UFC Vegas 76: About Saturday's Action...
Detailing everything that transpired inside the Octagon on Saturday at the UFC APEX and the impact it could have going forward
Strickland Can Scrap
You don’t have to like the way Sean Strickland conducts himself outside of the Octagon to appreciation that the polarizing California native is a very good fighter, and he proved that once more on Saturday.
After getting poked in the eye seconds into his headlining bout against Abus Magomedov and dropping the opening round, Strickland cranked up the pressure and the pace to start the second, taking the fight to the already fatigued UFC sophomore. With Magomedov flagging, Strickland ratcheted things up even more, unloading combinations until he put the Russian-German on the deck and pounded out the finish.
Strickland’s a dickhead — he says dumb things on purpose and has a neanderthal mindset — but he can fight. He’s 6-2 since returning to action in the fall of 2020, including a stoppage win over Brendan Allen and back-to-back main event victories this year. His only losses are to former champion Alex Pereira and top contender Jared Cannonier, and he showed a different element here, throwing more variety and combinations.
He’s in a weird spot right now in the division, as he’s not done enough to merit a championship opportunity (not by a long shot) but there are also few fresh matchups out there that make sense for him at the moment. There’s one matchup that makes a lot of sense to me, but I’ll save it for tomorrow on The Next Day Takeaways.
Man, That Kid is Good
Grant Dawson took full advantage of the biggest opportunity of his career, using a single takedown in each round to out-grapple Damir Ismagulov.
The streaking 29-year-old dominated the opening stanza, putting Ismagulov on the deck in less than a minute, quickly working to his back and remaining there for the duration, threatening with chokes before unleashing ground-and-pound in the close minute. In the second and third, the American Top Team representative went back to the well, collecting the Russian veteran and depositing him on the canvas, getting his back and working from there until there was no more time left in the round or the fight.
Now 8-0-1 in the UFC and riding a three-fight winning streak, Dawson was one of my Top 10 prospects at the start of the year and is now becoming a genuine dark horse in the 155-pound weight class. He plays to his strengths, is infinitely coachable, and his striking keeps getting better, all of which combines to make him an ultra-intriguing fighter heading into the second half of the year.
Morales is Going to Be a Problem
Just 24 years old and now 3-0 inside the UFC Octagon, Michael Morales continues to show that he’s going to be a problem in the welterwieght division for the foreseeable future.
The unbeaten Contender Series graduate dropped the opening frame to veteran Max Griffin, but after settling in, he found his footing and started to roll. He hurt Griffin in both the second and third, showcasing tremendous takedown defence and sudden power on the feet, flashing a quick jab and tons of charisma as he got looser. While he wasn’t able to finish Griffin, a clean sweep of the scorecards gave him his 15th straight win to start his professional career and keep him moving forward in the 170-pound weight class.
Morales is now knocking on the door of the Top 15 and still has so much room to grow and develop. He has great size and physicality for the division, and is only going to keep getting better as he learns how to best deploy his considerable talents and shore up his defences. This is one of those interesting situations where the UFC could draw things out a little longer, rather than hustling him into the rankings chase, but Morales’ performances might not allow that to happen.
Not a Mirage
My question coming into this week was whether Ariane Lipski had genuinely turned a corner or if her performance against JJ Aldrich last time out was a mirage, and it seems like it might be the real deal.
Saturday evening, Lipski collected a split decision win over compatriot Melissa Gatto, showing impressive takedown defence and clean, sharp striking throughout to edge out Gatto. While it wasn’t as one-sided an effort as she delivered last time, this was a good effort against a once-beaten talent with good size and a well-rounded skill set, and Lipski looked focused and sharp.
Despite feeling like she’s been around forever, Lipski is still just 29 years old, so this uptick in positive results could be a “late bloomer” situation for the former KSW champ. She’s working with Amanda Nunes and looks more physically sturdy than she has in the past, so it will be wise to see who she gets matched up with next.
Surging Saint-Denis Keeps Rolling
Moving back to the lightweight division has done wonders for Benoit Saint-Denis, as the Frenchman collected his third straight stoppage win on Saturday, tapping out Ismael Bonfim late in the opening round.
An all-action fighter with a well-rounded skill set, Saint-Denis came out slamming home body kicks, forcing Bonfim to deal with thudding impact to his liver or arms. The Brazilian returned fire and seemed to stun Saint-Denis, but that simply prompted the 27-year-old to switch into grappling mode, as he took Bonfim to the ground with a nicely timed level change. While Bonfim worked back to his feet, Saint-Denis stayed on him and dragged him back to the canvas before pulling him into having his back taken. From there, it was a wrap.
Saint-Denis has looked very good at 155 pounds, and called for a massive opportunity next, name-checking Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot, a pair of Top 10 fighters, for a date in Paris in the fall. While Tsarukyan is a non-starter, it’ll be interesting to see if the UFC works to make the fight with Gamrot, who hasn’t fought since his split decision win over Jalin Turner earlier this year.
