Heading into last weekend’s stacked UFC on FOX 15 card, headliners Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold were being given little more than a coin flip’s chance against one another in their middleweight #1 contender match. But once the cage door closed, it was another story entirely. Rockhold dominated Machida — a guy who had looked nearly untouchable himself since dropping to 185 lbs — in every aspect of the game (but especially on the ground) en route to a second round submission. Physically, Rockhold appeared as if he was fighting down a weight class, a facet made all the more confounding when you consider that he was facing a former light-heavyweight champion.
UFC on FOX 15 was a “changing of the guard” card in many respects, with the biggest prospects (Sterling, Holloway, VanZant) going a perfect 3-0 over veterans of the game. It was also a night that finally closed the book on whether or not we should permanently erase TUF 19 from our memories. (Hint: Yes, yes we should.). So join us after the jump for all the highlights and a full list of results.
Heading into last weekend’s stacked UFC on FOX 15 card, headliners Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold were being given little more than a coin flip’s chance against one another in their middleweight #1 contender match. But once the cage door closed, it was another story entirely. Rockhold dominated Machida — a guy who had looked nearly untouchable himself since dropping to 185 lbs — in every aspect of the game (but especially on the ground) en route to a second round submission. Physically, Rockhold appeared as if he was fighting down a weight class, a facet made all the more confounding when you consider that he was facing a former light-heavyweight champion.
UFC on FOX 15 was a “changing of the guard” card in many respects, with the biggest prospects (Sterling, Holloway, VanZant) going a perfect 3-0 over veterans of the game. It was also a night that finally closed the book on whether or not we should permanently erase TUF 19 from our memories. (Hint: Yes, yes we should.). So join us after the jump for all the highlights and a full list of results.
Souza vs. Camozzi
If you were a fan of Souza vs. Camozzi 1, then boy would you have loved the second! Why? IT WAS THE EXACT SAME THING. “Jacare” peppered Camozzi on the feet, took him down, and submitted with an armbar in a minute less than it took him the first time. It was…upsetting to watch — like seeing a turtle struggling to flip itself over in the Nevada sun. Though hearing Dana White go from “Camozzi is a warrior!” to “K bro I’m out” in under 3 minutes almost made this slaughter worth watching.
Holloway vs. Swanson
Perhaps the most surprising performance of the night went to Max Holloway, a gifted prospect who many thought was just a year or so behind being able to hang with a veteran like Cub Swanson. They were wrong. Holloway appeared to be at least 2 steps ahead of Swanson from the very start, battering the former WEC star with a diverse offensive attack that Swanson simply could not compare with. After punishing Swanson with a series of body shots in the third, Holloway snatched onto a lightning quick mounted guillotine that forced Swanson to tap. The beauty of Holloway’s performance was only overshadowed by Swanson’s litany of injuries.
VanZant vs. Herrig
Speaking of dominant showings, Paige VanZant, everybody. At 21 years old, “12 Gauge” has already been dubbed as the future of the women’s strawweight division by some, and Saturday night’s performance proved that it isn’t only because of her looks. After an early misstep (WHY WITH THE HEAD & ARM THROW, LADIES. WHY?!!!), Van Zant looked damn near flawless against the always tough Felice Herrig, brutalizing her in the clinch and on the ground from bell to bell. VanZant has the world in her hands, it seems, but let’s hope the UFC doesn’t drink too much of the Kool-Aid for now. As good as she is, it’ll be awhile before Van Zant will be able to handle the likes of Joanna Champion.
Check out the full UFC on FOX 15 results below.
