Tag: Social Reaction

UFC Fight Night 102 might not have brought the biggest names to Albany, New York, but it did provide some exciting performances from some fast risers in the bigger UFC divisions.

Capping off all those performances was a fourth-round TKO win for Derrick Lewis. The Black Beast was able to run up his win streak to five with the finish even if it wasn’t always pretty. 

The UFC passed along the highlight of the final onslaught that put the fight away:

With four first-round wins in the UFC, Lewis’ initial onslaught was something to watch going into the fight, but Abdurakhimov took an early lead in the fight by taking down Lewis early, as the UFC showed on Twitter:

As it turned out, that would be a harbinger of things to come in the early rounds. Lewis’ ability to set up his powerful punches was consistently turned away by Abdurakhimov either closing the distance, taking him down or all-out avoiding exchanges by disengaging. 

Lewis played right into the Russian’s game plan by doing little to set up his shots and consistently just looking to land the one big punch. MMA Fighting even gave the first three rounds to Abdurakhimov:

However, a true contender is one who can pull out a victory even if it isn’t his best night, and that’s exactly what Lewis did. After spending most of the time on the ground on his back, Lewis was finally able to gain top position. 

Even on a bad night, that’s no place to be for anyone fighting The Black Beast. It didn’t take long from there for Lewis to complete his comeback and earn a big win for his future prospects. 

Lewis wasn’t the only big winner on the night. The event was marked by some impressive performances from guys who could be in line for bigger fights in the near future. Here’s a look at the complete list of results from Fight Pass card, including a closer look at the other fights on the main card. 

              

Fight Pass Prelim Results

• Juliana Lima defeated JJ Aldrich by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ryan Janes defeated Keith Berish by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marc Diakiese defeated Frankie Perez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Shane Burgos defeated Tiago Trator by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
• Andrew Sanchez defeated Trevor Smith by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Gerald Meerschaert defeated Joe Gigliotti by submission (anaconda choke), 4:12 of Round 1
• Randy Brown defeated Brian Camozzi by TKO (strikes), 1:25 of Round 2
• Justine Kish defeated Ashley Yoder by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

         

Main Card Results

• Gian Villante defeated Saparbek Safarov by TKO (strikes), 2:54 of Round 2
• Corey Anderson defeated Sean O’Connell by TKO (strikes), 2:36 of Round 2
• Francis Ngannou defeated Anthony Hamilton by submission (kimura), 1:57 of Round 1
• Derrick Lewis defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov by TKO (strikes), 3:42 of Round 4

              

Gian Villante vs. Saparbek Safarov

Gian Villante didn’t get the opportunity he might have been hoping for to show his skills off against Patrick Cummins, but he still picked up a win in front of a hometown New York crowd. 

Cummins backed out of the fight due to a staph infection, per MMA Fighting, but UFC newcomer Saparbek Safarov stepped in to get battered by the 31-year-old Villante. 

Safarov did not go quietly into the night, though. Villante ultimately got the finish, but not before Safarov turned the bout into an absolute brawl in the first round, even dropping the hometown favorite. The UFC provided the highlight on Twitter:

Villante is known for his toughness, though, and rallied back from the early defensive lapse. 

He came roaring back in the second round and showed signs of maturation as he methodically picked apart a clearly winded Safarov. Where Villante has found trouble before thanks to his aggressive nature, he was careful in his approach to putting away Safarov, and it paid off with a second-round finish. 

The win really doesn’t do much for Villante‘s stock going forward. Safarov was a newcomer and fought on late notice. However, a win in New York had to be a memorable moment for him, and the fight itself was a crowd-pleaser. 

             

Corey Anderson vs. Sean O’Connell

Sean O’Connell came in to his bout with Corey Anderson riding a perfect 6-0 record inside the Octagon. It didn’t matter. Corey Anderson made it pretty clear that he’s the far better prospect in the light heavyweight division. 

Anderson wasted no time in enacting his wrestling-heavy game plan against the 33-year-old O’Connell, and his opponent had no answer. O’Connell was able to get up the first time, but it wasn’t long before he was dumped on the mat again. And that’s where he would stay for the round. 

The second round wasn’t much better for O’Connell. Anderson simply proved that he’s vastly superior to O’Connell, and the referee mercifully called an end to the bout in the second frame. 

After the fight, Anderson took the time to call out who he would like to see next, per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie:

Calling out the winner of the Nikita Krylov–Misha Cirkunov bout was a smart move for Anderson. Overtime lost out on a great opportunity to shoot up the rankings when he dropped a split decision to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but this win proved that he needs to be fighting fellow ranked fighters as he climbs the ladder. 

His combination of athleticism, wrestling and ground-and-pound is going to be difficult for most of the division to handle. 

                   

Anthony Hamilton vs. Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou is a bad, bad man. 

That was one of the biggest takeaways from Fight Night 102. The 30-year-old ran his MMA record up to 9-1 and his UFC record to a perfect 4-0. 

