UFC 256: Takeaways & Talking Points
Reflecting on the final pay-per-view of the year
Flyweights Shine and the Cycle Continues
There is a weird sequence that happens before and after every terrific flyweight matchup in the UFC.
Prior to the fight, the majority of people either (a) pay said bout little attention if it’s not a championship match or (b) lament the pairing as a poor choice for a headlining option, especially on pay-per-view.
After the fight is complete and has delivered the kind of excitement the flyweights have consistently delivered since the division’s inception, those same people flood #MMATwitter with praise for the participants and disdain for the UFC for having deigned to ponder doing away with the weight class two years ago, when most observers were more worried about Demetrious Johnson’s paltry pay-per-view numbers and refused to discuss most flyweight matchups until after the fact.
The cycle repeated itself this past weekend at UFC 256, where champion Deiveson Figueiredo and challenger Brandon Moreno engaged in one of the best fights of the year just three weeks after they each earned first-round stoppage wins at UFC 255.
Heading into Saturday’s show, there were plenty of “great card, but not a great main event” takes that again played up the “no one cares about the flyweights” rhetoric that prompted people to overlooked Johnson’s excellence in the Octagon in favour of the ratings and buy rates he produced as a headliner.
Figueiredo was still being cast as a someone who “came out of nowhere” this year to emerge as a champion, even though this was his fourth consecutive championship main event, he’d won five straight, earning finishes in the last four, and Saturday was the 11th time in three-and-a-half years that he’d made the walk to the Octagon.
Once the action got underway and it became abundantly clear that the champion and challenger were putting together something special, the second phase of the cycle kicked in.
The same people who weren’t sure about this championship clash serving as the final pay-per-view main event of 2020 were singing its praises and shaming the UFC for briefly moving towards shuttering the flyweight division. The 125-pound ranks once again became the darling of #MMATwitter and plenty of folks that were uninterested or unaware of the championship combatants were instantly converted into avid fans.
Changing your opinion about a fight after it has transpired and jumping on a bandwagon when someone new bursts onto the scene both make sense, but it doesn’t feel like that is what’s happening here.
This feels like people dismissing the matchup early because they either didn’t understand how dynamic and electric it was bound to be — and it was always going to be a terrific fight — or shifting from their standard position for a moment because no one wants to be the person who downplayed the importance, entertainment value, or overall awesomeness of a bout that had all the ingredients to be great before the athletes hit the Octagon and then claimed a spot on the Fight of the Year podium when the dust settled.
Sure, they’re onboard for the rematch because they have Saturday’s thrilling 25-minute affair to use as point of reference for how good the sequel is going to be, but the division needs and deserves that support in advance, just as those fans who somehow still weren’t aware of how goddamn exciting Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno are prior to UFC 256 needed to hear the loudest voices in this sport unequivocally getting behind this sure-fire championship banger before Saturday’s main event combatants co-authored a masterpiece inside the Octagon.
MMA coverage tends to under-sell rather than over-sell and favours being reactive instead of being proactive, as if being too excited for a particular event or focusing too much attention on an unheralded fighter is declasse.
That needs to change or else we’re going to keep having years where elite contenders like Deiveson Figueiredo can start the year with a 17-1 record and a championship opportunity in front of them and still be considered “somewhat unknown” by far too many people that should be deeply familiar with his exploits, his upside, and how to spell his name.
Fight of the Year & Year-End Debates
There are a handful of legitimate contenders for Fight of the Year in 2020, including:
Dan Hooker vs. Paul Felder
Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzjeczyk
Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker
Marvin Vettori vs. Jack Hermansson
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
Although everyone is entitled to their opinions, suggesting something other than these five bouts (and maybe one or two others) deserves the nod as the best UFC fight of 2020 would be wrong. But picking one of these bouts above the other? Completely understandable and not at all a reason to get into an intense argument with strangers online.
I love making year-end lists and will be participating in the practice over the next couple weeks like many others, but I also go into the venture 100% aware that everyone rates and grades things differently and my answers aren’t the only correct answers.
If you think Figueiredo v. Moreno was better, cool. If you lean towards the women’s strawweight title fight, dope. If you found the five-round battle between Hooker and Felder in front of a partisan crowd in Auckland back in February to have greater overall drama and emotion, that works too.
This is one of those multiple choice questions where selecting “(E) All of the above” would make complete sense.
The whole point of this stuff is to celebrate everything and everyone that was great over the last 12 months, not create more ways to fight with one another about stuff that ultimately isn’t that important.
Remember that before you fire off another tweet to that guy you don’t know who keeps telling you that you’re wrong.
