Tag: Social Reaction

The 38-year-old B.J. Penn has plenty of UFC success on his resume, but he was no match for the 24-year-old Yair Rodriguez on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 103 in Phoenix’s Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Rodriguez defeated Penn via a technical knockout in the second round of the headlining fight. Elsewhere, Joe Lauzon prevailed against Marcin Held in a controversial split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) that even the victor disagreed with after the fight. 

Ben Saunders defeated Court McGee via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) by doing enough in the early stages to stave off a comeback attempt, and Sergio Pettis handled John Moraga via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in a fight that went distance but was never really in doubt.

Here is a look at a breakdown for all four main-card battles.

                            

B.J. Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez

Jesse Holland of SB Nation’s MMA Mania noted Penn competed in his first event since the summer of 2014 on Sunday. The rust was evident against Rodriguez.

Rodriguez won by TKO in the second round after thoroughly dominating the fight. He overwhelmed the former UFC champion with an array of kicks and punches and finished the job after knocking Penn to the floor in the early stages of the second round. 

The glaring disparity between the two fighters was crystal clear in the first round. Rodriguez unleashed his aggressive kicks and kept Penn on his back foot throughout the early going, especially when a couple of the head kicks landed.

UFC Phoenix shared Rodriguez’s incredible athleticism:

Bloody Elbow said “Penn has that deer-in-the-headlights look,” and that was even more the case in the second round when Rodriguez knocked the American to the ground with a kick and started pounding him with punches.  

The official stepped in from there and called the fight after Rodriguez teed off on Penn. Fox Sports UFC passed along the critical moment:

Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting said, “That was really hard to watch.” He added, “That should’ve been stopped far sooner.”

There was never a doubt from the opening moments Rodriguez was the better fighter in their current forms, and he earned the TKO as a result.

                     

Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held

Lauzon earned the split-decision win over Held (27-30, 29-28, 29-28), but even the fighter himself didn’t agree.

“That was not my fight,” Lauzon said, per MMA Fighting. “I 100 percent disagree with that decision. That was Held’s fight.”

Despite his own assessment, Lauzon went for a finish in the first couple of minutes and unleashed a flurry of elbows on Held. To Held’s credit, he stood strong and absorbed the early blows before landing a takedown and flipping some of the momentum.

Lauzon appeared to win a back-and-forth, action-packed first round by a narrow margin, but Held notched another takedown almost immediately in the second round.

Held then escaped an armbar attempt, but Bloody Elbow said, “Probably 19-19 after two, but that armbar attempt from Lauzon was the best offense of the round.”

Held scored a takedown in the third round but allowed Lauzon to get back up without establishing much offense. He finished the fight with another, which Fox Sports UFC said was his fifth of the evening, but there wasn’t much offense from Held outside of those takedowns.

Lauzon was ultimately given the win, but Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report said he gave Held the edge in every round. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reflected on the proceedings:

Alas, the judges had the final call and said Lauzon was the better fighter.

                     

Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders

Saunders started quickly behind a handful of body kicks and rode the momentum to the victory over McGee via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Neither fighter made significant progress in the opening minutes with no takedowns or many significant blows. However, Saunders’ body kicks made the early difference and helped him set the tone.

McGee applied more pressure in the second round as he attempted to close within boxing range, but the 6’2″ Saunders’ kicking and defense kept his 5’11” opponent at bay. Saunders also landed a couple of knees to the body when McGee pushed late in the round.

Saunders was the aggressor at the start of the third round with more kicks, but McGee landed the first takedown of the fight and appeared to build his first serious edge.

McGee took control from his on-top position and prevented Saunders from making much happen down the stretch. To McGee’s credit, he turned around a slow start with a strong finish, but it wasn’t enough.

Saunders’ quick start proved to be key for the judges, who awarded him with the win.

                              

John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis

Pettis handled Moraga with relative ease via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Al-Shatti noted the loss marked Moraga‘s third straight defeat.

