Closing thoughts and recap of UFC 200, Ultimate Fighter Finale, Fight Night 89...

After a monumental three days of mma, finally the dust is settling and many talking points are beginning to prevail. So I decided that I need to write this piece to summarise what was an epic few days of fighting, and where it leads to from here.

UFC 200 :

The biggest worldwide talking point is obviously the return of Brock Lesnar. In the build up to this fight after a five year layoff, there was literally no hope of a Lesnar victory over the heavy handed Hunt. All I could see was Hunt landing as Brock rushed forward and ultimately ending face first on the canvas. Lesnar is a once in a lifetime athlete however, while his striking and submission game is not near the game’s elite, his sheer physical attributes allow him to overcome these areas and simply be able to impose his will upon you. The ability to power double Hunt to the floor before laying a beatdown of strikes to him was very impressive. While Brock dominated in the two rounds he clearly won, it was not the greatest spectacle of a fight and felt like we had time travelled backwards almost five or six years. I won’t deny a man his victory and big credit must be given to Lesnar for taking on the hardest hitter in the world on such a big stage after all the adversity that has been thrown at him in his career. To be honest, I’d gladly watch Brock throwdown again and with his popularity and ability I wouldn’t be shocked if he was given the winner of Miocic and Overeem.

Personally I felt the best performance on the card came from Jose Aldo en route to winning the Interim Featherweight Championship. After a devastating thirteen second loss to McGregor back in December, Aldo faced big questions of his chin and mentality coming into the fight with the in-form Frankie Edgar. Just like in their previous fight a few years ago, Aldo stuck to his orthodox stance and his jab, which is arguably the best jab in the game. With both the opening rounds being as close to even as you can get it was from here that Aldo began to land the more powerful shots with his precise overhand right and straight. This was all set up however by the jab. I can’t emphasise how important a weapon this is to Aldo, and I feel that it is the key to him employing his gameplan on you. With McGregor watching eagerly from cageside all I want next is a rematch between the two. It is the fight to make. While McGregor showed the one shot devastating power in their last contest, Aldo is not a spent force. The Brazilian is one of the all time great mma fighters to ever lace the gloves, and last night was a performance to prove it.

Amanda Nunes showed why she is the most skillful and feared fighter at 135lbs. Nunes has all the skills and tools to beat any women on her day and this was proven as she dismantled Miesha Tate in round one. The key for Tate was to survive the early Nunes aggression and onslaught and to take the fight to deep waters and the championship rounds. This proved too large a test as Nunes landed punish punches before taking the back and submitting the former champion. Looking down the line for Nunes, a fight with Rousey would be a huge possibility but I’d love to see the clash of striking styles between Nunes and Holly Holm.

Daniel Cormier proved that he was simply too big and powerful as he outwrestled Anderson Silva whom took the contest on two days notice. Not a lot can be taken from this in that Cormier was in a lose-lose situation taking the fight. What I take from this is that the UFC should give Anderson whoever he wants at 205. Plenty of fan friendly matches could be made as a title run for the spider is probably unrealistic at this stage. Gegard Mousassi, Alexander Gustafsson, Uriah Hall, etc. I’d watch all of those with a smile on my face.

Ultimate Fighter Finale :

Joanna Jedrzejczyk proved she is a beast by retaining her 115lbs title against the game and dangerous Claudia Gadelha. In this bitter feud the pair have been at wits end in the verbal warfare and it showed as both girls came out fast from the opening bell. Gadelha was able to get the takedowns numerous times throughout a taxing opening two rounds, but Joanna showed her ablity to get back up time and time again and by the close of the second, Gadelha looked spent and out on her feet. The closing three rounds was where Joanna shone. Her muay thai background took over as she rained on three and four punch combos, along with vicious body shots and teeps to the gut of Gadelha. The unanimous decision victory (I scored it 48-47) was well deserved by Joanna and was probably the best fight to watch of the week. Gadelha probably goes back to the rest of the pack at 115 where she will be only a win or two away from a third outing with Joanna. For Joanna, superstardom beckons I feel. Her style and crisp shots allow her to bring the crowd to their feet every time she competes. Her grasp of the English language also makes her very marketable for the UFC, and with women’s fighting looking for a new star since the defeat of Ronda Rousey, joanna could be the one to take on that mantle.

UFC Fight Night 89 :

The crowning night for Eddie Alvarez came on Thursday as he defeated Rafael Dos Anjos to become the best in the world at lightweight. Since turning pro in 2003, Alvarez has faced a who’s who of lightweights in promotions all over the world and has been a champion in six of these now. Since coming to the UFC, Alvarez has now beaten the former Strikeforce and two UFC champions to cement his place at top of the list. Expecting a typical Eddie Alvarez dogfight to victory over the much fancied RDA, I didn’t expect Alvarez to flatten the champion with a huge counter right before finishing it on the ground. The improvements in Alvarez’s boxing is a credit to him and his coach Mark Henry. With 155 being the most stacked division in the UFC, murderers row awaits him with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz, and even Conor McGregor all lurking in the wings for a shot at that belt. Alvarez deserves a big payday and a showdown with featherweight champion McGregor could be the biggest night to top off the Philadelphia man’s career.

The most important thing that can be seen after a blockbuster few days , nothing can shock you when watching mma. That is ultimately why we tune in. We love the thrill.