UFC Vegas 44: About Last Night...
Dissecting the talking points and takeaways from Saturday's event at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas
The Comeback Continues
Jose Aldo continues to turn back the clock, securing his third straight victory with a brilliant throwback performance against Rob Font on Saturday.
Font was all over the Brazilian legend for much of the first, staying in Aldo’s face and throwing heavy volume, but in the final 20 seconds of the round, the former featherweight champion connected with a right hand that put Font on the deck and shifted the momentum of the fight. From that point forward, Aldo’s power was the differentiating factor, stemming the tide each time the New England Cartel representative started to build momentum. He stung him in multiple rounds and dropped him a couple different times, using his grappling whenever the fight hit the canvas to maintain control throughout.
This resurgence from Aldo is nothing short of incredible, as the 35-year-old looked done in his final featherweight appearance against Alexander Volkanovski. He was good, but not great in his first two bantamweight appearances against Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan, looking like a former champion on the downside of his career; a dude that was slowing down.
But after a good “get right” win over Marlon “Chito” Vera, the “King of Rio” has turned in two straight incredible efforts against Pedro Munhoz and now Font, re-establishing himself as a contender and setting up a potential title eliminator bout with TJ Dillashaw whenever the former champ is ready to return.
He won’t win Fighter of the Year or garner Comeback of the Year votes, but he should get votes in both because his two wins are massive victories and no one saw this kind of resurgence coming when he debuted at bantamweight two years ago.
Spin to Win
Rafael Fiziev and Brad Riddell were locked in a close, tense fight with three minutes remaining in the third round, and then Fiziev connected on a perfectly-timed spinning wheel kick that caught Riddell on the temple and ended the contest. Riddell didn’t go down right away — he put his hands up instinctively, and when referee Herb Dean reached to grab Fiziev and prevent him from following up, Riddell crashed to the canvas.
This was an outstanding fight for 12 minutes — a reminder of how competitive and consistently entertaining the lightweight division is at all times — and the finish illustrates why Fiziev is considered one of the most dangerous emerging names in the 155-pound weight class at the moment. He’s won five straight after dropping his promotional debut, and has absolutely filthy striking, as he showed again on Saturday night.
What’s going to be interesting to watch and track is whether the tenured names ahead of guys like Fiziev and Arman Tsarukyan and Joel Alvarez are willing to take a chance against these promising up-and-comers because to this point, they’ve been more keen and keeping away from those ranked below them. On one hand, I wouldn’t want to fight Fiziev either, but on the other, you can’t squat on your ranking and if no one ahead of you is available, one of these hungry young cats behind you will surely be game, and continue to prove they’re deserving of the chance to share the cage with their tenured counterparts.
Sweet Dreams
Jamahal Hill absolutely crushed Jimmy Crute, putting the Australian light heavyweight on the deck with a left hand behind the ear and putting him down for the count with a similar blow moments later to establish himself as the top emerging talent in the 205-pound weight class.
This was always going to be an explosive contest between a pair of dangerous up-and-comers, and Hill turned it into a breakout effort. After getting his elbow dislocated last time out, “Sweet Dreams” wanted to make a statement and man did he! This is the kind of performance that should open a lot of eyes and earn Hill another step up in competition next time out, with a matchup against Johnny Walker as he suggested sounding pretty damn tasty to me.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has started getting some work in at Sanford MMA in Deerfield Beach, Florida, which can only help expedite his rise and further his development. He was already a highly regarded fresh name in the light heavyweight ranks, but with a performance like this, Hill raised his ceiling and established himself as an absolute “must watch” talent going forward.
Relentless
Clay Guida got the holy hell beat out of his over the first two minutes of his fight with Leonardo Santos on Saturday, doubly over after the Brazilian tagged him to the body, clinging to life as Santos unloaded a torrent of unanswered blows, looking at referee Keith Peterson to stop the fight.
But when Peterson opted to allow the fight to continue, Santos was spent, and Guida grabbed up all the momentum. He finished the first with a late takedown, and in the second, he quickly hustled across the cage, put Santos on the canvas, and choked out the multi-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion.
This was a vintage Guida effort — durable, relentless, indefatigable — and precisely why “The Carpenter” remains so much fun to watch each time out. He turns 40 in a couple days, and has shown zero signs of slowing down… unlike Leo Santos.
Sorry, I had to.
Chris Curtis Had a Great Year in the Last Eight Weeks
Chris Curtis wasn’t on the UFC roster at the start of October. Now, he’s 2-0 with a pair of finishes and heading into 2022 with a ton of momentum, and most likely a number next to his name.
“The Action Man” picked up his sixth win of 2021 and second stoppage victory in four weeks on Saturday, rocking Brendan Allen with a clean left hook before dropping him with a knee along the fence that ended the fight. The 34-year-old traveled a long, winding road to finally land in the UFC after volunteering to fight Phil Hawes on next-to-no notice at the start of October, and he’s making the absolute most of his opportunity, putting down a pair of promising middleweights in his first two assignments.
Allen looked sharp early, but has a tendency to get a little too comfortable and a little too confident, plus he’s never been someone that takes a big shot well. Curtis remained in his face to start the second, mixed up his levels with his strikes, and clobbered him with a hook to the body to open up the shot upstairs, handing Allen his second UFC setback and halting his march towards the Top 15.
Morono Does the “Second 15” Thing Perfectly
Alex Morono picked up his third straight victory on Saturday night, out-working Mickey Gall over three rounds to collect a unanimous decision victory and keep it moving forward.
This was a perfect example of why Morono is a quintessential “Second 15” fighter — a guy that lives in that next pack below the ranked set in the welterweight division, handling assignments like this on the regular, being a quality test for emerging hopefuls on a run, and a consistently entertaining presence in the cage whenever he competes. As much as everyone wants to be a contender and a champion, every division needs guys like Morono keep things moving and he fits the role to a tee.
