UFC Fight Night Dos Santos v. Ngannou delivered a slate of exciting fights. Of the 12 fights, 8 of them were finished early. It was a card of lesser known talent, and they wanted to show they’re worthy of being on the UFC roster, and several of them delivered. Including the scariest man alive, Francis Ngannou. Here are some of my thoughts on the event.
Best Winners:
- Joseph Benavidez. Benavidez had a big statement win Saturday night. Formiga looked ready for the fight. He cut Benavidez in the first. The cut was in a terrible location. Blood was seeping into Benavidez’s eye for the last minute or two of the first round. I guess Benavidez’s cut guy should be here. He did one hell of a job. Couldn’t even tell Benavidez was cut when he stepped up for the start of the second round. Benavidez then went to town and finished Formiga in the closing seconds of the 2nd round. Benavidez kept working the body and didn’t give up. Bisping called him a pitbull. I agree with Bisping, I don’t know the last time Benavidez looked that fresh and crisp. With this win and a win over the current champion, I think Benavidez fought himself into a 125 pound title match. That is, if the flyweight division is still in existence by the time Cejudo is ready to fight.
- Drew Dober. Holy shit, Drew Dober has never looked that good before. Dober has always been a middle of the pack guy. Could never really get momentum on a run up the rankings. Dober came out looking to put Polo Reyes away. And he did in a little over a minute into the first round. Dober came out swinging and had Polo reeling. It was impressive and very aggressive. I didn’t think Dober had it in him.
- Alonzo Menifield. This was an interesting matchup. I didn’t know if Menifield was ready for the step up in competition. He proved me wrong. He has some stone hands. Craig slipped on a dumbass spinning kick, and Menifield saw an opening and landed a shot that put Craig down. Then he pounced for the finish. It was a big step up in competition for Menifield, and he handled it well. I’m intrigued.
- Amanda Ribas. Watching that fight, I was amazed this was Ribas’ first fight in a couple of years. Ribas’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dominated Whitmire. The finish seemed inevitable. Whitmire looked like she had given up. Ribas just swarmed Whitmire and did whatever she wanted to do.
- Eryk Anders. Ya Boy needed this win badly. He was on a 3 fight losing streak. Dana served up the cupcake Vinicius Moreira. Nothing against Moreira, but watching that short fight I got the feeling Moreira will be a guy to feed to the up and coming fighters. He should call Miesha Tate and ask if he can use her nickname, Cupcake. Anders looked fresh and I think fighting at 205 pounds instead of 185 pounds worked well for him. He got a quick knockout 1:18 into the first round.
Worst Winner:
Demian Maia. I hate to write this, but on a card with so many great fights, Maia had the slow-mo performance of the night. GRANTED, the dumbass referee stood Maia and Rocco Martin up when Maia was in top position. It was a fucking terrible call by the ref on that. Maia might have finished Martin, but he did not. He dominated the fight in his usual swarming BJJ. It was not the most exciting fight, but that was because Martin was not close to Maia’s level of BJJ skills, but just good enough to not get finished.
Best Loser:
Journey Newson. In my predictions, I made fun of Journey Newson because his name sounds fake as hell. BUT, he showed the hell up and put on a great fight even though he took the fight on a couple of days notice. His UFC debut was the featured prelim of the night, and he put on a performance that had to have impressed Dana (probably not since he didn’t finish Ramos). He didn’t win, but he was never out of the fight. Ramos tried his hardest, but he couldn’t get rid of Newson. Newson almost caught Ramos in a guillotine, but couldn’t hold on. I want to see what Newson can do on a full fight camp.
My Fighter of the Night:
Jared Gordon. I admit, I am a total sucker for a good redemption story and Gordon has a great redemption story. I won’t go into it, but look him up if you’re interested. He will win you over. That being said, this was the best Gordon has looked in his UFC career. His striking looked better, but it was the grappling that was very impressive. He was able to take Moret down at will. He was dominating the ground game. In the second and third round, Moret was able to get Gordon’s back. And both times, Gordon somehow spun around and got top position. I can’t even describe how it happened. He just did it. It was very impressive. He got the decision win, and ended his two fight losing streak.
Performance of the Night:
Francis Ngannou. I don’t want to minimize this win for Ngannou. It’s another legend he can cross off his UFC Kill List. But honestly, did anyone think JDS had a chance in hell of winning this fight? I feel like everyone predicted a first round knockout. I don’t know if I have ever seen a reach around knockout though. It was interesting.
All Aboard the Hype Train:
Dalcha Lungiambula. He came in with highly touted BJJ and Judo skills. He looks like a monster. A light heavyweight version of Francis Ngannou, except he can grapple. He was able to get a couple of takedowns. The first two rounds were definitely a feeling out process for him. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for something crazy to happen. 42 seconds into the third round, Lungiambula dropped Townsend with a nasty combination of punches. Then he pounced for the win. He is explosive and powerful. He can be a force in the 205 pound division. For a division that seemed so thin a couple of months ago, it has been filled with a bunch of young talent that looks promising.
Shout Out:
Maurice Greene. Greene had a successful homecoming fight, knocking out Junior Albini 3:38 into the first round. Greene had one eye on the prize, and one eye on Albini and got a great knockout in his biggest win yet. Even without the diaper, Albini was not very good. He was Greene’s 2nd career KO/TKO win. At this point you have to wonder if Albini has a future in the UFC, or is he kept around because he is a heavyweight body that will be fed to better prospects.
Vinc Pichel. This was a very strong performance by Pichel. He showed why his nickname is “From Hell,” he fights like a zombie. He just keeps moving forward. He didn’t show any signs of gassing out even though he was on the offensive the entire fight. This was a big step up in competition for Roosevelt Roberts, and he couldn’t handle the cardio of Pichel. It was a close fight, I had them splitting first and second rounds. It came down to the third round, and Pichel’s cardio was just too much and Roberts couldn’t keep up.
Prelim Fighter Most Likely to Win a Title:
Amanda Ribas. Her grappling is outstanding. Her striking is decent. She is in a great gym, American Top Team. She is young and I think her grappling can bring her to the top of the division.
DISCLAIMER. I would have picked Dalcha Lungiambula, except for the fact that he would have to beat Jon Jones for the title, and I can’t see that happening for a long time.
Fight of the Night:
Joseph Benavidez v. Jussier Formiga
Up Next:
UFC 239: Jon Jones v. Thiago Santos. Saturday, July 6, 2019.