To make matters even worse for the rest of the heavyweight division, he did it while showing off an aspect of his game that we hadn’t seen yet: submissions. The massive Frenchman wasted little time in locking up a kimura in the first round to put away a dangerous opponent in Anthony Hamilton. 

As MMA Fighting noted, it showcased a dimension of Ngannou that was far more technical than fans have seen from him thus far in his career:

Much like Anderson, Ngannou took the opportunity to give some names he’d like to see in the cage next, per MMA Fighting:

Whether this is a smart move from Ngannou remains to be seen. He’s looked like a contender in each of his four UFC fights. None have made it out of the second round, and his last two have been over in the first round. However, he’s also fought suspect competition. 

Hamilton represented a step up in competition from his first three fights. He at least has multiple UFC wins under his belt, but it’s clear that he’s ready for another step up in competition. 

If he picks up a win against a ranked opponent, the sky is the limit for him. 

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Bellator returned to San Jose, California, for its final card of November with Michael Chandler defeating Benson Henderson by split decision to retain the lightweight championship in a thrilling main event. 

Chandler entered Saturday on a hot streak, winning each of his last three fights via stoppage after enduring a three-fight losing skid from 2013 to 2014. The 30-year-old was making his first title defense after knocking out Patricky Freire to win the lightweight belt in June. 

This was only Henderson’s third fight with Bellator, earning a lightweight title shot after defeating Patricio Freire in August. 

Here are the full results from Bellator 165:

Leading up to the main event, the big story of the main card was the impressive mixed martial arts debut of Keri Anne Melendez, who is married to former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. 

Going against Sheila Padilla, Melendez wasted no time announcing her arrival. She scored the knockout 47 seconds into the first round with a hard right that caught Padilla square on the jaw and followed it up with a brief flurry before the referee stopped it. 

Melendez’s husband took to Instagram to invite everyone to a post-fight celebration:

ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto seemed impressed by the power display shown by Melendez in her debut:

Henderson and Chandler had a tough act to follow, though they were more than up to the challenge. Chandler had a spectacular first round, including hitting a Brock Lesnar-esque German suplex on the challenger. 

MMA GIFs tried to come up with a close equivalent for what Chandler did to Henderson in the opening five minutes:

Chandler was the aggressor in the first round but couldn’t hit the final blow on Henderson, who is notorious for having a strong chin. The champion did appear to have a shot at locking in a chokehold for the submission before giving it up when Henderson moved just enough to prevent him from getting it. 

Things were more even in the second round, with Henderson being more aggressive. He even hit a punch that briefly sent Chandler to the mat, though the fight was never close to being stopped. 

The third round belonged to Chandler, who controlled virtually all of the last two minutes on the ground after Henderson tried going for the takedown. Chandler again tried to lock in a choke before Henderson was able to slide just off to the side. 

It was the fourth round that gave Henderson his first significant opportunity to end the fight. Chandler got things to the ground when he picked up Henderson and dropped him to the canvas, but Henderson wound up controlling things from that moment.

In the final seconds of the round, Henderson locked in a chokehold that Chandler was able to flip out of but was wobbly heading to his stool after the bell rang. He remained the aggressor in the fifth round, going for a flying knee that helped get things back to the mat. 

Henderson attempted to wrench Chandler’s neck in a rear-naked choke for a moment before Chandler was able to flip back on top and attempt an armbar. Neither fighter could get much going over the final two minutes, though Henderson continued to throw strikes from the top to end the fight and save it from going to the judges. 

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes summed the epic 25-minute battle perfectly:

Front Row Brian did note the difference in appearance between the two competitors after the match ended:

Chandler was bleeding from his ear and had a lot of bruises on his face, but because of how fights get judged by round, looking like you lost the 25 minutes doesn’t mean you lost the most rounds. 

Henderson can hold his head high after the defeat. It was close enough that he could have easily been declared the winner. Even though things didn’t work out for him on this night, an immediate rematch wouldn’t be the worst idea. 

This was a signature win for Chandler. He stood toe-to-toe with one of the toughest fighters in the sport who has only been knocked out once in 31 career fights, took Henderson’s best shot multiple times and survived to retain his crown. 

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UFC made its much-anticipated debut at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, with Conor McGregor defeating Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 to win the lightweight championship and become the first fighter in history to hold two titles at the same time.  

McGregor nearly made quick work of the champion, dropping Alvarez early in the first round with a hard left, via the UFC on Twitter:

Alvarez was knocked down a second time in the first round, again managing to survive. It was a clear 10-8 round on observation, but McGregor would finish the match with a knockout in the second round to avoid having the judges make the decision. 

Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie is already putting the legend label on McGregor:

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting wanted to let any of the doubters know McGregor is definitively the No. 1 guy in the sport right now:

Even with his over-the-top pre-fight antics, McGregor is a sure bet to draw a crowd, and his ability to cut a promo selling a fight and/or calling out an opponent is the best in the business and why he gets to headline historic shows like this one. 

