UFC Fight Night 119 was this past week, let’s get right to the rundown.
UFC Fight Night 119
GOOD- John Lineker vs. Marlon Vera
Nice, solid striking in this fight. It had some slow parts but overall, it was a fine fight. Lineker won the decision
GOOD- Thiago Santos stops Jack Hermansson
Santos unloaded a huge flurry at the end of the first round, forcing the stoppage. Good win for Santos as he shows his striking and power.
GOOD- Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jim Miller
I’m being generous with the GOOD, but I couldn’t go BAD for this fight. It was a solid fight. Miller gassed and opened the door for Trinaldo. It’s hard to finish a guy as tough as Miller, but Trinaldo did pick up a good decision win.
GOOD- Pedro Munhoz submits Rob Font
Munhoz stunned Font with a left hook, then got a takedown and sunk in a guillotine to get the submission.
GOOD- Colby Covington vs. Demian Maia
I really thought Maia would come in here and control Covington like he does to most people. Instead, Covington completely shut down Maia. He stuffed takedown after takedown and was putting his hands all over Maia. At the same time, Maia was able to have some success of his own striking. Covington came in riding a win streak and this pushes him even higher. It’s a tough loss for Maia but a great win for Covington.
GOOD- Derek Brunson stops Lyoto Machida
Brunson dropped Machida and finished him off with strikes about halfway through the first round. Big win for Brunson and tough loss for Machida. He just doesn’t look like what you think of when you think of Machida. He was coming off a long PED suspension and had lost his last two fights, but still, he looked okay at best in this fight. He might need a bit longer to get his timing back and such, but he’s 39 so time isn’t a luxury he has right now.
This is a statement win for Brunson as this is his second straight first round TKO win. Now, he’s put himself in a nice little spot with this highlight reel win. Before these last two wins, Brunson had lost a lackluster decision to Anderson Silva and a TKO loss to Robert Whittaker.
Considering that Whittaker is the unquestioned number one contender in the division and Silva’s a legend that Brunson perhaps overlooked, you could argue that he’s all right in the division. Maybe I’m reaching there, but this is a late October Fight Night right before a huge PPV event. You got to take what you can from these cards.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
NOW CHECK OUT HYDEN’S PREVIOUS TAKE: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bellator 185 and UFC Fight Night 118
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