UFC Fight Night San Antonio was a mixed bag of a card. It started with 8 decisions, with only a couple of those fights being interesting. Then there were 3 straight first round knockouts. Then one more decision to finish the night.
BEST WINNERS
Dan Hooker. Dan Hooker is a fun fighter. He was on a hot streak working his way towards the top of the division, until he got knocked out by Edson Barboza in December 2018. If you thought Hooker would come back a little hesitant and not his normal Hangman self, you’d be dead fucking wrong. Hooker came out and attacked James Vick and knocked him out very quickly. This was a big win for Hooker and he is trying to parlay it into a fight with Ragin’ Al Iaquinta (I demanded this fight once Hooker knocked Vick out). I really want to see that fight.
Walt Harris. This is definitely the biggest win of Walt Harris’ career. He is a monster of a man and a freak athlete. He hasn’t put everything together in any of his fights against better competition. Alexey Oleynick is old as hell, but he is still a very skilled grappler that had been on a decent streak himself. Harris KO’d him in 12 seconds. It was pretty impressive. I’d like to see another step up in competition for Walt Harris.
Andrei Arlovski. I will admit to being one of the many of the people that called for Andrei Arlovski to retire. He was 0-3-1 in his last 4 fights. He seemed to be slowing down. He wasn’t able to put much together. Then he came out against Ben Rothwell and put on a dominating 3 round decision win. He landed twice as many strikes and significant strikes as Rothwell did. Arlovski looked great and got his first win since March 2018.
Greg Hardy. Greg Hardy is a piece of shit, but I will not let outside bias take away from what he does in the octagon. This was an interesting fight for the outside drama. There was zero chance it was going to get out of the first round. One of these guys was going to knock the other guy out. Juan Adams is the more polished fighter, I thought he had a better chance of winning. But you could tell this was an emotional fight for him. There was a chance he was going to rush forward and be too eager and get knocked out. That is what happened. There are very few heavyweights that should go for a takedown. Juan Adams is not one of them. Then he clung on to Hardy’s leg like a little kid that didn’t want to go to school. Hardy capitalized and landed several hammer fists until the fight was finished.
Mario Bautista. Mario Bautista put on a clinic in his fight. He threw and landed the most strikes of anyone on the card. His cardio was very good as he didn’t slow down the entire fight. He didn’t seem fazed that Jin Soo Son wouldn’t go down. The guy had a strong chin, but Bautista just kept throwing and landing strikes. He looked like an interesting prospect.
WORST WINNER
Alexander Hernandez. Coming into this card, Alexander Hernandez and Dan Hooker were two fighters I was most intrigued about. Both guys were coming off brutal knockouts to end decent winning streaks. I was curious if they’d come out hesitant, or keep to their roots as pressure fighters. Hooker was not hesitant. Hernandez was hesitant. Hernandez looked afraid to be in the octagon. I didn’t even think Hernandez won this fight. Hernandez and Francisco Trinaldo didn’t throw as many strikes as Mario Bautista landed on Jin Soo Son COMBINED. It was a poor performance, but he still got the win on a weak decision.
Jennifer Maia. Jennifer Maia would be one of the best winners, if she made weight. Not making weight is such an unprofessional move. It is hard to respect fighters that can’t make weight. It is the one main requirement of their job. Maia looked great though. She completely shut down everything Roxanne Modafferi tried. But, she missed weight so disqualifies her from best winner.
BEST LOSERS
Jin Soo Son. Jin Soo Son trains with the Korean Zombie, and idolizes the Korean Zombie. And let me tell you, he is the second coming of the Korean Zombie. This guy was a monster in defeat. He never seemed out of the fight. He fights like the Korean Zombie. His cardio was outstanding and he never looked like he was going to be finished. No matter how many strikes Mario Bautista landed, and it was a lot, he just kept moving forward trying to get some offense in and get a finish. I am excited to see him grow as a fighter.
Roxanne Modafferi. Happy Warrior might be the most apt nickname to any fighter in the UFC. Roxanne Modafferi is too nice. This was her 4th career fight that her opponent missed weight. She is 1-3 in those fights. That is just shitty. I picked against Roxanne, but you hate to see someone lose to someone that missed weight. It’s disappointing. That being said, Roxanne never gave up. She kept trying to put her offensive game plan into effect. Unfortunately, she is too one dimensional. She just charges in for a takedown. Commentators said, “she trusts her chin to get inside and get a takedown.” That is a horrible strategy. If she finds herself in a title match against Valentina Shevchenko, I can tell you how that will end. With Roxanne Modafferi on her back sleeping due to a head kick. At this point in MMA, unless you are an absolute specialist, you need to have more than one discipline under your belt.
MY FIGHTER OF THE NIGHT
Ray Borg. Ray Borg has already fought for UFC gold, losing to Demetrious Johnson. He was 23 when he fought for the title. He is 25 years old. He had issues making weight at flyweight, so he moved up to bantamweight. He lost his bantamweight debut in March, but got his first bantamweight win in San Antonio. It wasn’t pretty, but he dominated the fight. It was the best he’s looked in a while.
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
Leon Edwards. Leon Edwards put on the most dominating fight of the night. It was completely one sided. Rafael Dos Anjos couldn’t get anything going. They didn’t even look like they were in the same weight class. Edwards is a very smart fighter. It wasn’t a pretty win or an entertaining win, but he made Dos Anjos look like an amateur. Edwards has to be looking at a top 5 ranked opponent next.
ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN
Mario Bautista. This guy had a great fight and is pretty young. Bantamweight is stacked at the top, which will give him time to earn his way to the top. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him challenge for a title in the next couple of years.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Mario Bautista v. Jin Soo Son
NOT FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Alexander Hernandez v. Francisco Trinaldo