A Featherweight Title Fight For the Ages
Holy shit…what an end to the event. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Brian Ortega put on a freaking show. The third round of the fight is one of the great UFC title fight rounds in recent memory. Through two and half rounds, Volkanovski was out pointing Ortega with great distance, leg kicks, timely hands, and his elite cardio. In the back half of the third round Ortega caught a Volkanovski leg kick, countered with a straight left that knocked the champ to the ground, and locked in a mounted guillotine. It looked like Ortega was about to complete one of the great UFC momentum shifts for the title, but Volkanovski willed his way out of the submission. Ortega also locked in a triangle before the end of the round that the champion once again toughed his way out of. Ortega showed unbelievable heart for the final two rounds and had a couple moments of desperation, but Volkanovski’s relentless pace never slowed and he ended up winning a unanimous decision to keep the belt.
Volkanovski will certainly gain a lot of fans tonight. Even with the scorecards locked for a win, he continued to push the pace and attempt to finish Ortega. Volkanovski has proven he is a worthy champion and has an ability to stick to a game plan while not getting emotionally drawn into a fight. With a Max Holloway-Yair Rodriguez fight announced, the winner of that would seem like a logical next shot at Volkanovski.
Brian Ortega will also gain many fans. Even though he was obviously defeated on the scorecards, it’s hard to imagine many fighters that would tough through the punishment he received and still give himself a few opportunities to achieve the near impossible by pulling out a fight ending submission. He is clearly a top five fighter in the division, if not third behind the two men he has losses to, Volkanovski and Max Holloway. He will likely be on the shelf for a little while, but a fight against Calvin Kattar would be very exciting and make sense for both.
Another Ho-Hum Shevchenko Title Defense
It’s not that Valentina Shevchenko is boring. She’s actually far from it. The problem is that she is just too dominant. At no point in the title fight against Lauren Murphy did it seem like there was any chance of Murphy shocking the world before she was finished in the fourth round. That’s been the same feeling for every woman who has taken on Shevchenko. She’s too quick and technical for everyone. She can be the aggressor or sit back and counter strike. Jessica Andrade who was viewed as a threat due to her takedown ability was taken down by Shevchenko and dominated. Honestly, watching her fight reminds me of when I would enter the practice area of Mortal Kombat video games and just practice special moves on non-moving opponents. Shevchenko just feels like she’s always in her own creation station. She’s world class and no one in the flyweight division appears to be threatening her anytime soon. At this point it seems like a rematch with Amanda Nunes will continue to be the most exciting option. If not that, fight fans may just be waiting on a world shocking moment that may never come.
Lawler and Diaz Turn Back the Clock
That was fun. I was skeptical about this fight matching the hype considering the age of Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz, not to mention it being Diaz’s first fight in six years. That skepticism was not a worry once the fight started and Lawler immediately pushed the pace. Diaz took a moment to get himself together, but then in classic Nick Diaz fashion he unleashed a barrage of punches that seem pitter-patter but actually had Lawler’s head turning red. Eventually the hard hitting Lawler ended the fight in the third round with a couple hard shots that forced Diaz bow out. This fight may not lead towards any major ramifications for either fighter, but it showed that both Lawler and Diaz can still put on a show. It was a great return to memory lane, especially when you consider how far both men’s careers went after their first meeting in 2004. If you narrowed your eyes, you could’ve even been fooled into thinking you were watching two young 20 year old prospects throwing hands once again.
Classic Curtis
It’s not always pretty or necessarily exciting, but it’s productive. Curtis Blaydes once again used his wrestling base to control and pumped out a unanimous decision win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, a fight that posed similar risks to his last loss against Derrick Lewis. Blaydes is unique to the heavyweight division because his wrestling dominance is a rare strength for a division that has a lot of heavy hands near the top. Blaydes’ ability to get fights to the ground and avoid a storm of fists continues to be his greatest strength. It’s hard to know what to do with Blaydes because not all fans love his style, but the fact of the matter is he’s earned a Stipe Miocic or Jon Jones level opponent.
