About Last Night: UFC Vegas 20 Edition
Tackling the takeaways and talking points from the final fight card of February
Ciryl Gane Remains Unbeaten, Gets Knocked for Good Win
French heavyweight rising star Ciryl Gane maintained his unbeaten record through his first main event assignment in the UFC, sweeping the scorecards against Jairzinho Rozenstruik on Saturday night.
It was a far more tactical, patient fight between the two proven finishers, as Gane was economical with his striking and Rozenstruik was hesitant throughout, failing to pull the trigger for the majority of the contest. Gane showed the fluidity and quickness that has highlighted his ascent, snapping out crisp jabs, mixing up his offerings, and continuing to look like championship threat on the rise. He’s the total package and just eight fights into this career, so the best is yet to come.
Throughout the contest, the broadcast team and folks on Twitter clamoured for more activity, with Michael Bisping urging Gane to be more aggressive in order to really make a statement and build his name with the UFC audience.
On one hand, I get it: he’s in his first main event, he’s up 4-0 on the scorecards, and Rozenstruik doesn’t seem like he’s going to pull the trigger, so why not chase a little more and see if you can get a spectacular finish? But on the other hand, he’s a 30-year-old rising star who is now 5-0 in the UFC and just thoroughly outclassed the No. 4 heavyweight in the division. Why risk it?
All the fundamental elements he exhibited on Saturday night were tremendous and the most important takeaway from Gane’s performance — he managed distance exceptionally well, used his jab, and mixed in some takedowns and attempts, picking apart Rozenstruik without ever really being in danger.
This wasn’t the thrilling, “Oh My God!” effort most wanted and expected, but it was an excellent effort from an emerging contender who made his MMA debut less than four years ago.
Gane is the real deal; that should be the biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s contest.
Ankalaev Becoming a Factor at Light Heavyweight
Magomed Ankalaev pushed his winning streak to six with a tactical, measured unanimous decision victory in Saturday night’s penultimate pairing, establishing himself as a legitimate threat in the light heavyweight division.
While the firefight most anticipated never materialized, these are the kind of smart, “get the job done” victories an emerging fighter like Ankalaev needs to log from time-to-time to keep things moving in the right direction. He figured out midway through the second round that he had an advantage in the clinch and on the ground, and opted to make use of both from that point forward, grinding out Nikita Krylov over the final seven or eight minutes.
The 28-year-old is a complete fighter with strong conditioning and the upside to become a real factor in the 205-pound weight class very soon. This win should elevate him into the Top 10 and his skill set will make him a tough assignment for just about anyone ahead of him in the hierarchy.
It might take a few more fights before he’s all the way in the title mix — and there might even be a setback in there too — but from what we’ve seen over his seven UFC appearances, it’s safe to say that Magomed Ankalaev is someone you should be paying close attention to in the light heavyweight division.
A Fence Grab, A Dominant Frame, and A Majority Draw
The flyweight fight between Montana De La Rosa and Mayra Bueno Silva had a little bit of everything and is one of those fights worth going back to watch a couple times over in order to analyze the judging and how the fight was scored, as the finally tallies resulted in a majority draw.
Bueno Silva was deducted a point in the first round by referee Jerin Valel after she blatantly grabbed the fence to stop De La Rosa from completing a takedown. It was unquestionably the right call and something we need to see more of from referees, but it also, obviously, contributed to the wonky scores, as the round was rather close and how you scored it has a massive impact on the final verdict.
In the second, Bueno Silva controlled the striking, getting the better of De La Rosa in space and in the clinch, while the American brought the fight to the canvas and controlled things in the grappling department, advancing to mount and threatening with an arm-triangle choke.
In the third, the Brazilian dominated, busting De La Rosa up with knees and elbows in the clinch, leaving her with an eye that was swollen almost entirely shut by the end of the frame. While De La Rosa scored a takedown in the final minute, the damage was already done, giving Bueno Silva the only clear round of the three-round fight.
The final scores — 28-27 Bueno Silva and 28-28 twice — all make sense, while simultaneously highlighting the importance of penalizing fouls and illegal actions and why judges need to be more liberal with doling out 10-8 rounds. Eric Colon gave Bueno Silva a 10-8 in Round 3 and it feels like the right score — she dominated for four minutes, landing clearly damaging blows — and if the other two officials had done the same, the Brazilian would have secured the victory.
And that felt — to me — like the correct result.
Instead, both women come away with a draw, which always feels a little anticlimactic and unsatisfying.
Pedro Munhoz: The Definition of Underrated
Pedro Munhoz evened things up in his series against freakishly tough Jimmie Rivera on Saturday night, outgunning the New Jersey native in a clash of Top 10 bantamweights that started awesome and even and remained entertaining throughout the 15-minute affair. While Rivera hung tough throughout, absorbing a ridiculous amount of punishment to his lead leg, this was an outstanding effort for the underrated and under-appreciated Munhoz.
