By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL Champions Series 2 and UFC 318 were this past weekend and featured
a few exciting fights and finishes, a lot of decisions, and a big
title upset. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL Champions Series 2
GOOD- Corey Anderson stops Denis Goltov
Anderson won the first round with his striking and he tired Goltsov
with his clinch work and wrestling. In the second round Anderson took
Goltsov down and rained down punches until the referee was forced to
step in to stop the fight three and a half minutes into the second
round.
Anderson improves to 19-6 with 1 No Contest and has won 3 straight
fights while Goltsov drops to 36-9 and has his 4 fight winning streak
snapped. Good win for Anderson.
GOOD- Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Takeshi Izumi
Zaynukov used some takedowns and ground-and-pound in the first round.
The second round saw mostly striking and some good takedown defense
from both men. The third round sees Zaynukov get some more takedowns
but the fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Zaynukov wins the decision to improve to 17-6 and has won 6 straight
fights while Izumi drops to 6-4. Good win for Zaynukov.
GOOD- A.J. McKee vs. Akhmed Magomedov
Both fighters get a takedown in the first round. McKee gets a takedown
and they spend the final moments of the second round in the clinch.
The third round sees McKee again control the pace and batter and tire
Magomedov. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
McKee wins the decision to improve to 23-2 while Magomedov drops to
10-2 with 1 No Contest. Good win for McKee.
GOOD- Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba
Ditcheva beats the hell out of Inaba for all three rounds of this
fight. Ditcheva completely dominated Inaba, who showed tremendous
toughness to not get finished. We go to the judges to render their
verdict. One of the judges gives Ditcheva a 30-24, so three 10-8 rounds. That pretty much tells you what happened here. This is only
the second time Ditcheva has gone the distance in one of her fights.
Ditcheva won the decision to improve to a perfect 15-0 while Inaba
drops to 8-2. Good win for Ditcheva.
GOOD- Costello van Steenis submits Johnny Eblen
The previously undefeated Eblen was looking to defend his PFL
Middleweight Championship for the fourth time. Eblen fought very well
in the first three rounds, using his wrestling and striking to damage
van Steenis. However, van Steenis battered Eblen in the fourth round
and started taking advantage of Eblen beginning to tire. The fifth
round saw a wild change as Eblen got a few takedowns and looked to be
in control when van Steenis suddenly scrambled and took Eblen’s back
and locked in a tight rear-naked choke that caused the champion to
pass out with only nine seconds left in the fight. Wow.
Van Steenis is the new PFL Middleweight Champion and improves to 17-3
and has won 3 straight fights while Eblen drops to 16-1. Good win for
van Steenis.
UFC 318
GOOD- Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber
They trade a lot of kicks in the first round. This continues in the
second round, though Johnson is also landing some very good punches
also. The third round sees their kickboxing match switch a little bit,
as Zellhuber does some nice damage to Johnson but it likely won’t be
enough. The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Johnson wins the decision to improve to 24-19 and has won 3 straight
fights while Zellhuber drops to 15-3. Good win for Johnson.
GOOD- Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull
They exchange strikes immediately then Pitbull slams Ige to the mat.
They’re up and back down and Ige works his way back to his feet as the
action stalls during their stalemate and the first round ends. The second round begins with more feinting and inaction before Ige throws
out some strikes. Pitbull answers with some uppercuts that hurt Ige
but can’t stop him and Pitbull gets a takedown shortly before the
second round ends. The third round starts with Ige dropping Pitbull
with a kick. Ige lets him up and they trade some strikes until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict. Not a great
fight but I’m trying to stay positive.
Pitbull wins the decision to improve to 37-8 while Ige drops to 19-10.
Good win for Pitbull.
GOOD- Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Holland uses his reach to attack and try to keep Rodriguez at bay.
They’re both landing good strikes and the first round ends. The second
round begins with Rodriguez dropping Holland but he lets him up to try
to punish him further on the feet. Rodriguez drops Holland again and
this time jumps into his guard for a bit before standing. They trade for a bit before the second round ends. The third round starts with
both fighters landing some heavy strikes. Holland drops Rodriguez with
an uppercut and they fight until time expires. We go to the judges to
render their verdict.
Rodriguez wins the decision to improve to 20-5 and has won 3 straight
fights while Holland drops to 28-14 with 1 No Contest. Nice win for Rodriguez.
GOOD- Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov
Both men are landing heavy strikes in the first round. Costa is
connecting with more and doing more damage with them, including a
knockdown shortly before the first round ends. The second round begins
and ends with more of the same, as Costa is landing the more powerful
strikes. The third round starts with a repeat, as Costa batters the
ultra tough Kopylov. He can’t finish him, though, and the fight ends.
We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Costa wins the decision to improve to 15-4 while Kopylov drops to 14-4. Good win for Costa.
GOOD- Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
This was Poirier’s retirement fight. The action starts with some quick
striking before Holloway drops Poirier a few times. The Diamond is too
tough to be finished like that, though, and he fires back with some
strikes of his own. Holloway is landing more often, though. The second
round begins with Poirier chasing Holloway, who unloads some heavy
strikes at his opponent. They go down to the ground for a moment but
are back up quickly. However, Poirier drops Holloway and nearly chokes
him out but the second round ends. The third round starts with more
fast-paced action that’s too close to call in terms of who you think won the round.
The fourth round opens with more striking exchanges, Holloway landing
more but Poirier remains dangerous. Holloway is attacking the body and
head with speed that’s only allowing a single Poirier counter attack.
The fifth round commences with more Holloway striking, though Poirier
is still landing well, he just can’t keep up with the torrid pace that
Holloway works at. As expected, Holloway points at the ground in the
closing seconds and Poirier obliges. Holloway unleashes a brutal
flurry that nearly ends things but Poirier is able to survive until
the time expires. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Holloway wins the decision to improve to 27-8 while Poirier drops to
30-10 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Holloway.
Holloway has a few quick words after his victory before giving the
floor to Poirier, who expresses his gratitude to those who helped him
along the way. A video package plays to end the night, as Poirier leaves his gloves in the cage and departs.
GOOD- Dustin Poirier retires
Poirier had a great career, with many accolades. He has 15 post-fight
bonuses, tied for 4th all time. He has 9 Knockouts in the Lightweight
division, tied for 1st. He has wins over five former UFC Champions. I
could go on but you get the point, Poirier had a very successful career. I wish him well in his post-fighting life.
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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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