Pettis wasted little time dictating the tempo. He kept Moraga at arm’s length for most of the early going and then unleashed a couple of hard blows when they were exchanging punches.

Fox Sports UFC noted, “Pettis has found a home for his jab and has already cut Moraga under his left eye,” and also said Pettis was landing punches “at will” by the end of the first round after a knockdown.

There was less action in the second round after Pettis and Moraga threw the early hammers. From Moraga‘s perspective, a closer second round was likely good news after a slow start, but he was running out of time to make an impact.

Moraga notched a quick takedown in the third round and built some momentum, but he wasn’t able to take advantage of it. Pettis bounced back and landed a takedown right at the end of the round and all but secured the victory before the official decision.

Bloody Elbow weighed in on Pettis‘ showing:

The 23-year-old youngster earned his third straight win with the result.

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Amanda Nunes spoiled Ronda Rousey’s much-hyped return to the Octagon with a decisive first-round TKO to retain the women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 207.  

Rousey took a 13-month hiatus following her first career loss against Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. She essentially went on a media blackout leading up to Friday’s fight, with the exception of giving ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne access to her unique training program. 

Rousey was in a no-win position, where a victory would seemingly not be enough because this was about cementing her legacy even though she’s already the most important figure in women’s mixed martial arts history. 

However, Rousey couldn’t bounce back from her loss to Holm and appeared dazed and confused during an abbreviated first round in which she could barely locate her opponent, according to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto: 

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel broke down some of the factors that have led to Rousey’s rapid downfall: 

Based on Friday’s stunning result, it’s crystal-clear Rousey’s career is shrouded in uncertainty as the sport starts to feature a slew of new stars on the women’s side.  

                   

The Bantamweight Picture

There was an argument to be made that TJ Dillashaw, not Cody Garbrandt, deserved to challenge Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title at UFC 207. 

Looking at UFC’s official rankings, Dillashaw is the top-ranked bantamweight behind Cruz, and Garbrandt is No. 5. 

Dillashaw does have a loss against Cruz on his resume already, suffering a split-decision defeat in January. He rebounded with a unanimous-decision win over Raphael Assuncao in July, which could have put him back in the title mix. 

Leading up to UFC 207, Dillashaw told Dann Stupp and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie that Garbrandt’s title shot had nothing to do with skill:

You can talk your way into anything now, you know? We were talking about football. Do you see a football team talking their way into the Super Bowl? It doesn’t happen, man. It’s the No. 1-ranked guys, the guys that are winning the tournament.

It’s an unfortunate thing, but that’s the way it’s working out right now.

Knowing how the game is played, after his dominant victory over John Lineker, who had won six straight fights, Dillashaw cut the promo that will make it hard for UFC President Dana White to keep him out of the title picture (warning: video contains NSFW language):

Garbrandt, though, can’t be ignored. 

The 25-year-old put on a clinic in his unanimous-decision victory over Cruz, and he did so by sending his opponent tumbling to the canvas on several occasions thanks to his tactical brilliance, according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:  

And with bigger and better things on the horizon, Garbrandt made his intentions clear once he put a bow on the win, per Helwani:  

In other words, 2017 is going to be a wild ride. Buckle up.  

                   

Hendricks’ Decline Continues

It seems like so long ago that Johny Hendricks was one of the UFC’s best welterweights, but he was a champion as recently as December 2014 before Robbie Lawler defeated him. 

Unfortunately, Hendricks’ loss at UFC 181 appears to be the last anyone will ever see of the outstanding wrestler who took Georges St-Pierre five rounds and lost a split decision. 

Hendricks has had problems cutting weight, being taken to the hospital in October 2015 after missing the 171-pound welterweight limit in each of his last two fights. He weighed in at 173.5 pounds leading into Friday’s fight against Neil Magny. 

