Robert Whittaker gutted his way through a knee injury and took a narrow unanimous-decision win over Yoel Romero to become the UFC interim middleweight champion. He will now face Michael Bisping for the regular UFC title.
He outstruck a tiring Romero through the third, fourth and fifth rounds and was justifiably awarded the decision and the title. Most everyone in the MMA media agreed the fight was close, entertaining and that Whittaker deserved the decision.
That kind of unfortunate behavior has become relatively common for the UFC champion. UFC announcer Joe Rogan simply said, "that's Bisping" after his colleague Jon Anik called out the champion's antics.
After the fight, Bisping wasted no time building hype for the bout with Whittaker. He entered the Octagon, cussed out the interim champion and threw his belt at his feet before storming away. Whittaker was too busy basking in the glow of his win to be pulled into Bisping's head games.
Their undisputed title bout will be interesting and it seems obvious it will headline a UFC card in the future.
UFC 213 was supposed to feature a UFC women's bantamweight title fight in the main event, but champion Amanda Nunes fell ill and the fight was canceled.as Vegas, Nevada.
The card will go on and now the interim middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker is the new main event. Take a look at the results, fight statistics, bonus money winners, attendance and gate numbers as well as major announcements.
Giles-Bochnovic
With a dominant performance against James Bochnovic, Trevin Giles ran his record to 10-0 with a KO victory. Giles controlled every aspect of the fight. He destroyed Bochnovic on the ground and he was too strong in standup as well.
After wearing Bochnovic out with top control in the first, Giles knocked his opponent out in the second round with damaging ground-and-pound shots. Giles fought this fight at light heavyweight, but he will be moving down to middleweight in the future. It's a shame because he looked very comfortable at 205.
Unfortunately, Bochnovic was taken out of the cage on a stretcher.
Per John Morgan of MMA Junkie, Bochnovic wanted to leave the cage on his own, but doctors insisted he be stretchered for precautions.
Cody Stamann Takes Down Terrion Ware
Stamann-Ware
Cody Stamann and Terrion Ware took this fight on seven days notice and both men produced a good fight in their debut. The fight took place at 145 pounds, but both men have designs on moving to the bantamweight division in the future.
Stamann's takedowns and explosiveness were too much for the one-dimensional Ware. The latter showed solid boxing skills, but Stamann proved to be the better mixed martial artist as he repeatedly squashed Ware's momentum with timely takedowns.
He's 15-1 in his career and he has established great momentum in the UFC.
Muhammad Outworks Mein
Mein-Muhammad
A day before his 29th birthday, Belal Muhammad put on an impressive display of pressure and grappling against the talented, but uninspired Jordan Mein. At one point, the 27-year-old Mein was one of the hottest prospects in the UFC, but he has now lost three fights in a row and the Young Gun is looking more like a middle-aged water pistol.
Mein's performances lack the spunk, fire, and results required to advance his career.
Muhammad is on the other end of the spectrum. He has won two fights in a row and he is positioned to make a move in the welterweight division.
Thiago Santos is Evolving
Santos-Meerschaert
We all know about Thiago Santos' dynamic striking, but he showed off great takedown defense and some relentless ground and pound against Gerald Meerschaert. Coming into this fight, I was really high on Meerschaert, but he was totally outclassed by Santos athletically and he couldn't take advantage of what supposed to be an edge in grappling.
Santos looked like a legitimate title contender on Saturday, but he needs two or three more wins before he can move to that level. After the fight, Santos called out Gegard Mousasi, whom he lost to at UFC 200 in 2016.
That would be a great fight.
Chad Laprise Depletes Brian Camozzi with a Liver Shot
Laprise vs. Camozzi
For two-plus rounds, Chad Laprise and Brian Camozzi were engaging in a competitive striking contest. In the third round, Laprise brought the fight to an abrupt end. He caught Camozzi with a straight right hand to the liver and Camozzi retreated in pain.
