By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 284 was this past weekend and featured a huge superfight and also
crowned an Interim UFC Featherweight Champion. Who won and who lost?
Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 284
GOOD/BAD- Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
They exchange strikes early before Crute gets a takedown. Crute keeps
Menifield down and almost locks in a submission but Menifield gets out
of it and gets up. They scramble around some more before settling into
another striking exchange. Crute gets staggered and Menifield jumps on
him. He smashes Crute with some huge right hands that look to finish
the fight but somehow Crute survives and the first round ends. The
second round starts with Menifield dropping Crute again. Crute
survives again but gets rocked by a left hand. He survives that and
gets a takedown to end the second round. The third round opens with
Crute shooting in for a takedown. Menifield avoids it by grabbing the
fence and gets deducted a point. Crute gets a takedown and works for a
finish but can’t get it so we head to the judges, who rule it a
Majority Draw. Crute is now 12-3-1 while Menifield is now 13-3-1.
GOOD- Justin Tafa stops Parker Porter
They’re trading strikes until Porter moves right into a huge left hand
that ends the fight with a walk-off KO for Tafa a little over a minute
into the first round. Tafa improves to 6-3 while Porter drops to 12-8.
Good win for Tafa.
GOOD- Jack Della Maddalena submits Randy Brown
They trade kicks early until Della Maddalena nails Brown with a big
right hook that drops him. He pounces on him with some strikes before
locking in a rear-naked choke to get the tap a bit over two minutes
into the first round. Della Maddalena improves to 14-2 and has won 14
straight fights while Brown drops to 16-5. Good win for Della
Maddalena.
GOOD- Yair Rodriguez submits Josh Emmett
This fight was for the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship.
Rodriguez starts with some kicks. Emmett doesn’t have an answer for
them yet. He’s too tenacious, though, and he stuns Rodriguez with a
counter. Emmett gets a takedown and they trade some stiff elbows on
the mat until the first round ends. The second round starts with
Rodriguez still working the kicks. They trade some big strikes. Emmett
eats a flying knee and takes Rodriguez down. Rodriguez tries for an
armbar before switching to a triangle choke to get the tap not quite
four and a half minutes into the second round. Rodriguez improves to
15-3 with 1 No Contest while Emmett drops to 18-3 and has his 5 fight
winning streak snapped. Good win for Rodriguez.
GOOD- Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Volkanovski is the current UFC Featherweight Champion moving up in
weight to face Makhachev, the current UFC Lightweight Champion. They
start with some feints early before working to heavier strikes.
Makhachev gets a takedown and they work on the mat for a bit until the
first round ends. The second round starts with them trading strikes
until Volkanovski hurts Makhachev, who responds with a takedown. Volk
gets up only to get taken down again. They trade strikes until the
second round ends. The third round opens with Volkanovski coming out
firing with some sharp strikes. Makhachev answers with good strikes of
his own. They both show good toughness as the third round ends. The
fourth round starts with them trading more stiff strikes until
Makhachev gets another takedown. Makhachev is content to lay on him
for the last few minutes of the fourth round. The fifth round opens
with them trading heavy strikes until Makhachev gets a takedown.
Volkanovski is back up immediately, though. They go back to trading
bombs and the fifth round ends so we go to the judges. Makhachev wins
the decision and improves to 24-1 and has won 12 straight fights while
Volkanovski drops to 25-2 and has his 22 fight winning streak snapped.
Good win for Makhachev.
My personal opinion was that Volkanovski won. I think it was really
close but I would have given him rounds 2, 3, and 5. I might be wrong
on that, it was very close. However, I certainly strongly disagree
with the judge (Derek Cleary) who scored the fight 49-46 for
Makhachev. I don’t see how he could scored the fight like that. I
think the 2nd round is the toss-up, I think that’s the deciding
factor. I think Volkanovski won that round but again, I could be
wrong. Regardless, it was a hell of a fight and the crowd and
atmosphere in Perth was amazing.
My new fantasy book is now out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: A Fight For
Survival. It’s the third book in my epic fantasy Kingdom of Zarias
series and follows the adventures of the Summers siblings as they
fight to defend the world from an evil villain named Galren. This book
also introduces lots of other characters as the scope of the world
grows. There’s lots of action, magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of
Zarias. It’s like a tabletop game in novel form. It’s on Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, and many other places. If you’re interested, I would
greatly appreciate it if you would check it out and support me. Also,
here’s the link to my new Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias
series- KoZ Compendium
Thank you very much, have a good day.
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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