Tag: UFC 185

Rafael Dos Anjos Completes Dramatic Career Comeback with Pettis Win

Anthony Pettis is one of the best lightweights in the history of mixed martial arts.
This was hardly in doubt even before Pettis faced Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 185. His ability to finish the tough and durable top contenders in his divi…

Anthony Pettis is one of the best lightweights in the history of mixed martial arts.

This was hardly in doubt even before Pettis faced Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 185. His ability to finish the tough and durable top contenders in his division made him one of the UFC’s brightest shining stars, a potential massive pay-per-view draw.

But injuries have derailed Pettis in recent years, preventing him from obtaining the kind of exposure that could increase his own personal brand. A recent change in his training methods, dialing back both the intensity and length of his training sessions and nearly eliminating weight training on days he sparred with a live opponent, helped keep him healthy and prepared to return to the Octagon just four months after his last fight.

Pettis brought a four-fight finishing streak into the Octagon, which is nearly unprecedented in UFC championship bouts. And he went into the fight as a significant favorite over dos Anjos, who was seen by most as mere fodder in Pettis‘ title reign.

But mixed martial arts is a cruel and often fickle beast. Instead of a glorious finish and another title defense, Pettis was instead beaten and battered by dos Anjos for five rounds.

The official decision was a foregone conclusion when it came: Dos Anjos had won all five rounds, and none of them were close.

In terms of fighting output, Pettis barely made a blip on the radar. Dos Anjos controlled the center of the Octagon with 100 precent efficiency. He brutalized Pettis in the striking department, especially against the wall of the cage. And he took the now-former champion down at will and controlled him with authority on the ground. Pettis simply had no answer for anything dos Anjos offered.

And what dos Anjos offered is incredible. The man who lost to the ageless Gleison Tibau at UFC 139 is nowhere to be found. Under the tutelage of Rafael Cordeiro, dos Anjos‘ striking game has improved dramatically. He throws with power. His defense is superb. His ground game has never lacked. And he showed all of it against Pettis, who was left resorting to the kind of post-fight excuses one expects when a champion loses to someone he did not expect to lose it. Pettis said his eye was hurt in the first round and that he could not see anything from that point forward.

And while that may be true, dos Anjos‘ manager Ali Abdel-Aziz said after the fight that the new champion tore his MCL three weeks ago.

Injury or no injury, dos Anjos appeared to be a world-beater. He demolished Pettis with the kind of one-sided authority rarely seen in UFC title fights. In doing so, he became 2015’s version of T.J. Dillashaw, a massive underdog who captured the bantamweight title by beating Renan Barao last year. Dos Anjos did not get the finish, as Dillashaw did, but he was no less effective.

And now, dos Anjos will face a murderer’s row of title challengers. Pettis will be waiting in the wings; the UFC has invested too much in him for him to be kept away from the title picture for long. Khabib Nurmagomedov will face Donald Cerrone in May to determine the first challenger for dos Anjos. He has faced each of them before. He beat Cerrone and lost to Nurmagomedov.

But given the dramatic and visceral improvements he has shown since both of those fights, well, it’s not a given that he’ll be a one-and-done champion.

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UFC 185 Results: Twitter Reacts to Winners, Losers from Pettis vs Dos Anjos Card

Two championship bouts at UFC 185, two new titleholders. 
In the pay-per-view card’s main event, Rafael dos Anjos demolished Anthony Pettis over five one-sided rounds to win the men’s lightweight championship via unanimous decision. Yahoo Sports’ …

Two championship bouts at UFC 185, two new titleholders. 

In the pay-per-view card’s main event, Rafael dos Anjos demolished Anthony Pettis over five one-sided rounds to win the men’s lightweight championship via unanimous decision. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole relayed the judges’ scorecards:

Prior to that stunning display, Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeated Carla Esparza via second-round TKO at the 4:28 mark to become the new women’s strawweight champion.

With the strong card, entertaining results and college basketball mostly wrapped up for the evening, Twitter was naturally abuzz with commentary and reaction for each of the five pay-per-view bouts.

Championship Bouts

Dos Anjos, whom Pettis said was “probably the most dangerous guy in the division in my opinion,” per Martin Domin of The Daily Mail, certainly lived up to his opponent’s estimation on Saturday night. He was undeterred by Pettis’ punches and dished out much more punishment in return, as Fox Sports UFC pointed out:

The challenger landed 61 percent of his strikes through three rounds. Pettis was fine standing up, but he struggled to avoid dos Anjos’ takedown attempts. This fan noted the overwhelming display from dos Anjos:

It was abundantly clear that Pettis’ needed a stoppage of some kind to win this bout, but there would be no late comeback on this night. Dos Anjos closed the curtains on Showtime, dominating the fourth and fifth rounds to flip the script and take the title.

