The main event was disappointing. Both men didn’t push for the win. It was a technical bout but not a good one, especially after the hype. Both men had special walkouts to the octagon but the intensity of their walkouts was higher than their intensity throughout the fight. Izzy did what he had to do to retain his belt and you can’t fault him on that. However, when his teammate just put on a clinic, it’s difficult not to get upset by the quality of his recent fights.
There was actual footage of a large number of fans leaving early.
Alexander Volkanovski was impeccable. I’ve never seen Max Holloway get outclassed like that for 25 minutes. He keeps improving night in and night out. The fact that Holloway stayed in the fight is testament to his chin and endurance but Volko is on another level right now., which is crazy because we know how good he, Max and I could argue Yair Rodriguez are compared to the rest of the division. He looks like he wants to go to 155lbs to fight the winner of Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira and I’m all in for it. I’d love to see him face Do Bronx especially.
The main card started off pretty poorly, the firefight we expected between Sean O’Malley and Pedro Munhoz ended up being a chess match in round one and following an inadvertent eye poke from O’Malley the fight ended in the middle of round two as a No Contest.
Bryan Barberena came back in round two after being rocked in round one by Robbie Lawler to finish the former champion with a barrage of strikes. He used back elbows which helped break down Lawler to open up the 4 punch combos which eventually led to a TKO win.
Alex Pereira is a monster. That left hook carries insane power. I have no clue why Sean Strickland tried to walk Alex down. His strategy made no sense. I can’t wait for him to face Izzy in the octagon, I think he’ll be the one to actually force engagement from the champ.
This was Sean’s response to his KO loss to the Brazilian
To start the night Julija Stoliarenko made quick work of Jessica-Rose Clark finishing the Australian with her patented armbar within 42 seconds.
What followed was the complete opposite, a close 15-minute battle between upcoming Maycee Barber and veteran Jessica Eye. Maycee had the edge across all three rounds, her work in the clinch in round one caught my eye the most, (pun intended). She was able to land vicious elbows despite being held against the cage. At 24, the future is very bright for Maycee.
Post-fight, Jessica laid her gloves on the floor and announced her retirement at 35 years old. Leaving her MMA career with 15 wins and 11 losses.
In the first part of the Middleweight showcase, Andre Muniz dominated Uriah Hall for 14 minutes and 40 seconds. Hall had no answer for the Brazilian’s ground game. However, there were multiple times in which Muniz, could’ve finished the fight, however, he was determined on grabbing an armbar instead of simply using a rear-naked choke when he had Hall’s back. Despite this being Muniz’s go-to move, this might come to haunt him when he faces other top ten opposition.
Dricus Du Plessis and Brad Tavares went to war for 15 minutes. Du Plessis’ approach in round one was erratic which gave Tavares round one and the South African appeared tired, but after finding a second and third wind, Du Plessis was able to outstrike Tavares with an orthodox yet effective style which gave him the last two rounds for the win. He’ll definitely need to improve his in-fight strategy.
Ian Garry put on another 15-minute striking clinic against the tough Gabe Green who definitely had his moments, especially in round two but Ian Garry’s elusive striking was too much for Green. I can definitely see Ian being in the top 10 of the welterweight division in the future. I’d like to see how he fairs against a great wrestler, as at the top of the 170lbs division lies a large quantity of wrestling and BJJ specialists.
Thank you, Donald Cerrone. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bow out with a win but he’s been a pioneer of the sport and will be a hall of fame for sure. Jim Miller goes to three wins in a row with that beautiful guillotine choke win and I think there’s a lot more to show from him despite being 38. Seems like Miller is ageing like fine wine.
Jalin Turner is the truth. Made Brad Riddell look like a scrub. Rocked him early with a right straight and then finished Brad with a guillotine after he tried to panic wrestle all in 45 seconds. That lightweight division is stacked.
Overall, I’d say the prelims were the best part of this card. The main card was pretty boring apart from Barberena vs Lawler and Alex Pereira knocking Sean Strickland’s lights out. As a whole, I’d rate the card a 6/10
Once again, this proves the names on the card doesn’t equate to quality.
TheWrestlingFallacy 