Oliveira Weathers Poirier Storm, Validations Championship
Charles Oliveira is a bad man. Even while competing in the UFC’s deepest division, “Do Bronx” is the star of stars and he proved it tonight by successfully winning his first lightweight title defense with a round three rear naked choke submission victory over Dustin Poirier. The win didn’t come without any struggles as Poirier used his usual heavy hands to exchange with Oliveira in a thrilling round one that had moments where both fighters seemed like they were entering La La Land.
The pace from round one likely opened a door for Oliveira to force “The Diamond” to the ground and take a dominating top position. Poirier spent nearly the entire round underneath Oliveira while eating hard elbows and trying his best to defend against the Brazilian’s world class submission game. Poirier survived, but seemed to have a concerned look on his face that is uncommon for one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
The champion must’ve felt there was blood in the water as he entered round three. Oliveira continued to push the pace on Poirier which eventually lead to him hopping on the back of the challenger and quickly sinking in a standing rear naked choke for the tap and win.
It is clearly a deflating loss for Poirier as he has now gone 0-2 in his two opportunities to become the sole leader of the lightweight division. One of the best to ever do it and someone who has a stronger list of wins than possibly anyone in the sport will have to get in line and win likely two fights before he gets another title shot.
This fight was really about Charles Oliveira though. He started fighting in the UFC 11 years ago at the age of 21. After losing four of six fights between 2015 and 2017, the now 32 year old has won ten straight fights and is a deserving champion to take over the division once dominated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. Oliveira’s next title fight will be against Justin Gaethje. If he continues his title run, he will likely face the winner of Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev, a training partner of Nurmagomedov.
Pena Shocks the World, Becomes Women’s Bantamweight Champion
I don’t even know what to say. When and if Amanda Nunes ever lost a title, it was going to be shocking. The fact that Julianna Peña called her shot by bringing the fight right to Nunes and putting herself right in the fire on the way to a submission victory over the most dominant champion in UFC history takes this performance to another level.
The fight opened with classic Amanda Nunes. The first round showcased her entire skillset with power strikes, chopping leg kicks, takedown ability, and a strong ground game. Peña showed the heart of a lion against “The Lioness” by showing the willingness to stand and bang while also surviving the champion taking her back in the middle of the round.
Peña’s aggressiveness turned to another level in round two as she drew Nunes into a fire fight. Both fighters rocked each other with Nunes becoming noticeably exhausted. What started out with Peña being on the receiving end of most of the exchanges turned sideways as she started landing more and more of the trades. Eventually Peña took Nunes to the ground to a roaring crowd and eventually sunk in the rear naked choke for a second round win.
“The Venezuelan Vixen” knew who her first title defense would be against before even leaving the Octagon. An Amanda Nunes rematch is the only option and suddenly a fight that was expected to be another easy win for Nunes tonight has a rematch that will likely be one of the biggest Women’s title fights in UFC history. It’s moments like these that make investing time in this sport so worth it.
Neal Edges Ponzinibbio In Split Decision
In a battle between ranked welterweights, Geoff Neal defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio by split decision. Neal opened the fight with some nice counter striking, but Ponzinibbio started putting together some pretty combinations of punches and kicks towards the end of round one which he carried into the second round. Neal’s corner attempted to light a fire under his ass before the final round and although it seemed like he may not have received the message, he closed out a previously tight round with some beautiful boxing combinations in what may have swayed a judge or two in his favor. Neal, who has previous losses to contenders Neil Magny and Stephen Thompson, will likely draw another ranked welterweight like Belal Muhammad or Sean Brady.
Kara-France Spoils Garbrandt’s Flyweight Debut
Cody Garbrandt entered the Octagon looking like a physically imposing 125 pound fighter in his first fight in the UFC’s smallest male division. Unfortunately for the former bantamweight champion, it was more of what he’s experienced in his recent fights as Kai Kara-France finished him by knockout in the first round. Garbrandt is now 1-5 in his last six fights with four KO/TKO losses. The move to flyweight looked to be a new door to a potential championship run, but Garbrandt might find himself at a career crossroads now with his recent struggles. It is quite possible that his chin may never be what it once was as often happens with fighters. On the other side, Kara-France, who came in as the #6 ranked flyweight has won two fights in a row and will have definitely earned a top five ranked opponent that could potentially play as a top contender match. This is undoubtedly the biggest win of his career.