Sherdog’s Jordan Breen was highly complimentary after the bout:

USA Today‘s Mike Bohn noted dos Anjos’ victory represented a historic changing of the guard:

MMA journalist David Kano noted that the likes of Nate Diaz had fared much better against dos Anjos:

Prior to the main event was the women’s strawweight championship. With Jedrzejczyk a strong technical fighter and the defending champion Esparza an artist on the ground, this was a tantalizing clash of styles. 

Bleacher Report tweeted an emotional picture of the new titleholder after the bout:

Jedrzejczyk, the six-time Muay Thai world champion, acquitted herself well in the first round, blocking Esparza’s takedown attempts and landing eight more total strikes than her opponent. Esparza may have expended too much energy in the first round, which led to her downfall.

USA Today‘s Ben Fowlkes noted she looked tired:

Jedrzejczyk simply walked a tired Esparza down in the second, pummeling away until the referee had no choice but to end the carnage. UFC unofficially counted 42 strikes for Jedrzejczyk to Esparza’s one in the second round. It was a superlative display of fighting, one that should have the 27-year-old Polish fighter in line for some premier bouts in the very near future.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was highly impressed by her dominant display:

The performance officially made a Jedrzejczyk fan out of UFC featherweight Cub Swanson:

You might be able to count Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis among the new converts as well:


Main Card

In the pay-per-view card’s first bout, Henry Cejudo moved to 8-0 in his MMA career with a unanimous-decision victory (30-27 on all cards) over top flyweight contender Chris Cariaso.

It was Cejudo’s flyweight debut, but he looks like a man capable of terrorizing the division after his dominant display Saturday. MMAFighting.com’s Shaheen Al-Shatti noted his top-notch athleticism:

Cejudo dominated all three rounds, landing 111 total strikes to Cariaso’s 41. Of course, even when Cariaso was able to land his punches, they had little effect, per Sherdog’s Patrick Wyman:

Cejudo, a 28-year-old from Colorado Springs, Colorado, drew considerable praise for his effort, but Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com thinks he may have to impress in a couple more bouts before getting a shot at flyweight hardware:

The card quickly shifted from the little guys to the big fellas, as Roy Nelson took on Alistair Overeem in a heavyweight fight. Overeem was able to come away with a decision victory in this one, but it was a much closer than the preceding bout.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole saw an Overeem in rare form:

Overeem landed 66 blows to Nelson’s 48, although the latter notched the only knockdown of the bout in the final round. Naturally, in a fight between two big men, jokes abounded. Fowlkes chimed in with this quip:

Overeem broke down Nelson with a barrage of kicks and knees, and took the bout 30-27 on all cards, per Iole. However, UFC’s Dana White couldn’t help but express his admiration for Nelson after the bout:

Next up was Johny Hendricks and Matt Brown in a welterweight battle. This contest also went the distance, with Hendricks pulling out another 30-27 victory on the judges’ scorecards. 

Hendricks dominated this bout, landing 36 significant strikes, with a few especially strong ones coming from his left hand, while making good on nine of his 10 takedown attempts. Fowlkes noted Brown did all he could to fend off Hendricks’ considerable attack, which included grabbing the fence to avoid takedowns:

 Al-Shatti noted that Hendricks can hardly be contained in three-rounders:

If anything, fans certainly couldn’t say they were cheated out of any action in the buildup to the championship bouts. While two of the fights were considerably lopsided, all went the distance and together the three matches showed off a variety of skills and fighting styles.

All stats courtesy of UFC.com.

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UFC 185 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Pettis vs. Dos Anjos Card

There’s a sort of abiding confusion around Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. What to make of him? Where to slot him? How to brand him?
But the confusion usually dissipates when Pettis does his thing. That thing being, namely, to wreck everyone he faces, every…

There’s a sort of abiding confusion around Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. What to make of him? Where to slot him? How to brand him?

But the confusion usually dissipates when Pettis does his thing. That thing being, namely, to wreck everyone he faces, every time, with an almost blinding combination of skill, panache and athleticism.

The reigning UFC lightweight champ has all the ingredients of a superstar but, for whatever reason, never seems to mesh into a finished dish. Despite four consecutive stoppage wins over elite opponents and a smooth demeanor outside the cage, the 28-year-old has yet to capture imaginations in the same way as someone like, say, Ronda Rousey.

