UFC Singapore: About Saturday's Action...
The fists were flying early and often inside Singapore Indoor Stadium, delivering plenty for us to discuss
Old “Pillowhands” Holloway Showed Out
Prior to his last fight, Max Holloway joked with me about how folks were dogging him for failing to register a stoppage win since his clash with Brian Ortega, which was more of a “death by a thousand cuts” situation. Saturday, “Pillowhands,” as he called himself showed he can still crack, knocking out Chan Sung Jung to close out the show.
The men got after it in the opening stanza, both landing big shots that backed the other up. It was more of the same in the second until Holloway clipped Jung with a right hand behind the ear. He failed to follow up right away, then jumped on an anaconda choke, but the veteran stayed with him and Holloway eventually abandoned the hold. Jung came out chasing a finish to start the third, and Holloway made him pay, blasting him with a counter right hand that spun him the canvas, ending the contest.
That’s now 12 straight non-title victories and back-to-back key wins this year for Holloway, who continues to show that he’s the unquestioned silver medalist in the featherweight division. It’s difficult to say what comes next for “Blessed” following this one, but there is no denying he’s still very much a force at 145 pounds.
Thank You Zombie
Following the contest, Jung announced his retirement, bidding a tearful adieu to the fans, who responded by giving him the rousing ovation he deserved.
His large scale introduction to North American MMA audiences came in an insane brawl with Leonard Garcia at WEC 48 and despite losing that contest and his next, “The Korean Zombie” quickly established himself as a force in the featherweight division, making history with the first twister submission in the UFC in his debut rematch with Garcia and rising to face Jose Aldo for the title three fights later. While the back half of his career was impacted by his mandatory military service and myriad injuries, Jung was one of those competitors you absolutely made a point of watching each and every time he was on the card, and remained that way through to the end.
Although he never realized his championship dreams, he fought for the featherweight title twice and goes down as one of the most popular fighters of the last 15-20 years. He began transitioning to coaching in recent years, and will now move on to sharing his knowledge with that next generation full time.
There will never be anyone quite like “The Korean Zombie” again.
A Very Different Sequel
The first meeting between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann was a three-minute sprint where each man had success and “Lionheart” ultimately secured the finish. On Saturday, they met for a second time, and it was a much different fight with Smith once again coming out ahead.
Both men made of point of being more patient and tactical in the first, with Smith chipping away with low kicks and clean strikes, while Spann picked his spots, navigating a little time on the ground and driving home some heavy shots of his own. In the second, the Fortis MMA representative hurt Smith with a sweeping left hook, swarming in hopes of securing the finish. But the veteran endured, and in the third round, two fo the three judges felt the former title challenger did enough to get the nod.
This was a gutsy effort from Smith to get back into the win column, and surely a frustrating result for Spann, who fought well, stayed composed, and came away on the wrong side of the cards. Smith’s days a title challenger are likely done, but he should remain a tough, experienced out near the top of the light heavyweight division, while Spann will need to figure out a balance between the frenetic efforts that led to careless mistakes and losses and the more reserved competitor we saw on Saturday if he hopes to advance beyond this point in his career.
Chikadze Re-Establishes Himself
Fighting for the first time since the opening card of 2022, Giga Chikadze got back into the win column and cemented his standing as a Top 10 featherweight in the process, out-working Alex Caceres on Saturday.
The 35-year-old striker, who dropped a unanimous decision to Calvin Kattar last time out, was the more powerful of the two in Singapore, earning the nod in all three rounds, on all three cards by connecting with the heavier blows. He showcased his diverse assortment of dangerous kicks, dealt with the attacks coming back his way, and continued to get the better of things through to the final horn.
Chikadze was knocking on the door of a championship opportunity prior to his fight with Kattar, and while this doesn’t put him back in that position, it does set a floor for where he fits in the featherweight ranks. He’s steadied himself as a Top 10 competitor, and now finds himself working forward again, where several intriguing opportunities await him.
Bantamweights Beware: Nakamura is Coming
Rinya Nakamura is going to be a persistent presence in the upper tier of the bantamweight division in the not too distant future.
