UFC 263: 10 Thing We Learned Last Night (Extended Edition)
Combing through the fallout from one of the biggest fight cards on the year on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona
With a fight card this big, this loaded, there was no way the standard 10 Things would be enough to cover all the takeaways and talking points, so I’ve put together this extended cut with a couple bonus tracks for your reading enjoyment!
And Still!
Israel Adesanya retained his UFC middleweight title, pitching a shutout against challenger Marvin Vettori in Saturday night’s main event.
The champion dominated the striking exchanges and showed improved skills on the ground, defending well when taken down, reversing position on a couple occasions, and keeping Vettori from every getting much of anything going over the course of the five-round fight. In space, the difference in their striking abilities was stark — Adesanya throwing smoothly, mixing in feints while attacking all levels with punches and kicks as Vettori plodding forward, forcing jabs and single shots, his lead leg getting tenderized. And while Vettori was able to close the distance and clasp his hands under Adesanya’s butt a couple times, the champion always responded quickly and effectively, attacking with elbows, stuffing the head, and fighting off the fence.
It’s quite telling that the one point where Adesanya was in danger in the third round, when Vettori took him down and scrambled to his back, sinking in hooks and chasing a choke, the City Kickboxing representative quickly turned into him, reversing into top position inside Vettori’s guard before standing up and bringing the fight back to the feet.
While there wasn’t a finish, this one was never in question, as the champion continues to look like a dominant force atop the division.
Another Rematch on Deck
Next up for Adesanya is another rematch, this time with Robert Whittaker in a fight that is much more compelling and intriguing fight that Saturday’s middleweight main event.
Adesanya earned a finish in their first encounter to unify the middleweight titles, culminating his incredible rise to the top of the division. He was ahead of Whittaker at every step and put him away in impressive fashion, but since then, “The Reaper” has returned to win three straight, looking refreshed and ready to challenge for the title again. There was the potential for them to fight here, but with Whittaker having fought in April, he preferred a late summer or early fall engagement, leading to Adesanaya running it back with Vettori here.
“The Last Stylebender” dedicated the second half of his post-fight interview to setting up the second bout between the two, lobbying for it to take place on his turf in Auckland after beating Whittaker in Australia last time out.
Regardless of where it happens, it will be one of the most anticipated bouts of the year, and a fight you won’t want to miss.
And New!
Brandon Moreno is your new UFC flyweight champion.
After controlling the action through the first two rounds against Deiveson Figueiredo, the former Ultimate Fighter contestant initiated a grappling exchange, climbing onto the Brazilian’s back, and locking on a body triangle before fishing his forearm under Figueiredo’s neck and drawing out the tap, becoming the first fighter from Mexico to wear UFC gold.
It was an absolutely masterful performance from Moreno, who came out sharp from the jump, taking the fight to Figueiredo, dropping him with a jab in the first, and completing his Cinderella-like run to the title less than two rounds later, breaking down into tears of joy inside the Octagon.
Six years ago, Moreno was the No. 16 seed on Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, losing to Alexandre Pantoja and getting bounced from the competition. But he was signed to the UFC before the season ended and started making his climb, winning a trio of fights before dropping two straight and getting released when the division seemed destined to be scrapped. He returned in September 2019 and now, five fights later, stands atop the division.
Moreno was locked in all week and looked outstanding from the very start of this one, working behind a smooth jab, flashing quickness and composure, taking the fight to the champion. Still just 27 years old, “The Assassin Baby” has the potential to keep growing, keep developing, and become a dominant figure in this division.
Flyweight Options
Here’s the cool thing about having a changing of the guard atop the flyweight division: there are championship options and plenty of fresh fights that could materialize over the next 12-18 months.
Moreno and Figueiredo could do it a third time, though I’m not sure another immediate rematch is all that appeal after a clean, decisive finish like we saw on Saturday night. The champ could also easily step in against Askar Askarov, the unquestioned No. 1 contender, an undefeated fighter who battled Moreno to a draw in his return to the UFC less than two years ago.
In addition to those two options, another bout with Pantoja, who has beaten Moreno twice — on TUF and in his last fight before getting released — could come together as the Brazilian remains a Top 5 fixture, while Brandon Royval could make a case for a second bout with the new champion if he beats Pantoja in August. Along with those two, others like Alex Perez, Kai Kara-France, and Tim Elliott sit in the Top 10, a win or two away from a potential title shot, with emerging threats like David Dvorak and Matheus Nicolau climbing the ladder as well.