Carla Esparza has a similar problem. Just a few months ago, she was brilliant in defeating Rose Namajunas to become the UFC’s first-ever women’s strawweight champion. But people were rooting for the more dynamic Namajunas. Esparza’s style is dynamic in its own way, but she has yet to silence her doubters.

Pettis had another chance to become “the man” Saturday night at UFC 185 when he faced a similarly skilled but infinitely lower-profile fighter in Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos, himself a winner in eight of his last nine.

Esparza had an opportunity to gain a stronger foothold in the MMA consciousness when she defended her belt for the first time, against a confident opponent in Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

These two title fights were only the beginning of a truly loaded card in Dallas. And as always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 185.

For the literal-minded among us, full results appear at the end of the slideshow.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 185: Grades for Every Main Card Fighter from Pettis vs. Dos Anjos Fight Card

UFC 185 delivered some of the sport’s brightest current and future stars into homes across the globe Saturday evening. 
Featuring two title fights, a heavyweight slugfest, a Top 10 welterweight showdown and the official UFC flyweight debut of form…

UFC 185 delivered some of the sport’s brightest current and future stars into homes across the globe Saturday evening. 

Featuring two title fights, a heavyweight slugfest, a Top 10 welterweight showdown and the official UFC flyweight debut of former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, the pay-per-view portion of UFC 185 promised big-time excitement, and it delivered. 

While every fight has a clear-cut winner and loser as declared by a finish or by the judges’ scorecards, sometimes in MMA a fighter’s performance cannot be summarized by a simple “W” or “L.” 

Let’s cut away the fat, add some more letters to the equation and assign every main card fighter at UFC 185 an official grade. 

Click on to see the fighters’ report cards. 

Begin Slideshow

Pettis vs. Dos Anjos Results: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction from UFC 185

There’s a new sheriff in the lightweight division, and his name is Rafael dos Anjos. The 30-year-old Brazilian sprung the upset over Anthony Pettis at UFC 185 via unanimous decision to become the seventh lightweight champion in UFC history. 
Blea…

There’s a new sheriff in the lightweight division, and his name is Rafael dos Anjos. The 30-year-old Brazilian sprung the upset over Anthony Pettis at UFC 185 via unanimous decision to become the seventh lightweight champion in UFC history. 

Bleacher Report MMA tweeted out the result:

Dos Anjos made no bones about bringing the fight to Pettis in the lead-up to the bout, and he followed up on that talk. He came out as the aggressor in the opening minutes of the first round and even caught the champion with kicks to the body and crisp boxing combinations. 

As the round carried on, Pettis settled into a counter-punching role that indicated there would be some furious exchanges before it was all said and done. A dos Anjos takedown closed out the round. 

That late takedown would be an omen for what was to come in the second frame. After landing a few overhand lefts in the stand-up game, Dos Anjos once against took down the champion and stayed in control for the vast majority of the round. 

Round 3 appeared to give Pettis some life early on. He landed a high kick that looked like it might slow Dos Anjos. It didn’t. Instead, the Brazilian walked through it, landed a significant strike of his own, then continued to win from top position and against the cage. 

Dos Anjos threatened to pry the title from Showtime’s hands in the fourth round. All he needed to do was separate the champion’s hands to lock in a kimura and end the bout. Instead, Pettis survived to fight on and even mount some offense of his own in the clinch; however, it was still RDA’s round yet again. 

He tried yet again to end the bout in the fifth round as he took Pettis‘ back and looked for a rear-naked choke. He’d have to wait for the judges to declare him the winner, though.

With the win, Dos Anjos becomes the first Brazilian lightweight champion in the history of the UFC. Leading up to the fight, that was a fact that he was aware could come to fruition. 

“I am very excited to be the first lightweight champion from Brazil. The belt has a date to be mine and that will be Saturday. It’s in God’s hands,” Dos Anjos said via Martin Domin of the MailOnline. “It does not bother me to be an underdog. I am an underdog in most of my fights. Maybe it is a good thing for me, he has all the pressure.”

 

It isn’t likely that Dos Anjos will be a big underdog for the foreseeable future at this rate. RDA was a more than 2-1 underdog against both Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis in two of his last three fights, per BestFightOdds.com. But each time he overcame those odds to have his hand raised in victory. 

That doesn’t mean things will be getting any easier for Dos Anjos, though. The 155-pound division is rife with contenders. A rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov would appear to be on the horizon for the new champ, pending the Russian beating Donald Cerrone at UFC 187. 