Main card
Luke Rockhold def. Lyoto Machida via submission (rear-naked choke)
Jacare Souza def. Chris Camozzi via submission (armbar)
Max Holloway def. Cub Swanson via submission (guillotine)
Paige VanZant def. Felice Herrig via unanimous decision
Undercard
Beneil Dariush def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision
Ovince St. Preux def. Patrick Cummins via first-round TKO
Gian Villante def. Corey Anderson via third-round TKO
Aljamain Sterling def. Takeya Mizugaki via submission (arm triangle)
Tim Means def. George Sullivan via submission (arm triangle)
Diego Brandao def. Jimy Hettes via first-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage)
Chris Dempsey def. Eddie Gordon via split decision
Last weekend’s Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch was something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it featured a main event that was both thrilling from start to finish and a solid reminder that Ben Henderson is a badass, toothpicking-chewing sumbitch in any weight class. On the other, it featured more than its share of underwhelming, glacially-paced sparring matches that stretched its six fight main card to the brink of watchability. (We’re looking at you, Dan Kelly vs. Patrick Walsh. Your fight was bad and you should feel bad.)
Frontrunners for “Worst Fight of the Year” aside, Fight Night 60 also saw Max Holloway tie Conor McGregor‘s featherweight win streak and Tim Elliott hit a Samoan Drop on Zach Makovsky (en route to a unanimous decision loss). So join us after the jump to check out all the Fight Night 60 highlights that the UFC will allow us to have, and what the hell, we’ll even throw some Bellator 133 highlights in there for ya.
Last weekend’s Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch was something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it featured a main event that was both thrilling from start to finish and a solid reminder that Ben Henderson is a badass, toothpicking-chewing sumbitch in any weight class. On the other, it featured more than its share of underwhelming, glacially-paced sparring matches that stretched its six fight main card to the brink of watchability. (We’re looking at you, Dan Kelly vs. Patrick Walsh. Your fight was bad and you should feel bad.)
Frontrunners for “Worst Fight of the Year” aside, Fight Night 60 also saw Max Holloway tie Conor McGregor‘s featherweight win streak and Tim Elliott hit a Samoan Drop on Zach Makovsky (en route to a unanimous decision loss). So join us after the jump to check out all the Fight Night 60 highlights that the UFC will allow us to have, and what the hell, we’ll even throw some Bellator 133 highlights in there for ya.
Holloway vs. Miller
Makovsky vs. Elliot
On the Bellator side of things, Melvin Manhoef once again made the case for him to just stop already by eating a spinning elbow from the king of spinning shit, Alexander Shlemenko, in the second round of their main event scrap. This was the third time in 7 months that Melvin has tasted such a violent defeat, and while we would normally hop on our soapbox and beg for Manhoef to retire about now, we’re going to refrain from doing so. MMA has taught us nothing if not that our opinions are useless, so we say fight on, Melvin! Pay no mind to those increasingly noticeable tremors, memory loss, and inability to pronounce words. That’s just weakness leaving the body! HYEAHH!!!
If you want to know the full results of the card, we’ll have them right here:
Preliminary Card
Neil Magny vs. Alex Garcia
Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Martin
Matt Hobar def. Aaron Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ben Saunders def. Chris Heatherly via submission (omoplata) at 2:18 of round one.
Wilson Reis def. Joby Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Main Card
James Vick vs. Walmir Lazaro
Chas Skelly vs. Tom Niinimaki
Max Holloway vs. Mirsad Bektic
Round-by-round results from the UFC 172 pay-per-view broadcast will be available after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma.
(“No disrespect to Glover, he’s a great challenger. I just think making eye-contact with other men is super-gay.” / Photo via Getty)
Round-by-round results from the UFC 172 pay-per-view broadcast will be available after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma.
UFC 172 Preliminary Card Results
– Joseph Benavidez def. Tim Elliott via submission (“joa constrictor” guillotine choke), 4:08 of round 1
– Takanori Gomi def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
I know Fili is supposed to be a hot prospect, but he’s got gauged-out ears and he walked out to Mumford & Sons, so screw him. Hollaway comes out to some folk-rock as well. What the hell is happening here? It’s the first fight on the pay-per-view, guys. You’re supposed to be RIPPIN’ IT INTO PIECES!
