About Last Night: UFC Vegas 17 Edition
Reviewing the major moments, key elements, and everything in between from the final UFC fight card of the year
Classic Stephen Thompson
Heading into Saturday night’s main event, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson said he didn’t want to be a stepping stone for Geoff Neal or viewed as a “gatekeeper” in the welterweight division. His actions inside the Octagon made that even more clear.
The 37-year-old former title challenger turned in one of his trademark efforts, using his outstanding movement and timing to frustrating Neal over the course of five rounds, sweeping the scorecards for his second consecutive victory to solidify his place in the Top 5 in the 170-pound weight class.
Every time Neal tried to press forward, Thompson intercepted him with a punch or a kick, slipping out the back door when the emerging talent looked to connect. It was eerily similar to the performance he delivered last November against Vicente Luque, who entered their clash at UFC 244 in a comparable position to the Contender Series grad Neal. More importantly for Thompson, it showed without a shadow of a doubt that he’s still very much a factor in the welterweight division, as he thoroughly outworked the Fortis MMA product over the course of the 25-minute affair.
Fighting Thompson has to be frustrating — he’s slippery and skilled, tactical and an expert technician — and there were moments throughout the bout where you could see Neal getting demoralized. They were fleeting and he always continued to fight, but those brief seconds where he backed off, shook out his hands, or simply let out an exhale were signs that dealing with the dynamic talent in front of him was a real pain in the ass.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how the UFC looks to book Thompson coming off a performance like this and a second straight victory. There are some interesting names available at the top of the division, and a pairing with the likes of Michael Chiesa could make sense as well, so it will all come down to which way the matchmakers go in 2021.
Veteran Savvy and Very Questionable Decision-Making
Jose Aldo looked like vintage Jose Aldo in the first round of his fight with Marlon Vera, attacking with leg kicks and body shots reminiscent of his dominant WEC days and run atop the UFC featherweight division. While Vera stayed right in the pocket, happy to exchange, the Brazilian legend got the better of things out of the chute.
In the second, Vera started clawing back, pressing forward and mixing things up more, logging some time in the clinch and using his volume and pace to even things up heading into the critical third round, which is where Aldo’s savvy and Vera poor decision-making determined the outcome of the fight.
Vera rushed across the cage on the restart, racing right into the clinch, with Aldo quickly and easily sliding around to take his back. Over the next four minutes and change, the Brazilian adjusted and maintained his control position, while Vera had very little to offer in response. Although he didn’t get the finish, Aldo salted away the round and the fight, getting himself back into he win column for the first time since February 2019, snapping a three-fight slide.
This was a smart, tactic effort from Aldo, who showed he still has plenty left in the tank, even if he’s no longer a top-shelf championship contender. His first-round effort was a tempting throwback to the halcyon days of the little blue cage, but age and mileage has made it impossible for him to maintain that style round-after-round. Instead, we saw a different side of him in the third, and it’s the kind of smart adjustment that could just very well prolong his career a little more.
As an aside, we really need to find a middle ground between “He’s far from done” and “He’s still a contender” when assessing these former champions like Aldo, because I don’t think anyone actually thought he was done-done heading into this one, but you can’t come away from a good, but not great effort against a fun, but flawed Vera and call him a contender, especially given how things went when Aldo faced Petr Yan over the summer.
Whatever that middle ground is, that’s where Aldo currently resides, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
An Unexpected Lack of Craziness
Part of the allure of the matchup between Michel Pereira and Khaos Williams was the high potential for craziness inside the cage on Saturday night. Between the Brazilian’s acrobatics and antics and Williams’ sudden power, the welterweight clash felt destined to be a Fight of the Night contender, even if it ended quickly.
Instead, the 170-pound upstarts engaged in a close, measured back-and-forth battle, with Pereira going to his wrestling in the third and coming away with the 29-28 victory on all three scorecards.
While it wasn’t the frenetic affair people anticipated, this was very interesting fight that showed some improvements and maturation from Pereira and that Williams is much more than a one-punch knockout artist. The first two rounds were ultra-close and could have gone either way, with the Brazilian’s utilization of a late takedown to finish the round firing off ground-and-pound proved pivotal.
Now on a tidy two-fight winning streak, Pereira is an interesting guy moving forward in the division, especially if he’s going to limit the wildness. Dialling it back was displeasing to some on Twitter during the bout, but it honestly gives the clearly athletic talent with tremendous size for the 170-pound a better chance to continue climbing the divisional ranks in the future.
Massive Win for Rob Font
After spending the last 12 months on the sidelines rehabbing suffering a torn ACL in his final appearance of 2019, Rob Font marched into the Octagon and collected the biggest win of his career on Saturday night, stopping former title challenger Marlon Moraes with a hail of punches late in the opening round.
Moraes actually controlled things early, going to his wrestling to put Font on the canvas, but when the New England Cartel member got back to his feet, the sharp, quick hands came flying and found a home. Font popped Moraes’ head back with a clean jab and the Brazilian seemed immediately dazed and never really recovered. Font chased him down, continued connecting, and forced referee Marc Goddard to step in and stop the fight.
This was a massive victory for the talented returning bantamweight, who had previously struggled against opponents stationed ahead of him int he rankings. By storming through Moraes on Saturday, Font propels himself into the Top 10 in the bantamweight division and puts himself in the thick of the title chase when action resumes in the new year.
