Jamie Mullarkey vs. Khama Worthy
Lightweight Fight
It only took 46 seconds. Mullarkey caught Worthy completely off guard and landed a huge shot. This was a win he needed. 11 straight finishes for an accomplished lightweight. That’s the difference maker in UFC, being great is important, but being exciting gets you big fights. This will pay dividends for Mullarkey quickly.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: First Round KO for Jamie Mullarkey (0:46)
Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick
Women’s Flyweight Fight
The first round of this fight was a pretty good back and forth, but Maverick kept up the pressure the entire time. Robertson seemed to be waiting for an opening to either go for a takedown or throw a real combo, and it never came, she just got walked down. Maverick scored a couple takedowns but couldn’t get much done on the ground. The second round started much like the first, but Robertson got Maverick’s back and stayed there, working both on the ground and in a clinch. Maverick didn’t seem to have an answer for Robertson’s plan. After some impressive wrestling from Robertson we finally saw an escape from Maverick. She came out swinging and landed a couple good shots as the second round came to an end. Maverick took Robertson to the ground early in the third and proceeded to fight off attempts to get up while landing a lot of big hammerfists. Maverick showed an incredible ability to defend Robertson trying to pass and get in a better position. Maverick had a great showing for a fighter as young as she is.
Rating: 8/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Miranda Maverick
Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida
Bantamweight Fight
This fight should have been over in the first round. O’Malley hit Almeida with two big shots and put his hands up thinking that the ref would stop the fight, but it continued. Almeida finished the first round strong. The break helped Almeida, he started landing some good shots and kept feeling out O’Malley. The second round performance of Almeida is worthy of noting simply because he took such huge hits in the first. Almeida scored a takedown at the end of the second. The feeling in the building loomed large that O’Malley didn’t just finish the fight off early. The third round was a lot of feints and fakes, but it led to O’Malley hitting one of his signature strikes and a huge follow up for an impressive looking win. Despite the flashy finish, I don’t see the appeal of O’Malley, sure he has a lot of quick finishes, but seeing him go longer has shown me he’s not a legwork fighter. O’Malley is going to climb the ladder into fights that will by default require more than one round, and someone bigger and badder is going to put him down hard. The star power attempt is intriguing to watch, with the hair, the attitude, and his vain attempt to be Connor McGregor 2.0. If he takes on Garbrandt or Sandhagen right now it won’t go well. Even his post-fight interview was a failure to be the “careless guy” who will say anything.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: Third Round TKO for Sean O’Malley
Tyron Woodley vs. Vicente Luque
Welterweight Fight
Woodley came out extremely aggressively, he even landed a ton of great overhand shots. Luque then changed the whole fight with just one big shot. Woodley’s legs went stiff, and he was visibly not all there. The ref didn’t stop the fight and eventually Luque got Woodley to the ground and locked in a Darce Choke. Woodley wasn’t awake enough to respond properly. Luque just shot up in the welterweight rankings big time.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: First round Submission for Vicente Luque
Main Event
Heavyweight Championship Fight
Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2
Ngannou started exactly like we thought he would and came out swinging and hit clean shots, then he defended a takedown attempt in expert fashion. Ngannou even turned the takedown into a positive and landed a ton more big shots. The first was all Ngannou. The second round proved two things; firstly, we have a new heavyweight champion, secondly it was very appropriate that Godzilla vs. Kong was the sponsor of this pay-per-view because Francis Ngannou could beat either one. We didn’t need much of the second round, but a big left hand started it, and a flurry of heavy hands finished it.
Rating: 9/10
Result: Second round KO for Francis Ngannou
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