Round 1: Fili throws out some fast jabs. Hollaway lands a sharp counter punch. Leg kick Fili. Hollaway lands a spinning back kick to the body. Inside leg kick Fili. They trade long punches. An outside leg kick from Fili. Hollaway fires the spinning back kick again. Fili lands a punch and Hollaway looks briefly rattled. Jab from Fili, and a high kick. Fili digs in with a body hook. Jab and a leg kick from Fili. Hollaway lands a cross. Fili storms back with punches of his own. Hollaway throws the spinning back kick again. Right hand from Hollaway, and another. Hard leg kick from Fili, who follows it up with a takedown, but Hollaway pops right back up. And lands a knee on Fili. Body kick from Fili, Hollaway catches it and storms forward, punching. They clinch against the fence. Elbow from Hollaway. Knee to the body from Fili. That’s the round. I give it to Fili 10-9. “EXCELLENT WORK MOTHERFUCKER,” Bang Ludwig says.
Round 2: Hollaway lands a high front kick. Hollaway lands the spinning back kick again and lands it hard to the liver. Fili is hurt. Hollaway clinches, lands a knee. Fili shakes out. Fili with a leg kick, Hollaway returns a straight right. Fili attempts a flying armbar and gets nothing. Hollaway lets him up. Right hand from Hollaway. Good jabs from Hollaway. Fili lands a body kick. Joe Rogan is marking out over Hollaway’s spinning back kicks, obviously. Fili blasts forward and scores a takedown. Kevin Mulhall stands them up almost immediately and the crowd boos. God bless this crowd…they want *less* standing-and-banging. Hollaway with that spinning kick again. Fili shoots and Hollaway defends. Good knees from Hollaway from the clinch. The round ends. I’d say Hollaway edged it out, 10-9.
Round 3: Hollaway pops the right straight. He jabs, fires an uppercut. Fili fires a high kick, tries for a takedown but is shucked off. Hollaway tries his spinning back kick but it’s a miss. Fili shoots and successfully puts Hollaway on his back. Hollaway quickly works to his feet. Hollaway lands his right hand again. Hollaway lands a jab. Hollaway grabs Fili by the neck and drags him down. Fili gets up. Hollaway swarms with punches and Fili is hurt, on his heels. Fili goes low for a desperation takedown and Hollaway locks up a savage guillotine choke. Fili taps. And taps. Eventually, Mulhall sees it.
Max Hollaway def. Andre Fili via submission (guillotine choke), 3:39 of round 3.
Jim Miller vs. Yancy Medeiros
Round 1: Medeiros opens with some front kicks. Miller fires some punches but he’s having trouble getting close to the rangy Medeiros. Medeiros keeps working that front kick, with some punches after it. Miller lands a brutal body shot and Medeiros looks momentarily stunned, but then waves Miller forward. Miller clinches, flips Medeiros to the mat and sets up a guillotine choke. Miller cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks…my God, Medeiros is doing his best to hang on, but finally he starts to tap as he passes out. Kudos to Miller for staying on it.
Jim Miller def. Yancy Medeiros via submission (guillotine choke), 3:18 of round 1. Miller has apparently tied Gleison Tibau for the most wins in UFC lightweight history (13).
Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch
Round 1: Boetsch opens with a body kick. Boetsch shoots in, Rockhold defends and sets up an inverted triangle from the top, on Boetsch’s back. Rockhold goes for Boetsch’s arm and cranks a kimura. Boetsch taps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy finish an armlock from that kind of position. Lemme go find a GIF…
Luke Rockhold def. Tim Boetsch via submission (kimura), 2:08 of round 1. Rockhold says he wants to earn his way to a title shot, starting with a rematch against Vitor Belfort (!). But of course, a fight against Michael Bisping would be nice too.
Round 1: Davis staying on the outside, testing range with front kicks. Johnson dashes in, they clinch for a moment and break. Johnson lands two big right hands. Johnson catches Davis again with an uppercut as Mr. Wonderful shoots in. Davis lands a body kick but Johnson lands a big looping counter-punch in return. Johnson swarms and knocks Davis to the mat. Johnson follows and bashes down with punches. Davis somehow escapes with his life. Davis lands a high kick. Heavy jab from Johnson backs Davis up. Davis fires the high kick again. The round ends. Easy 10-9 for Johnson. Davis’s face is already shredded and bleeding.
