This is UFC 265 in just a few short tweets!
UFC 265 is in the books, and regardless of how blatantly unnecessary that belt was, we have a new interim heavyweight champion. Ciryl Gane methodically picked apart Derrick Lewis, landing shots and eventually chopping that leg and getting a TKO finish. There wouldn’t be a crazy comeback for Lewis this time around, as Gane was patient and disciplined the entire time.
In the co-main event, Jose Aldo managed to keep Father Time at bay again, turning in another excellent performance. The former long term featherweight champion still shines against bantamweight contenders, and showed vintage form as he cracked Pedro Munhoz with the trademark body shots and leg kicks we’ve grown accustomed to.
Here’s a quick twitter thread with a brief recap and analysis of the event, that’s fitting for people’s social media era attention spans:
YADONG DECISIONS KENNEY
PROS: Kenney pressured him, but as expected, Yadong isn’t as stiff, and can pop a lot faster.
CONS: Texas judging. Kenney thinks he got robbed, but if anything, it’s a huge mistake to have that one scorecard for him.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
TORRES BLITZES HILL
PROS: Hill’s wrestling improvements since their first fight were evident, but Tecia’s speed advantage was still the difference maker. Hill just couldn’t react fast enough to those quick blitzes.
CONS: Nothing much. That was fun.
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
LUQUE CHOKES OUT CHIESA
CONS: Are you kidding me?!
PROS: Are you kidding me?! Luque said he’d “surprise” Chiesa on the ground, and he did exactly that. Wow!
(Also, as someone who loves head and arm chokes, this was an extra treat for me personally) https://t.co/nKsqnvOSyg— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
ALDO SHINES VS MUNHOZ
CONS: None!
PROS: Vintage form! Aldo flashed his trademark body shots, combinations and even buckled Munhoz with leg kicks! It’s insane how he’s still this good over a decade after becoming champ.https://t.co/3VZCfUlx4y
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
GANE TKOs LEWIS
PROS: Gane was again sharp, patient, disciplined, Lewis didn’t even come close to his patented comebacks (that overcome technique & the laws of physics)
CONS: Glad Gane got a champion’s contract, but that interim belt was unnecessaryhttps://t.co/c4Vh19jlP1
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
#UFC265 OVERALL:
PROS: Fun fights. Aldo’s longevity is a testament to his (under-appreciated)career as an all-time great
CONS: Texas Judging. It’s for ESPN requirements, but how much value did a fake belt add to this PPV, vs how much it devalued the real title & Ngannou’s rise?
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 8, 2021
And that’s about it. For more social media musings, follow me on twitter over at @antontabuena, and of course you should do that for Bloody Elbow’s official twitter account as well.