McGregor vs. Alvarez was just one of the major attractions on the show. Here are the full results and scores from all 11 fights from Madison Square Garden:

                    

Highlights and Results

Edgar and Stephens Steal the Show

In the preliminary card main event, Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens put on a fantastic show. The second round, in particular, belongs on the short list of best rounds of 2016. 

Stephens appeared to come within an eyelash of becoming the first person to knock Edgar out, but the former lightweight champion survived the barrage. Edgar was wobbly as he made it back to his feet, doing a terrific job of keeping Stephens away so he could recover. 

Minutes later, Edgar had Stephens on the ground and nearly choked him out on two different occasions before the bell ended the round.

B/R’s Chad Dundas tried to pinpoint exactly where Stephens made his mistake in that second round:

If Edgar wasn’t going to be knocked out in that moment, especially with how limp his body appeared after getting to his feet, odds are good no one will ever be able to put him down. 

After the officials gave Edgar a unanimous-decision win, he said he stepped in to the Octagon banged up, per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting:

Edgar has long been one of the toughest fighters in mixed martial arts. Anyone who doubted that doesn’t have a leg to stand on after what he endured just to fight at MSG, let alone how he battled Stephens for 15 minutes. 

                    

Miesha Tate’s Career Ends

After losing the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in her previous fight against Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate would seem to be on a quest to regain the belt. 

Instead, the 30-year-old came out flat against Raquel Pennington and lost by unanimous decision after being outpointed for three rounds. Pennington nearly ended the fight in the first round with a vicious standing choke in which she was briefly carrying Tate around, via the UFC:

Following the judges’ decision, Tate dropped a bombshell on the crowd with this announcement, per UFC:

UFC President Dana White told Submission Radio Australia (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting) that Tate previously contemplated retirement last year before she made a comeback to challenge Holly Holm for the bantamweight title. She defeated Holm to capture the UFC title for the first time in her career. 

Now, after 26 career fights and consecutive losses, Tate is hanging up the gloves for real. The end result wasn’t what she wanted, but going out at Madison Square Garden is hardly a bad trade. 

                    

Jedrzejczyk Makes History

The unstoppable force that is Joanna Jedrzejczyk keeps rolling along. She successfully defended the women’s strawweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz. 

Kowalkiewicz did make things interesting in the fourth round with a hard right hand that connected with Jedrzejczyk‘s nose and left the champion in a brief daze. After the two women traded punches, Jedrzejczyk got her wits back to make it through the round. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Jedrzejczyk set a new benchmark for female fighters in UFC with her victory:

In addition to her seventh UFC victory, Jedrzejczyk owns a perfect 13-0 record in her career. Mike Bohn of USA Today noted how dominant the champ has been in her last five UFC fights:

Jedrzejczyk is making a real case for being the most dominant champion in UFC, male or female. She was tested, for at least one brief moment, against Kowalkiewicz before gathering herself and doing what she’s done so well for the last four years.  

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It’s only right that the man nicknamed The Notorious capped off UFC’s inaugural showcase at Madison Square Garden in New York with a win over Eddie Alvarez on Saturday night. 

Conor McGregor—who entered UFC 205 three months removed from a grueling five-round majority-decision win over Nate Diaz—defeated Alvarez by TKO in the second round to capture his first lightweight title.  

Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie noted the historical significance of McGregor‘s victory:

After the win, in true McGregor fashion, he was as cocky and brash as ever, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting:

If you thought McGregor was loud and over-the-top before, making history as the first simultaneous champion in two weight classes is only going to make the notorious one even louder and more over-the-top. 

Skip Bayless of FS1 offered his own unique praise for McGregor after the victory:

UFC provided video of McGregor‘s left that knocked Alvarez down for the first time in the opening round:

Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal captured a terrific image of McGregor with both of his championships celebrating while sitting atop the Octagon:

McGregor made his UFC lightweight debut on Saturday evening, and he proved once again that he’s capable of winning in multiple weight classes. 

Not only did McGregor secure a knockout victory of Jose Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194 to become the promotion’s undisputed featherweight champion, but he took down Diaz in an August welterweight bout to assert his dominance as one of the sport’s most well-rounded and vicious fighters. 

“I’m motivated by the gold, the extra gold,” he told Rolling Stone‘s Mike Bohn. “The history of it. It’s historic. Of course the money always motivates. The love for competition. There’s many factors that go into it. I said I would enter and I would dominate two divisions, win the two-weight world title. If I say it, I will do it. That’s where we’re at.”

According to Bohn, McGregor joined B.J. Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters to win title belts in multiple weight classes. However, Bohn noted that neither Penn nor Couture owned two straps in different weight classes simultaneously.  

In addition to owning two belts, McGregor has now won 17 of his last 18 fights dating back to 2011. 

With McGregor‘s cockiness justified and his status as one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history solidified, there’s no doubting he’s a one-man wrecking crew capable of achieving even greater success should he choose to press on in the Octagon. 

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