The UFC kicked off 2021 with their first pay per view of the year and did so with one of the biggest superstars the sport has ever seen. UFC 257 marked the return of Conor McGregor to the octagon but things probably didn’t go as most fans expected. It was a huge night for a lot of very talented fighters.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the night and break down the three fights we looked at in our UFC 257 preview.
Prelim Highlights
While none of the first three fights really stood out from the others, they were all very close contests that went the distance. Still, Amir Albazi, Movsar Evloev and Marcin Prachnio all picked up big wins in those close decisions.
The first stoppage of the night came from Julianna Pena in a Women’s bantamweight bout against Sara McMann. Pena found herself in some bad positions in the early going but eventually used her superior grappling skills to earn herself a rear naked choke victory. The bigger story came from her post-fight interview though, when Pena called out bantamweight champion and unanimous number one pound-for-pound female fighter on the planet, Amanda Nunes.
14th-ranked middleweight Brad Tavarez put on a grappling clinic, stuffing all but one of the takedown attempts from Antonio Carlos Jr. He also showcased some clean striking to outpoint his opponent en route to a decision victory. And in the final prelim, heavy favorite Arman Tsarukyan showed why the odds were in his favor against Matt Frevola, grappling his way to a decision victory. The scrappy Frevola certainly showed his toughness in defeat though.
Main Card Highlights
In the most bizarre moment of the night, Marina Rodriguez rocked Amanda Ribas with a flurry of punches and began to celebrate her victory before the fight was actually stopped. Referee Herb Dean made it clear he never called it and the fight continued. Rodriguez went right back to pouring it on though and Dean stopped the fight moments later, giving Rodriguez a TKO victory in the second round.
In the following bout, middleweight Makhmud Muradov put forth an impressive showing against Andrew Sanchez, seemingly winning the first two rounds. That didn’t matter in the end though as he was able to score a TKO in the third round with a highlight reel flying knee.
Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye
You expect a close fight when you get number six and number seven facing off and that’s exactly what we got from Jessica Eye and Joanne Calderwood. Eye found some success when she was able to get in close but at range, Calderwood was able to outstrike her opponent by a wide margin. Neither fighter really ever gained a major advantage, but Calderwood was able to do enough to earn herself a decision victory. In her post-fight interview, Calderwood said she hopes she’s done enough to earn herself a championship opportunity against Valentina Shevchenko.
My pick: Eye via decision
Result: Calderwood via decision
Michael Chandler def. Dan Hooker
Two of the best lightweight strikers in the sport stepped into the cage and, understandably, had a lot of respect for each other’s ability in the early going. Eventually though, Chandler began to open up and really put the pressure on Hooker. Once that trend got going, it didn’t take long for the explosive striker to land one big shot and put Hooker away. Chandler dropped his opponent with a left hand and rained down hammer fists until the fight was stopped. It was an incredibly impressive UFC debut for the former Bellator champion and an even more impressive post fight interview when he emphatically called out Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and the currently retired lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
My pick: Hooker via 2nd round submission
Result: Chandler vs 1st round knockout
Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor
Thanks simply to the presence of Conor McGregor, this main event had a very different energy from anything we’ve seen in the past year. Of course, it helps that this is the first time we’ve seen fans in attendance for a fight in a long time, but that could also be accredited to McGregor’s ability to draw a crowd.
That being said, things didn’t exactly go as planned for the king of MMA. Poirier fought a very smart fight, chopping at McGregor’s lead leg and visibly hurting him in the second round. After that, it was just a matter of time before Poirier landed some big shots and eventually threw a flurry that overwhelmed McGregor. A couple more big shots landed and just like that the fight was over.
It’s a huge win for Poirier who is now the favorite to be crowned the next UFC lightweight champion. He even said after the fight that we considered this a title fight and declared himself the champion now. McGregor also vowed to be back in the octagon soon, saying he needs more activity. It will definitely be interesting to see how his division shakes out as it is filling up with worthy contenders.
My pick: McGregor via 4th round knockout
Result: Poirier via 2nd round knockout
Overall, UFC 257 may not have been loaded with highlights in the early going, but it certainly finished strong. Four of the five fights on the main card resulted in finishes, adding a lot of excitement to a card that was mostly close decisions to that point. Chandler got the fireworks going in his UFC debut and Poirier shocked the world with what he is calling his championship victory.
The UFC will return to ESPN+ on February 6 for UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Volkov. Be sure to check back next week for a preview of the event.