Round 2: Leg kick from Johnson. Jab from Johnson, and an overhand right that whiffs. Davis jabbing. Davis dancing around, trying to bait Johnson into…something. Johnson with a big head kick. He stuffs a takedown from Davis. Uppercut from Johnson. 1-2 and a high kick from Johnson. Johnson still throwing with bad intentions deep into round 2. Davis with a superman punch and a pair of body kicks. Davis throws a high kick and gets blasted dead in the face with an uppercut in return. High kick Davis, and a body kick followed by a takedown attempt, but Johnson shimmys right out of it. Davis is 0-5 on takedowns so far. There’s the horn. 10-9 Johnson.
Round 3: Johnson with a straight right to the body. Davis sticking-and-moving, minus the sticking. Johnson backing Davis up with punches. Davis shoots, Johnson defends easily. Davis fires the high kick. He fires a right hand and quickly ducks under for a takedown attempt but doesn’t get it. Johnson escapes, lands a hard leg kick. More punches and another takedown-stuff from Johnson. Good oblique kick to the body from Johnson. Davis throws a high kick that sails over Johnson’s head. Davis shoots, Johnson throws him off and Davis has to run out of danger. Davis grabs a single-leg and tries to yank Johnson down, but no dice. Both guys slugging at each other in the last 20 seconds. They clinch, and Davis looks for a kimura in the closing seconds. Too little, too late.
Anthony Johnson def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). “BALTIMORE WAT’S UP BAYBEE!!!” [*crowd roars*] Finally, somebody gives it up to B-More. Then, Johnson thanks God, and on the other side of the Good/Evil spectrum, he thanks Dana for “changing me.” It’s a great moment. Anthony Johnson might have the greatest redemption story in MMA going right now.
Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira
The crowd loves Jon Jones and boos Teixeira. Good to see Bones get some love, finally.
Round 1: Jones with a switch kick to the body. Teixeira wading into the pocket and throwing power punches. Jones shoots from long range and Teixeira defends. Jones jabs. Teixeria with a right hand. He catches a kick from Jones and pushes him against the fence. Jones rolls out. Teixeira landing some hard punches. Jones with a high kick. Teixeira is poked in the eye, and steps out for a moment. Kick to the shin from Jones. Jones catches a kick and takes Teixeira down, but Teixeira quickly escapes. Jab from Jones. Spinning back kick from Jones lands to Teixeira’s ribs. Teixeira chases Jones winging punches, but Jones avoids. Jones with a high kick at the bell. Close round.
Round 2: Jones immediately shoots, and Teixeira sprawls out and escapes. Jones with kicks high and low. Straight left from Jones stings Teixeira. Punches and a front kick from Jones. Jones tries an axe kick, followed by an oblique kick. Jones palms Teixeira’s forehead and holds him back, like a mean older brother. Then he very clearly sticks his fingers in Teixeira’s eyes. Referee Dan Miragliotta gives Jones a warning. (Or *another* warning, really.) Teixeira bombs out on Jones. Jones lands a straight left and an elbow. Another elbow from Jones. And a left hook. Oblique kick to the shin from Jones. Oblique kick, spinning back kick and punches from Jones, and then a shoulder-check against the fence. Jones tries a spinning kick that misses, and Teixeira shoots in at the bell. 10-9 Jones.
Round 3: Jones grabs a headlock when Teixeira rushes in and throws in a knee. Teixeira pulls out. Jones punishing Teixeira with kicks. He lands an uppercut and says a few words to Teixeira. They clinch against the fence, and Teixeira lands a pair of powerful uppercuts. They’re against the fence again, and Jones scores with elbows in tight. Teixeira responding with uppercuts, but Jones is getting the better of this position. Jones with a great pair of hooks on the exit. Teixeira’s face is opened up. Jones bombing out from long range with punches and a kick. Jones with a great body shot and uppercut on Teixeira, whose back is against the fence. Jones with an elbow, Teixeira does his best to fight back, but again, Jones is very much in control. 10-9 Jones. The replay shows that Jones knocked Teixeira’s mouthpiece straight out of his mouth at one point.