Friday was Hendricks’ third consecutive loss when Magny earned the decision with a strong final round. Ben Fowlkes of MMA Junkie noted a comment UFC announcer Joe Rogan made on the show and offered a GIF response:

Hendricks is only 33 years old, but his career has fallen off a cliff multiple times in the last two years. It will be a miracle if he doesn’t get cut by the promotion. 

This fight was nearly over in the first round when Magny had Hendricks in a triangle choke and delivered a slew of vicious elbows, via the UFC:

At least Hendricks was able to survive that onslaught and take the fight to the judges, but even during his recent struggles staying upright for all 15 minutes of a three-round battle haven’t been the problem. 

Whatever has happened to Hendricks in the last two years, his losing takes on added embarrassment because of his inability to make weight and force his opponents to decide if they still want to fight him anyway.

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At UFC 207, Cody Garbrandt not only talked the talk, but he walked the walk to the tune of a unanimous-decision win over Dominick Cruz in the co-main event to become the new champion of the UFC’s bantamweight division.  

Fox Sports tweeted out the final scorecards:

The opening round of the bout definitely set the tone for a fun fight. Garbrandt, who did plenty to show his disdain for the champion in the buildup to the fight, appeared loose and ready to show his best stuff in the spotlight. 

His confidence and ability to land some slick boxing was enough for MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani to award him the first round:

That tone would continue in the second round, as both fighters were willing to engage in exchanges and were landing heavy shots at times. Ultimately, it was a knockdown from Cruz that swung the score for Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times:

The UFC passed along one of the more entertaining exchanges in the second frame:

Despite the potentially lost round for Garbrandt, he came out in the third round with even more poise and confidence. He started to land heavier shots with more regularity while obviously feeling comfortable enough to taunt Cruz after nearly every exchange. 

Garbrandt scored a knockdown of his own with a massive left had in the third frame, via the UFC:

In the fourth round, it became abundantly clear this would be a masterclass performance for the young challenger. No Love became even more difficult for Cruz to find, and Garbrandt began knocking down the champion on a more regular basis. 

Helwani once again praised Garbrandt‘s skills and his performance overall as he went into the fifth round with an insurmountable lead on the scorecards:

No Love didn’t necessarily look to end the fight in the fifth round, but he continued to put on the finishing touches of a fight that could and should launch him into stardom, as noted by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com:

The buildup to this title fight was marked with plenty of trash talk between the Alpha Male product and the now former champion. Garbrandt wasn’t shy about goading Cruz into a fight despite Garbrandt‘s lack of experience.

But after the post-fight interviews, the social media beef and multiple on-camera run-ins, Garbrandt made good on his talk with a brilliant performance that now sees the belt around his waist. It’s a fight that will assuredly launch No Love into the spotlight, but that’s a place the new champ says he feels comfortable. 

“I was born for this,” Garbrandt said, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I feel the bigger the stage, the pressure starts to get to others and they crumble. I feel like this is where I shine the brightest and perform the best.”

Garbrandt is now the king of a division that will certainly put his skills to the test. The division hasn’t seen much turnover with the belt. Cruz brought the title over from the WEC when the organization became absorbed by the UFC. Only Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw held the title between Cruz’s reigns with the belt. 

Now, that title belongs to Garbrandt, who has star potential if he can keep racking up the wins against the likes of Cruz. 

The 25-year-old certainly knows how to build up a fight. The animosity between Garbrandt and Cruz no doubt played a role in the Team Alpha Male product getting a shot at the title over the likes of Dillashaw, John Lineker or Jimmie Rivera. 

Now he’ll get to take those marketing skills to the next level of champion. 

A potential matchup with former teammate Dillashaw could be in the works after his UFC 207 win over Lineker. 

Of course, the feud between Cruz and Garbrandt likely isn’t over. It isn’t often that a champion with the kind of credentials that Cruz has doesn’t eventually get a rematch if it isn’t an immediate shot at redemption. 

Given the rivalry these two have cultivated, it wouldn’t be shocking if the very man Garbrandt beat for the title isn’t the first guy who gets the opportunity to take it back from him. 

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