UFC Vegas 60: About Saturday Night's Action...
The vacation is over and the action was back in the UFC APEX on Saturday, and these are the things that caught my eye
Sandhagen Earns Stoppage Win
Cory Sandhagen sliced up Song Yadong with a step-in elbow in the second, and two rounds later, the fight was called off because of that gnarly gash.
The former interim title challenger showed a more diverse arsenal and varied game plan in Saturday’s main event, working in takedowns and level changes, throwing his trademark heavy volume with stance shifts, and mixing in those nasty elbows throughout. It was a savvy, veteran performance from a guy that has been close to the title already and wants to get back there, and the kind of performance that should ensure Sandhagen doesn’t get left out of the next round of matchmaking at the top of the division.
Despite the cut and loss, Song showed that he’s a future force in this division if he can clean up a couple things and gain a little more experience. He never stopped coming forward, cracked Sandhagen with a few big shots, and is a strong, explosive athlete with even more upside. He’s 24, will grow from this effort, and should be in the mix for a while.
This was one of those instances where someone needed to stop that fight following the fourth round — be it the doctor, the corner, or the fighter himself — because there was no reason for Song to go back out there for the fifth. Thankfully, the doctor stepped in, because the corner wasn’t going to do it, and that’s something that should be talked about more coming out of this one.
But Sandhagen’s performance and growth since his twin losses last year are the main story, and will surely impact how the top of the talent-rich bantamweight ranks are booked over the final third of 2022 and into next year.
‘Robocop’ Rallies
We know Gregory Rodrigues is human because he spilled a lot of blood in the Octagon on Saturday night. If not, some might rightfully question whether the man known as “Robocop” was indeed some kind of man-machine hybrid like the fictional character whose name he carries.
Rodrigues got blasted with a knee that split him wide open at the top of his nose, right between the eyebrows, making it look like he had a unibrow. He was hurt multiple times, pouring blood all over Chidi Njokuani whenever they clinched, and at no point did Rodrigues back down. The Brazilian continued pushing forward, finding a home for big shots of his own, and hurting Njokuanim, who seemed like he was confused by Rodrigues’ presence in his face.
In the second, Rodrigues came out firing, closing the distance and tossing Njokuani to the deck without trouble, smashing home an unanswered string of shots that brought the fight to a close.
This was one of the wildest comebacks of the year and a testament to Rodrigues’ toughness and resolve.
One of Those Veteran Tussles I’m Always Talking About
Andre Fili and Bill Algeo spent 15 minutes beating the hell out of each other in a wildly entertaining battle that won’t have any impact on the hierarchy in the featherweight division.
For the first 10 minutes of the contest, the veterans went shot-for-shot in the middle of the Octagon, exchanging the odd dap when either did something cool or landed clean, and generally making everyone watching giddy as they banged it out for our entertainment. In the third, Fili hit a lovely level-change in the center of the cage, worked to the back, and chased down a choke, but Algeo hung tough, escaped, and smashed him in the face over his shoulder, keeping things thrilling to the end.
As the subhead says, this is one of those veteran tussles I’m always talking about — a quality fight between two durable, skilled, under-valued talents that aren’t in the Top 15, aren’t likely to get there given the depth of the division and talent ahead of them, but is vitally important to the divisional ecosystem. Some emerging talent is going to get stuck in with each of these dudes next time out and they’re in for a tough fight, and I already can’t wait to see them.
I say it all the time, but I’ll say it again: we need fighters like Fili and Algeo in every division and should celebrate these kinds of matchups, these kinds of competitors so much more than we do.
Joe Pyfer was Joe Pyfer
After scoring a second-round knockout win on the first episode of Dana White’s Contender Series this season, Dana White praised Joe Pyfer, urging everyone coming onto the series this season to “Be Joe Pyfer.” Saturday, in his promotional debut, Pyfer listened to the UFC President, following up his contract-winning turn with a first-round knockout win over Alen Amedovski.
Now, let’s be clear: this was a result that was completely expected, as Amedovski had lost all three of his UFC appearances heading into this one, the last two by first-round knockout, so this isn’t some kind of surprise… but you still have to deliver, and “Bodybagz” came through as expected.
Now working with John Marquez, Daniel Gracie, and all those Philly boys, Pyfer is an interesting prospect to continue to track, as he turned 26 on Saturday, has sharp hands and clear power, and is surrounded by good people. Plus, the road to the top at middleweight is easier than anywhere else, and as someone carrying White’s stamp of approval, he should get favourable opportunities for the next couple fights at least.
So Confused
Tanner Boser came into his fight with Rodrigo Nascimento at 229 pounds and I don’t understand it at all. The Canadian is likely to be questioning himself as well, having dropped a split decision to the Brazilian largely due to being wrestled to the canvas and controlled on the ground.
Nascimento had 30 pounds on Boser and put it to good use, working into grappling situations and putting him on the deck in each round, keeping him there for long stretches. While there wasn’t a ton of output from Nascimento in top position, Boser couldn’t create space or get to his feet either, which allowed the Brazilian to grind time off the clock. When they were standing, Boser moved well, landing at times, but he couldn’t maintain space and it cost him.
Here’s why this is so confusing to me: Boser had done well in the UFC ahead of this one, fighting at a slightly heavier weight. His two previous losses came on the cards in close fights, and he’d gotten a couple good wins. Why cut down to under 230 pounds in a division where that means you could be giving up up to 35 pounds, if not more on Fight Night?
Make it make sense.
