As the UFC rolled into Indianapolis for its second event ever on Fox Sports 1, the world’s largest MMA promotion did not disappoint with Wednesday’s Fight Night 27.
Headlining the event was a rematch between welterweight contenders Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann, and boy did this fight deliver, taking home Fight of the Night honors in the process.
The former interim champion had trouble stopping the “Hitman’s” takedowns in the opening frame, but “The Natural Born Killer” started finding his groove with his striking in Round 2 and just kept turning up the heat from there. After a few more rounds of Condit picking him apart, the Greg Jackson product finally finished Kampmann with punches and knees for the TKO in the fourth round.
The entertaining performance turned in by Condit was just one of many exciting moments inside the Octagon Wednesday night. Here are three stars from UFC Fight Night 27.
Carlos Condit
As previously stated, the former interim welterweight champ turned in a masterful striking performance last night.
After two straight wrestling heavy losses to Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks, Condit showed a lot of improvements on the mats and was able to stop Kampmann‘s takedowns after the first round.
Even more impressive is how thoroughly “The Natural Born Killer” picked apart such a skilled kickboxer standing up.
Now that he’s back in the win column, I fully expect to see Condit make another run at the title as long as his takedown defense keeps improving.
Kelvin Gastelum
Winner of last season’s The Ultimate Fighter, Gastelum proved all the doubters wrong by upsetting heavy favorite Uriah Hall to take the show’s finale.
Moving down to welterweight for his sophomore appearance inside the Octagon, Gastelum put on an even more impressive performance by finishing Strikeforce vet Brian Melancon in the first round.
The TUF alum showed enormous power with his hands, rocking Melancon against the cage before sinking in the rear-naked choke for the win.
Gastelum appears to be even faster and stronger in his new weight class, and I expect his solid wrestling and heavy hands to pose a problem for many others in the welterweight division.
I’d like to see him take a step up in competition for his next fight as Gastelum has the potential to be a true rising star in the UFC.
Takeya Mizugaki
One of the unsung veterans to emerge victorious from Wednesday’s fights, WEC veteran Takeya Mizugaki extended his winning streak to three by defeating the heavily hyped Erik Perez.
The Japanese star impressed me with his willingness to trade hands with the powerful “Goyito,” as Mizugaki‘s more technical strikes and ability to stuff many of Perez’s takedown‘s earned him the nod. Despite eating some heavy shots from the Mexican bantamweight, the former Shooto rookie of the year kept his composure and utilized an excellent and patient game plan to take the win.
Winning four of his last five fights, Mizugaki may finally be hitting his stride as a mixed martial artist and may be on the verge of making a run in the talent-filled 135-pound division.
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