Hey, here’s my blog for this week.

Thanks,
Frank

HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from PFL 8 and UFC 305

By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist

PFL 8 and UFC 305 were both this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.

PFL 8
GOOD- Biaggio Ali Walsh stops Brian Stapleton
Walsh starts with some jabs before dropping Stapleton with a left hook. A few leg kicks and right hands from Walsh drops Stapleton again
and the referee jumps in to stop the fight not quite a minute into the first round. Walsh is Muhammad Ali’s grandson and you can tell he’s been training his striking as he starts his career.
Walsh improves to 2-0 while Stapleton drops to 0-1. Good win for Walsh.

GOOD- Brent Primus vs. Clay Collard
This is the first semifinal match in the 2024 PFL Lightweight
Tournament. The fighters start off with some jabs and leg kicks.
Primus gets Collard down and stays attached to him for the rest of a dull first round. The second round begins with Primus getting a trip takedown and repeats what worked in the first round. Primus works some
ground-and-pound and gets more aggressive as the round wears on.
Primus is pummeling Collard now as the second round ends.

The third round starts with Primus getting another takedown. They’re up and down
until Collard breaks free. Primus gets another takedown, though, and that’s where the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.

Primus wins the decision to improve to 15-3 with 1 No Contest and he’s won 3 straight fights while Collard drops to 25-14 with 1 No Contest.
Primus advances to the 2024 PFL Lightweight Finals. Good win for Primus.

GOOD- Gadzhi Rabadanov stops Michael Dufort
This is the second semifinal match in the 2024 PFL Lightweight
Tournament. They’re trading strikes early and they both land some strong punches before Rabadanov gets a takedown. They grapple until
the end of the first round. The second round begins with more striking
exchanges until they clinch. Rabadanov then crushes Dufort with a big
left hook that floors him then follows up with a barrage of punches until the referee jumps in to stop the fight not quite two minutes into the second round.
Rabadanov improves to 23-4-2 and has won 9 straight fights while Dufort drops to 13-6. Rabadanov will face Brent Primus in the 2024 PFL
Lightweight Tournament Finals. Good win for Rabadanov.

GOOD- Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Rob Wilkinson
This is the first semifinal match in the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight
Tournament. Wilkinson starts off with some jabs and kicks until
Yagshimuradov gets going and they start trading strikes. This
continues until the end of the first round, when Yagshimuradov tries for a few takedowns but can’t complete them. The second round begins
with a little slowdown of the action, though things are still close as
both men continue landing strikes and the pace quickens as the round wears on.

The third round starts with more striking exchanges as Yagshimuradov keeps pulling away with his activity and speed. They punch it out until the fight ends and we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Yagshimuradov wins the decision to improve to 24-7-1 and has won 6 straight fights while Wilkinson drops to 19-3 with 1 No Contest.
Yagshimuradov advances to the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight Finals. Good win for Yagshimuradov.

GOOD- Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira
This is the second semifinal match in the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight
Tournament. Silveira starts with kicks while Kasanganay answers with
punches. Now they’re both mixing their strikes up. Silveira is being very aggressive so far, with Kasanganay upping his own activity to answer as the first round ends. The second round begins with both men
connecting with good punches before they start mixing in other forms
of strikes. They clinch a few times but this is mainly a striking
affair as the second round ends. The third round starts with some clinchwork. The action slows as we enter the final stretch. Kasanganay
gets a trip takedown but Silveira pops back up and the fight ends in
the clinch. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Kasanganay wins the decision to improve to 18-4 and has won 3 straight
fights while Silveira drops to 13-4. Kasanganay will face Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov in the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament Finals.
Good win for Kasanganay.

UFC 305
GOOD- Carlos Prates stops Li Jingliang
They start tentatively until some kicks then punches are thrown a minute in. Prates is cracking Li with some of his strikes and drops him to a knee a few times. They’re both swinging with bad intentions
and Li staggers Prates before the first round ends. The second round
begins with a battle of kicks. Li’s kicks are lower while Prates
connects with a few head kicks. They start mixing in other strikes and
both men are showing great toughness to keep going despite being nailed with some stiff strikes. Prates finally drops Li with a nice
combination but Li is quickly back to his feet. Prates is all over Li, blasting away with power punches. Prates ends the fight with a huge
left hook that drops Li just over four minutes into the second round.