Round 4: Jones still doing that thing where he palms Teixeira’s skull. He whiffs on a spinning backfist against the fence. Jones grabs Teixeira’s wrists as he backs the Brazilian against the fence. Teixeira throws a knee up the middle. Teixeira firing back with punches. He loses his mouthpiece again after eating a jab. They rinse it off, and the fight resumes. Body kick from Jones. Inside leg kick from Jones. Lead elbow from Jones lands. Hard side kick to the thigh from Teixeira, followed by an elbow. Jones’s variety of striking is totally overwhelming Teixeira. Spinning elbow from Jones. Jones with an uppercut and an elbow as Teixeira is backed up to the cage. Jones shoots and gets a takedown, and starts firing down punches as the round ends. 10-9 for the champ.
Round 5: Jones scores a takedown, Glover pops up. Jones with some long hooks that land. Jones is beating the tar out of Teixeira against the fence, and Teixeira loses his mouthpiece again. More hooks. An upward elbow from Jones. Teixeira lands an uppercut. Another upward elbow from Jones. Teixeira wobbles away. Jones presses Teixeira against the fence again, and they trade punches. Teixeira rolls out, takes the center of the cage. Jones dances out of range for the last 30 seconds, riding the clock out. There’s the final horn.
Jon Jones def. Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision (50-45 x 3).
Jones says most of his game-plan was improvised. Once he saw Teixeira winding up on his punches and realized that Teixeira was at a disadvantage in hand-fighting, Jones decided to make it a close-range fight and jam Teixeira up against the fence as much as possible. Jones now has more wins than anybody else in UFC light-heavyweight history (14). (Correction:Tito Ortiz earned 15 wins in the UFC, but obviously, they’re not counting him.)
Teixeira says a kick from Jones in the first round jacked up his shoulder and he might have also broken a rib. Dude got chewed up. But hey, we all saw that coming, right?
This opinion might be unpopular, but it’s true. UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis‘ younger brother just isn’t ready.
Sergio Pettis is talented, of that there is no doubt. While most 20-somethings were complaining about trivial social justice issues on Thought Catalog or watching Girls, Sergio Pettis was kicking ass en route to the UFC, showing that he has ample technique and a bright future. The hype wanted us to believe Pettis’ future was now. Fuck the Super Mario Brothers, it was time for the Super Pettis Brothers.
Alas, like with nearly every young, buzzworthy prospect, Pettis faltered. The hype train managed to steamroll over his pedestrian UFC debut, but not so for his follow-up fight against Alex Caceres at UFC on FOX 10. Pettis lost via submission in the third round. Even though the fight was close and well-fought up until the submission, a loss is still a loss.
“He’s just not as good as his brother,” some will say. Others will be harsher, citing Alexander Emelianenko syndrome. “If it wasn’t for his last name, you’d have never heard him; he’s nothing special.”
They’ll be right, but only about the “if it wasn’t for his last name” part.
This opinion might be unpopular, but it’s true. UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis‘ younger brother just isn’t ready.
Sergio Pettis is talented, of that there is no doubt. While most 20-somethings were complaining about trivial social justice issues on Thought Catalog or watching Girls, Sergio Pettis was kicking ass en route to the UFC, showing that he has ample technique and a bright future. The hype wanted us to believe Pettis’ future was now. Fuck the Super Mario Brothers, it was time for the Super Pettis Brothers.
Alas, like with nearly every young, buzzworthy prospect, Pettis faltered. The hype train managed to steamroll over his pedestrian UFC debut, but not so for his follow-up fight against Alex Caceres at UFC on FOX 10. Pettis lost via submission in the third round. Even though the fight was close and well-fought up until the submission, a loss is still a loss.
