UFC Vegas 80: About Saturday's Action...
Detailing the results and ramifications of this weekend's fights at the UFC APEX
‘Truth Machine’ Bobby Green
There is a reason why Bobby Green was booked against Grant Dawson and we saw why on Saturday, as the 37-year-old veteran halted the rising contender’s unbeaten run in the UFC in just 33 seconds.
Dawson came out looking to land with his hands and Green was happy to oblige, hitting “KGD” with with a clean left hand that put him on the deck. Green swarmed, Dawson turtled, and referee Keith Peterson stepped in to halt the action, giving Green the biggest victory of his 15-year, 47-fight career.
At both OSDB and the UFC website, I wrote about Green as a “truth machine,” a term coined by Larry Merchant in regards to Joe Frazier following his first bout with Muhammad Ali, and one that I think applied to the veteran. He’s a guy you have to be dialled all the way in to beat, and if you’re not, he can ruin your evening. Saturday, he did to Dawson, and he should get a chance to do it to another ranked fighter again next time out.
This is why you book these kinds of matchups. This is why we talk about the importance of real tests all the time. And this is why guys like Bobby Green are essential to every division.
Let’s Get Joe Pyfer a Stern Test
Dana White’s Contender Series standout Joe Pyfer collected a third straight finish to start his UFC career in Saturday’s co-main event, submitting Abdul Razak Alhassan in the second round.
The 27-year-old landed the bigger shots for much of the first round, flashing sound fundamentals alongside his established power, but was getting chopped down by low kicks early in the second. Pyfer wisely looked to grapple, hoisting Alhassan skyward and slamming him to the canvas, landing in perfect position to wrap up the arm-triangle choke and swiftly putting him to sleep.
Middleweight is one of those divisions where ascending fighters don’t really need to be brought along slowly, and given his results, story, and the attention that is on him at this moment, it would make sense for the UFC to hustle him into a more dangerous matchup next time out. I’m not saying put him in there with a Top 5 opponent, but someone in the lower third of the rankings or stationed in that Second 15 would be smart.
Rather than risking him losing his momentum against someone further down the line, get him in there with an established talent and see what happens; either he wins and his profile continues to grow, or he takes a loss and has plenty of time and room to reset.
‘New Mansa’ Shining in New Division
Make it two-for-two at 170 pounds for Joaquin Buckley since moving to welterweight, as the former middleweight finisher registered a dominant unanimous decision victory over Alex Morono midway through the main card.
Buckley charged across the cage to start and distanced himself further and further from Morono as the fight progressed, busting up the veteran early in the third and posting a 10-8 round to close things out on one of the scorecards. He showed improved conditioning and stamina, as well as the same suddenness and power that brought him success at middleweight, all of which sets him up as an intriguing addition to this division just two fights in.
Welterweight is where Buckley always belonged — he was dramatically undersized at 185 pounds, and moving around those much bigger dudes sapped his energy reserves — and now that he’s here and settled, he has the opportunity to really make a run. He needs to dial in the wildness a little, and I still think he’d be better suited working at a larger outfit like Xtreme Couture, where he’s dropped in at times, but this new version of “New Mansa” is clearly capable of having quality success in his new surroundings, and I’m eager to see where he goes from here.
Never a Dull Moment with Drew Dober
Whenever Drew Dober is on the card, you know there is going to be at least one fight that features fireworks, because the handsome lightweight is incapable of being in a boring fight.
Paired off with Ricky Glenn on Saturday, the Denver-based lightweight was relaxed in his initial approach, waiting for the right moment to throw and land his concussive left hand. When he found it, it landed clean and staggered Glenn, and after calling his fellow veteran back to his feet, Dober landed it again… and again… and a few more shots on the ground that brought about the stoppage.
Dober lives in the fire and actively seeks out fights that excite him, which can present potential trouble spots, like the one he encountered last time out against Matt Frevola. But he’s won four of five overall, and seven of his last ten to cement his standing as an all-action standout on the fringes of the Top 15 in the lightweight ranks.
Fighters like Dober are crucial to their divisions, and must-see TV whenever they step into the Octagon.
Quality Effort from Algeo; Hernandez Facing Big Questions
The main card kicked off with Bill Algeo posting a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Hernandez in a fight that highlighted the trademark elements of each athlete.
From the jump, Algeo was fluid and composed, sniping from the outside and doing well to avoid the big shots coming back from Hernandez. As the fight progressed, he found increased success, dropping Hernandez in the second and landing the better blows down the stretch to register his second straight win and move to 4-1 over his last five fights, solidifying his standing as a veteran measuring stick just outside the Top 15 in the featherweight ranks.