While “The Great White” continues to handle his business and further cement his place in the division, Gall remains consistently inconsistent, following up his first-round stoppage win over Jordan Williams with a loss here; it’s the fourth straight time that has happened. All but one of his fights have come inside the Octagon, but it might be time for him to get some fights elsewhere, and for me to finally give up on the 29-year-old from New Jersey.
Preliminary Card Talking Points
Dusko Todorovic got back into the win column with a first-round stoppage win over Maki Pitolo in the final preliminary card bout of the evening.
The 27-year-old from Serbia was getting touched up a little on the feet to start, with Pitolo moving well and finding a home for his hands. Todorovic changed levels and Pitolo grabbed for a guillotine, failing to secure the choke, which resulted in him being stuck on bottom against the powerful Contender Series graduate. Todorovic transitioned from guard into a half-guard crucifix, and finally to back mount, pounding out the finish just before the close of the opening stanza.
Not to take anything away from Todorovic’s poise in the choke and progression to the finish — it was solid work and a quality victory — but man, you have to question that decision-making from Pitolo. Chasing guillotine is a low-percentage option, and to search for it when you’re touching a guy up on the feet felt like a mistake in the moment.
And then it turned into the turning point of the fight, which resulted in Pitolo suffering a fourth straight loss.
It took four appearances, but we finally got the Manel Kape we’ve been waiting all year for on Saturday night, as “StarBoy” lit up and laid out Zhalgas Zhumagulov in under five minutes.
Highly touted after enjoying a bunch of success under the RIZIN banner in Japan, Kape stumbled out of the gate, dropping each of his first two appearances on the cards in hesitant showings. He missed weight by a couple pounds ahead of his first-round stoppage win over Ode’ Osbourne in August, and this time, he put it all together, dropping Zhumagulov with a clean right hand and never giving him an opportunity to recover.
The 28-year-old has quick, powerful hands and a ton of swagger, which should result in another Top 15 pairing when he returns next year. When he’s locked in and being aggressive, he has top-end upside, and after Saturday’s dominant effort, it’s easier to see a road to him reaching the Top 5 and potentially fighting for the title somewhere down the line, maybe as soon as next year.
Bryan Barberena was scheduled to face OG Matt Brown before “The Immortal” tested positive for COVID and was replaced by newcomer Darian Weeks. It was a little tighter than he may have liked, but “Bam Bam” got the job done, securing a clean sweep of the scorecards with 29-28 tallies across the board.
The 32-year-old welterweight veteran is one of those competitors that gets better as the fight progresses, and that’s what played out here, as Barberena dominated the third, which turned out to be the deciding frame. Weeks gets full marks for stepping in against a 12-fight UFC veteran on short notice and not only holding his own, but having some good moments. He was supposed to fight on the Contender Series back in September, but was forced out of the bout, and now here he is with a good effort in against a perennial tough out, ensuring he’ll get at least one more chance to step into the Octagon in 2022.
Cheyanne Vlismas picked up her second straight UFC victory on Saturday night, out-hustling Mallory Martin in a fight contested exclusively on the feet.
Throughout the three-round affair, Vlismas consistently beat Martin to the punch, connecting with combinations and showing improved takedown defence every time Martin looked to get inside and get the fight to the ground. After being forced out a matchup just a few weeks back due to a positive COVID test, Vlismas jumped in on short notice here and looked sharp, controlling the striking exchanges and securing another victory.
The 26-year-old genuinely likes to sling hands, and as weird as it may sound, that’s going to be something that benefits her throughout her career. She has good movement and speed, and that readiness to engage means there will always be avenues to victory for her because she’s willing to engage and chase a finish, even if it means taking a couple big shots in return.
The judges got it right in awarding William Knight a unanimous decision win over Alonzo Menifield.
Knight won the first, Menifield the second, and the third consisted of Menifield spending four minutes pressing Knight into the fence, never securing a takedown, never threatening a submission, and not landing a single strike. Knight didn’t do a ton either, but he landed a couple shots along the fence and was looking to land more down the stretch when they finally broke off the cage. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t even particularly effective, but it was more than what Menifield offered, and so it earned him the round.
Daniel Cormier was flabbergasted on the broadcast, but Michael Bisping explained it beautifully, which was a pleasant surprise.
While the broadcast spent a lot of time talking about what his opponent was doing wrong and needed to do better, but Claudio Puelles turned in an impressive performance against Chris Gruetzemacher, controlling the action in all phases and finishing the veteran with a kneebar late in the third.
The 25-year-old from Peru has now won four straight inside the Octagon, including posting two victories this year. He’s been limited due to injuries after arriving in the UFC as a 20-year-old, but he’s healthy, he’s training at Sanford MMA, and he has an abundance of upside. This was a kind of tough test you want to see every young fighter face and pass, and Puelles aced it, showing great composure and continued development before hunting down the finish.
Lightweight is always flush with up-and-coming names to track, and Puelles needs to be one of those names.
Vince Morales got the night started with a bang, knocking out Louis Smolka with a clean right hand that caused him to face-plant into the canvas. The 31-year-old began his UFC career with a 1-3 mark, but he’s won two straight now to steady himself in the bantamweight division, and perhaps his move to Las Vegas and shift to training at Syndicate MMA will continue to unlock more quality performances going forward.
For Smolka, this is the worst-case scenario come to life, having missed out on a fight with Sean O’Malley in the summer due to an injury and now end up on Morales’ highlight reel. He’s a talented fighter, but the consistency piece has always been missing, and the cold, hard truth is that this is where he tops out.