The 28-year-old unbeaten prospect registered his second UFC victory on Saturday, thoroughly out-working Fernie Garcia to collect a clean sweep of the scorecards. He made his professional debut in May 2021, and 27 months later, he’s 2-0 in the UFC, 8-0 overall, and on the fast track to stardom in the most competitive division in the sport.
Garcia had no answers for Nakamura’s wrestling, which is legitimately world-class, and as he continues to improve as a striker and gain additional experience, there is no reason to believe the Japanese prospect won’t develop into a serious threat in the 135-pound ranks. He was understandably preaching patience following his victory on Saturday, but the truth is Nakamura could very well find himself on the fast track to contention if he keeps performing the way he has thus far.
Blanchfield is The Goods
Make it six straight in the UFC and nine straight overall for Erin Blanchfield, who turned in a relentless performance to out-hustle recent title challenger Taila Santos in their highly anticipated flyweight clash.
Santos came out of the gates sharp, touching up Blanchfield with clean punches and sharp low kicks, keeping her off balance and opening a cut on the bridge of her nose. But the American was unbothered and continued to press the action, using her pace and pressure to wear on Santos, forcing her to defend myriad takedown attempts while starting to have success of her own on the feet. While he was unable to keep the fight on the floor for too long, Blanchfield was able to sap the gas tank of Santos and open up down the stretch, salting away the victory with a strong final push in the third round.
This is one of those performances that wasn’t pretty, but still elevated Blanchfield’s standing in my books, as she took the best Santos had to offer early, kept coming forward, and showed that she’s someone that could thrive in the championship rounds. Her striking continues to improve and her grappling is always on point, even when she doesn’t get to show it, and now she’s in a position to challenge for the flyweight title.
It’s been an outstanding 10 months for Blanchfield, and the future looks brighter than ever.
Tafas 2, Parker Porter 0
Justin Tafa moved the family to 2-0 against Parker Porter this year in Saturday’s main card opener, registering his first UFC victory with a first-round knockout.
The 26-year-old was the quicker, more powerful striker and made sure to play to his strengths, tagging Porter in space and keeping him from taking the fight to the canvas. He had the American hurt early, defended well when Porter looked to grapple, and then put him out with another clean right hand to the dome, joining his older brother Justin in having successfully dispatched Porter in the opening stanza in 2023.
Tafa looked wild and hurried in his promotional debut earlier this year against Mohammad Usman, but showed much more composure here. He clearly has some promise as a striker — and power — but much like his brother, everything will hinge on the amount of time, energy, and focus he commits to developing his defensive wrestling abilities and continues to progress as a mixed martial artist.
Preliminary Card Talking Points
Waldo Cortes Acosta closed out the prelims in style, finding the chin of Lukasz Brzeski with a 99mph fast ball that put the Polish heavyweight on skates, setting up the follow-up shot behind the ear that ended the fight.
A member of the DWCS Class of ‘22, Cortes Acosta has already registered four trips into the Octagon, amassing a 3-1 record. Folks want to be critical of the Dominican big man because the performances have been uneven and the highlight reel was limited before today, but the 31-year-old only made his pro debut 25 months ago, so to be at this level, having won three of his first four, culminating in a blistering knockout like this demands that people show a little more patience with “Salsa Boy.”
I don’t know if he’s going to develop into a contender, but I’m certainly not going to dismiss a developing fighter with obvious power and plenty of room to grow, especially not in the heavyweight division.
One of the things I try to watch for regularly is competitors that turn in solid efforts up a division returning to their natural weight class, especially when they debuted on short notice or against a particularly dangerous opponent. Garrett Armfield fit that bill on Saturday and delivered, returning to bantamweight and registering a first-round stoppage win over Toshiomi Kazama.
From the jump, Armfield was clearly the better man, showcasing his outstanding boxing and surprising power. Each time he connected, Kazama felt it and Armfield’s confidence grew, prompting him to continue pressing the action and ultimately find the right hand that ended the fight.