What to do with Andrade?
Jessica Andrade won via TKO in the first round to defeat Cynthia Calvillo, becoming the first woman to finish her. Andrade has been impressive since moving up to 125 pounds by finishing longtime top contender Katlyn Chookagian and now Calvillo. That being said, she was defeated in the second round by Valentina Shevchenko just five months ago when she fought for the title. With Shevchenko continuing to a dominate, a rematch won’t be intriguing for many fans. Andrade did say in the post fight interview that she is ready for Rose Namajunas or Zhang Weili, hinting at a return to the strawweight division. I think the winner of the Mackenzie Dern/Marina Rodriguez match next month would create an intriguing option.
Bantamweight Roller Coaster Ride
Merab Dvalishvili defeated Marlon Moraes via TKO in round two in a fight that had him fumbling on his feet and on the brink of defeat in round one. It looked like vintage Moraes early with a beautiful combination of crisp striking. Dvalishvili seemed to be stunned while continuing to take strikes, but to referee Keith Peterson’s credit, he gave Merab an opportunity to continue to fight. Eventually Dvalishvili got the fight to the ground and pounded Moraes to oblivion in the last 2 minutes of round one. With Moraes clearly still stunned entering round two, Dvalishvili continued with more of the same and eventually pounded out the win. He now finds himself with a seven fight win streak and another high profile fight that could put him in a position to knock on the door for a 135 pound title shot. On the flip side, Moraes has now lost three in a row and four of his last five fights, quite a fall for a former title fight participant.
Hooker Back in the Win Column
After losses to two of the 155 pound division’s best, Dan Hooker is back to the winning ways that put him in a position to be in the title hunt. Hooker put mostly a clinic on against the heavy handed Nasrat Haqparast, who was looking for a big upset. Hooker used his length to keep distance from any danger and made a statement with some strong grappling and wrestling. By the time the fight went to the judges, there was no doubt that Hooker had won a unanimous decision. He now finds himself right back in the loaded lightweight title hunt and should have a potential matchup against someone like Beneil Dariush, or he could be the fighter who steps up to face Islam Makhachev.
Chris Daukaus: Heavyweight Contender
The Philly native gave his best Rocky Movie fight montage with a couple of spit flying landed punches including a right hand that ended up being Shamil Abdurakhimov’s demise. The vicious strike landed in the second round and led to a TKO victory at 1:23. Daukaus has now won all four of his UFC fights by KO/TKO and will be ranked within the top seven of the heavyweight division. He could be two fights away from a title fight with a win over someone like Curtis Blades, Alexander Vokov, or Tom Aspinall. He could also receive a fight against someone like Stipe Miocic and earn an instant title fight with an upset win. One thing is for sure; Daukaus’ quick hands for someone his size will make him a challenge for anyone willing to accept a fight with him.
Turner Stock Rising
Jalin Turner put on a magnificent performance against previously undefeated Uroš Medić. The lightweight has now won three fights in a row, all by finishes. In this match, Turner looked well rounded on both the feet and ground. Turners long limbs looked crisp in both the kicking and punching department. This, along with the pressure placed on Medić caused enough damage to bring the fight to the ground before Turner finished the fight via rear naked choke in the first round. Turner continues to improve and with a height of 6’ 3” in the 155 pound division, while still being only 26 years old, 2022 could be a huge year for him.
Semelsberger Brings The Smoke
Matthew Semelsberger made quick work of Martin Sano Jr. in their welterweight scrap. Quick work might be putting it lightly as he connect on a straight right hand that put Sano’s lights out in 15 seconds. Semelsberger now has won three of his four UFC fights while also finishing two of them in 20 seconds or less. He will certainly have a new deal with the UFC and have a chance to go from prospect to contender in the near future with an increase in competition difficulty.