UFC 277: 10 Things We Learned (Extended Edition)
Twin title fights closed out an entertaining night of action in Dallas that sets a course for a couple divisions over the remainder of the year
And New… Again
Amanda Nunes is the UFC bantamweight champion once more, reclaiming the title she lost in December with a dominant five-round decision win over Julianna Pena.
After looking a little hesitant out of the chute, Nunes started having success on the feet midway through the opening stanza, finding a home for good shots as she switched stances when Pena crashed forward. In the second, she turned up the power on those shots, dropping Pena three times. The third saw Nunes open up Pena with elbows on the canvas, before she continued to maul the champion on the deck over the final two stanza, leading to 50-45, 50-44, and 50-43 scorecards in her favour.
Nunes has returned to “Double Champ” status and has once again beaten every woman to ever wear championship gold in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
This was a one-sided performance, but Pena deserves a ton of credit — she was never on skates despite getting dropped multiple times in the second, never wavered when getting beaten up on the ground, and continued hunting for submission throughout, getting close a couple different times.
It’s going to be interesting to see what comes next for Nunes, who said she needs a trip to Brazil and a little time off before figuring out what’s next. Ketlen Vieira is likely next line in terms of active bantamweights, but a trilogy fight with flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko remains the must-see matchup to make.
After being on the wrong side of the biggest upset in UFC history last time out, Nunes is back atop the bantamweight division once more.
A Champion Once More
Brandon Moreno is your interim UFC flyweight champion after finishing Kai Kara-France in the third round, stopping him with a beautiful left kick to the liver.
The opening two rounds were close, with Moreno landing the more immediately impactful strikes (in my opinion) and Kara-France chipping away with low kicks and looking to find a home for his bigger, power shots. In the early moments of the third, it was Kara-France who went on the offensive, putting Moreno on the canvas and opening a gash under his right eye, but that only seemed to spur the former undisputed flyweight champion on even more.
As they battled passed the midway point of the round, Kara-France clearly ahead and bringing the fight closer with the championship rounds remaining, Moreno hit him with a brilliant left kick that instantly put Kara-France on the deck. Moreno swarmed, unloaded, and earned the finish, setting the stage for a fourth fight with Deiveson Figueiredo.
The Brazilian champion joined Moreno in the Octagon following the contest, and rather than the two having a heated confrontation, they shared a moment of mutual respect and admiration, agreeing, in principle, to another fight, with Figueiredo suggesting it take place in his native Brazil and Moreno being like, “Yeah… sure… cool… whatever.”
It’s the right fight to make, and I hope we get it before the year is out so that flyweight can move on from this admittedly wonderful rivalry.
Pavlovich Picks Up Biggest Win Yet
Sergei Pavlovich made quick work of Derrick Lewis, dispatching the two-time UFC title challenger in just 55 seconds into the opening stanza, much to the dismay of many in attendance and countless people on Twitter.
The athletic Russian came forward patiently to start, but when the two big men started swinging, he was the one connecting. An uppercut backed Lewis up and Pavlovich gave chase, connecting with an additional series of big shots that eventually caused the Houston native to face-plant on the canvas. He looked to get straight back up, but referee Dan Miragliotta had already intervened, waving off the contest.
This is now four straight victories for Pavlovich, with all of them coming inside the opening five minutes, the last two in the last five months. He’s 16-1 for his career, a gargantuan human being, and the latest ascending heavyweight people need to be paying close attention to right goddamn now. We know what beating Derrick Lewis means in terms of quality and skill, and whether you agree with the stoppage or not, you cannot argue that Pavlovich wasn’t all over “The Black Beast” and not backing down.
In regards to the stoppage, I think we want referees to be perfect — to get it just right, every time — and that’s not possible.
If they’re a little early? Folks riot. If they’re late? Folks riot.
I will always be on the side of stopping things a little early, and if you want to call this one early, fine, but Lewis collapsed to the canvas with his forehead hitting the mat first…
No Time Wasted
Alexandre Pantoja walked to the Octagon without his shirt on, looking like a man that wanted to waste no time getting into a fistfight with Alex Perez. As soon as the fighters were introduced and the bout began, the returning Brazilian raced across the cage, started swinging, and climbed not Perez’ back, quickly working to grab onto a vicious neck crank / jaw crank that forced Perez to tap.
