The UFC came to Mickey’s backyard tonight as some of the best fighters in the world visited the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It was an epic night of fights that saw two unforgettable championship bouts and some very exciting contests with some promising young contenders.
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 270 preview.
Prelim Highlights
The prelims saw an absolutely wild showdown between Matt Frevola and Genaro Valdez. Both guys came out of the gates with an impossible pace and it didn’t take long before Frevola landed a big shot that dropped Valdes. The ref didn’t immediately jump in to stop the fight though and Valdes managed to survive and actually hurt Frevola himself. Now, if that wasn’t crazy enough, how about if we repeat that process three more times!? Valdez was dropped four times in just 3:15 and somehow just kept fighting. Eventually though, Frevola decided to stop throwing wild shots and instead got control on the ground and forced the ref to stop the fight with some heavy ground and pound. This was an instant classic, albeit a short one.
In a matchup between two UFC newcomers, Jack Della Maddalena and Pete Rodriguez wasted no time looking to showcase their skills. Rodriguez proved that is certainly tough enough for the big stage, but it was Della Maddalena’s smooth, effortless striking that was really on display. He very quickly pieced up Rodriguez and bloodied his nose in the early going. His jab was a big difference maker as he landed it early and often before landing a big combination that dropped Rodriguez and ended the fight. At just 25 years old, the UFC has found a future star here.
In another UFC debut, Victor Henry pulled off a huge upset against the veteran Raoni Barcelos. Both of these guys put on an absolute striking clinic for three full rounds. Barcelos clearly had the heavier hands but it was the relentless pace of Henry that proved to be the difference. There were maybe a few seconds out of the 15 minutes where Henry was not in his opponents face and that allowed him to work his way to a decision victory.
Main Card Highlights
The main card opened up with an exciting welterweight showdown between Michael Morales and Trevin Giles. The veteran Giles, who cut weight to get down to welterweight for the first time, look great in the early going, scoring both a knockdown and a takedown. Morales eventually worked back to his feet though and would later land a couple of big shots that dropped Giles. He then landed some big ground and pound that forced the ref to step in and call the fight, despite Giles’ protests. The 22-year-old Morales looks to be another exciting young star in this sport. Personally, I would love to see a matchup with Jack Della Maddalena.
It didn’t take long for Said Nurmagomedov to put the 15th-ranked Cody Stamman away. The up-and-coming bantamweight showed off some very impressive striking, landing a big spinning back kick to the body in the opening seconds. The cousin of perhaps the most dominant champion the sport has ever seen (Khabib Nurmagomedov), Said showed very quickly that he was on another level in every aspect of the game when he scored a takedown and locked up a very tight high elbow guillotine choke that forced Stamman to tap out almost instantly. The bantamweight division has been put on notice and we might be heading to another Nurmagomedov title reign.
Michel Pereira Lima def Andre Fialho
In an epic clash of styles, these two put on a fantastic show as they set a frantic pace early and never let up. Pereira is known for his flashy, creative style and he put a lot of that on display here. Fialho, on the other hand, is a very technical and clean striker. Fialho took the first round by keeping the pressure on and forcing Pereira to move backwards so he could not get off any of that creative offense. Pereira turned it around in a big way in the second, opening up with some big combinations and landing a couple of devastating kicks to the body that really seemed to slow Fialho down. The third round was much closer, with both fighters managing to pull some of their success from the previous rounds into this one. In the end though, the judges gave a very close decision to Pereira.
My pick: Fialho via decision
Result: Pereira via decision
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Brandon Moreno
Every now and then, the UFC gives us a matchup between two fighters that are just clearly on a different level. That has been the case three times with Moreno and Figueiredo. This new rivalry has given us another classic UFC trilogy and the third meeting may have been the best of the bunch.
Figueiredo clearly prepared better for Moreno after losing their last battle, which earned Moreno the flyweight crown. Not only did he manage to land some big power punches, but it was the low calf kick to the lead leg of Moreno that made a big difference here. Still, Moreno seemed to be moving with more speed and landed some big punches of his own, stunning Figgy several times. It was not just the striking, but also the grappling exchanges between these two that showed that they are just on a different level from everyone in the division. Every time the fight went to the floor, it didn’t stay for long as the wild scrambles between these two were unlike any I’ve ever seen before.
These two brawled for a full 25 minutes, winging wild punches right to the final bell. It was an incredibly close fight but in the end, the judges scored it for Figueriedo, giving him the belt back. We’ve never had a pair of fighter face each other four times in the history of the UFC but that might be exactly what we have here, as the new champ laid out one more challenge for Moreno. I can’t imagine being anyone else in this division and watching these two faceoff four consecutive time for the title. At the same time though, it is the clear fight to make and, as a fan, I absolutely want to see it. I also want to point out that in the three matchups between these two guys, I have picked each fight incorrectly. So whatever I pick for their fourth meeting, maybe go ahead and bet the opposite.
My pick: Moreno via decision
Result: Figueiredo via decision
Francis Ngannou def. Cyril Gane
There were a few ways I could have seen this fight going. Ngannou is the most dangerous knockout artist in the history of the UFC. Gane is a skilled grappler and striker who can use his speed to outpoint anybody in the heavyweight division. Those skillsets make a handful of outcomes very likely. What we got instead is something nobody saw coming.
Gane gave us what we expected in the first couple of rounds. He used his clear speed advantage to stay on the outside and just touch Ngannou with pesky strikes. Ngannou could never quite find his range to land that big punch and seemed a bit out of sorts. Then everything took a completely unexpected turn in the third round when Ngannou slammed Gane to the ground after catching a kick. From there, the champ surprised us all with some very solid grappling skills, scoring multiple takedowns and maintaining top control against a guy who had never been put on his back in the UFC.
Going into the final round with the fight seemingly tied, Gane turned the tides again and scored a takedown of his own. However, it may have all come down to one mistake by the inexperienced fighter as Gane attacked for a leg lock, which Ngannou defended and ended up in top position. From there, here grinded out the remaining two to three minutes and fought his way to a decision victory to retain his title. These guys will almost certainly meet again as they are clearly the two most talented fighters in this class.
My pick: Ngannou via 2nd round knockout
Result: Ngannou via decision
The UFC will return to ESPN on Saturday, February 5th for UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland. Be sure to check back for a preview of the event.