UFC 227 was this past weekend and featured some titanic fights and moments. Let’s get right to it.
UFC 227
GOOD- Kevin Holland vs. Thiago Santos
This was a fun brawl. Holland showed some good toughness but he was also acting like a Dennis Hopper-level madman. Santos started out beating up on Holland, who then rallied in the second round and there was plenty of rough exchanges for both men. They both moments where they were in danger, but Santos was able to do just a bit more to win the decision. Crazy fight that’s definitely one of the highlights of the night. Good win for Santos.
GOOD- JJ Aldrich vs. Polyana Viana
Aldrich controlled this fight throughout but Viana was too tough to finish. Aldrich brought the fight to her, but Viana kept surviving. Aldrich won the decision.
GOOD- Renato Moicano submits Cub Swanson
Moicano dropped Swanson early, but he was able to get back to his feet. However, Moicano took Swanson back down quickly and went to work, landing shots on him and eventually locking in a rear-naked choke for the submission win in a little over four minutes into the first round. Big win for Moicano.
GOOD- Henry Cejudo vs. Demetrious Johnson
Cejudo won a split decision and is the new UFC flyweight champion, ending Johnson’s dominant reign. I disagree with the decision for a couple of reasons.
First, Cejudo’s takedown success was 33%. In fact, Johnson defended more takedowns (six) than Cejudo successfully landed (five).
Secondly, when Cejudo did get a takedown, he didn’t do anything with it. I don’t think takedowns should count for much unless they lead to something. It’s like landing a ton of jabs that don’t do anything.
However, this was an incredible fight that was very close and shows the difference in what judges see and feel is important. I don’t think it was a robbery or anything like that, I just thought Johnson did more to deserve the victory.
All credit goes to Cejudo for ending one of the most legendary runs in MMA history. I’m not sure where this ranks for him personally, considering his Olympic past, but this was an incredible moment for him in the sports world.
An immediate rematch is an absolute must in my opinion. That is, unless Johnson wants to take a different fight in order to try to work on some stuff. Given the magnitude of what Johnson has done in the flyweight division, the decision should be entirely up to him.
The idea of Cejudo moving up to bantamweight to fight the champion is absurd. You just won a razor thin decision over one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. No one is clamoring to see you go fight someone else. You run it back with Johnson or you wait for him to fight someone else first and then fight him again. You’re not Conor McGregor, you’re not someone who’s going to reach a million pay-per-view buys or anything.
Great win for Cejudo, and I can’t wait to see him fight Johnson again. That will be an incredible fight!
GOOD- TJ Dillashaw stops Cody Gabrandt
Garbrandt landed some big shots and had Dillashaw hurt, but Dillashaw came back and hurt Garbrandt more and then just poured it on to finish him in a bit over four minutes into the first round.
Garbrandt didn’t seem to have changed up things too much and Dillashaw used his technique to stop him. Dillashaw has tremendous footwork and movement so it’ll be hard for anyone to beat him.
I don’t know what happens with Garbrandt now. He’s a long road back to any sort of title contention unless Dillashaw is removed from the title picture. He’s been finished by Dillashaw in two straight fights, first in the second round and now in the first round. He would have to win several fights in a row to even enter the conversation again. He’s young and talented but these losses really hurt.
Good win for Dillashaw, who again shows he’s an incredible fighter and extremely dangerous. Anyone who wants to beat him is going to have to be at the top of his game. This was a great way to end an exciting card.
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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