By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 270 was last night. Would the champions perform better than the #1
seeds in the NFL Playoffs? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 270
GOOD- Michael Morales stops Trevin Giles
They trade kicks early before going to the ground. Giles goes to the
body but Morales hurts him with a right then moments later with a left
before pounding him out to force the referee to stop the fight a
little over four minutes into the first round. Giles falls to 14-4
while Morales improves to 13-0. Good win for Morales.
GOOD- Said Nurmagomedov submits Cody Stamann
Stamann tried to rush Nurmagomedov but it didn’t work as Nurmagomedov
gets him down a choke to get the submission win in 47 seconds.
Nurmagomedov improves to 15-2 and Stamann falls to 19-5-1 and has lost
three fights in a row. Impressive win for Nurmagomedov.
GOOD- Michel Pereira vs. Andre Fialho
Fialho hurt Pereira a few times in the first round but Pereira fought
back with some nice kicks. Fialho busted up Pereira’s face late in the
first round with some shots on the ground. The second round saw
Pereira nail Fialho with some big strikes before they started trading
some heavy shots. Fialho looked tired as the round came to a close.
The third round opened with Fialho firing away but Pereira kept
peppering him with punches and kicks. They kept trading strikes until
the end of the fight, including some absolute bombs. Pereira gets the
nod from the judges to win the decision and improves to 27-11 with 2
No Contests while Fialho drops to 14-4 with 1 No Contest. Good win for
Pereira.
GOOD- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
This was the trilogy fight between these two and it’s still just as
much up in the air. Moreno was trying to successfully defend his UFC
Flyweight Championship but came up short here. Moreno landed more
strikes but Figueiredo had three knockdowns. All the rounds were
pretty close except for the third round where Figueiredo had two
knockdowns and a takedown, though Moreno had more strikes landed. This
was a really close fight but I think I agree with Figueiredo getting
the decision victory and he’s your new UFC Flyweight Champion.
These guys have fought three straight times and it stands at 1-1-1.
Overall their records now stand at Figueiredo at 21-2-1 while Moreno
is at 19-6-2. It sounds odd to say they should fight for the fourth
straight time but I could see the UFC going that way. I think it’s
more likely that the winner of Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France at
UFC Fight Night 205 on March 26th gets the next title shot. We’ll see,
though. As for this fight, good win for Figueiredo.
GOOD/BAD- Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane
They both go to the body as they clinch early. They exchange a few
more shots but nothing major in a slow first round. The second round
is more of the same, a little striking, and not much else. Ngannou
gets a slam in the third round. Gane battles back but gets taken down
again to close the round. The fourth round sees them trade kicks early
before Ngannou gets Gane down again. Ngannou works a little
ground-and-pound, emphasis on a little, to close the round. The fifth
round opens with a little striking before Gane gets a takedown of his
own. Ngannou sweeps into half guard but Gane tries for a heel hook.
Ngannou stayed on top of him for the final few minutes to successfully
unify the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Honestly, this was kind of a
boring fight that I really wasn’t in the mood for after watching the
Packers offense and Aaron Rodgers soil themselves against the 49ers.
Credit to Ngannou for doing what he needed to and showing his
impressive wrestling and improving his record to 17-3 and has now won
six fights in a row. Gane drops to 10-1.
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Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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