Okay, I See You Fluffy
Anthony Hernandez is someone I haven’t been able to get a good read on thus far in his UFC career. Each time he’s looked good, he’s either missed a bunch of time or followed it with a dud, leading me to struggle when it comes to figuring out where he fits in the middleweight division and picking his fights.
It was more of the same Saturday as I thought Marc-Andre Barriault would have a strong performance against “Fluffy,” but that was not the case; not even a little.
Hernandez dominated from start-to-finish, hurting the French-Canadian in the first and never letting off the gas. At every turn, in every facet, Hernandez was a step ahead, taking it to Barriault until finally sinking in an arm-triangle choke and putting him to sleep in the third. This was a brilliant effort in all phases for the 28-year-old, and one that should elevate him closer to the Top 15 ahead of his next fight.
I’m still not completely sure about where his ceiling rests in the Octagon, but I was definitely wrong about Hernandez heading into this one and eagerly look forward to seeing what he can do next time out.
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Preliminary Card Thoughts
Fighting just a few days after the passing of his older brother, Damon Jackson collected the biggest win of his UFC career, stopping Pat Sabatini in just 69 seconds to extend his winning streak to four.
Jackson caught Sabatini with a front kick to the jaw that rocked him, and from there, he swarmed, swinging him to the canvas, climbing into mount, and bashing out the stoppage in quick order. As soon as the fight ended, the emotions understandably came pouring out of Jackson.
The 34-year-old veteran struggled in the biggest moments earlier in this career, but he’s been as sharp as can be during this second run in the UFC. He’s piled up four straight wins, just stopped Sabatini’s unbeaten run in the Octagon, and is clearly firing on all cylinders right now. Jackson is a dangerous, experienced fighter that others looking to climb into the Top 15 in the featherweight division are not going to be rushing to sign up to fight after an emotional, emphatic performance like this one on Saturday night.
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We saw the pros and the cons of Loma Lookboonmee’s game against newcomer Denise Gomes on Saturday.
On the positive front, the Thai striker landed some nasty elbows that opened up a blood faucet on Gomes’ head, mixing in some slick foot sweeps and good work from top position when she got there. The negatives, however, came when she hung out too long on the canvas with the Brazilian, who was able to threaten submissions and highlight the shortcomings of Lookboonmee on the canvas.
Lookboonmee got the win over the DWCS Season 6 winner, who took the fight on short notice, and there is certainly still some room for her to grow, but I do wonder if there is a clear limit to how far she can climb in this division. Time will tell.
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Saturday’s fight between Trey Ogden and Daniel Zellhuber is a perfect example of why everyone should be very hesitant with fighters coming off Dana White’s Contender Series and athletes with limited experience in general, especially when it comes to betting.
Ogden is far from a world-beater — he’s a 32-year-old journeyman who has historically lost to the best opposition he’s faced — but he looked sharp in handing Zellhuber his first professional loss. He worked behind a check-hook, superior volume, and veteran savvy, cranking up the pace down the stretch in each round, really solidifying his efforts in the eyes of the judges.
Zellhuber was a massive favourite and I’m not sure why — he’d never faced anyone as experienced as Ogden and Octagon debuts can be tricky, and we saw that on Saturday. We put too much hype on some of these young, unproven talents, while often discounting sturdy veterans, and this should be a reminder that we need to be sharper in our evaluations in these types of situations.
That’s not to say prospects can’t and won’t win, but not all prospects are created the same, and differentiating between them all is crucial.
It was a gnarly finish in the flyweight between Gillian Robertson and Mariya Agapova.
In the opening stanza, Agapova dominated the striking, lumping up the Canadian with a series of “Hapa elbows” along the fence and clean boxing, while Robertson controlled in the grappling exchanges, getting close on an arm-triangle choke at the end of the round. In the second, Robertson quickly put Agapova on the deck and attacked, ultimately locking onto a rear-naked choke.
Agapova lost her mouthpiece and never worked to fight the hands, and as the hold sunk in deeper, she began biting her tongue. Robertson put her to sleep, with the enigmatic striker foaming at the mouth as the bout was halted.
It was a rough look, but a good finish for Robertson, who continues to be a tremendous threat on the canvas. She’s an uneven fighter and has struggled with consistency, but she’s only 27 years old and already has 13 UFC appearances under her belt, so a little stability in training create some better efforts going forward.
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Javid Basharat picked up an excellent victory on Saturday, out-hustling Tony Gravely over three rounds to remain undefeated and take another step forward in the bantamweight division.
The Contender Series alum and unbeaten prospect started a little slowly, but found a rhythm and dominated over the final two rounds, using his superior size and overall skill set to get the better of things. We’d already seen his striking, both in his DWCS win and against Trevin Jones in his debut, but Basharat flashed some of his grappling chops in this one as well, out-wrestling the D1 wrestler in many instances.
Bantamweight is absolutely loaded, but Basharat is definitely someone to pay very close attention to going forward, as he’s got all the skills to make some noise over the next couple years.
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Nikolas Motta got things started with a bang, putting Cameron VanCamp away late in the opening round.
After a tough debut assignment against Jim Miller, the Brazilian veteran got a more reasonable assignment in his sophomore effort against VanCamp, who kept his chin high and open throughout the initial exchanges on the feet. As Motta kept getting closer with his power shots, VanCamp didn’t adjust, and with a little less than a minute remaining, the Brazilian fired a right and chased it with a left hook that put the American down. From there, it was academic.
Motta is a tough kid that fought quality competition on the way to UFC and should continue to be an entertaining addition to the lower half of the lightweight ranks going forward.
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