AND NEW. Jiri Prochazka defeated Glover Teixeira in one of the best title fights in history. A back and forth war that showed both men’s heart and resilience. Jiri was impressive with his defensive grappling and to win by submission was a huge shock. However, at the start of round five. Glover had Jiri out on his feet but decided to go for a takedown which when he looks back, will be the great moment that cost him his belt. What a fight!
Talia Santos took Valentina Shevchenko to her limit. In my eyes, it was 48-47 Talia. However, the second round was pretty close so I’d understand if it was 48-47 Valentina, but 49-46 is a farce. I’m genuinely confused about where Valentina won four of the five rounds. Talia will be back. I knew she was good but I thought this fight came too early for her. I was wrong. She’s championship calibre and I hope she gets another shot soon.
Joanna and Zhang 2 delivered! WHAT A KNOCKOUT! Spinning back fist right on the jaw sent JJ down face-first. Zhang took a more wrestle-based approach, which got her round one which gave her round one but in round two she repeatedly used a side kick to the body which helped keep distance. Ultimately it didn’t matter because she hit JJ with the knockout of the year so far. Give her a title shot!
Unfortunately, this was Joanna’s last fight and it was hard to see her go out like that. She’s a legend of the sport and a true pioneer in women’s MMA. Thank you, Joanna.
To start the main card, Jack Della Maddalena escaped a tight choke early to come back with a flurry of strikes, the ultimate shot to the body, followed by a right hook to the head, put Ramazan Emeev down and out. The JDM hype train is real and I think he deserves a top 15 opponent in his next fight.
Jake Matthews put on a boxing clinic against Andre Fialho. He simply couldn’t miss throughout round one and in round two he put the Portuguese fighter to sleep with a swift right hand which sent Fialho tumbling to the floor. Matthews looked likes he’s growing into the fighter that he was hyped to be eight years ago as a 21-year-old.
On the prelims, there were some incredible fights and knockouts, Silvana Gomez Juarez put Liang Na to sleep in round one after a right hook to the jaw which put the Chinese fighter down once. However, as soon as she popped back up she was met with a left hook that shut the lights out completely. Hayisaer Maheshate put Steve Garcia to sleep after he threw a wild hook that was slipped and followed by a right hand that sent him face-first into the canvas. To cap off an excellent prelim show, Joshua Culibao and Choi Seung-Woo put on a remarkable 15-minute bout in which both men were rocked but somehow made it to the end.
An incredible card from start to end. 10/10 for me. Astonishing.
TheWrestlingFallacy 