The UFC delivered arguably the biggest card of the year to date, and boy oh boy, did it deliver an event to remember.
Max Holloway successfully defended his featherweight title against Jose Aldo and Francis Ngannou earned a title shot with a vicious knockout in the co-main event. Here’s how the card went down.
Max Holloway def Jose Aldo – TKO Rd 3
Holloway took the title in Aldo’s backyard at UFC 212 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and six months on, we had the same result. Aldo started quite well with good movement and added a lot of leg kicks to keep the champ on his toes, but they didn’t seem to phase Holloway too much. Holloway picked up the pace in the second round, heavily out-working Aldo, and walking through all he had to offer.
By Round 3, Holloway could sense Aldo was tiring, and this is a testament to Holloway’s conditioning, who’d thrown a lot more volume up until this point. Holloway lured him into a brawl, and while Aldo was swinging wildly, Holloway kept his head and was picking off Aldo at will. Holloway dropped him with a barrage of punches, and ended the fight with vicious ground and pound to get the TKO.
What’s left for Aldo now? He’s an unquestionable legend of the sport, but where does he go from here? He’s clearly no match for the champ, and although he is only 31, now could be the right time to hang up the gloves.
As for Holloway, well let the man tell you himself; “this is the blessed era”. Discussions have begun whether dethroning Aldo in such fashion has him as the best featherweight of all time. With such technical striking, an iron chin, and his intelligence, if he is not now, he most definitely will be.
Francis Ngannou def Alistair Overeem – KO Rd 1
Well, well. What a monster we have witnessed in Francis Ngannou, who absolutely destroyed the number one contender in Overeem with a devastating left “upper-cut from hell” in Round 1.
Ngannou has an incredible story, growing up in poverty-stricken Cameroon and moving to Paris to pursue a boxing career which left him homeless just a few short years ago. But he has certainly arrived at the big time and put every single contender in a state of shock with his power.
He has certainly earned a title shot against Stipe Miocic, but I think we are witnessing the rise of a man who will long reign over the division.
Henry Cejudo def Sergio Pettis – Unanimous decision
Cejudo’s superior wrestling earned him a unanimous decision victory over Pettis in the flyweight division. He got the takedown in the first and controlled the majority of the fight from that point onwards in what was one of the more tame fights of the night.
Eddie Alvarez def Justin Gaethje – KO Rd 3
We knew this was going to be a war. Justin Gaethje knows no other way. This was billed as the fight for the title of the most violent man (though Ngannou would have something to say about this) and it delivered.
Gaethje thundered brutal leg kicks into Alvarez, who was visibly hurt but undeterred. Alvarez was happy to trade blows and slowed Gaethje with timely body shots in the clinch. Alvarez cracked the undefeated Gaethje with a vicious knee to the head to put him to sleep in Round 3. Both men were visibly hurt, with Alvarez sporting an enormously swollen upper-jaw region post-fight.
Alvarez will be looking for a number one or two contender shot next, though the division is on hold until Conor McGregor makes his intentions known. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edson Barbosa will fight later this year, so Alvarez could target the winner, who’d then likely get the shot at the champ when and if Ferguson versus McGregor settles things.
Tecia Torres def Michelle Waterson – Unanimous decision
This fight started fairly evenly, but the longer it went on, the more obvious it became that “The Karate Hottie” Waterson was out of her league. Torres was the aggressor and far stronger of the two, most noticeably when she forced Waterson against the cage at will. Waterson seemed to have no answer to her strength and relentless tactics.
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