Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back at it again last night (April 20, 2019) as UFC Fight Night 149 went down from inside inside Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the main event of the evening, Alistair Overeem knocked out Aleksei Oleinik in the very first round (see it), while Islam Makhachev took out fellow countryman, Arman Tsarukyan, in the co-main event to collect his fifth straight win.
Biggest Winner: Alistair Overeem
Going into his Heavyweight showdown against Aleksei Oleink, I was curious to see just how the fight would play out since they have a very good friendship, as the two big men have shared plenty of mat time in the past. While Overeem promised a more aggressive attack, he fell short on that promise. Yes, he scored the first round knockout after dropping “The Boa Constrictor” with a few shots, but he played it very cautious throughout the round.
Once he had his for on the ground and hurt, it seems “The Reem” was very tentative, as he didn’t want to inflict unnecessary damage on Oleinik. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. Still, Overeem piled on enough damage to force a stoppage, giving him his first back-to-back wins since 2017. Alistair will shoot up the rankings, though he admits a title shot simply isn’t in the near future.
Runner Up: Roxanne Modafferi
Yes, Islam Makhachev scoring his fifth straight win was impressive, but I am going to have to go with “The Happy Warrior” here. That’s because Roxanne was going in as an underdog against the highly-touted Antonina Shevchenko. Once the fight began, Modafferi immediately went to her wrestling, taking down the striker to control the fight on her terms.
The rest of the three rounds was much of the same, and it was good enough to earn Roxanne a split-decision win, handing Antonina her first-ever loss in the process. It’s a huge win for “The Happy Warrior,” who was doubting her game prior to the fight.
Biggest Loser: Antonina Shevhcenko
Many expected Shevchenko to get a win over Modafferi, who hadn’t been able to find a good groove since 2015, winning a few, then dropping a few and so on. But Shevchenko quickly found out first-hand that “The Happy Warrior” is as scrappy as they come, grappling her way to a close win.
The loss halts Antonina’s momentum and ends her undefeated streak at 14, forcing her to start from scratch in what was just her second UFC fight. Now, the 34-year old will go back to the drawing board, brush up on her wrestling and try to get back on the horse as soon as possible to try and start another streak.
For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.