UFC on FOX 30 was this past weekend and it was a great card. Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC on FOX 30
GOOD- Alexander Hernandez vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
This fight was fine and solid, Hernandez did what he had to in order to get the decision win. Aubin-Mercier is a tough opponent so it would be extremely difficult for Hernandez to finish him. Nice win for Hernandez.
GOOD- Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Tecia Torres
Jedrzejczyk swept the rounds, primarily with her striking. She looked very comfortable in there. Torres is really tough and Jedrzejczyk isn’t a big power striker so it’s not surprising this went to decision. I don’t know if this win gets Jedrzejczyk the title shot she wants, but it was a big win for her.
GOOD- Jose Aldo stops Jeremy Stephens
Aldo came into this fight with a lot of questions surrounding his future. Two straight losses to the current featherweight champion Max Holloway, as well as his quick loss to former champion Conor McGregor before that had cast doubt as to whether Aldo could reclaim his former glory. To be fair, he did have a decision win over Frankie Edgar in there as well, but the fact that he was finished in three of his last four fights made you wonder some.
This might not quiet all the doubts, though it probably should, but this was a huge win for Aldo. Stephens is really tough and Aldo finished him in the first round. That’s impressive. The way he did it is what made it even more impressive. Aldo crumpled Stephens with a body shot. Anytime that happens is a big finish. Big win for Aldo.
GOOD- Dustin Poirier stops Eddie Alvarez
Poirier came in looking to stop Alvarez and he was able to hurt him a few times. To his credit, and as you would expect, Alvarez battled back and punished Poirier as well. The turning point perhaps came when Alvarez had Poirer down against the fence and delivered a 12 to 6 elbow that caused the ref to stand them up. Not long after that, Poirier caught Alvarez and opened up on him and forced the stoppage.
This was a huge win that very well could get Poirier a title shot. We’ll have to wait and see, though, because the UFC will surely go with Conor McGregor getting the next title shot if they can actually get him to return.
A Reward for missing weight?
This week, the UFC announced that Darren Till will fight welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228. This is notable for a few reasons, each being frustratingly absurd. One, it hasn’t even been two months since Colby Covington won the interim welterweight title. Of course, it was ridiculous and stupid to even have this interim belt in the first place considering that Woodley had defended the welterweight title three times in twelve months, but the UFC apparently doesn’t know how to promote fights without having to resort to calling them title fights, even if they have to create interim titles that make no sense.
So, Covington is going to be stripped of the interim title when/if Till vs. Woodley happens. That’s just brilliant and not at all nonsensical.
Something that’s even more outrageous is the fact that Till is fighting for the title after having missed weight in his last fight, a win over Stephen Thompson. Why the -bleep- is he being rewarded for missing weight? That makes no sense whatsoever.
All this does is tell fighters that they don’t have to worry about missing weight, as long as they win, they can still get title shots. And it’s not as if Till has this sterling resume that demands he get a title shot. His biggest win is finishing Donald Cerrone before getting the decision win over Thompson. Before that, he hadn’t beaten anybody you’ve probably ever heard of. I mean no offense to anyone he’s fought previously but it’s true.
To make it worse, he’s missed weight twice in his last four fights. So again, why the hell is this guy getting a title shot? It makes no sense. If he was some big name that would draw a lot of buys, at least you could understand, but Till doesn’t have a track record of huge buyrates and such. And to be clear, I don’t blame Till for this. Pretty much everybody would do accept this fight. Pretty much everybody would lobby for it. Here’s the thing, though, just because someone asks for something, doesn’t mean you have to give it to them. A kid will ask for ice cream for dinner, that doesn’t mean you have to give it to them.
This is all on the UFC. This is so mind-blowingly stupid that it defies all logic. To get a title shot after missing weight by nearly four pounds is ridiculous. This also comes after Yoel Romero got three straight middleweight title shots, lost the first, won the second but missed weight and was ineligible to win the title, and again missed weight the third time.
What in the world is going on with decisions like this? A fighter misses weight and has to forfeit 20-30% of their purse, likely wins the fight, and gets rewarded? I don’t get it, I just don’t get it.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
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