Even though he’s ranked and unlikely to accept the fight, it’s a good way to use your time on the mic after a standout victory. Bravo all around, Benoit!
Now That’s How You Make Your Debut
Nursulton Ruziboev jumped at the opportunity face off with Brunno Ferreira on short-notice on Saturday and quickly dispatched the previously unbeaten Brazilian.
Ruziboev caught an outside low kick attempt and rifled home a right hand that put Ferreira out. He chased him to the canvas and hammered home the coffin nails, closing things out in 77 seconds. The 29-year-old came into the contest with a 34-8-2 record (with two no contests) and a ton of finishes, and showed those numbers weren’t inflated by flat-lining Ferreira with quickness.
I don’t know how far Ruziboev is going to advance in the middleweight division, but he’s got a wealth of experience, tremendous height and length for the division, and works with a great team in Philadelphia, which makes him someone to keep tabs on going forward. At the very least, he should be an all-action addition to the division, which is always welcomed, especially at middleweight.
Preliminary Card Thoughts
If you weren’t paying close attention to Rinat Fakhretdinov heading into this one, you best be now because “The Gladiator” absolutely stormed through Kevin Lee in the final preliminary card fight.
A clean right hand put Lee on the canvas and scrambling for a takedown, which gave Fakhretdinov the opportunity to cinch up a deep guillotine choke, putting Lee to sleep. Now 3-0 in the UFC and riding a 20-fight winning streak, the 31-year-old is definitely ready to face off with some of the more established names in the welterweight division, and looked absolutely amazing in this one.
Joanderson Brito did precisely what was expected of him on Saturday, dispatching Westin Wilson with ease before aggressively calling for a fight with Dan Ige (or Alex Caceres, doesn’t matter) in his post-fight interview.
The Brazilian featherweight navigated a mid-fight kneebar attempt from Wilson, getting clear and taking full advantage of the newcomer being stuck on the canvas. Just a handful of heavy shots were all he needed, separating Wilson from his consciousness momentarily to collect his third straight first-round stoppage win.
Calling for fights with Ige or Caceres makes a great deal of sense and fits with my “this dude should be fighting more established names” idea, but each is an experienced, dangerous opponent that could trip up the surging Dana White’s Contender Series grad should they meet.
If you want a solid case study in how to properly apply the judging criteria to a fight in 2023, fire up the fight between Karol Rosa and Yana Santos, as it felt like it came down to how the judges saw the second round, with two of the three awarding the frame and the fight to the Brazilian.
Santos controlled much of the first and Rosa was clearly the better of the two in the third, with the second being close. Santos threw more volume, but Rosa landed the bigger shots, which won her the round, as it should. In order for volume to rule the day, it needs to be at such an incredible rate that those sporadic, but effective power shots coming in return can’t close the gap, and that wasn’t the case here.
Neither of these woman are headed to contention, but this is a great fight to look at if you want to understand how fights are supposed to be scored.
Elves Brener is now someone to pay close attention to in the lightweight division.
The Chute Boxe Diego Lima representative took out Guram Kutateladze on Saturday, dealing with a pair of cuts that covered him in crimson and the technical skills of “The Georgian Viking” to find a finish midway through the third. Despite getting roughed up at times, Brener remained aggressive and effective in spurts, and when he put a left hand behind Kutateladze’s ear, the highly regarded lightweight was forced to take a knee and the fight was called off.
Now 2-0 in the UFC, Brener has sprung a pair of upsets while establishing himself as an intriguing young lightweight to keep tabs on going forward. Kutateladze was stationed in the “Second 15” and Brener should be there now, or at the very least, facing someone there again next time out.
New rule: unless the incoming undefeated fighter has actually beaten reasonable competition, I need to pick against them.
Luana Carolina halted the unbeaten run of newcomer Ivana Petrovic in the second bout of the day, leaning on her experience advantage to chip away and out-hustle the Ares FC champ at every turn. The frustrating thing about making the wrong selection here is that everything I thought about with this matchup was whether Petrovic had the experience to come in and succeed right away, and the answer was no.
Carolina isn’t great — she’s 4-3 in the UFC — but she has enough know-how and grit to handle situations like this, and remind me that shiny records don’t mean UFC-ready athletes, and siding with the veterans is usually the smarter play.
Much better outing on Saturday for Alexandr Romanov who halted a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over Blagoy Ivanov, indicating that he had a difficult stretch in life during his slide, but is back now.
The burly heavyweight from Moldova looked like someone to watch prior to his losses to Marcin Tybura and Alexander Volkov, and earns a bit of a reset here. He work through all three rounds and appeared to carry his energy and output much better than in previous outings, which will continue to be something to watch him. Ivanov is a durable, tenured veteran and this is a good win for the 32-year-old as he looks to get back to making forward progress in the heavyweight rankings.