UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith suffered one of the most disturbing injuries in MMA history at UFC 180 Saturday night, when an ill-fated punch to her cauliflower-stricken left ear caused it to explode.
While the injury looked absolutely awf…
UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith suffered one of the most disturbing injuries in MMA history at UFC 180 Saturday night, when an ill-fated punch to her cauliflower-stricken left ear caused it to explode.
While the injury looked absolutely awful in real time, per Fox Sports, the post-fight photo is arguably even worse, as a Sqor Sports post(warning: very graphic image) from Smith features her ear—gaping, bloody hole and all. It’s certainly not for the weak of heart.
She wrote on Sqor:
I was pretty mad in the cage. I saw some pictures afterward and I appreciate the doctors looking out for me. I guess. I should’ve adjusted to protect my ear before the doctors had to stop it … Thank you to my team and my coaches at El Nino Training Center for getting me ready. Thank you to all the fight fans. I’ll do better next time.
Despite Smith insisting that she could have continued, the cageside doctor understandably waved off the fight after the former Invicta FC flyweight title challenger’s ear was gushing blood early in the second frame.
Legendary WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, best known for his Cactus Jack and Mankind personas inside the wrestling ring, lost a significant portion of his ear during a botched move back in March 1994.
Foley, an MMA fan, reached out to Smith on Twitter early Sunday morning to show his support for her warrior spirit. (Warning: The accompanying image detailing the two competitors’ injured ears is, once again, pretty graphic.)
With the defeat, Smith is now just 2-4 in her past six contests and has only a 1-2 ledger since making her UFC debut in April.
Meanwhile, Eye earned her first victory in 13 months; she has just a 1-1(1) mark in her past three fights.
However, her split-decision loss to Alexis Smith at UFC 170 in February was generally viewed as a poor judges’ decision and was just the second loss of her 14-fight career.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
Sometimes a predictable ride has a surprise twist or turn that makes it enjoyable, which certainly sums up UFC 180 in Mexico City this past Saturday quite well.
Most expected Fabricio Werdum to become interim UFC heavyweight champion at the event with …
Sometimes a predictable ride has a surprise twist or turn that makes it enjoyable, which certainly sums up UFC 180 in Mexico City this past Saturday quite well.
Most expected Fabricio Werdum to become interim UFC heavyweight champion at the event with a win over the surging Mark Hunt, but the avenue by which he did so was quite unexpected.
That speaks true for most of the night. High-quality action throughout the card saw some unexpected winners in what was a strong showing for the promotion on one of the most critical weekends of the calendar.
While difficult to pick out specific top performers, three certainly stand out upon close inspection of the full card.
UFC 180 Results
Notable Winners
Kelvin Gastelum
Talk about a career-defining victory.
Kelvin Gastelum is just 23 years old, but after Saturday’s triumph over longtime top welterweight Jake Ellenberger, the sport now has a new superstar to watch at an intriguing weight class.
This was not some fluky win, either. Gastelum was on the wrong end of a takedown, put on a superb scramble and capitalized on his opponent’s unprotected neck to lock in a rear-naked choke that ended things in the first round.
As UFC notes on Twitter, the rising star has quickly found himself among the best of the best:
Gastelum was ranked just outside of the top 10 in the division entering Saturday, but that is sure to change in a hurry with his stunning upset.
Now that he remains undefeated in the promotion and has proven he can win via other outlets besides a decision, the sky is the limit. Which fighters actually want to step in the Octagon with him is another conversation entirely, but title contention certainly appears to be in Gastelum‘s future after Saturday’s launching pad.
Gabriel Benitez
Saturday saw Gabriel Benitez take a predictable approach he never truly deviated from against a dangerous Humberto Brown.
The stubbornness eventually paid off.
It was clear from the onset that Benitez wanted to nab a submission victory by way of a guillotine choke, something even his corner could be heard on the pay-per-view telling him to stop attempting after Brown repeatedly shot the attempts down.
In the third round, though, Benitez came through by way of that very move in a standing position, an eye-opening finisher considering that choke usually gets a fighter a victory on the mat, not upright.
