Bellator 217 and UFC Fight Night 145 were this past weekend. Let’s get to the rundown of that before finishing with some thoughts on the retirement of Georges St-Pierre.
Bellator 217
GOOD- Richie Smullen vs. Adam Gustab
Smullen kept taking Gustab down and working hard but wasn’t able to get anything to finish the fight so he had to settle for the decision win. Nice win for Smullen.
GOOD- Keifer Crosbie submits Daniel Olejniczak
Olejniczak came out with some nice striking but Crosbie took over when the fight went to the ground and got the submission win. Nice win for Crosbie.
GOOD- Charlie Ward stops Jamie Stephenson
Ward plastered Stephenson with a huge left hook that ended the fight less than a minute into the first round. Good win for Ward.
BAD- Peter Queally vs. Myles Price
I didn’t care for this fight too much at all. It was tight and close but this was just one of those solid fights. Price won by split decision.
GOOD- James Gallagher submits Steven Graham
Gallagher quickly took Graham to the ground and started working for the submission. He also laid in some ground-and-pound before sinking in the choke for the win about halfway through the first round. Good win for Gallagher to send the crowd home happy.
UFC Fight Night 145
GOOD/BAD- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Klidson Abreu
There were moments of nice striking and moments of inaction I didn’t care for. Ankalaev won the decision. Nice win for him.
GOOD Petr Yan vs. John Dodson
Dodson had a few moments, but this fight was Yan all the way. He showed great speed and striking and even some nice defense. He also was able to fight through a huge shot from Dodson that dropped him. Yan won the decision and this was a real coming out party for him. He looked really good in this fight. Big win for him.
BAD/GOOD- Liz Carmouche vs. Lucie Pudilova
This was a close fight that Carmouche won by split decision but it wasn’t very exciting. Carmouche basically ground Pudilova down. Carmouche did get busted open early so she showed good toughness but this was just another solid fight.
GOOD- Michal Oleksiejczuk stops Gian Villante
Oleksiejczuk crushed Villante early with a left hand to the body that ended the fight about a minute and a half into the first round. Good win for Oleksiejczuk.
GOOD- Stefan Struve submits Marcos Rogerio de Lima
De Lima dominated Struve in the first round, outstriking him to a ridiculous degree. Struve was able to survive, though, and got the fight to the ground. From there, he worked for and got the submission to pick up what would be the final win of his career. After the win, Struve announced his retirement. Good for him to go out with a win.
GOOD- Thiago Santos stops Jan Blachowicz
Santos kept beating up Blachowicz with repeated shots for the first two rounds as it seemed as though Blachowicz was sleepwalking. He wasn’t really doing much, I don’t know if he was trying to lure Santos into a false sense of security or what, but it didn’t work. Blachowicz came out firing at the beginning of the third round but Santos dropped him with some power shots, followed up with hammer fists, and the ref stopped it. Big win for Santos as he separates himself from the pack at light heavyweight. I don’t know if he’ll actually get a future title shot or not, but it’s crazy to think about his journey and all he’s been through. From being on The Ultimate Fighter and fighting so much at middleweight to now winning three straight fights at light heavyweight, it’s really cool to see.
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Georges St-Pierre announced his retirement last week. There had been talk of him fighting UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, which GSP says the UFC said no way. There was also the suggestion of GSP vs. Ben Askren, or several other names that could possibly fit into a fight with GSP. I don’t know how serious all of these possibilities were, but they would have been cool to see.
This could possibly be a move from GSP to try to get the UFC to give him the fight he wants. At the same time, though, I get the sense that this is the end of the road for him. He’s already considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time, so it would probably take something special for him to come back again. Never say never, though, but it seems this might stick. Of course, if the UFC throws a lot of money at GSP, that would be hard to refuse…
My favorite GSP memory is probably something involving his fights with Matt Hughes. There’s also the B.J. Penn fights, though. If I had to give just one moment, it would probably be his “I’m not impressed with your performance” slam to Matt Hughes. GSP himself has said that he regrets saying that as he considers it to be a low-class move on his part, but I thought it was great. Of course, it wasn’t directed at me so maybe that colors my opinion of it.
NEXT: MAX HOLLOWAY HAS EVERYTHING TO LOSE AT UFC 136
Anyway, GSP is an all-timer for sure so if this is truly the end for him, he’s obviously had a great career and I hope he enjoys life after the UFC. He says he’ll continue training so maybe he un-retires someday but I’m not counting on that.
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