Photo by Alexandre Schneider /Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its presence known to Montevideo, Uruguay, last night (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019) for UFC Fight Night 156. At least in terms of main card action, this was supposed to be one of the better “Fight Night” events in recent weeks, as UFC ‘Uruguay’ featured a title fight in the main event — not bad for an ESPN+ event, even if it was a mismatch. Plus, the co-main event was guaranteed action. Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and techniques of the night!
Shevchenko Dominates
This was a bad, confusing fight.
Shevchenko easily beat her opponent in every area, but it was immensely unsatisfying to witness — even as a fan who frequently defends Shevchenko’s performances. Even with two knockdowns to her credit, Shevchenko simply did not entertain while picking her foe apart. It’s unlikely that she’ll ever do more than is necessary, which is both the best and worst aspect of her game.
A big part of the unpleasantness of the whole affair should fall at the feet of Carmouche as well, who ran around the cage and pulled guard three times.
Does that sound like a winning strategy?
Luque and Perry Bring the BLOOD
Was any other outcome ever possible?
Vicente Luque and Mike Perry met each other in the middle of the Octagon and went to war. The two traded horrible power punches — the type that routinely sleep their opponents — for the majority of 15 minutes. Never once did either man fall down, fall back, or even really falter. Even when Perry’s nose was smashed into pieces in the final 90 seconds, he managed to land a takedown and ride out the round in top position (after losing a quart of blood from a guillotine attempt).
Low kicks won Luque the fight. For all his improvement, Perry still utilizes a lot of head movement and setups stolen from boxing, which leaves him vulnerable to getting his leg chopped. Luque consistently dug into his lead leg, which eventually caught up to him in the third, as that was undoubtedly Luque’s best round.
The Brazilian is ready for a top 10 opponent. In fact, he has been for a few fights now.
As for Perry, I hope his efforts last night helped prove to doubters that he’s a legitimately good fighter. Luque has been melting opponents left and right, but Perry went toe-to-toe with the dangerous counter puncher and arguably won the fight. Perry’s ceiling is still high, and I expect the ride to continue to be entertainment of the highest order.
Volkan Oezdemir Takes His Time
Historically, Oezdemir has very much lived up to his “No Time” moniker, picking up a pair of first-round stoppages to earn his title shot. Even in his losses, Oezdemir has started quickly and looked to end his opponents in the opening minutes.
The results have been mixed.
Last night, Oezdemir turned a corner. The Swiss knockout artist was not hesitant in any way, but he did not force his blows. Instead, Oezdemir applied consistent pressure and kept his eyes open, constantly looking for openings. As a result, Oezdemir mixed up his targets and weapons more than ever before: he landed elbows to the jaw, body jabs, calf kicks, step knees, and much more.
Even after hurting Latifi, Oezdemir showed restraint while remaining extremely violent. Oezdemir trusted his natural power and simply kept throwing, kept touching his opponent’s chin. Thanks to this adjustment, Oezdemir was able to consistently beat up his opponent at a pace that did not cause him to crumble.
If Oezdemir can maintain this approach against an opponent who finds more success, he’ll do much better against the divisional elite.
Additional Thoughts
- Rodolfo Viera defeats Oskar Piechota via second-round arm triangle choke (HIGHLIGHTS): “The Black Belt Hunter’s” debut was not an easy fight. The hulking grappler did good work in the first with the jab and ground strikes, but he was fatigued by the end of the round. In the second, Piechota denied a few takedown attempts and stung his opponent with some good punches. Put in a difficult position, Viera persevered, eventually finding another opportunity to place Piechota on his back. Once more, Viera demonstrated great top control, but this time he was able to fully advance passed the guard. Piechota attempted to scramble, but he gave up an arm triangle choke in the process, and it was clear there would be no escape.
- Gilbert Burns defeats Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision: On two week’s notice, Burns successfully moved up a weight class to hand Kunchenko his first professional defeat. Early on, Burns did well to establish his powerful right hand, which allowed him to effectively kick the calf with his right leg as well. Later in the bout, Burns built further off the threat of his right side, showing a right knee and stepping into power shots. Ultimately though, a few well-timed takedowns won Burns the opening pair of rounds. Kunchenko tried to storm back in the third against his fatigued foe, but Burns smartly avoided exchanges and ran out the clock in the clinch. It wasn’t pretty, but given the circumstances, it was smart work from the Brazilian.
- Ciryl Gane defeats Raphael Pessoa via first-round arm triangle choke (HIGHLIGHTS): This was a lot to absorb. Gane — the credentialed kickboxer — largely moved around and avoided his opponents whinging shots, sticking him with the occasional jab. Pessoa threw some heat but never really connected. I’ll be honest, his butt hanging out of his fight shorts was fairly distracting, but he eventually fell over on a takedown attempt late in the round. Gane immediately wrapped up an arm triangle choke and squeezed it too high up the neck, but it was still enough to produce the submission. Gane is supposedly a really high-level prospect, but this fight did little to show off his game or convince anyone of his potential — he neither impressed nor let anyone down. It was just weird!
- Rogerio Bontorin defeats Raulian Paiva via first-round cut stoppage (GNARLY PIC!): Man, it was really disappointing to see this one stopped so early. Paiva struck first with a nasty left hook that caused massive swelling to his opponent’s eye, but Bontorin powered through to score a couple takedowns. On the way back up from a big double leg, Paiva absorbed a clean knee that opened up a massive cut above his eye, drawing a doctor stoppage just a couple minutes into the first round of a very entertaining fight. In just two minutes, both Flyweights walked away with messed up faces!
- Veronica Macedo defeats Polyana Viana via first-round armbar (HIGHLIGHTS): When the more decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner scores an early takedowns, it’s normally a good sign, right? Instead, Macedo immediately went after the arm, first wrapping up something of an omoplata position before transitioning to attacking the elbow joint. Initially, Macedo did not have control of her opponent’s head — which often allows the trapped fighter to escape — but she did a great job of maintaining a tight pinch on the arm until she was able to secure the finishing position.
For complete UFC Fight Night 156: “Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2” results and play-by-play, click HERE!