The Long Overdue Love for Charles Oliveira
Disclaimer: I know I’m going to sound like an asshole here, but so be it; it’s my space and this is how I feel.
Charles Oliveira delivered a masterful performance on Saturday night, thoroughly outworking Tony Ferguson en route to 30-26 scores across the board and an eighth straight UFC victory that simultaneously earned him a place on the short list of title challengers in the lightweight division heading into 2021.
There were a lot of “Charles Oliveira has finally put it all together” takes in the wake of his performance, and while this was certainly the biggest win of the 31-year-old Brazilian’s career, it felt a lot more like “Do Bronx” finally getting a chance to face a marquee name than the case of someone finally reaching their full potential inside the cage.
Oliveira had won seven straight prior to UFC 256… in the UFC lightweight division… all by stoppage… including a third-round submission win over former interim title challenger and Top 10 fixture Kevin Lee last time out.
This was a breakthrough in that it was the first time Oliveira had beaten a marquee name who was ahead of him in the rankings, but everything about the last three years showed he was trending in this direction.
Now, I’m not going to say that I expected him to manhandle Ferguson the way he did, particularly in the first round, when it looked like he was going to finish the frame by snapping the former interim champion’s arm off, but I was certainly less blown away by his performance than most because Oliveira has been absolutely crushing dudes for three years now.
None of them were as accomplished or beloved as “El Cucuy,” but constantly putting away a cadre of UFC lightweights is really, really difficult and Oliveira had done it with relative ease heading into Saturday night’s long overdue big fight.
The Brazilian has been waiting for an opportunity like this for some time now, and took full advantage of it, turning his marquee assignment into a breakthrough performance.
Tony Ferguson vs. Father Time
Even before Saturday night’s fight with Charles Oliveira began, Tony Ferguson looked older than usual to me.
Maybe it was the shaved head. Maybe it was that he’d been through a hellacious battle with Justin Gaethje seven months earlier than that wear and tear was showing through. Maybe it was because the 36-year-old was stepping into the Octagon for the 18th time in a career littered with punishing fights, multiple injuries, and occasional questions about his mental health all in the midst of a global pandemic.
Whatever the reason, Ferguson didn’t look like his usual wild self and when the fight began, it was clear that this wasn’t the same “El Cucuy” that had terrified the division throughout his 12-fight winning streak.
We all make the “Father Time is undefeated” quip whenever an aging fighter shows signs of decline and it certainly feels apropos here.
Because Ferguson has been so good and so consistent for so long, we kind of breezed passed the fact that he’s 36 and outside of the heavyweight ranks, fighters don’t generally stay ultra-competitive and in contention into the mid-30s.
Add in the tremendous beating he took at the hands of Gaethje in May and the fact that each of his six bouts before that were hard-fought affairs against tough outs, and it becomes easier to see, in hindsight, how a guy who was on the cusp of challenging for championship gold and viewed as the guy to potentially hand Khabib Nurmagomedov his first loss could suffer such a dramatic decline in such a short period of time.
None of this is meant to take anything away from Oliveira, who was brilliant on Saturday and continued on an upward trajectory that began more than three years ago; it’s just meant to acknowledge all the factors that contribute to a result like this, and Ferguson’s age and the mileage he’s accumulated over the years are certain two of them.
The truly disappointing piece of his loss this past weekend isn’t the result, but rather the realization that Ferguson will most likely end up never fighting for the undisputed UFC lightweight title, despite a 12-fight winning streak and five- or six-year run where he was one of the top three-to-five fighters in the division.
While he likely became the top name on everyone’s “greatest fighters to never fight for UFC gold” list after this weekend, Ferguson should also be Exhibit A in the case for results and merit dictating title shots from now until eternity.
Injuries certainly played a role, but he was passed over and pushed aside a couple different times for less deserving competitors because it felt like you could always get around to giving the cooky standout from California his shot later, only “later” kept getting pushed back and ultimately never came around.
Please Don’t Rush Mackenzie Dern
Former Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion turned rising strawweight star Mackenzie Dern pushed her winning streak to three with a gritty, hard-fought victory over former Invicta FC champ Virna Jandiroba on Saturday.
The 27-year-old is now 10-1 for her career and showing continued signs of improvement, which is why I pray that the UFC pulls back on the reins a bit and doesn’t hustle Dern into the championship mix any time soon.
Dern is undeniably talented and absolutely savage on the ground, but her striking remains a work in progress and until she develops the kind of wrestling skills that are crucial to allowing standout grapplers to get the fight to the ground with regularity, she’s going to have a hard time against more seasoned, savvy competition. As great as she looked earlier this year against Hannah Cifers and Randa Markos, Saturday’s bout with “Carcara” was a clear indication that there is still work to be done before Dern wades into deeper waters.
