UFC 292: 10 Things We Learned
Detailing all the action that took place and talking points that emerged on Saturday night in Boston
And New
Sean O’Malley is the new UFC bantamweight champion after stopping Aljamain Sterling just 51 seconds into the second round.
After a close, largely uneventful first round, Sterling looked to close the distance in the early moments of the second and O’Malley clocked him, driving home a crisp right hand that instantly put the champion on the canvas. The challenger swarmed, the follow-ups found a home, and the fight was halted.
This was a great effort from O’Malley, who stayed upright through a couple takedown attempts and made good on his promise to stoppage Sterling. He’s the genuine article — there is no way to question it now — and there are a host of challengers at the ready that are going to quickly be lining up to try to knock him off his perch.
O’Malley said he’d defend his newly won title against Marlon “Chito” Vera, who beat him earlier in their careers and won earlier on Saturday night, at T-Mobile Arena in December, and it will be interesting to see if the UFC gives its new Golden Boy the fight he wants for his first title defense.
Still Champ, Sheer Dominance
Zhang Weili trucked Amanda Lemos to retain her strawweight title, surviving a brief scare early in the first to roll to a lopsided decision win.
The champion kicked Lemos’ feet out from under her moments into the fight, but got stuck in a deep ninja choke soon after. Once she extracted herself from the submission, Zhang pummelled the challenger, taking her down at will and dominating on the canvas before dropping her with a clean right hand to start the fifth.
Saturday’s performance was a message to the rest of the division, as it’s clear that the Chinese standout is continuing to add to her tool kit and up her Fight IQ, which, when combined with her already outstanding athleticism, technical acumen, and brute strength, makes her a formidable challenge for anyone trying to unseat her from the strawweight throne.
Garry Rolls Through Magny
Ian Machado Garry continued his unbeaten march towards the top of the welterweight division, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards against short-notice replacement Neil Magny in Saturday’s final non-title matchup.
“The Future” took out Magny’s lead leg in the opening round and never stopped bashing home heavy low kicks. The longer the fight progressed, the more trouble Magny had staying upright, with Machado Garry calling him to his feet to dole out more punishment each time, relishing the opportunity to pile it on.
I have very mixed feelings about this performance.
First and foremost, it’s a very good win for Machado Garry, as beating Magny, even on short notice, is no easy feat and he cruised from the outset. Since the very early stages of his career, Magny has only lost to ranked competitors and talented fighters, and Machado Garry certainly fits that bill.
However, this was a little bit of a “playing with your food” performance, and I’m just far more fond of fighters getting compromised opposition out of there, rather than toying with them and dragging things out. Magny could barely stand at times, and rather than try to finish, the Irishman taunted him, call him up, and chopped him down again. It worked and he won, but personally, I would have been even more impressed if Machado Garry pressed a little more in search of a finish.
He called for a fight with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson next, which also feels a little safe, if I’m being honest, but I’ll talk about that more tomorrow on The Next Day Takeaways.
Five and Counting
It wasn’t as emphatic as his previous three outings, but Mario Bautista still pushed his winning streak to five with a hard-earned win over Da’Mon Blackshear.
The MMA Lab representative showed all the facets of his game, striking particularly well in tight, and wrestling well both offensively and defensively. Blackshear was game and active throughout, an especially impressive feat given that he fought last weekend and took the fight on Sunday, but Bautista was able to edge him on all three scorecards.
Five straight wins in the bantamweight division is not something anyone should take lightly, regardless of the opposition, and it should get Bautista a date with a ranked opponent next.
This was another one of those competitive fights where everyone agreed the first two rounds were close and then were aghast that someone scored all three rounds for Bautista, proving yet again that MMA fans will never learn or change.
Good Win for Vera, But…
In the main card opener, Marlon Vera got back into the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz in what is quickly becoming a typical “Chito” style fight.
The sixth-ranked bantamweight landed the more telling blows in the back-and-forth on the feet, edging out his Brazilian counterpart in a fight contested exclusively on the feet. Vera scored with a couple clean shots that backed Munhoz up a step or two, but for the most part, this was another fight where the contender from Ecuador relied on his power edge to win close, competitive rounds.
While he was successful on Saturday night, this reliance on power and landing enough bigger blows to creep ahead on the cards feels like a risky and limiting approach for Vera. He got out-hustled by Cory Sandhagen last time out, and when he’s fighting forward in the division, there aren’t many competitors that are going to simply stand-and-trade with him as Munhoz did here.