For a division that was ready to be scrapped not that long ago, things are quite interesting in the flyweight ranks at the moment, and the new champion will have plenty of options and potential contenders to sort through as he begins his reign.
Impressive, Gutsy Effort from Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards made the absolute most of his marquee pairing with Nathan Diaz, battering the cult figure for the opening four rounds, punishing his lead leg, busting him up in the third, and holding on down the stretch when he was in serious trouble to earn a unanimous decision victory midway through Saturday’s main card.
This was the performance Edwards needed in the kind of fight the Birmingham native has long been chasing. After years of being the unheralded standout of the welterweight division, the 29-year-old stepped all the way into the spotlight in this one, showing a full compliment of skills, an ability to go five tough rounds with a resilient, indefatigable fighter, all with the pressure squarely on his shoulders. Late in the fifth round, Diaz put Edwards on roller skates, connecting with a left hand that made the final 60 seconds thrilling and tense, but even then, Edwards showed his ability to escape danger and get to the finish line.
People are going to want to fixate on the final minute, but everything that happened before that was all Edwards, who is now unbeaten in his last 10 fights and 11-2 with one No Contest in his UFC career. There is nothing else he needs to do in order to merit a championship opportunity, especially given that reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman is the last person to beat him.
It got tense down the stretch, but Edwards largely dominated and that’s what matters most.
Nathan Diaz is UFC’s Version of The Rock
I was thinking about this a lot this week as we readied for Diaz’s fight with Edwards, which always felt like a terrible matchup and a fight where regardless of the result, nothing would change for Stockton’s favorite son.
Diaz is the UFC version of The Rock in that he can roll in whenever he wants, land in a monster fight, and then bounce for 18-24 months at a time, if not more, without losing any ground, similar to how the former “Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” could show up tomorrow and be thrown into a program with Roman Reigns on the next episode of Smackdown and no one would bat an eye.
It takes a different level of star power to reach that level and even then, few competitors get there, but Diaz has reached that point and will most likely continue to operate in the that role for as long as he wants to continue fighting. There are fights out there for him that make sense or would be fun — the trilogy with Conor McGregor chief among them — and fans are always, ALWAYS going to be amped to see the veteran get back in there, regardless of how long it’s been or what his record looks like.
I’ve never really understood it, but have always appreciated Diaz’s toughness, tenacity, and willingness to fight tough customers, especially once he hit this point, and look forward to whatever comes next for the former Ultimate Fighter winner and perennial fan favorite.
Muhammad Handles His Business
Belal Muhammad did what he needed to do in order to get a victory on Saturday night, stuffing a ton of takedowns and landing a smattering of punches to earn a unanimous decision win over Brazilian veteran Demian Maia.
This was a typical Demian Maia fight in that neither man looked good and the action was sporadic at best, with Muhammad being forced to be careful on the feet, picking his spot with individual punches as Maia looked to grab his lead leg and put him on the canvas. Every time he did, Muhammad showed tremendous balance and a great job of being able to limp leg out and return to space. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked, and now Muhammad can move into the Top 10 and onto a more competitive matchup later this year.
Folks are going to immediately look to diminish the importance and value of this win, but for all his struggles, Maia still entered as a Top 10 fighter, with the only people to beat him going all the way back to the start of 2014 being Tyron Woodley in a title fight, Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Gilbert Burns; that’s it. Dude is a legend and a miserable matchup and nearly impossible to look good, so the best you can hope to do is what Muhammad did on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old Chicago native is unbeaten in his last six and sports a 9-1 record with one No Contest in his last 11 fights, and he’s deserving of a date with a bigger name next time out, with Neil Magny feeling like a logical choice at this moment. There is nothing flashy about Muhammad’s game, but he’s as tough as they come and game as hell, and he’s going to keep being a handful for whomever he shares the Octagon with next.
Craig Cruises, Dislocates Hill’s Arm
Paul Hill showed Jamahal Hill that there are levels to the grappling game, bouncing the Contender Series alum from the ranks of the unbeaten and leaving him with a severely dislocated arm only a matter of minutes into the main card opener.