What’s worrisome is that she’s already positioned at No. 11 in the rankings (which are flawed, but still used as a gauge when it comes to matchmaking) and on a three-fight winning streak, having just beaten a former Invicta FC champ who is also ranked in the Top 15. The logical move is to give her a slight step up in competition — like a date with fellow UFC 256 winner Tecia Torres — but that feels like an unnecessary risk at this point to me.
Let her get another year in the gym with Jason Parillo under her belt while operating in a holding pattern in terms of the level of competition she faces. Strawweight is deep enough at the top that Dern isn’t needed, and the gap in talent between those ranked in the Top 10 and those below is vast, so why not give her a couple more chances to continue sharpening her skills, showing improvements, and really build her up before throwing her into the deep end of the talent pool in the 115-pound weight class?
“Big Mouth” Gets A Big Win
Kevin Holland made a case for a podium finish in the Fighter of the Year race on Saturday by registering the biggest win of his career, a first-round stoppage victory over perennial contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in eye-popping fashion, connecting with a series of sharp right hands from his back that rocked and ultimately finished the Brazilian veteran.
With the victory, Holland became just the fourth fighter in UFC history, along with Roger Huerta, Donald Cerrone, and Neil Magny, to register five wins in a 12-month span. However, unlike his contemporaries on that list, Holland turned the trick in seven months, notching his first victory of 2020 in May before adding wins in August, September, October, and now December.
This was a statement victory that undoubtedly puts the Travis Lutter disciple into the championship mix at middleweight and makes him one of the top breakout talents of the year.
A tangential conversation took place before, during, and after Holland’s win on Saturday night that I want to add my two cents (Canadian) on as well, so here goes:
Prior to Holland’s fight, the broadcast aired a clip where Dana White explained that he calls the rising middleweight star “Big Mouth” because of his propensity for talking junk mid-fight, and how it contributed to his not earning a contract on the Contender Series.
This became a thing on #MMATwitter as it was appalling to many that White would pass on such an obvious talent simply because he didn’t like that he bumped his gums too much, given how much the UFC President seems to appreciate and gravitate towards competitors that do just that in most other instances.
But here’s the thing: Holland didn’t look great in his win over Will Santiago Jr. on Season 1, Episode 9 of the Contender Series. He was clearly the superior talent, but talked and showboated rather than engaging and putting forth the kind of dominant effort that would have earned him a contract, so it wasn’t just that he talked too much for White’s liking that cost him a spot on the roster.
Additionally, Holland has done this throughout his UFC career as well, making fights with Gerald Meerschaert and Alessio DiChirico much closer than they needed to be because he was playing too much. (Note: he suffered an injury late in the DiChirico fight, but was clearly the more talented of the two, yet let the Italian brawler stick around and nearly coughed up the fight as a result.)
The flashes of potential have always been there and if you’ve read anything I’ve written about Holland you’ve know I’ve echoed those same sentiments from the jump: dude is very talented, but he’d be so much better served if he handled his business and then talked like he did against “Fluffy” Hernandez than making things more difficult on himself than they need to be at times because he wants to mess around inside the Octagon.
Lastly, no one saw this kind of seven-month stretch coming from Holland, so let’s not pretend like he was some can’t-miss prospect that almost got away and everyone but White was all-in on from the jump.
The reason what he’s done in 2020 has been so impressive is that prior to this year, Holland was a solid prospect who looked like he may never get out of his own way. He still talks too much for my liking, but at least he’s doing it while actively engaging and putting dudes away now.
Ciryl Gane is a Heavyweight Problem
I’m not breaking any news with this statement, but there is no other way to put it after the French heavyweight went out and looked outstanding while putting away former champion Junior Dos Santos on Saturday night.
Now, JDS had dropped three straight, all by stoppage, prior to UFC 256 and is clearly in a similar position as Ferguson when it comes to his battle with Father Time, but you still have to recognize all the elements that make Gane a very interesting figure in the heavyweight division going forward.
First, the fact that he snuffed out a former champion, even one in decline, in his seventh professional fight is ridiculous. Even if you want to argue that the elbow that put Dos Santos down was borderline illegal (for the record, I thought it was fine), the 30-year-old hurt “Cigano” with a sharp jab to create that opening and would have finished him one way or another.
Secondly, Gane doesn’t look like or move like he’s six-foot-five and 248 pounds. The announcers talked about it on the broadcast: he bounces on his feet like a much lighter man, and moves with more fluidity than most heavyweights. There is a suddenness to his game that will continue to give people problems and allow Gane to create openings where others can’t in the future.