On the flip side, this felt like a referendum on Hernandez, who has continued to carry expectations despite middling results because of the way his UFC career started. He dropped his second straight at featherweight and has lost three of four, four of six, five of eight, and six of 10 overall. The reason I detail it that way is because I think it illustrates the truth about “The Great Ape” and that is that he’s had middling results for some time, and struggles against anyone other than aging veterans or overmatched neophytes at this level.
We have to be more honest about our assessments of these athletes, and this one reflects that need as the underrated Algeo has been and remains the more successful and consistent of the two.
Preliminary Card Thoughts
Karolina Kowalkiewicz keeps rolling, posting a fourth straight win to wrap up the prelims, out-duelling Diana Belbita.
The former title challenger, who dropped five straight at one point, was the more technical, more active, more efficient fighter of the two, running level with Belbita out of the gate and distancing herself from the Romanian-born Ontario resident as the fight progressed. She worked behind a sharp jab and quality uppercuts to lump up “The Warrior Princess,” who refused to wilt in the fire, and continued crank up the output and pace through to the final horn.
I speak all the time about athletes later in their careers recognizing the need to take a step back in competition if they want to continue competing, and that has been a part of Kowalkiewicz’ run of success. She’s not fighting Top 15 opponents any longer, and combined with shifting her training to American Top Team, it has produced tremendous results for the 37-year-old from Poland.
Committing to leg locks is always a dangerous approach in the Octagon, and Nate Maness proved that to Mateus Mendonca on Saturday.
From the outset, Mendonca was looking to grapple and quickly tried attacking the legs, but Maness defended well and looked to find his own offence. As the fight progressed and the Brazilian stayed invested on the legs, “Mayhem” continued to land heavy shots, dropping bombs “from the lighting rigs” as John Gooden said on the broadcast. At one point, it looked like Maness knocked Mendonca out and brought him back with the next shot before ultimately forcing referee Chris Tognoni to step in and halt the action.
The 32-year-old Kentucky native is one of these guys that hovers just outside the Top 15 and profiles as a potential threat in the flyweight ranks because he’s massive for the division, carries a good amount of power, and has faced a tough schedule through to this point. He’s got things moving in the right direction again and called out CJ Vergara, so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out for him going forward.
It’s never good when a fighter is surprised that they won a decision, but that’s what we go tin the Vanessa Demopoulos and Kanako Murata, as Demopoulos garnered 29-28 scores across the board to register a unanimous decision victory.
From my vantage point, it feels like Murata getting opened up and bleeding throughout the second, despite being in top position, swung the round — and therefore fight — for Demopoulos, and that cut and blood came as a result of a clash of heads. It’s impossible to know for sure, but that would be my read on things, and if the cause of that cut isn’t instantly communicated and the judges can’t hold that in mind, it looks like Demopoulos busted her up and did the greater damage in the round.
This was a competitive fight, but there wasn’t enough — in my opinion — in terms of what Demopoulos actually did to give her the second round, and the fight. Would be great to get to hear from NSAC executive director Jeff Mullin of the judges after a verdict like this one.
Here’s where the UFC could really do themselves some favours in terms of roster composition and building of fight cards:
Johnny Munoz Jr. suffered a second straight loss and fell to 2-4 overall inside the Octagon with a unanimous decision defeat to Aoriqileng on Saturday, and it should bring his time in the UFC to a close. I don’t say that to be mean or dismissive, but when you manage just two wins in six starts, and those victories came against athletes that failed to find success at this level, there is no reason to keep marching him out there.
This is the first time Munoz Jr. has dropped consecutive outings, so it makes sense that he’s lingered on the roster, but now that he’s dropped two-thirds of his bouts, it’s time to cycle someone else into those bookings.
It was just a couple weeks ago that JJ Aldrich snapped a two-fight skid, and now, she heads into the final three months of the year on a two-fight winning streak after out-working Montana De La Rosa in Saturday’s opener.
The 31-year-old veteran worked behind her sharp hands and superior effectiveness to leave De La Rosa busted up and sitting on a three-fight losing streak. This was textbook Aldrich and a similarly too familiar effort from De La Rosa, who is one of those athletes that is still relatively young, but has failed to develop as a fighter after several years.
Aldrich has always been technically sound and tight with her fundamentals, which is actually something De La Rosa could really stand to learn and improve. She has good size for the division, good athleticism, and has fought a solid slate, which is what makes her lack of growth so difficult to see, and sadly predictable. She’s someone that should be training with an established team, surrounded by top-level competitors, but if that doesn’t happen, this is who she will continue to be inside the Octagon.