Throughout the build up their tense, rescheduled contest, Hill said he wasn’t worried about going to the mat with the Scottish submission specialist, telling anyone who would listen that he was skilled on the ground as well. Almost immediately, Craig put that to the test, clamping onto an overhook and pulling guard, threatening with an armbar that forced Hill to get defensive quickly to avoid trouble. Clear from Craig’s grasp, the Michigan native had a chance to back out and bring it to the feet, but instead, he waded into Craig’s guard, and that was a mistake.
The 33-year-old “BearJew” again clamped down on an overhook before transitioning to an armbar on the opposite arm, going belly-down before rolling through and extending the limb at a gnarly angle. Hill didn’t tap, but as they continued flowing, it was obvious that something was wrong, as his arm flopped uncontrollably. Somehow, the referee allowed the fight to continue until it became abundantly clear that it needed to be stopped, and when it was, the damage was severe.
After an uneven start to his UFC career, Craig is now unbeaten in his last five and on a three-fight winning streak, finishing each of those contests. While he’s still a work-in-progress on the feet, the Scotsman is savage on the canvas and a problem for anyone that dares to engage with him in the grappling department. This was an outstanding showing and should propel him further up the rankings heading into the second half of the year.
Riddell, Dober Deliver in Spades
Everyone expected the preliminary card finale between Brad Riddell and Drew Dober would be an exciting, entertaining, back-and-forth affair.
Somehow, the lightweights still managed to exceed expectations.
Over the course of 15 minutes, Riddell and Dober beat the bloody hell out of each other, trading bombs from the outset, with Riddell coming away with the unanimous decision victory, salting things away by staggering Dober down the stretch in the third. The Fight of the Year race heading to the midway point of 2021 is fairly open, and this just might be the new clubhouse leader.
In addition to being a helluva fight, this was a massive victory for Riddell, who pushes his record to 4-0 in the UFC and his winning streak to seven overall. He should crack the Top 15 when the rankings are update early next week, and showed on Saturday that he can go toe-to-toe with established, experienced talents in the 155-pound weight class, clearing a path for him to earn another step up in competition next time out.
Five Straight, Shevchenko Next?
Lauren Murphy pushed her winning streak to five with a hard-fought, super-close decision win over Joanne Calderwood in the middle of Saturday’s televised prelims.
Everything ultimately came down to the first round, as Murphy dominated the second by using her wrestling and controlling Calderwood on the canvas, while the Scottish stalwart won the third by maintaining space and picking at the former Invicta FC bantamweight champ at range. In the opening round, Calderwood out-landed Murphy by a wide margin, mixing levels and varying her strikes, while the American was often the one pressing forward, landing some quality shots along the way.
In landing on the happy side of the split decision verdict, Murphy is now the owner of the second-longest winning streak in the division, trailing only champion Valentina Shevchenko, who could be the next person that stands across from her in the Octagon.
“Bullet” made quick work of Jessica Andrade in April and will likely make a late summer return to action. With no one else having really stepped up as a clear, unquestioned challenger, the streaking Murphy could get the call.
For now though, the aptly named “Lucky” will enjoy this narrow win and get back after it, continuing to build and improve until the next one comes around.
Still Unbeaten
Movsar Evloev remains unbeaten, using his wrestling to dominate the first two rounds against Hakeem Dawodu before needing to go to it again down the stretch when things got dicey.
The 27-year-old Russian is now 15-0 overall and 5-0 inside the Octagon, showing flashes of the kind of skills needed to be a champion in the future. He gave Dawodu no room to operate in the first two rounds, controlling the vast majority of each frame from dominant positions, vacillating between hunting for submission and softening the Calgarian up with punches. Though he wasn’t close to finishing at any point, each round could have been scored 10-8 for Evloev.
If there is an element of his game that needs improving at this point, it’s his conditioning, as he clearly slowed down and then got in trouble in the second half of the final round, when Dawodu was able to connect with a couple heavy shots. While Evloev was able to turn to his wrestling to stem the tide and salt away the victory, the more he climbs the ladder, the more difficult the challenges are going to be and the greater the potential for danger in those spots get. That said, he wrestled the crap out of Dawodu through two rounds, which is incredibly tiring, so perhaps a little more variety leaves him with a little more in the gas tank down the stretch.
There are tons of quality names ahead of him in the rankings, but this performance should earn Evloev another step up in competition, and if he keeps turning in efforts like this, it won’t be long before the undefeated Russian is challenging for championship gold.