This was as emphatic and impressive a win as you could have asked for from the ranked standout after nearly a year on the sidelines.
Pantoja had secured a championship opportunity against Moreno with his second-round submission win over Brandon Royval last year, but a knee injury forced him out of the bout and under the knife, with the division subsequently playing out the way it has to where there was an interim title fight in this evening’s co-main event. Running through Perez, himself a former title challenger, in that way puts the former Ultimate Fighter contestant at the top of the list of contenders in the 125-pound weight class.
And after a performance like this, everyone should want to see Pantoja in there with gold hanging in the balance some time very, very soon.
Massive Statement from Magomed Ankalaev
Make it nine straight and counting for Magomed Ankalaev.
In the opening bout of the UFC 277 main card, the surging light heavyweight from Dagestan took out Anthony Smith in the second round, pounding out a finish along the fence after finding a bit of a rhythm late in the opening stanza. Smith limped back to his corner following the opening five minute, complaining about his ankle, and gingerly marched forward to start the second, eventually pulling guard in the most “what the hell is he doing?” move we’ve seen in some time.
Ankalaev took full advantage, settling into top position and landing small shots before finally connecting with some more powerful blows and getting “Lionheart” out of there.
This was a massive statement win for Ankalaev, who entered having earned three straight decision wins. He’s as well-round a fighter as you’re going to find in the light heavyweight Top 10 and while he’s still got a little work to do before he’s to be considered on par with the champion and current elites, Ankalaev keeps getting closer. You don’t win nine straight in the UFC if you’re not skilled, talented, and tactically sharp, and it feels like only a matter of time before the streaking Russian finds himself alongside someone that has held championship gold recently, competing for the opportunity to do so himself.
Alex Morono, Truth Machine
Here’s why I love guys like Alex Morono:
In addition to striking me as someone that is quite cerebral and intelligent about all things, he fights like someone that has both accepted his station in life and decided to make the absolute most of it for as long as he can. He’s not a Top 15 fighter in the welterweight division, but he’s in the 16-30 range, makes sound decision tactically in the Octagon (most of the time), and is an absolute truth machine for the ascending set.
Saturday night, the Texan took on Matthew Semelsberger in a bout that was, ironically, similar to both he and Morono’s fights with Khaos Williams earlier in their respective careers. For Morono, he was again the sturdy test for the up-and-comer, while for “Semi the Jedi,” Morono served as the more accomplished litmus test he needed to pass in order to take another step forward.
And Morono turned him aside, not easily, but it wasn’t overly close either.
He lumped up Semelsberger through the first two rounds, survived a flying knee early in the second to win the final three-and-a-half minutes of the round and earn a sweep of the scorecards. The 31-year-old has now won three straight and seven-of-nine, making him perfectly situated to maintain his place in the pecking order going forward.
Give Drew Dober His Flowers
He’s never going to challenge for championship gold, and he’s probably not even going to break into the Top 10, butt it’s time to give Drew Dober his flowers because that dude is all-action, all the time, and it’s always fun to watch.
At UFC 277, the Elevation Fight Team member put forth another entertaining effort against Rafael Alves, dropping the opening round to the wild, athletic Brazilian before drawing level in the second and putting him down in the third with a tremendous left hand to the chest. He was working the body throughout the fight and the investment paid off, as Alves crumpled when Dober connected.
The Nebraska native is one of those guys I talk about all the time in this space: an outstanding member of the lightweight ecosystem that can have a fun fight with just about anyone (so long as they’re willing to engage), never fails to be exciting and fun to watch, and is just happy to grind out three or four fights a year against good competition, racking up appearances, more wins than losses, and smiling the whole way through.
We need to celebrate dudes like Dober while they’re active, while they’re competing because they’re too easily lost to the sands of time once their martial days are over, at which point, it would be too late.
Welcome to the UFC
Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestling Olympian Hamdy Abdelwahab made his successful UFC debut on Saturday evening, earning a split decision win over Don’Tale Mayes midway through the televised prelims.
There were nice moments for the undefeated Abdelwahab, who had Mayes in trouble in the first, showcased some good takedowns, and quality control on the deck to pick up the victory in his first foray into the Octagon. There were, however, some dicy moments as well, as it seemed like he was none too keen on getting hit.
