What a main event! The Lioness is back on top. Amanda Nunes has avenged her loss to Julianna Pena with a dominant win over her foe. The switch to southpaw was a brilliant idea for the Nunes camp and allowed her to catch Pena will a right hook over again in the first two rounds, scoring multiple knockdowns. In round three, Pena began to grapple but Nunes had the answer and was able to control her on the ground, but not without restraint. Pena was looking for submissions from her back and in total attempted 25 in those three rounds whilst getting pumped with elbows from hell. Pena may be the toughest fighter in the UFC. I genuinely don’t know how she made it to the end of the fight. I can’t wait to see her fight again as well as the new 2x double champ. Incredible fighters and pioneers of the women’s game.
Brandon Moreno cements himself as the Interim Flyweight Champion in a great technical fight. A step in left kick to the liver shut down Kai Kara France, just when Kai was beginning to warm into fight. This setups a fourth fight between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo, which will be the first time this has happened in UFC history. These two are clearly the best in the division and their three fights have been classics so I’m genuinely happy seeing these two go at it for a fourth and final time. It’s 1-1-1 so whoever gets the 2, definitely wins this incredible rivalry.
Early stoppage! Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich went swinging in the early seconds of round one and the Russian rocked Lewis momentarily dropping him and referee Dan Miragliotta instantly stopped the fight. This was definitely stopped early as Lewis instantly protested the decision and looked aware of his surroundings and what the situation was. Unfortunate loss for Derrick but a great win for Sergei who continues his KO/TKO streak and will appear as one of the top contenders come Tuesday.
A checked body kick from Magomed Ankalaev caused an ankle injury in round one. Smith soldiered into round two but was eventually finished after a desperate takedown attempt. I think you’ve got to put him in the title shot conversation now. Nine fight win streak, has looked pretty formidable in most fights. I think he deserves a title shot over Jan Blachowicz. To be honest. If Jiri is facing Glover again for the belt. I expect Jan to fight Magomed for the number one contender spot.
Speaking of a title shot. Alexandre Pantoja made a statement, walking through Alex Perez in the first round after coming out with an insane pace. He got the takedown and grabbed the back of his opponent with a rear neck crank, Perez was forced to tap. Pantoja has put himself in the hat for a title shot after the unification bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
Overall this card was solid. The prelims were alright. Drew Dober put on a great performance. I’ll get into Blood Diamond specifically later, I want to spend time thinking about what’s next for him but the main card was much better. Pantoja and the main events were brilliant. I’d rate it overall a 6.5/10
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