We might be seeing the Vera reach his ceiling in the division, but it’ll take a couple more fights against opponents in the same neighbourhood in the rankings to say that definitively.
Tavares Cruises, Questions for Weidman
Brad Tavares out-hustled Chris Weidman for 15 minutes, spoiling the former middleweight champ’s first appearance since suffering that grizzly broken leg two years ago at UFC 261.
Weidman seemed understandably hesitant out of the gate, and Tavares did what he said he would do all week, refusing to allow himself to feel sorry for the 39-year-old while sticking to his technical, precision striking game. He was clearly the sharper of the two throughout, sniping at Weidman with his hands and battering his legs with heavy low kicks, leaving him with a pronounced limp by the time the fight ended.
This was a good win for Tavares, and a loss that raises questions about Weidman’s future in the Octagon. He’s now just 2-7 over his last nine fights, and while he showed some moxie on Saturday, it’s hard to see a road to sustained success for “The All-American.”
Should he want to keep fighting, Weidman needs to take the Jim Miller route and scale back the level of competition he’s facing, but given that he was talking about being in his prime and making another title run heading into this one, something tells me he’s not built to accept that path.
If that’s the case, this could end in ugly fashion.
Third Time is the Charm
Kurt Holobaugh made the most of his third opportunity to compete on the UFC roster, registering a second-round submission win over fellow Team Chandler member Austin Hubbard to win the Ultimate Fighter 31 lightweight tournament.
The 36-year-old lost a one-off appearance early in his career and then went 0-3 after earning a contract on the opening episode of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) before getting another kick at the can this season on TUF. His power and pressure proved too much for Hubbard, as he stung the Elevation Fight team member along the fence before spilling him to the canvas and getting into his grappling attacks. Each time Hubbard defended, Holobaugh flowed to another attack, finally locking up a triangle choke that left “Thud” dead to rights.
Holobaugh earned finishes in each of his two appearances inside the house and has rarely gone to the judges over the course of his career, and that penchant for chasing finishes paid major dividends here, as he secured a return to the big leagues and maybe even a post-fight bonus with an outstanding finish in Beantown.
Savages
Brad Katona and Cody Gibson are absolute monsters!
The TUF 31 bantamweight finalists landed the fourth most combined strikes in the division’s history in their three-round battle, with Katona cranking up the output to claim a unanimous decision victory and become the first man to win The Ultimate Fighter twice. Gibson came out pushing the pace and taking the fight to the Canadian, but Katona stayed right with him and found key positive moments down the stretch in the seconds and third to secure the victory and second TUF win.
Both men showed they’re capable of hanging at this level, but it’s nice to see Katona back in the UFC, as he went 1-2 in this first run, losing to current No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili and dropping a split decision to Hunter Azure in a fight many felt he won. He’s gone undefeated since and stamped his ticket back by out-working the game Gibson on Saturday in an outstanding clash that should get Fight of the Year mentions come December.
Another Level Cleared
Natalia Silva showed she’s ready to face Top 10 opposition by thoroughly out-working Andrea Lee on the UFC 292 prelims.
The Brazilian stunned Lee with a sharp jab in the first that started her nose running red, and spent the remainder of the fight piecing up the No. 13 flyweight. There was never a point where the 26-year-old was pressed, yet alone in trouble, and her speed, movement, and striking dexterity makes her a dangerous, difficult opponent for anyone in the division.
Now 4-0 in the UFC and riding a nine-fight winning streak overall, Silva is unquestionably part of the ascending set in the 125-pound weight class alongside the likes of Maycee Barber, Miranda Maverick, and Casey O’Neill. She’s already bested ranked Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius, and should find herself sharing the Octagon with the a Top 10 opponent next time out.
Karine Silva Looks Special
Karine Silva has made three trips into the Octagon, and each time, she’s ended the fight in the first round.
Saturday night, the DWCS grad tapped out Maryna Moroz in the final second of the opening stanza, connecting her hand and squeezing on a guillotine choke that left “The Iron Lady” no choice but to tap. It was another dominant, decisive effort for the 29-year-old Brazilian, who is starting to look like a special talent in the 125-pound weight class.
There is a calmness to Silva when she’s in there — nothing is rushed, nothing is hurried; she simply finds her range, lands her shots, gets to her spots, and thrives. She hurt Moroz on the feet earlier in the round, hit a gorgeous level change before running through a takedown, and even after getting out of position, was still able to find the neck and the finish.
We could be witnessing the start of something special with the precision finisher, and it’s going to be interesting to see what comes next for her after another impressive victory in Boston.