Considering Brown is a submission artist with three wins via that avenue, Saturday was a key point in Benitez’s recent career as he moved to 17-4. That makes it three wins in a row and a serious statement to the rest of the featherweight division at the same time.
Quietly, the bout was one of Saturday’s most entertaining. Two The Ultimate Fighter Latin America competitors danced. It was also one of the most important as the promotion continues to expand its horizons.
Fabricio Werdum
Of course, the most notable finish came in the main event.
Again, most expected Werdum to come away with the victory. He was ranked higher, and Hunt was not only fighting on short notice but doing so at a lighter weight than he likely preferred.
The big-hitting Hunt came out in the first round throwing his typical bombs and connected on a handful that clearly staggered the No. 1 contender. Werdum’s strength is on the mat, so his decision to stand up and trade blows was a bit perplexing.
Still, it was clear Werdum was on the hunt to make a statement. He did just that in the second round in emphatic fashion with a flying knee that dropped the Super Samoan for good. Ariel Helwani paints the picture well:
“Winning a belt like this is a dream,” Werdum said, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo.com. “It’s a dream come true and a lot of work, not months, it’s years. I have two [victories], two wins that are history. The win over Fedor was very special, but today was the most special day of my life.”
Werdum’s comeback story has come full circle. It is quite apparent that he is one of the promotion’s top fighters no matter how it gets sliced, as Chuck Mindenhall points out:
Make it five in a row for Werdum, who is going to get a crack at Cain Velasquez sooner rather than later.
Given his recent show of form, how that fight unfolds is quite difficult to tell. For now, most can bask in what was a worthy headlining act of a stacked card.
Note: Stats and info courtesy of UFC.comunless otherwise specified.
UFC 180, an important foray into Mexico for the promotion, was nothing short of a resounding success.
A stacked card offered fans plenty of thrilling Round 1 finishes, the lone exception on the main card being a surprisingly competitive main event betw…
UFC 180, an important foray into Mexico for the promotion, was nothing short of a resounding success.
A stacked card offered fans plenty of thrilling Round 1 finishes, the lone exception on the main card being a surprisingly competitive main event between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt.
Careers were made, title shots were earned and gritty matches entered memorable territory in short amounts of time Saturday night, which is what the card set out to accomplish. Even the preliminaries saw some superb action and unexpected results to help build anticipation for the main card.
The entirety of the event featured noteworthy results, with some key lessons to digest before the next major round of matches are set in stone.
UFC 180 Results
Top Takeaways
Ricardo Lamas Still Has it
A few fights removed from a loss at the hands of Jose Aldo in a title bout, Ricardo Lamas hit UFC 180 with something to prove: that he is still a contender at 145 pounds.
He most certainly is after ripping off a wicked guillotine choke of Dennis Bermudez in the first round.
The Bully is now 15-3 and has two wins in a row after the loss to Aldo back in February. MMAFighting.com broke down just how much Saturday’s win meant to Lamas:
Lamas is not flashy, so in a way it makes sense that he is still so underrated despite taking down most credible fighters in the division. Putting an emphatic end to Bermudez‘s seven-fight streak in front of an international audience certainly does not hurt his reputation, though.
Next, Lamas apparently wants a shot at ConorMcGregor, although that may be wishful thinking with McGregor on the fast track to a title shot of his own. Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports has the details:
With his stock once again high, another title shot will eventually be within reach for Lamas. It is quite apparent his form is still elite and that he can finish fights via strikes or submissions, so expect him to turn this win into a contender bout before a potential title shot.
Lamas is not going anywhere just yet.
Hector Urbina Is Here to Stay
The story is much the same for Hector Urbina, who made his UFC debut Saturday.
A veteran with more than 20 fights under his belt, many were wondering if Urbina was even right for the main card. At first it appeared those concerns were warranted, too, as Edgar Garcia tagged him a few times and looked to be on the way to a victory.
Urbina recovered, though, and eventually locked in a high-elbow guillotine choke to get the submission victory.