As much as this was a tremendous moment for Font, it raised plenty of questions for Moraes, who has now lost back-to-back fights, getting stopped in both. What’s most alarming is how poorly he dealt with Font’s jab and the lack of defence he showed as the follow-ups came his way.
We’ve seen several perennial contenders take a clear step back (and maybe off a cliff) in 2020 and it sure looks like Moraes is the latest addition to that group.
Tybura Rallies, Hardy’s Issues Exposed
Marcin Tybura entered Saturday’s main card opener on a three-fight winning streak, yet was still an underdog against Greg Hardy. Early in the fight, it looks like the oddsmakers were on point, as the former NFL defensive linemen unloaded strikes that backed the Polish veteran into the fence and left him search for answers between rounds.
He clearly found them, because as soon as he came out of the corner to start the middle stanza, Tybura took charge, pressing forward and taking the fight to Hardy before eventually dragging him to the mat and pounding out the finish. The 35-year-old is one of the more unheralded members of the heavyweight division, but he should return to the rankings after this effort (and a fourth consecutive victory) and remain someone who thrives against emerging fighters and fellow veterans in 2021.
This performance highlighted the major issues that remain serious hurdles for Hardy: his lack of grappling and his limited conditioning.
After nearly missing weight last time out, Hardy came in right on the heavyweight limit on Friday (266 pounds) and was visible spent midway through the second round. He’s not skilled or powerful enough to have a six-minute gas tank and Tybura acknowledged that the plan was to let Hardy spend his energy early to make the takedown easier later, and it worked beautifully.
Two years into his UFC career and nearly four years after starting down the path to a pro fighting career, Hardy still has zero ground game; less than zero, actually. While you don’t expect him to great and hitting sweeps and switches, but all he could do was cover up and absorb punishment, which is never effective.
You can see the athletic potential, but Hardy’s limited gas tank and non-improving skill set at this point makes you wonder if the UFC will continue to give the polarizing fighter frequent opportunities if he doesn’t show considerable growth over the course of next year.
Preliminary Card Points of Interest
Just a couple days after the 10-year anniversary of “The Showtime Kick,” Anthony Pettis secured his second consecutive victory, battling back after a sluggish first to sweep the scorecards 29-28 against a very game Alex Morono. Pettis, who fought out his contract on Saturday, showed the full compliment of his skills, working technically in the second, grappling well throughout, and finishing with a wheel kick late in the bout. If this was the last time “Showtime” competes inside the Octagon, it was a very solid victory to close things out.
Pannie Kianzad and Sijara Eubanks engaged in an entertaining 15-minute affair towards the end of the prelims, with Kianzad earning the win on the scorecards after making sound adjustments after dropping the first round. It was one of those fights few were talking about going in and few will talk about after, but it will have an impact on the bantamweight rankings and sends Kianzad into 2021 on a three-fight winning streak.
If you ever wanted to learn how to value takedowns when it comes to scoring fights, the bout between Deron Winn and Antonio Arroyo was quite instructive. Winn did little with takedowns in the first, as Arroyo got up quickly and controlled the striking, but over the next two rounds, the Brazilian tired, his offence slowed, and Winn kept piling up takedowns and time in top position, en route to the 29-28 win. Taking someone down and doing nothing with it while the have success throughout the rest of the round doesn’t mean much, but when there is nothing else happening in the round, it becomes a bigger factor. Make sense?
Brazilian Taila Santos scored the best win of her career on Saturday, outworking Gillian Robertson on the canvas over 15 minutes. Showing good physicality, strong submission defence, and enough offensive output to maintain top position throughout, the now 17-1 upstart should have a number beside her name after this one and becomes an interesting name to track in the flyweight division moving forward.
Pencil in the name Tafon Nchukwi near the top of your list of Fighters to Watch in 2021. The middleweight newcomer looked excellent over 15 minutes against Jamie Pickett, registering the first decision win and fifth consecutive victory of his career. The 26-year-old is built like a truck, works with a very good team, and is too athletic, too quick for a guy his size, which is going to make him a problem going forward.
By the way: I’ll be writing my Fighters to Watch in 2021 piece before the year is out. Last year’s edition featured 62 fighters and there will probably be more this year, so I might have to break them down into different categories; I’ll give it some thought.
Jimmy Flick made a case for Submission of the Year honours with a flying triangle choke finish of Cody Durden in the second fight of the night. The Contender Series graduate (Class of ‘20) landed a high kick, which Durden caught, and the Tulsa-based grappler instantly jumped into the choke, adjusting and securing the tap once they hit the canvas. Just a thing of beauty and a legit Top 10 submission this year inside the Octagon.
Christos Giagos went from the couch to the win column in 72 hours on Saturday, filling in for Rick Glenn on short notice before scoring a victory over Carlton Minus. The veteran lightweight was excellent over the first two rounds, securing early takedowns and advancing to dominant positions before understandably fading down the stretch.
Somehow, despite the fact that Giagos spent most of the opening five minutes in mount or back mount, chasing submissions and mauling Minus, one judge still scored the round 10-9. Some of these judges still just don’t get it and it’s beyond time to remedy the situation, either by using different officials, doing annual reviews, or forcing judges to justify the scorecards privately after the events because these terrible scorecards are messing with peoples’ careers and their money and it’s just not right.