The UFC returned to Salt Lake City tonight for UFC 291 in the Delta Center. There may not have been any UFC gold on the line, but it was a stacked card that provided some very exciting fights and memorable moments.
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 291 preview.
Prelim Highlights
We had a bigtime highlight reel knockout in the early going as Roman Kopylov met Claudio Ribeiro in a slugfest of a fight. The first round saw Kopylov control the distance and pick his opponent apart until about the last minute when Ribeiro exploded with some big punches, seemingly hurting Kopylov. He survived the round though and came out in the second and landed a huge head kick that ended the fight almost instantly. It was a very impressive striking performance and one of the most picture-perfect knockouts in recent memory.
In the featured prelim, Gabriel Bonfim proved that the hype around him is well placed as he made short work of Trevin Giles. Bonfim came out firing, backing his opponent against the cage but it didn’t take long for him to grab hold of Giles and turn the fight into a grappling match. Bonfim scored a huge slam takedown, putting Giles on his back. After what may have been a planned scramble from Bonfim, he jumped on a guillotine that was incredibly tight and forced Giles to tap, securing his second submission victory in as many outings in the octagon. Bonfim is an exciting new contender in the welterweight division and he should be seeing a ranked opponent his next time out. In fact, he specifically called out the 11th-ranked Neil Magny.
Main Card highlights
The opening bout on the main card did not last quite as long as many thought it might. Kevin Holland told everyone is Michael Chiesa couldn’t take him down, he was going to knock him out. He was almost right. Holland came out throwing punches while Chiesa scrambled to defend. As soon as he saw an opportunity, Chiesa started looking for takedowns but Holland defended beautifully. After sprawling on one of Chiesa’s takedown attempts, Holland locked up a D’Arce choke and forced Chiesa to tap. After the fight, Holland said he plans to make the move back up to middleweight, but he looked great at 170 lbs. in this contest.
On paper, the meeting between Bobby Green and Tony Ferguson was one of the most interesting matchups on this card. In the octagon, these two guys delivered exactly that. Their unique styles made for awkward and explosive exchanges, but it was Bobby Green who was the faster fighter and was literally beating his opponent to the punch. Ferguson showed some serious toughness as always, walking through big punches from Green and continuing to move forward for almost three full rounds. Green looked as crisp as ever though, landing shot after shot and never falling prey to the pressure of Ferguson. Late in the third, despite presumably being way ahead on the scorecards, Green pushed for a submission in the closing seconds. Ferguson, like the warrior he is, refused to tap and went out on his shield with just six seconds left in the fight. This may have been the last time we see Ferguson in the octagon, with the former champion now losing six fights in a row. For Green though, another big fight should be on deck.
Derrick Lewis def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
This one will be short because Derrick Lewis ended this fight in less time than it will take me to recap it. Needing a win to snap a losing streak, Lewis came flying right out of the gate and landed a huge flying knee, knocking De Lima to the ground. He landed some huge ground and pound until the ref was forced to step in and stop the fight, giving Lewis a knockout victory in just 33 seconds. Already the UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts, this was Lewis’ 14th knockout victory in the octagon. After the fight, Lewis was asked if he planned to open with that flying knee. He kept his response simple, saying no, he just figured he would throw some stuff and see what landed. It will be interesting to see what is next for Derrick Lewis.
My pick: Lewis via 1st round knockout
Result: Lewis via 1st round knockout
Alex Pereira def. Jan Blachowicz
This matchup saw the former light heavyweight champion meeting the former middleweight champion as the latter was moving up to a new weight class. Facing an incredibly dangerous striker, Blachowicz didn’t mess around and looked for a takedown immediately. After fighting off a guillotine attempt from Pereira, Blachowicz scored the takedown and got to a dominant position for the duration of the first round. Pereira defended well though and didn’t sustain much damage while Blachowicz looked visibly tired after pushing for a submission. In the second, Blachowicz scored another takedown, but this time Pereira worked back to his feet and scored some points in the striking game. The final round saw Pareira looking like the much fresher fighter, which came as a bit of a surprise to some. Still, the striking exchanges in the third were back and forth but Blachowicz scored a late takedown and ended the fight in the top position. However, two of the three judges felt Pereira did enough in that final round to earn a split decision victory. After the fight, Pereira said he will be staying in the light heavyweight division for now, with his eyes set on the championship.
My pick: Blachowicz via 3rd round submission
Result: Pereira via decision
Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier
The energy hit a different level in the Delta Center for this main event, as expected. These are two of the best and most popular fighters on the UFC roster today and the fans let them know it. Gaethje made it clear right from the beginning this was not going to be the same as their first meeting years ago. The former title challenger is a much more disciplined fighter today and he was very composed in his attack in the early going. Still, the first round was very close as both men landed some good shots and had the fans on their feet. As they came out for the second round, it appeared we would be in for another exciting, back-and-forth round. That didn’t last all that long though, as just one minute into the round, Gaethje landed a huge head kick that dropped Poirier and ended the fight. It was a huge win for Gaethje, who says he want a championship fight next.
To make the knockout that much more special, it was essentially a mirror image of the head kick knockout Leon Edwards scored to capture the welterweight championship last year against Kamaru Usman. Both fighters threw their power hand to draw a reaction and followed right behind it with the kick. Both opponents fell almost exactly the same way. And to make things even stranger, both of those knockouts occurred in the same building. There is some kind of magic in Salt Lake City for the UFC.
My pick: Poirier via decision
Result: Gaethje via 2nd round knockout
The UFC will return to ESPN on Saturday, August 5th for UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Font. Be sure to check back for a preview of the event.