved impactful as the bout was ruled a draw.
While the point deduction eventually came, the fact that an egregious eye poke that clearly caused damage wasn’t penalized was laughable, and is something that needs to change. Competitors are warned about their weapons in the back and know what is expected of them, so even though most fouls are unintentional, they still impact the fouled fighter, and shouldn’t just be a “don’t do it again” situation, especially because athletes often do something else, intentionally or not.
I know referees don’t want to be influencing the outcome of these bouts by taking points, but they’re not — the athlete committing the fouls is, and they shouldn’t continue doing so without repercussions.
Jinh Yu Frey made it two straight on Saturday night, out-landing Ashley Yoder over three competitive, entertaining rounds, showcasing improved striking and more power than she’s exhibited in the past.
Frey found a home for her left hand repeatedly, hurting Yoder and backing her up throughout the first before getting caught with some return fire late in the frame, authoring a similar story in the second. It was more of the same in the third, with Yoder keeping it close through the early stages, before the former Invicta FC titleholder turned it up and pulled away down the stretch.
Coming into this one, I wondered if we were going to start seeing some improvements and more substance from Frey, who took her debut on short notice and lost her first two outings to quality prospects. Now settled at Fortis MMA and more comfortable in the Octagon, the 36-year-old has put together back-to-bak quality outings and delivered her most impressive performance in the UFC yet this weekend, which should bode well for her prospects going forward.
After suffering losses in each of his first two UFC appearances, Zarrukh Adashev picked up his first victory on Saturday, battering the lead leg of Ryan Benoit and finding a home for numerous counters as the veteran pressed forward trying to find a finish.
Adashev made his debut on two days notice and got knocked out quickly (and violently) by Tyson Nam. His second appearance came in January, where he dropped a unanimous decision, but had a much better accounting of himself opposite Sumudaerji. He put it all together on Saturday, attacking Benoit’s lead leg right out of the gate, leaving him limping in a matter of minutes, and continuing to hammer home heavy shots throughout the contest.
The 29-year-old is a technical kickboxer with a ton of experience in that sport, and if he can continue showing the kind of progress he’s displayed through his first three UFC appearances, Adashev could work his way into the Top 15 in the flyweight division.
Phil Rowe started slowly, getting controlled on the canvas for the majority of the opening round, but when he got more comfortable and let go with his hands, he beat the snot out of Orion Cosce.
Rowe is an interesting prospect — a dude with great height and a freakish reach for the welterweight division, plus a solid grappling pedigree — and this performance is going to make a lot of people pay closer attention going forward. This wasn’t quite a must-win for “The Fresh Prince,” but he definitely needed to get moving in the right direction again after losing his promotional debut. He called himself one of the best welterweights on the planet in his post-fight interview, so it will be interesting to see if he can follow up on this effort next time out.