Laprise immediately applied pressure and after a number of unanswered shots to Camozzi's crumpled body, referee Herb Dean called a halt to the fight. The well-rounded showing earned Laprise one of the Performance of the Night bonuses.Laprise hadn't fought in 11 months and he'd competed at lightweight in his last fight. He looked like a skeleton at the weigh-ins to make 155 pounds.
Laprise hadn't fought in 11 months and he'd competed at lightweight in his last fight. He looked like a skeleton at the weigh-ins to make 155 pounds.
Chad Laprise
He looked much more comfortable at 170 pounds. Laprise isn't a major contender, but his movement and striking are solid.
Aleksei Oleinik Chokes Out Travis Browne
Browne - Oleinik
Travis Browne and Ronda Rousey are engaged to be married and it's probably wise both announce their retirement before or after the ceremony. Rousey doesn't appear to have the heart to continue on in the sport. Browne has the heart, but his game has regressed a great deal.
Against Aleksei Oleinik on Saturday night, Browne flopped around the cage with a lack of coordination and he's even more chinny than he was earlier in his UFC career. He dropped Oleinik in the first round, but he appeared to gas before the frame was done.
Oleinik would then drop him before the round ended. In the second round, Browne egregiously tried to grapple with Oleinik. To no one's surprise, that didn't work out well for Hapa. Oleinik secured a side-saddle neck crank to force the submission.
Browne has now lost four fights in a row and five of his last six. Browne can't beat any of the elite heavyweights in the world, and that's just the raw and uncensored truth. Oleinik is suddenly a player in the heavyweight division. He's 4-1 with the UFC and he'll likely be ranked in the Top 10 on Monday morning.
Rob Font Dismantles Douglas Silva de Andrade
Font-Andrade
The Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade bout was elevated to the main card after the Nunes-Shevchenko bout was canceled. Font fought like he deserved to be on the main card from the beginning.
He won the striking exchanges with the powerful Andrade and controlled his opponent on the ground as well. Late in the second round, Font hurt Andrade with a right hand. He landed a few more RoRpunches but he took an opportunity to cinch in a guillotine choke.
Andrade tried to slam Font to break the hold, but Font only locked it in tighter to earn the submission. It was an excellent performance from Font and good for the other Performance of the Night bonuses.
Showtime is Back
Pettis-Miller
After a less than fruitful run in the featherweight division, Anthony "Showtime" Pettis is back in the lightweight division and he looked outstanding in winning a unanimous decision over the tough Jim Miller.
Pettis was bothered a little by Miller's leg kicks, but Showtime's striking diversity and a clutch stuff of a takedown in the third round sealed the victory. Pettis has ways to go before he can become a hot name in the 155-pound division again, but a matchup between him and Kevin Lee would be intriguing.
Curtis Blaydes Bores Us in Victory
Omielanczuk vs. Blaydes
If you're looking for a fight to help sell a non-fan on heavyweight MMA, hide the footage of Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk. The fight was like watching two large animals turning over hundreds of times in shallow water.
Blaydes was in great shape, but he didn't look sharp. Omielanczuk was deadly afraid of being taken down, so he fought every one of Blaydes' sloppy shots by laying against the cage. There were a few hard strikes landed, but mostly the 15 minutes was spent circling and jockeying for position on the cage.
UFC Fight Night Australia on November 18
A new UFC Fight Night was announced and it will take place in Sydney, Australia.
No bouts have been announced for the card just yet.
Alistair Overeem Edges Fabricio Werdum
Werdum-Overeem
Fights are scored by rounds and Alistair Overeem is fortunate that's the case. He narrowly escaped the Octagon with a majority-decision victory over Fabricio Werdum in their third bout. Overeem was tentative in the first round, but Werdum didn't land many shots of note.
The judges gave Overeem the first round. Overeem took the second easily as he dazed Werdum with a couple of hard right hands. In the final round, Werdum nearly knocked Overeem out. A well-placed knee dropped Overeem and left him dazed. Werdum finished the round in dominant top position.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, that was the only round the judges gave him and just one of them scored the round 10-8. Overeem is now in position for another shot at the UFC title.
Comments
Post a Comment