Thirdly, this dude made his MMA debut in August 2018 and is already a Top 5 UFC heavyweight; how good to you think he’s going to be when he gets another year or two of training under his belt? We’ve already seen him finish fights with heel hooks and arm-triangle chokes, as well as clubbing strikes, and he’s still not even three years into his MMA adventure.
There will be some appetizing opportunities available to the streaking rising star and unlike with Dern, I cannot wait to see Gane share the cage with the elite class of UFC heavyweights in 2021 and beyond.
Pouring One Out for Aging Brazilian Veterans
As much Saturday night was a breakout moment for Kevin Holland and Ciryl Gane, it came at the expense of two Brazilian stalwarts who appear to be at the tail end of their time as viable Top 10 talents, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Junior Dos Santos.
A former Strikeforce middleweight champ, Souza was a Top 5 staple, but never challenged for championship gold in the UFC, often coming up just short in the most crucial moments. He’s 4-6 over his last 10 fights and has dropped three straight, and while he could still occupy a “gatekeeper” position further down the divisional hierarchy, it’s clear that his best days are behind him.
The same goes for Dos Santos, who is set to turn 37 at the end of next month and has now lost four straight after having never lost consecutive fights coming into the year. Saturday was the first time he’s taken a small step backwards in competition and it still didn’t go his way, and although he too could retreat into being a marquee name facing emerging talents or fellow holdovers further down the divisional ladder, Dos Santos was likely evicted from the Top 10 over the weekend.
Both men have enjoyed outstanding careers overall, but this weekend was a reminder of how rare it is to see aging fighters continue to have success at the highest level. Skills begin to erode, reaction times drop a little here and there, and the next generation eventually catches up, sometimes all at once, transforming divisional stalwarts into vulnerable holdovers of a bygone time.
The Featherweight Division is So Good
Thirty percent of the fights at UFC 256 took place in the featherweight division and the triumvirate of matchups only served to underscore once again that the 145-pound weight class is the deepest, most talented collection of athletes in the UFC right now.
Cub Swanson returned following another major injury to score a second-round stoppage win over Daniel Pineda, Gavin Tucker exhibited his highly technical game while outworking Billy Quarantillo, and 21-year-old Chase Hooper showed tremendous stick-to-itiveness by catching a third-round heel hook against Peter Barrett in a fight he was losing decisively, and those three represent just a fraction of the assembled talent currently congregating at featherweight.
From top to bottom, it’s the most interesting, compelling, competitive division in the UFC to me, by far, and it has been trending that way for a couple years now. There is an outstanding mix of veteran holdovers and emerging threats, fresh contenders and familiar faces, all of which creates numerous avenues to venture down when it comes to matchmaking.
Arnold Allen and Bryce Mitchell have both flashed top-end potential, yet reside outside the Top 15, and there are waves of promising up-and-comers coming behind them as well.
Lightweight and welterweight have historically been viewed as the most competitive classes in the promotion, but featherweight has now claimed that position and shouldn’t relinquish it any time soon.
Fighter to Watch Going Forward: Rafael Fiziev
I want to close each of these T&TP pieces with this subcategory and selecting Rafael Fiziev coming out of Saturday night’s event in Las Vegas was easy.
I’ll be honest: as much as I’ve been intrigued by Fiziev since he arrived in the UFC amidst much fanfare, I was typing out a “this feel like one-sided commentary” tweet because it felt like Renato Moicano wasn’t getting enough credit for everything he’d accomplished in the Octagon when BING-BAM-BOOM he was on the canvas trying to grapple referee Mark Smith.
The quickness Fiziev exhibits in his striking is incredible and problematic for future opponents. While I wasn’t aligned with Joe Rogan’s “… and Marc Diakiese is a killer!” send up during the opening moments of the fight, it’s impossible not to watch Fiziev’s handiwork back and be impressed.
Making headway in the lightweight division is challenging, but with three straight victories and a highlight reel finish of a highly respected guy like Moicano is a tremendous start.
The really interesting part is going to be what comes next, or more correctly, who comes next because there are numerous guys that can take your lunch money and halt your momentum in a hurry standing between Fiziev and the Top 10.
This is a division where Islam Makhachev has won six straight and sits at No. 15 in the rankings and Carlos Diego Ferreira is on a similar run after having subbed out Anthony Pettis at the start of the year and still hasn’t cracked the upper echelon, so while I am excited to see his continued development and progression just like everyone else, this is my reminder to pay attention, but be careful forecasting too much, too soon for “Ataman” because breaking through at lightweight is a tall order.
See you next time.