Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Tim B and Mookie Alexander take a look at a fairly entertaining UFC in Boston tonight.
Main Card (written by Tim)
I had trouble with Chris Weidman moving up to 205 from the start. I mean, he was getting KO’d by guys like Jacare Souza at 185. At 205, could his chin hold up? There are some big boys that hit very hard there, and the first test he got was undefeated Dominick Reyes.
In short, his chin didn’t hold up. At all.
Reyes fought off some wrestling attempts from Weidman, and hit a beauty straight left on the back foot to put Weidman down. It initially looked like he’d survive the onslaught on the ground, but Reyes adjusted a bit and pounded Weidman into momentary unconsciousness.
I don’t know what this means for Weidman’s future, at 185 or 205. But Reyes looks like he could be next for Jon Jones.
- Jeremy Stephens is double tough. I don’t think anyone was doubting that coming into this grudge match with Yair Rodriguez, but he certainly proved it again tonight. Rodriguez cracked him with the mother of all body kicks that sent him reeling to the mat in pain, but Stephens somehow held on during a ridiculous storm of strikes from El Pantera. He even managed to probably win the second half of the fight. But he got clubbered so bad in the first half that Rodriguez earned the very entertaining decision victory.
- Greg Hardy won a very lame and tepid decision over Ben Sosoli. The only interesting thing was whether the inhaler Hardy used in between rounds was legal or not. Apparently it was indeed legal. Weird.
- Joe Lauzon still has it! Against Contender Series guys, at least. He looked like the Lauzon of old, clubbing Jonathan Pearce with big shots early and getting the quick finish. He might only have one round in him nowadays, but Lauzon’s one round is usually more entertaining than 15 minutes from other fighters.
- How about Maycee Barber? She showed off some okay grappling and lit up Gillian Robertson with strikes to get the early TKO. She wants Paige VanZant next. I’d aim higher personally, but the exposure might be worth it. Who knows.
- In the opening main card fight, Deron Winn relied on his wrestling and a winging right hook to take him through Darren Stewart. It worked for half of a fight, but then he slowed and Stewart took over. The Dentist got another win, and Winn goes back to the DC drawing board.
Preliminary Card (written by Mookie)
- Who saw that coming? Charles Rosa returned to UFC competition for the first time in well over two years and snatched a wicked armbar out of nowhere against Manny Bermudez. He was getting beaten up off his back, but he seized that one moment to lock up and (almost certainly) break Bermudez’s arm.
- Women’s flyweight contender Molly McCann engaged in a very high-paced scrap with newcomer Diana Belbita. It looked as if she’d stop Belbita in round two, but what the Romanian lacks in overall skills she makes up for in toughness. The end result was 30-26 scorecards across the board, as Belbita was docked a point for extremely obvious fence-grabbing. McCann should really be fighting much better competition than Belbita at this point.
- Contender Series signing Sean Woodson absolutely worked over Kyle Bochniak. His lanky, 6’2” frame at featherweight was too much for Bochniak to solve, especially those brutal knees up the middle that he connected on repeatedly. I think the only reason he didn’t get a KO (outside of his self-admitted lack of big punching power) is because Bochniak is absurdly tough.
- Randy Costa and Boston Salmon were destined to deliver action, and really it was just an ass kicking Costa landed that straight right on Salmon repeatedly, dropped him, and knocked him out with uppercuts on the ground in just over two minutes. The Massachusetts native walloped the guy named Boston, and he’s got his first UFC win.
- Welterweight prospect Sean Brady (and his uh… decorative back tattoo) looked calm, composed, and was able to come away with a hard-fought decision over the notoriously tough Court McGee. The Philadelphia native and training partner of Paul Felder looks like one to watch at 170.
- For someone who wants to stand-and-bang, Kevin Holland loves to throw himself into odd grappling matches. This short notice bout against Brendan Allen played out as such, and this back-and-forth battle ended with Allen taking Holland’s back and choking him out in round two. Hopefully Allen did get that post-fight bonus.
- Tanner Boser got the night started off by chopping at Daniel Spitz’s legs a billion times, which is a great strategy when you consider that Spitz’s coach is Rick “Don’t block leg kicks or body shots” Little. Shockingly, Spitz’s left leg was mangled and the Canadian heavyweight Boser got a shutout decision win in his UFC debut.