“He’s just not as good as his brother,” some will say. Others will be harsher, citing Alexander Emelianenko syndrome. “If it wasn’t for his last name, you’d have never heard him; he’s nothing special.”
They’ll be right, but only about the “if it wasn’t for his last name” part.
If Sergio Pettis was just a highly skilled 20-year-old without the baggage of a notable surname, he might not have been brought into the UFC so quickly. And even if the UFC had hired him, the negative, hateful fallout from a loss—or even from a lackluster victory—wouldn’t be so great.
The UFC has a history of throwing still-developing prospects into the fire nuclear reactor a little too soon. They fed a 20-year-old, 4-0 Max Holloway to Dustin Poirier back at UFC 143. Charles Oliveira‘s career was rushed as well. He went from fighting the likes of Efrain Escudero straight to top-flight talent like Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone. The young Brazilian wasn’t ready for this dramatic uptick in competition, and his career suffered. It still hasn’t rebounded.
But you don’t hear about these fighters quite so much because they don’t have famous older brothers. The MMA twitterverse isn’t rife with activity when these fighters lose. It was when Sergio Pettis lost.
In MMA, the drawbacks of a famous last name often outnumber the benefits; exposure is a double-edged sword that slays the lesser brother, leaving their career as one of many corpses the message board vultures pick clean.
2014 is not Pettis’ time. He’s quite a talent for his age, but he’s still green. At 20, and with a skill set that’s not quite there yet (but still growing tremendously with loads of potential), he’s not a world-beater. He might be one day, but not today. He’d benefit from more time on the regional circuit. But since he’s got a famous last name, the UFC might not heed this advice and let Pettis go develop his skills more. They’ll keep pushing Sergio Pettis before he’s ready just because he’s Sergio Pettis, the champ’s brother. And if he fails, he’ll forever become the Luigi to Anthony’s Mario—the perennial understudy—all because of his last name.
For $10/month, not only do you get to see a bunch of overseas cards not aired in the United States, you get access to the UFC’s entire video library—which includes fights from the WEC and Pride, as well as episodes from TUF.
It wouldn’t have been a bad deal if the UFC’s execution hadn’t been lacking in all departments.
FightOpinion, a firebrand MMA website that has recently earned the ire of Dana White, extensively covered the UFC Fight Pass, and not the fluff coverage the paid for media often provides for anything Zuffa-owned. If you want the dirt on the UFC Fight Pass, FightOpinion has the shovel. They ran three articles on the star-crossed streaming service. You should read each one.
Here’s what they concluded:
-The UFC Fight Pass isn’t worth the money, especially when you consider that you have to pay for 13 PPVs throughout the year as well. It costs over $700 a year to be a UFC fan.
-The UFC Fight Pass doesn’t even work from a promotional point of view; the pay wall ensures that the fighters who need exposure most won’t get it.
-The UFC Fight Pass pales in comparison to the WWE’s digital network, a sentiment we share.
-The UFC Fight Pass is lacking a plethora of features that are standard issue on other digital streaming networks (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc). It’s also in dire need of polish. An example they give is that searching for “UFC 1” will give you every single event starting with “UFC” and “1”, so you’ll get UFC 1, 10, 11…100, 101, etc.)
-The legalese in the UFC Fight Pass’ terms of use agreement is binding and horrific (although this isn’t unique to the UFC).
But FightOpinion wasn’t the only MMA Media outlet to have doubts about the UFC Fight Pass. MMA Mania’s Matt Roth wenton a twitterrantagainstthe service. Even worse, he says that the UFC charged him for watching fights on the Fight Pass—fights that your monthly $10 is purportedly granting you access to.
It’s clear that the Fight Pass is a half-finished cash grab that’s held together by duct tape. If you buy it in its current, faulty incarnation, you’re either a mark for the UFC or an MMA media member (though there’s a lot of crossover here). Stay away from the fight pass for a while longer. It’s not ready for public consumption.