He had positive moments in his short-notice debut against David Onama last year despite being significantly undersized, and showed on Saturday that not only is he meant to compete at bantamweight, but that he’s someone to keep close tabs on as well. He’s now earned stoppages in all nine of his wins, and if he can replicate this effort next time out, Armfield will join the growing ranks of young talents looking to make waves in the 135-pound weight class.
Michal Oleksiejczuk might never develop into a bonafide contender in the middleweight division, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t fun to watch.
The 28-year-old from Poland ate a head kick and several punishing knees to the midsection from Chidi Njokuani on Saturday that would have felled many men. Instead, “Hussar” kept pressing forward, finding key shots of his own that turned the Muay Thai fighter into a grappler. Oleksiejczuk defended well, landed in top position, and pounded out the finish, getting himself back into the win column after a second-round submission loss last time out.
He’s always shown promise and his boxing — particularly his body work — is excellent, and this effort showed there is some serious grit to Oleksiejczuk as well. There is room for him to continue to grow and move forward, but how far he’ll be able to climb will all depend on how much he can shore up his defensive grappling and the matchups that come his way.
The welterweight scrap between Song Kenan and Rolando Bedoya was a perfect example of why we can’t overrate individual efforts or dismiss superior experience at this level.
While Bedoya entered as a considerable favourite and coming off a good showing in defeat opposite Khaos Williams, the 26-year-old from Peru wasn’t able to maintain the quick pace he brought to start the fight. Conversely, despite entering on a two-fight slide and starting slowly, Song found his rhythm in the second and grew into the fight, saving the best for the final moments of the contest, where he salted away the victory.
One of my talking points coming into this fight was whether the pressure of being the favourite and coming off a strong showing in defeat would hamper Bedoya and that seemed to have been the case, along with the fact that Song is a sturdy, powerful veteran that had no interest in suffering a third consecutive defeat. This is one to keep in mind as more solid neophytes venture in with veteran talents in the final four months of the year.
Billy Goff appears to be one of those dudes that needs to get punched in the face a coupe times before he wakes up and gets rolling, as his promotional debut against Yusaku Kinoshita looked fairly similar to his come-from-behind, contract-winning effort on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
Kinoshita was piecing up Goff to start Saturday’s contest, countering well and dealing with whatever was coming back his way without much trouble, but the New England native just kept coming. With just over a minute remaining in the opening round, Goff closed the distance and fired a straight right hand to the chest of Kinoshita, dropping the Japaese prospect on the spot to halt the action.
Goff turned 25 over the summer, has won seven straight, and clearly isn’t someone that shies away from contact, which looks like it could continue to serve him well as he embarks on a career inside the UFC cage. It’ll be interesting to see how much longer he’ll be able to survive these slow starts and still rally, but for now, it’s undeniably entertaining to watch.
Big effort from JJ Aldrich on Saturday, as the veteran flyweight secured her first stoppage victory in the UFC by pounding out a finish over Liang Na.
The Colorado native entered on a two-fight skid, but leaned on her experience against the aggressive Chinese fighter, connecting on clean counters and good elbows from the bottom in the opening round before reversing position and pounding out the victory from mount in the second. Liang had her moments, but at each turn, Aldrich was a step ahead in her understanding and execution, finding openings and exploiting them to get things moving in the right direction again.
Aldrich is one of those perfect ecosystem fighters that every division needs — a proven hand with clean fundamentals, a healthy dose of grit, and the experience to always be a tough out, regardless of the matchup. This was a strong effort from the divisional stalwart, who should remain in this role going forward.
Has SeungWoo Choi grown up?
Traditionally someone that could be drawn into a brawl, “Sting” was far more patient and mature in his approach against Jarno Errens, using his length and speed to counter well on the way to a unanimous decision victory. Even after getting dropped in the second, Choi was able to recover, sweep into top position, and win the round on scorecard before chopping the legs out from under his Dutch opponent in the third.
He’s always been fun to watch, but a more measured, tactical Choi should continue to be an exciting fixture in the featherweight ranks.