UFC 245 was this past weekend and it featured three big title fights. Let’s get right to the rundown.
GOOD – Petr Yan stops Urijah Faber
Yan kept laying into Faber with big punches. He dropped him a few times in the second round and nearly finished the fight. He also cut Faber open with a nasty cut around and under his eye. It was a bigtime gash but Faber kept coming. In the third round, though, Yan ended the fight with a big headkick that put Faber out. I could see Faber retiring again after this. Good win for Yan.
GOOD – Marlon Moraes vs. Jose Aldo
This was a really close fight, which you saw reflected in Moraes winning the split decision. Watching it live, I thought Aldo won but some of that might be bias towards Aldo because of how dominant a fighter he’s been throughout his career. Most of this fight was spent on the feet and I thought Aldo had the advantage in almost every encounter, especially in the last two rounds. I thought Aldo should have won but I could be wrong. Both men fought well and this is a big win for Moraes.
GOOD- Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Nunes came out on fire and almost finished the fight a few times in the first round. She was going for submissions and landing some big shots. GDR showed some good toughness and survived, though. Nunes dominated this fight with her strikes and grappling. She slowed down in the fourth and fifth rounds but it was clear that she was the better fighter tonight. GDR was tough and battled hard but she was outmatched. You can only take so much damage, especially when Nunes grounds you and drains your energy so effectively. Good win for Nunes, who successfully defends her UFC bantamweight championship again.
GOOD- Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Holloway came out looking good, but Volkanovski started landing more and more legkicks and they tore up the legs of Holloway and really hampered his movement. All the kicks to the legs really opened up Holloway for body shots and headstrikes. Holloway was taken off his game because Volkanovski was so tenacious with the legkicks. Holloway never gave up, though, even as Volkanovski hammered him with big shots. It’s a real testament to the toughness and heart Holloway has that he was coming back in the fifth round.
It’s crazy to think about how much damage Volkanovski had afflicted upon Holloway at that point and Max kept coming. Volkanovski won the UFC Featherweight Championship with this win and he earned it. He was in a hellacious fight and he cemented himself as a fighter to contend with. Great win for Volkanovski.
GOOD- Kamaru Usman stops Colby Covington
Usman successfully defended his UFC Welterweight Championship here. This fight was fought entirely on the feet and it was tremendous to watch these guys fight with such tenacity. Neither yielded an inch and showed a lot of grit and toughness. This was yet another great display of heart. They went back and forth hammering each other with big shots. This was a close fight that Usman ended later in the fifth round as he cracked Covington with some big right hands that Covington couldn’t take anymore. Good win for Usman.
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