“Hello Bantamweight Rankings, Sugar Sean Has Entered The Chat”
Okay, it’s time for Sean O’Malley to enter the 135 pound rankings and start facing some household names on a regular basis. O’Malley got his most impressive UFC win on Saturday night with a first round TKO win over Raulian Paiva. “Sugar” had his lightning quick hands going early, but Paiva responded with some strong leg and calf kicks, which Marlon Vera used to give O’Malley his only loss. Eventually O’Malley caught Paiva with a right hand that backed him into the cage before one of the UFC’s most popular prospects put the pressure on and finished him. To this point, O’Malley has been given a slow rise in competition with Vera and Paiva being often viewed as the only challenging opponents. With this win, anything other than a ranked bantamweight would be an insult to Sugar Sean and UFC fans.
Emmett Makes Return For Tight Win Over Ige
Josh Emmett and Dan Ige fought to an extremely tight unanimous decision that included a questionable 30-27 score card for the winner, Emmett. It honestly could’ve gone either way, but I think Emmett had just a few more power strikes in the deciding round three to win by just a hair. Emmett, who returned for the first time since June 2020 after an ACL tear showed his piston jab early by rocking Ige in the first round. Ige bounced back in round 2 by stunning his opponent back. The third and final round continued to be a mostly back and forth boxing match, which included successful takedown defenses by both fighters. Emmett, now 17-3, should find himself in the title conversation and be matched against a fellow top ranked 145 pounder to open 2022.
Cruz Responds After Surviving Opening Round
In a fight between top bantamweights and one that arguably should’ve been on the main card, Dominick Cruz won a unanimous decision against Pedro Munhoz. Munhoz opened the fight with some brilliant counter punching timing and rocked Cruz two separate times in round one with shots that would finish off most opponents. The longtime bantamweight champion survived both barrages and came out with an outstanding second round in which he showcased vintage Dominick Cruz with his unorthodox movement and elusive striking. The impressive response to the opening round danger continued as Cruz also won the final clinching round. Cruz should now find himself in a position to challenge a top five ranked opponent as he looks to return to the top of the 135 pound food chain.
Another Knockout and Shoe Beer for Tuivasa
Tai Tuivasa will continue to rise up the heavyweight rankings as he knocked out Augusto Sakai in round 2 for his fourth straight win. The Australian fan favorite opened the second round by landing a left hook which had Sakai wobbling backwards on his feet. It didn’t take long after for “Bam Bam” to finish the fight with a flurry of punches against the cage, including a right hook that put Sakai out cold. In Stone Cold Steve Austin fashion, Tuivasa jumped on top of the cage to catch a beer and tennis shoe to pour it into and chug for his usual “Shoey” celebration. With Sakai walking in as the #11 ranked fighter in the division, Tuivasa should now find himself nearing a top ten ranking.
Other Notes
Bruno Silva won his middleweight scrap against Jordan “The Beverly Hills Ninja” Wright by TKO at 1:28 in round 1. Wright, who has one of the best nicknames in MMA, came forward early with a nice combination of powerful kicks to Silva’s entire body, but Silva weathered the storm and ended up catching his opponent with a combination of fists while they were exchanging a chaotic combination of blows. Wright dropped and rolled like his body was on fire in an effort to survive, but ultimately Herb Dean called the short and exciting fight.
In a battle between two of the UFC’s top women flyweight prospects, Erin Blanchfield dominated Miranda Maverick for three rounds leading to a unanimous decision win. Considering both fighters are under the age of 25, the fight was expected to be a showcase for the up and coming stars of women’s MMA, but it quickly became a spotlight fight for Blanchfield. She continually grappled Maverick to the ground and suffocated her there for the entire fight. Fortunately for UFC fans, the fight speaks more for the potential star power Blanchfield could possess as opposed to posing questions as to whether Maverick is as talented as originally thought. I think both will continue to rise and become household names in the fights and years to come. It may take some time, but Valentina Shevchenko may actually have some new challengers aiming for the mountain she stands a top.