Given Nurmagomedov‘s decision victory over RDA in April 2014, that’s a matchup with plenty of intrigue. Then there’s the possibility of a rematch with Showtime. 

This is the same division that gave us title rematches in Benson Henderson vs. Pettis 2, Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn 2 and Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2. Pettis‘ exciting style and Dos Anjos championship status might be the perfect recipe for another grudge match between the two down the road. 

Regardless of what Joe Silva and Co. decide to do next with the champion, UFC 185 turned out to be all about Rafael dos Anjos. He wasn’t the one that fans expected to see wearing UFC gold at the end of the night, but he became the latest example that anything can happen in the Octagon. 

It’s that kind of unpredictability that makes the sport great. 

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Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk: What We Learned from UFC 185 Title Fight

UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza entered UFC 185 with the belt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk would exit with it.
Esparza’s game plan was no surprise to anyone. The Cookie Monster was going to use her American wrestling to stifle the challenger’s Europ…

UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza entered UFC 185 with the belt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk would exit with it.

Esparza’s game plan was no surprise to anyone. The Cookie Monster was going to use her American wrestling to stifle the challenger’s European striking.

The surprise, however, came when Jedrzejczyk effortlessly scrambled out of an early takedown and then stuffed every single attempt thereafter. That left the undersized champ stranded in the challenger’s world. Jedrzejczyk battered Esparza with rangy punches and kicks and sealed the fight in the second round with a lethal volley.

So what did we learn from Saturday’s contest? 

 

Carla Esparza Might Not Be That Good

Something seemed off with Esparza at UFC 185. The Cookie Monster showed Rory MacDonald-like stoicism entering the cage. At the time, it seemed like she had a killer cool. In retrospect, it felt more like she was walking the green mile.

As is custom when a top MMA fighter loses, we take out the metaphorical magnifying glass and scour her career in an attempt to answer the question of “how did we not see this coming?”

Esparza was quite impressive on The Ultimate Fighter Season 20. Her competition was fierce, but she defeated Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, Jessica Penne and Rose Namajunas with little difficulty. Jedrzejczyk, however, was the first fighter she faced who was big and strong and had adequate time to prepare for her.

This may have simply been an off day for Esparza, sure. But I won’t blame you if you feel bearish about the now-former champ going forward.

 

Joanna Jedrzejczyk May Be Champ for a While

Striking? Check. Takedown defense? Check. Size and strength? Check. That’s a lot for the newly minted champion to work with. 

Make no mistake, this was a downright dreadful performance by Esparza. While the former champ has traditionally dominated with her wrestling, she was absolutely lost when Jedrzejczyk started stuffing her.

Still, while the women’s strawweight division is actually ripe with talent, there are few legitimate threats to the new champ on paper. 

 

The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 Was Pointless

TUF20 was such a great idea. The long-running reality series is tired at best, obsolete at worst, and injecting some honest-to-goodness importance (in the form of a for-the-title tournament) was a welcome change for the show…in theory. In reality, TUF20 wound up being disappointingly similar to other reality TV series, complete with merciless cattiness, divisive cliques and melodrama on par with any soap opera.

“But hey,” we all told ourselves, “at least there is legitimate, high-level MMA to be enjoyed here. This season is special because we’re getting to see a champion rise! That is definitely going to make all this worth sitting through!”

Then this! Eventual season winner and inaugural strawweight champion Esparza gets brutalized by somebody who wasn’t involved with the show. That’s a disappointing turn no matter how you slice it.

 

The UFC Is Incredibly Lucky

Esparza deserved the title, no doubt. She was dominant on The Ultimate Fighter and was a beast in Invicta. But boy, she isn’t a marketable fighter.

Her chain wrestling is legitimately formidable, and when she starts snowballing, she is hard to hold back. That, however, is the long way of saying that most fans would say she’s boring. Not only that, but with no outstanding rivalries and no compelling contenders for her, she had a Demetrious Johnson-like ceiling when it came to buyrates.

Jedrzejczyk, on the other hand? Scrappy. Tough. Brawler. That’s something. More importantly, though, she is Polish.

Poland is a potentially great market for the UFC, and the success of KSW gives Zuffa a pre-installed fanbase. While the UFC has traditionally had trouble securing Polish talent (Mamed Khalidov, Damian Grabowski and Marcin Held are tearing it up in other promotions), Jedrzejczyk is a Conor McGregor-like turnkey to a country with eight times the population of Ireland.

Lucky!

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