UFC Fight Night Copenhagen: Cannonier v. Jack Hermansson delivered a bunch of good fights, a couple of idiotic referees, and a judge that can’t do math. I have to say, I love these afternoon cards. It is so nice to be able to watch fights and not have to fight to stay awake. It is pretty pleasant.
BEST WINNERS
JARED CANNONIER. It’s crazy to think Jared Cannonier was 300 pounds when he started training for MMA. He started as a heavyweight. As he got more serious about his training, he moved down a weight class. A couple of years ago he moved to Arizona to train full time, and he moved down to middleweight. It is looking like a good decision for him. Now he is fighting guys closer to his natural size, but his heavyweight power has transferred well in his move to middleweight. He now has 3 straight TKO wins. Not to mention, he derailed the Hermansson hype train and should take his spot in a possible #1 contender fight next.
MARK MADSEN. Mark Madsen was making his UFC debut in front of his home crowd. And he did not disappoint the fans. The Olympic Silver Medalist entered the Octagon undefeated. He had a lot of hype, not shocking, coming into the fight. When guys come in from other combat sports with a lot of hype, especially in front of your home crowd, it can lead to the fighter over thinking or just not living up to the hype. Madsen came in and lived up to the hype. He put Danilo Belluardo away in a little over a minute with some vicious punches.
ION CUTELABA. This fight was almost guaranteed to deliver fireworks. A lot of people thought it would be Khalil to deliver the fireworks. Cutelaba didn’t give Khalil time to get warmed up. Cutelaba rushed Khalil and took him down a couple of times. Landed some shots, and got the finish halfway through the first round. Cutelaba looked great and I think he’s turned a corner and will be a threat in the division.
JOHN PHILLIPS. John Phillips used to go by the nickname “The White Mike Tyson,” but he changed it to “The Welsh Wrecking Machine,” and to be honest, both nicknames are fitting. Phillips just walked forward and tried to knock Alen Amedovski’s head off his shoulders. It took 17 seconds, but John Phillips managed to knock Amedovski’s head off his shoulders.
LINA LANSBERG. Lina Lansberg was one of the biggest underdogs on the entire card. She was facing the hype train Macy Chiasson. Chiasson had been on a tear and looked unbeatable. Lansberg made Chiasson look very beatable. Lansberg looked great and she got a big win and has her first winning streak in the UFC.
BEST LOSER
ALEX “FAKE COWBOY” OLIVEIRA (aka FCO). I don’t think FCO won this fight. I do think he was going to get a finish in the third round before one of the worst referee standups I have ever seen. I thought the ref was calling the fight, but he was just standing them up. It made no sense. It was mind-bogglingly terrible.
MY FIGHTER OF THE NIGHT
MARC DIAKIESE. Marc Diakiese showed an evolution in his game. He was patient, he was meticulous. He didn’t rush into wild flurries or put himself in unnecessary danger. He even got 4 takedowns. This was an evolution we’ve been waiting to see from Diakiese if he wants to make a run to the title. Lando Vannata didn’t show that evolution. They were in similar spots coming into this fight. Diakiese improved more and got the win in a solid all around performance.
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
ISMAIL NAURDIEV. Ismail Naurdiev put on one of the most dominating performances I’ve seen. He controlled all 15 minutes of the fight. He landed 149 total strikes. Siyar Bahadurzada landed 14. You read that right. Naurdiev landed 10x as many strikes as Bahadzurada. Naurdiev was also 3/3 on takedown attempts. He dominated and was never in any trouble. It was a great bounce back fight from his loss to Chance Rencountre.
LEAST SURPRISING SURPRISE
OVINCE ST. PREUX. I am not a fan of Ovince St. Preux (OSP). If I had to guess why, I’d say it’s his lack of fire in the octagon. I am super intense when it comes to competition. OSP always looks like he wants to take a nap or go somewhere else. That apathy makes me not want to root for him, except against Jon Jones. So we have OSP against knockout artist Michal Oleksiejczuk. The first round and beginning of second round, Oleksiejczuk looked good. He was landing some good shots. He wasn’t being taken down. It looked like he was going to get the win. Then, in the second round, the fight went to the mat. Oleksiejczuk apparently has never watched an OSP fight, because he didn’t know OSP could pull off a Von Preux choke. The fourth one of his career and the sixth one in UFC history.
SAVAGE OF THE NIGHT
JOHN “THE WELSH WRECKING MACHINE” PHILLIPS
SHOUT OUT
GILBERT BURNS. Gilbert Burns took this fight on short notice, up a weight class at welterweight, and he got a pretty decisive win over Gunnar Nelson. This was Burns’ second straight win at welterweight on short notice. Maybe he realizes he should be a welterweight. His grappling skills are insane and without worrying about cutting weight, he can work on the rest of his game and he could be a force in the welterweight division.
LUCKY SON OF A BITCH OF THE NIGHT
NICOLAS DALBY. I definitely thought Dalby was winning the fight, and that he won the fight. But there was a little chunk of time in the middle of the third round that I thought Fake Cowboy Oliveira was going to get the finish of Dalby. But then the fucking Ref stood them up. HE STOOD THEM UP WHILE FAKE COWBOY WAS GROUNDING AND POUNDING THE SHIT OUT OF DALBY. It was insane. I thought the fight was being called off. Nope, the ref was standing them up. That deflated Fake Cowboy, and Dalby retook his lead and ended up winning the fight. It was one of the worst standups I have ever seen. It’s not like it was a grappling exchange that could be seen as boring. FCO was on top and dribbling Dalby’s head against the mat. Dalby definitely won the rest of the fight though. He was very lucky to get this win.
DUMBASS OF THE NIGHT
I put this with the sole intent of putting dumbass referee of the Dalby v. FCO match. That would be Rebin Saber. But I have to include the judge that couldn’t count and almost cost Giga Chikadze a win. That would be Nicolaj Bulow.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
MARC DIAKIESE V. LANDO VANNATA