Damn, what toughness by Li and what power by Prates.
Prates improves to 20-6 and has won 10 straight fights while Li drops
to 19-9. Good win for Prates.

GOOD- Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
They start off trading kicks and a few punches. They continue chipping
away at each other for the rest of the first round. The second round
begins with jabs from both men before Rozenstruik lands some good leg kicks. They’re throwing strikes at each other from all angles now.

That continues until the second round ends. The third round starts with more of the same. Rozenstruik is just landing a lot more strikes and doing more damage to Tuivasa. This continues until they brawl to
finish the fight. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Rozenstruik wins the Split Decision to improve to 15-5 while Tuivasa drops to 14-8 and has lost 5 straight fights. Good win for
Rozenstruik.

GOOD- Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
They start off with some nice power strikes until Gamrot gets a
takedown. Hooker is up but gets dragged back down and he has to fight
off some elbows and punches in order to stand again. Hooker staggers
Gamrot but Gamrot gets a late takedown and the first round ends. The second round begins with Gamrot trying a few times to get a takedown
before succeeding. Gamrot uses his ground-and-pound until Hooker is able to get back to his feet. Gamrot gets another takedown but Hooker
defends with elbows to the head. Hooker keeps blasting away with strikes until the second round ends. The third round starts with Hooker popping Gamrot with some nice strikes before Gamrot returns
fire. Hooker seems to be landing the stronger strikes but I don’t
know, Gamrot is landing good stuff of his own. They brawl to finish the fight before embracing. We go to the judges to render their verdict.

Hooker wins the Split Decision to improve to 24-12 and has won 3 straight fights while Gamrot drops to 24-3 with 1 No Contest and has
his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Hooker.

GOOD- Kai Kara-France stops Steve Erceg
Both fighters are throwing early and often but not much is connecting.
Punches are flying from all over until Kara-France drops Erceg with a big left hand. Erceg is up but Kara-France is all over him and smashes
him with a huge right hand that drops him and two more punches on the
ground are landed before the referee can jump in to stop the fight a little over four minutes into the first round.
Kara-France improves to 25-11 with 1 No Contest while Erceg drops to 12-3. Good win for Kara-France.

GOOD- Driscus Du Plessis submits Israel Adesanya
Du Plessis successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship
here. Du Plessis starts with some calf kicks while Adesanya responds
with jabs and kicks. They continue firing more and more kicks at each other and the first round ends. The second round begins with more
kicking exchanges until Du Plessis gets a takedown. Adesanya quickly gets back up only to get drug down again. Adesanya throws some good
power punches but Du Plessis still manages to get another takedown and
they grapple for the rest of the second round.

The third round starts with more striking exchanges. Adesanya lands a good head kick then a spinning back elbow that Du Plessis absorbs and
returns fire with a power strike of his own. They brawl to finish the third round, with both men showing good toughness as they each get
nailed with some stiff strikes. Adesanya seems to be pulling ahead as
you wonder if Du Plessis is starting to fade? The fourth round opens with Du Plessis getting a quick takedown but Adesanya is right back up. Du Plessis is putting everything he has left into his striking but
Adesanya is able to avoid danger for now. Adesanya is popping Du Plessis with strikes but Du Plessis fires back with several power strikes that stagger Adesanya. Du Plessis gets a takedown on the
stunned Adesanya and grabs a rear-naked choke that’s on Adesanya’s
chin and cranks. Adesanya taps before his jaw gets broken and the fight ends a little over three and a half minutes into the fourth round. What a fight and what a comeback by Du Plessis.
Du Plessis improves to 22-2 and has won 10 straight fights while Adesanya drops to 24-4. Good win for Du Plessis.

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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.