However, that didn’t stop the UFC from airing its first card on the UFC Fight Pass: UFC Fight Night 34, an event that was held in Singapore this morning.
For the most part, there wasn’t a whole lot of game-changing stuff to happen on this event. We’ll give you a quick rundown with some GIFs (all courtesy of @ZProphet_MMA) and then the complete results:
(The UFC, where tapping out doesn’t matter, like the points in “Whose Line is It Anyway?” / Photo Via Getty)
For $10/month, not only do you get to see a bunch of overseas cards not aired in the United States, you get access to the UFC’s entire video library—which includes fights from the WEC and Pride, as well as episodes from TUF.
It wouldn’t have been a bad deal if the UFC’s execution hadn’t been lacking in all departments.
FightOpinion, a firebrand MMA website that has recently earned the ire of Dana White, extensively covered the UFC Fight Pass, and not the fluff coverage the paid for media often provides for anything Zuffa-owned. If you want the dirt on the UFC Fight Pass, FightOpinion has the shovel. They ran three articles on the star-crossed streaming service. You should read each one.
Here’s what they concluded:
-The UFC Fight Pass isn’t worth the money, especially when you consider that you have to pay for 13 PPVs throughout the year as well. It costs over $700 a year to be a UFC fan.
-The UFC Fight Pass doesn’t even work from a promotional point of view; the pay wall ensures that the fighters who need exposure most won’t get it.
-The UFC Fight Pass pales in comparison to the WWE’s digital network, a sentiment we share.
-The UFC Fight Pass is lacking a plethora of features that are standard issue on other digital streaming networks (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc). It’s also in dire need of polish. An example they give is that searching for “UFC 1″ will give you every single event starting with “UFC” and “1″, so you’ll get UFC 1, 10, 11…100, 101, etc.)
-The legalese in the UFC Fight Pass’ terms of use agreement is binding and horrific (although this isn’t unique to the UFC).
But FightOpinion wasn’t the only MMA Media outlet to have doubts about the UFC Fight Pass. MMA Mania’s Matt Roth wenton a twitterrantagainstthe service. Even worse, he says that the UFC charged him for watching fights on the Fight Pass—fights that your monthly $10 is purportedly granting you access to.
It’s clear that the Fight Pass is a half-finished cash grab that’s held together by duct tape. If you buy it in its current, faulty incarnation, you’re either a mark for the UFC or an MMA media member (though there’s a lot of crossover here). Stay away from the fight pass for a while longer. It’s not ready for public consumption.
However, that didn’t stop the UFC from airing its first card on the UFC Fight Pass: UFC Fight Night 34, an event that was held in Singapore this morning.
For the most part, there wasn’t a whole lot of game-changing stuff to happen on this event. We’ll give you a quick rundown with some GIFs (all courtesy of @ZProphet_MMA) and then the complete results:
22-year-old kickboxing ace Max Holloway, who recently suffered a loss to Conor McGregor, returned to the winning column on the prelims.
In the co-main event, famed Japanese fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri made a successful UFC debut, submitting Sean Soriano via rear naked choke in the second round—a submission where the referee literally missed the frantic tapout while he was standing right in front of the fighters.
The main event featured a fight between Tarec Saffiedine and Hyun Gyu Lim. By all accounts the fight was entertaining, but Saffiedine was clearly the better fighter. He made use of his signature leg kicks throughout the fight to cripple Lim, stymieing the Korean’s offensive efforts. Saffiedine walked away with a unanimous decision victory.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card
Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano via technical submission (rear naked choke), 0:50 of Round 2
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra via DQ (illegal elbows), 2:57 of Round 1
Kyung-Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu via submission (arm triangle), 3:53 of Round 3
Preliminary Card
Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (punches), 2:27 of Round 2
Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Royston Wee def. Dave Galera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes via submission (armbar), 2:13 of Round 1
Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via technical submission (triangle), 4:59 of Round 2
