HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC Minneapolis

A little over halfway through the first round Craig misses with a spinning back kick and Menifield landed a crushing right hand that basically ended the fight. He followed up with more strikes on the ground but it was over. Good win for Menifield.

GOOD- Drew Dober stops Marco Polo Reyes

Dober unloaded on Reyes early, hurting him and forcing him to shoot for a takedown. Dober threw him off and continued pelting him with strikes until a combination finished him off just over one minute into the first round. Good win for Dober.

GOOD- Vinc Pichel vs. Roosevelt Roberts

Roberts started well and likely won the first round. Pichel then rallied and his wrestling and grappling took over. Roberts landed some good strikes but Pichel fought through it and used his wrestling to win the decision and hand Roberts his first loss. Good win for Pichel.

BAD- Demian Maia vs. Anthony Rocco Martin

This was your typical boring Maia fight. As usual, Maia showed good grappling and groundwork and there’s no doubt he’s highly skilled, but if you don’t challenge him it’s going to be a long fight. Martin just wasn’t good enough to push Maia so Maia won the decision in a fairly dull affair. It’s an ok win for Maia.

GOOD- Joseph Benavidez stops Jussier Formiga

Benavidez landed a large amount of strikes, though Formiga did land some really heavy shots of his own. However, Benavidez kept pouring it on and towards the end of the second round Formiga hit the ground and Benavidez pounded him for the TKO. Big win for Benavidez. He called for, and deserves, a title shot. He’s done more than enough to deserves a title shot.

GOOD- Francis Ngannou stops Junior Dos Santos

Ngannou caught JDS with his incredible power and it was over after that. He finishes him in just over a minute into the first round. He also called for, and deserves, a title shot. After a couple tough losses, he’s now won three fights in a row.

All three wins in the first round, all three by TKO, and all in less than one minute and eleven seconds. I can’t think of anyone else more deserving of a title shot. And with his incredible power, he’s a threat to every single guy in the heavyweight division.

 

It’ll take a lot for someone to neutralize the power Ngannou has but we’ve seen it done before. Him in a title fight will most likely be exciting. As with Benavidez, he’s done more than enough to deserve a title shot.

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