Kianzad Keeps Moving Forward
Pannie Kianzad secured her fourth straight victory on Saturday night, edging out steely veteran Alexis Davis in a hard-fought, thoroughly entertaining scrap to close out the non-televised prelims.
The fight was contested exclusively on the feet, with both women having varied success throughout, Kianzad taking the first, clearly, before things got tighter in the second and third, leading to mixed scorecards on social media. But the judges weren’t as split, with two seeing the fight 30-27 and the other 29-28, all for Kianzad, handing the Iranian-born fighter another triumph.
Still just 29, this was a meaningful victory for Kianzad, who pushes her winning streak to four by taking out a tenured vet and former title challenger, following up her win by lobbying to face Raquel Pennington, who is coming off a win over Marion Reneau, in August.
With the way Amanda Nunes has dominated the division and few new names stepping up, Kianzad is in a good position to climb the divisional ladder and if she can get that fight with “Rocky” at some point this year and pick up another victory, she’ll put herself in the Top 10, and anything is possible from there.
Welcome to the UFC, Terrance McKinney
You’re not going to find many better debuts than the one Terrance McKinney turned in on Saturday night.
Taking the fight on short notice just eight days after registering a 72-second victory under the LFA banner, McKinney touched gloves with Matt Frevola and then touched “The SteamRolla” with a clean, crisp one-two that ended the fight in seven seconds.
Though he appeared to jack up his knee celebrating, there is no diminishing how impressive this was and how much you love to see it, as McKinney cried tears of joy inside the Octagon as they awaited the official decision. The 26-year-old has a crazy backstory and came up short in his quest to reach the UFC through the Contender Series a couple years back, but three straight stoppages this year got him the call and good lord did he make the most of it.
You absolutely love to see it, and McKinney is definitely someone to keep tabs on going forward.
Tough Spot for Chase Hooper
Chase Hooper is an interesting prospect — a long, rangy grappler who has already shown a ton of toughness and heart through his first handful of UFC appearances. Unfortunately, the 21-year-old is still raw on the feet and limited in his experience, which means every fight is going to be a bigger battle than you want to see a fighter of his age and upside go through every time he steps into the Octagon.
Saturday night, Hooper dropped a unanimous decision to Steven Peterson, a 31-year-old former LFC champ who is battle-tested and well-rounded, and used that savvy to out-strike “The Dream” throughout while avoiding any real dangerous spots on the ground.
Hooper earned a developmental deal after earning a win on the Contender Series, then got called up to the big leagues at the end of 2019, registering a win over David Teymur. But over his last three fights, he’s taken a bunch of punishment, suffering a pair of losses with a come-from-behind submission win over Peter Barrett sandwiched in between. While he’s 2-2 in the UFC, no one has come away from those fights thinking Hooper is primed to climb the divisional ladder.
The problem for Hooper is that he should probably still be fighting on the regional circuit or, at the very least, continually facing competitors with similar experience, but you can’t do that in the UFC. You can’t get a win, then fight another newcomer, and another newcomer, and another guy coming off a loss, which leaves Hooper following every victory with a step up in competition that is too much for him right now.
He still has potential and tons of room to grow, but right now, it’s going to be tough sledding for Hooper.
Judges, Man
It’s wild that we still have as many issues with judging as we do, given how many fights take place around the world, how much information is available to these men and women, and how many media types and fans seem to have a terrific grip on the scoring criteria.
Carlos Felipe won his third straight in Saturday’s opener, earning a split decision win over Jake Collier in a fight that MMA Twitter felt was clearly a victory for Collier.
The only conclusive round was the first, where Collier got the better of things. Over the second and third, Felipe was the one coming forward and he clearly was having more fun in there, but there wasn’t a great deal of difference in terms of the significant strikes landed and neither man connected with anything serious, with Collier getting the better of things statistically in all three rounds. That didn’t matter to two of the three officials though, as Felipe landed on the happy side of the split decision verdict for the second consecutive contest, reiterating that officials still give too much value and weight to who is moving forward, which doesn’t matter nearly as much as who is landing more and doing so more effectively.
While the judges aren’t privy to the in-fight scoring, they shouldn’t need to be in order to get this stuff right. I wasn’t watching the stats in the moment, but it was clear to me that Collier was getting the better of things in their exchanges, taking advantage of the moments when Felipe played to the crowd or called him in.
The approach is working for Felipe, but few people came away from this one thinking the Brazilian was the victor.