Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its presence known to Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, last night (Sat., Sept. 28, 2019) for UFC Fight Night 160. Unlike the last few “Fight Night” events, there was a good deal of depth to the main card, which was filled with fun fights even outside of the intriguing main event. Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and techniques of the night!
Never Settle
Cannonier won pretty dominantly last night, showcasing his insane power to crumple Jack Hermansson in the second round. On some level, the fight was similar to his bout with David Branch: Hermansson scored some early takedowns, but Cannonier adjusted, and once given time to strike, violently pulled the fight back into his control.
Reading the play-by-play, it sounds similar. In truth, however, Cannonier fought far better against an even more dangerous opponent. Branch managed to really control Cannonier for periods of time, to trap an arm and mount him. Hermansson did not have a single second where he was able to apply hip pressure and look to punch — his greatest strength! — because he was always racing to keep up with Cannonier on the mat.
That’s new territory for “Killa Gorilla.” It’s impressive improvement, and a clear message to the rest of the division that taking down Cannonier is really not a path to victory anymore.
Olympic Brutality
Danilo Belluardo is no can, but neither was he set up for success last night.
Mark Madsen — the Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling — is very obviously a remarkable physical talent. Belluardo, to put it delicately, is not. Worse still, Belluardo lost his first UFC fight by being taken down and smashed from top position. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict the outcome of this one: Madsen threw his foe to the ground and smashed him almost immediately.
The Danish crowd absolutely loved it, and Madsen introduced himself to the world. A great result for everyone except “The Caterpillar.” Predictable win aside, Madsen is an interesting new addition to the Lightweight division. He’s not a young man, so it’s time to give “The Olympian” a more considerable challenge for his next fight and see how he handles the task.
Hulk Smash
Ion Cutelaba is frequently entertaining and aggressive, but last night, he was smart.
Rountree’s time in Thailand has turned him into a legitimately dangerous kickboxer. He’s also been a knockout threat, but Rountree’s focus on Muay Thai has given him a much more clear idea on how to do damage. He looked scary early, landing the first power strikes he threw.
Cutelaba was not there to brawl though. The Moldovan athlete latched onto a kick and tried to convert it into a takedown, and it didn’t fully work at first. Rountree is an explosive athlete, difficult to keep pinned. Yet Cutelaba was not frustrated by his opponent’s ability to bounce back up, he simply returned to the takedown and trusted that Rountree would eventually settle.
When Rountree finally did slow down a bit and accept bottom position, the fight didn’t last much longer. Cutelaba immediately unleashed a brutal flurry of elbows and power punches. Frankly, Rountree’s defense from the bottom simply isn’t great, giving him little choice but to absorb these blows.
The referee waved it off soon after.
He Can’t Keep Getting Away With It!
Ovince Saint Preux got smashed last night.
Michal Oleksiejczuk spent the majority of the first round landing his left hand. He landed it as an overhand, cross, and hook. He landed his left hand directly to the jaw and to the liver with equal menace. Oleksiejczuk hurt his opponent multiple times and dropped him once, but the finish never quite materialized.
By the second round, however, Oleksiejczuk was spent. Saint Preux may not be the most technical man in any aspect, but there’s no doubting the veteran’s toughness. Saint Preux began to find more success in the clinch, where his strength was more helpful, as “OSP” landed hard knees and elbows on the break.
When Saint Preux ducked under a left and scored a takedown, he was fully in control. From top position, in took very little time for Saint Preux to begin setting up his infamous take on the “Von Flue” choke. Oleksiejczuk took the bait, and he was tapping seconds later.
“OSP” may not be the fighter he once was, but he’s still a stiff test for Light Heavyweight prospects.
Sharpshooter Renaissance
Like most people, I figured Nicolas Dalby’s time in the spotlight was over when he was released from UFC in 2016. He had proven himself a tough competitor, but he didn’t seem able to compete with his peers athletically, and Welterweight is an unforgiving division.
Credit to the Dane, he went right back to work in Cage Warriors, where he captured the interim belt. In an attempt at unifying the title, he put on such a wild war that the bout was ruled a “No Contest” due to extreme amounts of blood in the cage. Put simply, Dalby earned his way back to the Octagon.
His return was no softball though. Alex Oliveira is a remarkable athlete, absurdly powerful in his punches and throws. As it turns out, he was also the perfect foe for Dalby to showcase his improvements. Contrary to expectations, Dalby did not require a late-fight rally to win, as he was competitive from the first bell. “Sharpshooter” did an excellent job of hiding his high kicks behind flurries of punches, and he also managed to hold his own against Oliveira’s strength, demonstrating better physicality and a deeper gas tank than in his first UFC stint.
I don’t know that Dalby is suddenly a contender, but if he continues to perform like that, he’s not going anywhere.
Additional Thoughts
- John Phillips defeats Alen Amedovski via first-round knockout: Amedovski thought it was a good idea to immediately brawl with Phillips. Phillips, “The White Mike Tyson,” who had previously picked up 18 knockout wins while showing no other real skill set. 14 seconds into the fight, Amedovski was asleep.
- Giga Chikadze defeats Brandon Davis via split-decision: There was reason to be skeptical of Chikadze despite his experience as a pro kickboxer, as he’d never fought anyone even half-decent in MMA ahead of his UFC debut. However, Chikadze really proved himself, defending takedowns and reversing bad positions. On the feet, Chikadze simply could not miss, slamming home an endless stream of power shots directly into the chin of Davis, who somehow wore all the damage with no issue. It was a very dominant victory for Chikadze, even if one of the judges managed to muck it up and bafflingly award Davis his scorecard.
- Jack Shore defeats Nohelin Hernandez via third-round submission: Shore entered the UFC with a good deal of hype behind him as an undefeated Cage Warriors champ, and the 24-year-old delivered. He consistently out-wrestled his foe, finding his way to the back multiple times before finally landing the submission in the third. Shore is definitely a Bantamweight to keep an eye on moving forward!
For complete UFC Fight Night 160 “Hermansson vs. Cannonier” results and play-by-play, click HERE!