As MMAFighting.com puts into perspective, Garcia was one of the hottest fighters Urbina could have possibly met in the Octagon:
Not many expected the win for Urbina, who bumps his record to 17-8. But had he not come out so fired up and overzealous, he probably would not have needed so much time to put a finish to the fight given his superb form.
Where Urbina goes from here is difficult to say. The savvy veteran can hang with some of the bigger names in the division when he is on like he was against Garcia, but consistency is key now that he has one win under his belt with the promotion.
To say the foundation of a great run has been formed is an understatement.
Werdum’s Rightful Place
Time to acknowledge Werdum, folks.
For more than two years, Werdum has been one of the hottest fighters on the globe and a worthwhile No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division. He was finally due to get his shot but instead had to settle for a dance with Hunt.
To his credit, Hunt came out firing on all cylinders and landed a few of his trademark gargantuan punches. Werdum stubbornly stood in there and took the punishment, though, before delivering a brutal flying knee to end things in quick fashion.
As Guilherme Cruz notes, Werdum took quite the underdog path to his interim title:
Around the time of Werdum’s slump some two years ago, nobody on the globe would have guessed he would be finishing fights with strikes at such a high level right now. But that continued development stands as a testament to just how much one of UFC’s top names has evolved.
Werdum’s strength is still on the mat. But to stand in with one of the better strikers in the promotion and use technical savvy to bait and eventually pummel a workhorse such as Hunt is noteworthy.
As far as a top name to represent the promotion goes, Werdum is doing quite well for himself, as captured by Ariel Helwani:
Up next is undoubtedly a dance with Cain Velasquez. Given his surreal balance once thought impossible, Werdum is not as big of an underdog in that potential bout as some may think.
In front of a friendly crowd, Werdum revealed to the globe that he is not quite ready to leave the spotlight. In fact, he may be just entering it after a long wait.
Note: Stats and info courtesy of UFC.comunless otherwise specified.
If fan interest is any indication, Super Saturday was a big success. No one will know anything for sure until the final viewing estimates roll in, but at a glance it seems UFC 180, Bellator 131 and World Series of Fighting 15—all three promotions…
If fan interest is any indication, Super Saturday was a big success. No one will know anything for sure until the final viewing estimates roll in, but at a glance it seems UFC 180, Bellator 131 and World Series of Fighting 15—all three promotions competing head to head for the first time—yielded some nice dividends for combat sports lovers.
At UFC 180, Fabricio Werdum landed a flying knee on Mark Hunt to take the interim heavyweight title and partially redeem an otherwise lackluster card.
Bellator 131 made a major splash with Will Brooks’ victory over Michael Chandler and that wacky but entertaining main event between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar, to name just a couple of things.
WSOF even got in on the act with a fun brawl between Justin Gaethje and Melvin Guillard and a very competitive title defense from strawweight champ Jessica Aguilar.
But the night created a peculiar subtrend that’s worth remembering the morning after. Several relatively big names on all three cards were unceremoniously exposed as fading talents, no longer capable of hanging tough under the brightest lights. They are popular among fans, and as such may still have robust careers ahead of them, but they were diminished Saturday, and maybe for good. Who were these fighters?
UFC 180
Two years ago, or even more recently, Jake Ellenberger was considered a threat to the top of the welterweight division. Those notions may have been permanently dispelled Saturday when Kelvin Gastelum made short work of the Division II wrestler with a slick first-round rear-naked choke.
Ellenberger just hasn’t looked good lately. The knockout threat has dissipated, and his ground work cuts corners. The loss was Ellenberger‘s third straight. Is he in danger of being cut? Maybe not, but his days near the top of the card are gone, at a minimum.
Bellator 131
Nam Phan came out of The Ultimate Fighter 12 with some promise. But he never really caught on, fighting close fights that increasingly didn’t go his way. He may never have recovered from a demoralizing ground-and-pound beating from Dennis Siver, a loss that spurred Phan‘s move down to bantamweight, which didn’t slow his exit from the UFC. His Bellator debut Saturday was a 46-second knockout loss to Mike Richman. Phan‘s not going in the right direction here.