The Brazilian veteran is now 9-4 (1 NC) in the UFC, with three of those losses coming by way of split decision, including his lost to Rivera in November 2015 and Frankie Edgar last summer. He’s never been stopped, he’s got quick, powerful hands, and he’s a legitimate Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, making him one of the most well-rounded and dangerous fighters in the wildly competitive bantamweight division.
Here’s the crazy thing: Munhoz has never quite been a full-blown contender. He’s been close, especially after lighting up former champ Cody Garbrandt, but the timing has never been right and he’s dropped those key fights that would carry him into the title conversation, however that only underscores just how underrated Munhoz is.
He’s been a Top 15 fixture since arriving in the UFC and only faced quality competition, and even if he never reaches the point of challenging for the title or manning a spot in the Top 5, what he’s done thus far in his career is outstanding and deserves to be recognized before he engages in Fight of the Night classics, not during or after.
The Maturation of Alex Caceres
When he was introduced to the UFC audience, Alex Caceres stood out because of his gimmicks: the Afro, the “Bruce Leeroy” nickname, walking out to the Octagon in a black and white kung-fu. He was a kid competing on the biggest stage of the sport before he was ready, and despite showing a ton of potential, his focus and consistency seemed to continually wane, resulting in inconsistent results.
Now 32 years old, Caceres has collected four straight victories, showing improved composure, greater confidence, and greater focus inside the cage. He’s cut down on the mistakes and has learned how to maximize his considerable talents when he’s in there, and he showed all that on Saturday against Kevin Croom.
Back in the day, this is one that would have gotten weird and more competitive than it needed to be, but this version of Caceres wanted no part of that. He picked his spots on the feet, successfully defended a ton of takedown attempts, and was the better fighter when the action did hit the ground. He out-classed the regional veteran rather than fighting down to his level, and it’s those kinds of improvements and adjustments that make Caceres’ current run of success feel like something sustainable.
All these years later, “Bruce Leeroy” is really starting to glow inside the Octagon, and it’s great to see.
Preliminary Card Talking Points
Thiago Moises turned in an outstanding effort in the final preliminary card bout of the evening, edging out Alexander Hernandez in three competitive frames to push his winning streak to three. The 25-year-old Brazilian, who has been a fixture at American Top Team since he was 17, now moves another step closer to cracking the Top 15 in the ultra-competitive lightweight clash.
Hernandez was perplexed by the decision, and the final tallies don’t necessarily reflect how close the fight was, but watching at home, it felt like a clear victory for Moises, who continues to make small, subtle improvements and adjustments every time out as he continues his development into a dangerous dark horse in the talent-rich 155-pound ranks.
Canadian veteran Alexis Davis fought for the first time since July 2019 and halted a three-fight slide in her return to bantamweight, out-hustling Colombian prospect Sabina Mazo to earn a unanimous decision victory. The 36-year-old former title challenger took advantage of the small openings Mazo gave her, controlling the action on the ground in the first and the third while holding her own in the striking department in the middle stanza.
This was a study in Fight IQ and experience, as Mazo failed to make the necessary adjustments to limit Davis’ effectiveness. She continued throwing kicks despite getting dumped off a caught kick in the first, and did a poor job checking kicks in the second, which limited the effectiveness of her punches. This was a great return to the win column for the veteran, and should be a major learning experience for Mazo.
Just a tremendous debut from Ronnie Lawrence, showing a relentless pace and pressure in securing a third-round stoppage win over Vince Cachero on Saturday night. From the outset, the Contender Series graduate came forward and relied on his grappling, repeatedly dumping the LFC alum to the canvas, advancing positions, and attacking at every turn.
Cachero made him work through the first two frames, but a glancing spinning back kick out of the gate to start the third gave Lawrence the opening he needed to crank up the volume and the intensity, finally securing the finish midway through the final round. He earned rave reviews coming off the Contender Series last year, and validated them on Saturday, announcing himself as someone to keep tabs on going forward.
Dustin Jacoby continued his successful transition back to mixed martial arts, securing his second straight UFC victory and fourth consecutive victory since the summer of 2019. The 32-year-old had a cup of coffee in the UFC much earlier in his career and then shifted his focus to kickboxing, but he earned his way back to the UFC with a win on the Contender Series last summer and has parlayed that into a pair of solid wins thus far.
There are always opportunities for athletes to climb the ranks the light heavyweight division, as it’s one of the more shallow weight classes in the UFC, and with consecutive victories and an entertaining, attacking style, Jacoby could earn himself a step up in competition and a chance to make a push towards the rankings in the second half of the year.