In the second bout of the UFC 145 preliminary card on FX, standout lightweights John Makdessi (9-2) and Anthony Njokuani (15-6) put their kickboxing skills up to the test against each other.
Njokuani walked away the victor with a unanimous decision after three rounds. Scores were 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.
What We’ll Remember about This Fight
It wasn’t the fight fans were expecting, as Njokuani kept his distance from the dangerous Makdessi to secure the victory while taking as little punishment as necessary.
It worked in his favor, but the fight fell short of expectations. Both had fight of the night and knockout of the night performances in their recent history to guarantee something exciting. It never came, but Njokuani deserved the win.
What We Learned about Anthony Njokuani
Njokuani beat another great striker at his own game, and that alone made this a victory that will help him move forward in his career and in the division.
What We Learned about John Makdessi
Makdessi pressured Njokuani for the majority of the fight, but he couldn’t close the distance to land his power shots and kicks.
At the weigh-ins, Makdessi came in three pounds overweight after his team doctor told him to stop cutting weight. It was an unfortunate turn of events, as Makdessi was upset at his previous opponent for missing weight.
What’s Next for Njokuani
A fight versus former Pride champion Takanori Gomi could be a very exciting fight if both decide to engage in standing and trading knockout blows.
What’s Next for Makdessi
Makdessi should get another fight in the UFC, and after coming in overweight, he might not be contemplating a drop in weight as many people thought might help him as an undersized lightweight. He is now 0-2 in his last two fights.
Tonight’s pay-per-view event will be headlined by UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones, who will be taking on a former teammate in “Suga” Rashad Evans, who is a former champion and currently riding a four-fight win streak.
Both have been hyping the fight since last year when Jones replaced Evans against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and defeated him in the third round to win the title and become the youngest UFC champion.
Since his win over Rua, Jones has defeated Lyoto Machida and Quinton Jackson to seal off what was one of the more impressive years of a mixed martial artist.
Other bouts on the card include Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills, Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell, Michael McDonald vs. Miguel Torres, Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin and Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio.
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