By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Barber was last weekend and it
featured some exciting fights and finishes. However, it also featured
the last-minute cancellation of the named main event. So it’s kind of
weird to still call the event that. Regardless, let’s get to the
rundown.
UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Barber
GOOD- Zachary Reese vs. Dusko Todorovic
They start off trading kicks before Reese shoots for a takedown and
Todorovic grabs a guillotine. Reese eventually escapes and they smash
each other with strikes for the rest of the first round. The second
round begins with Reese nailing Todorovic with some powerful strikes
that force him to shoot in for a takedown. Reese stays aggressive and
hammers Todorovic with more strikes until the second round ends. The
third round starts with the fighters trading good strikes, with Reese
landing more, which will likely get him the victory. The fight ends so
we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Reese wins the decision to improve to 9-2 while Todorovic drops to
12-6 and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Reese.
GOOD/BAD- Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson
They spend the first round trading strikes and clinch a fair amount.
The second round begins with Chaisson trying for a takedown but Vieira
defends and sends them both crashing to the mat, where they spend the
rest of the round. Vieira remains in control until the second round
ends. The third round is a repeat of the third round, where they spend
nearly the entirety of the round on the mat fighting for control.
Chiasson cuts Vieira’s forehead open with an elbow and uses that to
explode up and attack her until the fight ends. Not the most thrilling
of fights. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Vieira wins the decision to improve to 15-4 while Chiasson drops to
10-4. Good win for Vieira.
GOOD- Dustin Jacoby stops Bruno Lopes
Lopes comes out firing but Jacoby has dynamite in his gloves and drops
his opponent and smashes him against the fence until the referee jumps
in to stop the fight not quite two minutes into the first round.
Jacoby improves to 21-9-1 while Lopes drops to 14-2 and has his 3
fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Jacoby.
GOOD- Ramiz Brahimaj submits Billy Ray Goff
Not much happens until Brahimaj gets a takedown. They grapple for a
bit before Brahimaj locks in a guillotine and Goff is out like a light
a bit over three minutes into the first round.
Brahimaj improves to 12-5 while Goff drops to 9-4. Good win for Brahimaj.
GOOD- Mateusz Gamrot vs. L’udovit Klein
They’re trading strikes early until Klein staggers Gamrot with a jab
and forces the Polish fighter to work for, and get, a takedown. They
fight on the ground until the first round ends. The second round
begins with Gamrot getting an immediate takedown. They’re trading
strikes but Gamrot is landing the heavier ones and the second round
ends. The third round starts with a Gamrot takedown attempt but Klein
defends and they’re trading strikes for a while until Gamrot gets a
takedown and they spend the rest of the fight trying to better
position and landing their ground-and-pound. We go to the judges to
render their verdict.
Gamrot wins the decision to improve to 25-3 with 1 No Contest while
Klein drops to 23-5-1 and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good
win for Gamrot.
Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber is cancelled
The scheduled main event was cancelled after the video packages were
already aired and just before the walkouts. Barber suffered a medical
issue, Blachfield said it was a seizure, and couldn’t fight.
That’s an extremely scary situation that’s likely caused, at least in
part, by the extreme weight-cutting she did to try to get to the 126
pound weight limit for her flyweight fight. At the weigh-ins she came
in a half pound over that limit and looked very weak.
Andreas Gustafsson (11-2) was scheduled to fight Trevin Giles (16-7)
in a 180 pound catchweight fight on short notice but Giles fell in his
bathroom on Friday and hit his head. What if that was tied to
weight-cutting? I hate to speculate like that but we’re talking about
something very serious here.
Daiane Silva (3-0) spent a month in a coma from a bad weight cut.
Amateur fighter Rondel Clark tragically passed away from kidney
failure days after losing a fight.
Weight-cutting is a serious issue that needs to be looked at and
regulated as much as possible to try to avoid such tragic outcomes.
I’ll be hoping that Barber and all other fighters are okay.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
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.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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