Now listen — I don’t want to get punched in the face by Don’Tale Mayes or anyone for that matter, so I understand. The problem for Abdelwahab is that he’s chosen a career where getting punched in the face isn’t really optional, and if he doesn’t let catching the occasional big blow from a lower tier staple like Mayes, what is going to happen as he tries to work his way up the divisional ladder?
This was a solid first showing, but one that creates a bunch more questions going forward, rather than providing a ton of answers, so we’ll wait to see what comes next from the Egyptian before drawing any further conclusions.
Drakkar Wins, but It Was Klose…
I’m not even sorry.
Drakkar Klose collected his second victory of the year at UFC 277, out-hustling a game Rafa Garcia over three rounds to build upon his second-round stoppage victory over Brandon Jenkins earlier in 2022.
Now back at The MMA Lab, the veteran lightweight has been a fixture in the “Second 15” in the division fro some time, serving as a tough out for ranked opposition, a dangerous matchup for ascending talents, and a guy that, quite frankly, tends to beat the Rafa Garcias of the world, especially when they take the fight on short notice. He’s been close to breaking into the Top 15 at times and likely deserves another chance to try and do so, as this was initially supposed to be a date with long-time rankings fixture Diego Ferreira before the Fortis MMA fighter withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
I questioned on Wednesday whether Klose’s window had closed or if he would be able to make one more sustained push towards the top of the division — not that he’s going to get there, necessarily — and Saturday’s outing shows it’s still open… for now.
Gain Experience, Get a Finish
Michael Morales had a very solid sophomore outing in the Octagon on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old from Ecuador, who trains at Tijuana’s Entram Gym, logged two full rounds of work against Adam Fugitt before getting the short-notice replacement fighter out of there early in the third round. Fugitt did well through the first 10 minutes, hanging with Morales and having solid moments of his own, but the power discrepancy was clear throughout, and when Morales stung him with a clean blow moments into the final frame, you knew the end was near and Morales made sure to put him away.
It’s not difficult to see why many — me very much included — are high on the DWCS grad: he has a great frame and reach for the welterweight division, obvious power, consecutive stoppage wins in the UFC, and a 14-0 record overall now. He’s only going to keep getting better as he gains more experience, and fights like this help to that end.
As much as blowing through opponents looks great for the highlight reels and sharp on your Tapology or Wikipedia page, time in the Octagon is invaluable, especially this early into a career, and Morales will be better for having gone through those first two rounds this evening.
Nice Win for Nic Negumereanu (and One More Note)
Nicolae Negumereanu pushed his winning streak to four with a second-round stoppage win over newcomer Ihor Potieria on Saturday’s prelims. After finding his range and tiring out the DWCS grad in the opening stanza, Negumereanu kept chipping away until he had Potieria hurt, and then made sure to seal the deal, getting him out of there amidst a hail of knees and uppercuts.
It’s a good win for the Romanian light heavyweight, who has held steady in the lower tier of the division through this run of success and is likely to get a step up in competition next time out. He’s just 27 years old, is building some good habits and momentum in the Octagon, and works with a good crew at Xtreme Couture, which makes him someone to just keep an eye on going forward.
In regards to the finish, referee Kerry Hatley allowed Potieria to take too many consecutive, unanswered, unnecessary blows before finally stepping in and stopping the fight. When his mouthpiece got sent flying into media row, he needed to start thinking about stepping in, and when the first set of knees and uppercuts crashed home, he should have called it. Instead, it was like he was waiting for Potieria to either collapse or get busted up, neither of which needs to be the way we’re having referees determine when to step in and stop a fight.
Friends & Family Deal Needs to End
The UFC has got to stop giving opportunities to inexperienced training partners of high-level talents.
Orion Cosce opened the show with a unanimous decision win over Blood Diamond, out-grappling the City Kickboxing teammate of middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, handing him a second straight defeat. It’s not that there weren’t positives for Diamond to take away from this performance, but as a 34-year-old fighter entering with a 3-1 record and coming off a first-round submission loss, this isn’t where Diamond should be learning the ropes.
Diamond isn’t the first friend of a friend to gain entree into the UFC — Hello Charlie Ward! — but at this point in the life of the promotion, these are the deals that shouldn’t be getting handed out; not when there are actually talented fighters out there not getting the chance to compete inside the Octagon.
I know not everything is always going to be as merit-based as I would like, however if you’re going to sign up some fella that is mates with one of your champs, at least make sure he’s halfway decent at the whole mixed martial arts thing.