By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues was this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost?
Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues
GOOD- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Andre Petroski
Petroski starts off firing some kicks while Vieira answers with punches and a few kicks of his own. Petroski’s also throwing some
punches now and drops Vieira for a second with a powerful left hook.
They trade strikes until the first round ends. The second round begins
with some striking exchanges and Vieira trying for a takedown repeatedly before finally getting one. Petroski is right back to his feet, though, and they exchange more good strikes until the second
round ends. The third round starts with more good striking exchanges and this close fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Petroski wins the decision to improve to 13-3 and has won 3 straight
fights while Vieira drops to 10-3. Good win for Petroski.
GOOD- Nazim Sadykhov stops Ismael Bonfim
They start off trading strikes and some of these look really powerful.
They’re trading big kicks and two big head kicks from Sadykhov are
blocked. However, the third gets through and nails Bonfim right in the eye. Sadykhov follows up but the first round ends. Bonfim is examined
by the cageside doctor and says he can’t see so the fight is waved off
in between the first and second round.
Sadykhov improves to 10-1-1 while Bonfim drops to 20-5. Good win for Sadykhov.
GOOD- Edmen Shahbazyan stops Dylan Budka
They’re exchanging strikes until Shahbazyan crushes Budka with a big
right hand that drops him. Shahbazyan follows up with some hammerfists
that force the referee to jump in to stop the fight just over a minute and a half into the first round.
Shahbazyan improves to 14-5 while Budka drops to 7-5 and has lost 3
straight fights. Good win for Shahbazyan.
GOOD/UGLY- Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal
They’re exchanging strikes early, though Zalal is much more active.
Kattar is mainly chasing at this point, and the first round ends. The second round begins with Zalal trying for a takedown a few times but
Kattar stuffs them. Zalal keeps nailing Kattar with a knee up the
middle but he can’t finish him and the second round ends.
The third round starts with Kattar being much more aggressive and is practically
running at Zalal, who continues to run away and avoid his opponent.
Zalal is doing nothing but running away now and this is ridiculous.
The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Zalal won the first two rounds but he should be penalized a point for running away in the third round so Kattar should get a 10-8 round and
this should be a draw. However, that won’t happen so Zalal wins the decision.
Zalal improves to 17-5-1 and has won 7 straight fights while Kattar drops to 23-9 and has lost 4 straight fights. It’s a win for Zalal but
that footage is going to haunt him for a while.
GOOD- Jared Cannonier stops Gregory Rodrigues
Things are very tentative early as they trade kicks before both fighters begin throwing punches. Rodrigues drops Cannonier with a
combination but he’s quickly back up. They’re laying into each other
with powerful strikes but they both show good toughness. Rodrigues batters Cannonier until the first round ends. The second round begins
with more heavy strikes being exchanged. Cannonier is having a lot
more success in this round with his striking. Rodrigues is still firing back but not as often as before and he’s not doing as much
damage now either. The third round starts with both fighters smashing
the other with heavy strikes. They’re throwing bombs at each other
now, and many are connecting. I don’t know how they’re standing. As I
write that, Cannonier drops Rodrigues and jumps on him with punches
and elbows. However, Rodrigues survives as the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with Rodrigues still visibly compromised and
Cannonier quickly takes advantage of that by smashing his opponent
with hooks and punches to the head and body. Rodrigues drops and
Cannonier forces the referee to jump in to stop the fight twenty-one
seconds into the fourth round by relentlessly pounding away at his opponent.
Cannonier improves to 18-8 while Rodrigues drops to 16-6 and has his 3
fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Cannonier.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and
Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new
ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. 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 Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series-
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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