Everyone gets excited for Melvin Manhoef, and then everyone gets disappointed. Lather, rinse, repeat for the middleweight, who, despite 27 career knockouts in pro MMA, can simply not get over the hump. We all lathered and rinsed again at Bellator 131, when Manhoef was knocked clean out by Joe Schilling, a talented kickboxer but a pretty anonymous MMA fighter. It was probably the biggest letdown in an otherwise outstanding night for Bellator.
WSOF 15
Everyone knew it was going to be a slugfest. But Melvin Guillard left his want-to in the hotel room on the way to face Justin Gaethje. After missing weight, Guillard came out energized early, but showed his trademark poor defense and shallow gas tank down the stretch.
His power diminished substantially, too. A judge gifted him the win, which had the the effect of handing Gaethje a deceptive split decision, but there were precious few moments in this fight when the scary Guillard of old reared his head. Fun fight, but not a great line item for the New Orleans native and longtime UFC vet.
YushinOkami will never be confused with an exciting fighter, but he did very little even by his own standards Saturday night. He just never got going against middleweight champ David Branch, turning in a hesitant and clinch-heavy main event that felt anticlimactic after the Gaethje-Guillard pub brawl.
It got exciting for about 15 seconds in the fourth round, but unfortunately for Okami, those were the 15 seconds in which Branch clipped him with a right hook and pounded him out. That’s 1-1 now for Okami under the WSOF banner. Probably no more title shots in his foreseeable future.
Saturday was a busy night if you are an MMA fan. Between UFC 180, Bellator 131 and WSOF 15, there were enough fights to last the normal fan a month or two.
In the UFC, Fabricio Werdum overcame a slow start to earn a TKO stoppage over Mark Hunt in the s…
Saturday was a busy night if you are an MMA fan. Between UFC 180, Bellator 131 and WSOF 15, there were enough fights to last the normal fan a month or two.
In the UFC, Fabricio Werdum overcame a slow start to earn a TKO stoppage over Mark Hunt in the second round for the interim heavyweight strap. It was a fun fight that looked like Hunt would succeed early on, until Werdum scored a big knee and follow-up shots.
In Bellator, bitter rivals Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar participated in a sluggish, underwhelming brawl that saw Ortiz take a split decision. It was a fight that was built up more on animosity than it was on the potential for an all-time classic.
And finally in WSOF, three champions were victorious in their respective bouts, as Dave Branch, Justin Gaethje and Jessica Aguilar all scored victories in the triple main event. They solidified themselves as top fighters in their divisions with their respective wins.
Who were the five stars that came out of this trifecta of big-time shows? Let’s examine right now.
Heading into UFC 180’s main event between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt, the smart money was certainly on the Brazilian. “Vai Cavalo” wasn’t just physically and mentally more prepared, he also presented significant matchup issue…
Heading into UFC 180’s main event between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt, the smart money was certainly on the Brazilian. “VaiCavalo” wasn’t just physically and mentally more prepared, he also presented significant matchup issues for the Kiwi.
How the fight actually unfolded was a little surprising, though. Despite the knockout, Werdum wasn’t as competitive on the feet as some had anticipated. He looked hesitant from the opening bell, and each right hand from Hunt only reinforced his hesitance.
Even when the fight went to the floor, Werdum didn’t get an awful lot done with his ordinarily potent guard. In fairness, Hunt did a surprisingly good job of keeping the Brazilian pinned against the cage, limiting his offensive options.
When Werdum eventually landed the knee that signaled the beginning of the end of Hunt’s interim title bid, it’s fair to say that it was against the run of play.
“Outclassed” is too strong a word for what happened prior to the knee, but Hunt was winning the fight, and it wasn’t particularly close. This should be cause for concern for anyone who believed Werdum had a realistic shot against Cain Velasquez.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the immediate options for the UFC’s new interim heavyweight champion.
UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith suffered one of the most disturbing injuries in MMA history at UFC 180 Saturday night, when an ill-fated punch to her cauliflower-stricken left ear caused it to explode. 