By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen 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: de Ridder vs. Allen
GOOD/UGLY- Kyle Nelson vs. Matt Frevola
They start off trading strikes until they slip and fall to the mat.
They’re quickly back up, though, and trading more strikes. Frevola gets a big slam but they soon reset and get back to striking. A big brawl erupts and Nelson drops Frevola. Nelson hammers Frevola over and
over until the referee jumps in with seconds to go in the first round to stop the fight. Except…it’s not over. Somehow, the fight is allowed to continue. What the hell is going on? That’s twice now that
this junk has happened in the last handful of weeks. That’s ridiculous.
The second round begins with the crowd being very unhappy with the
referee. Frevola is still wobbly from being knocked out earlier so
Nelson is able to do more damage to him. Frevola gets more into the
fight as the round wears on but it’s still Nelson being more active
and connecting with more strikes. The third round starts with Nelson
nailing Frevola with a head kick that staggers him. Nelson tees off but Frevola gets a takedown, though Nelson is quickly back up and he
gets Frevola to the mat a few times before the fight finally ends, for real this time. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Nelson wins the decision to improve to 17-6-1 while Frevola drops to
11-6-1 and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Nelson but something needs to be done about these false finishes.
GOOD- Charles Jourdain submits Davey Grant
They’re immediately battering away at each other from multiple angles.
Both are swinging hard like Shohei Otani in that unbelievable game he
had last week. Jourdain blasts Grant with some flying knees and kicks,
including one flying knee that exploded Grant’s nose and sent him toppling to his back. They scramble and Jourdain locks in a tight
guillotine choke that forces the tap just over three minutes into the first round.
Jourdain improves to 17-8-1 while Grant drops to 15-8. Good win for Jourdain.
GOOD- Manon Fiorot stops Jasmine Jasudavicius
Fiorot comes firing out of the gate and lands numerous punches before
staggering Jasudavicius with a combination. Fiorot drives a knee to
Jasudavicius’ stomach, then another to her face as Jasudavicius falls
to her knees. Fiorot continues pounding away until the referee jumps
in to stop the fight a bit over a minute into the first round.
Jasudavicius protests but it looked like a good stoppage to me.
Fiorot improves to 13-2 while Jasudavicius drops to 14-4 and has her 5
fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Fiorot.
GOOD/BAD- Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
They’re trading a lot of kicks early, though they’re also mixing in some nice punches. This continues until a close first round ends. The
second round begins with more of the same, though Zahabi is staggered
by Vera’s attacks and blatently uses the fence several times to pull
himself up. Zahabi should have been deducted a point there. Vera keeps
teeing off for a while before Zahabi fires back to close the second
round. The third round starts with more heavy striking exchanges from
the two. This close fight ends so we go to the judges to render their
verdict.
Zahabi wins the Split Decision to improve to 14-2 and has won 7 straight fights while Vera drops to 23-11-1 and has lost 3 straight
fights. It’s a win for Zahabi.
GOOD/BAD- Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
Holland starts off firing kicks until he drops Malott with a big right hand. They grapple for a while before standing, where Malott hits
Holland down low. Malott fouls him again a short time later, this time
with a knee to the groin. Take a point, ref. Not a good night for Miragliotta (he also refereed the Nelson vs. Frevola debacle). Holland
is extremely affected and the first round ends shortly thereafter.
Holland can barely continue and is showing incredible toughness to keep going. This fight should be stopped and he should be awarded a DQ
win. The second round begins with Holland still hurt and trying to
fight as best he can. Holland is able to keep things close but Malott
is starting to pull away, as Holland is still clearly compromised. The
third round starts with more striking before Malott gets a takedown.
Holland looks more recovered but is still hurting so Malott is able to
score more before the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Malott wins the decision to improve to 13-2-1 and has won 3 straight
fights while Holland drops to 28-15 with 1 No Contest. It’s a win for Malott.
GOOD- Brendan Allen stops Reinier de Ridder
They trade strikes and quickly clinch. They grapple for a while and de
Ridder almost locks in a fight-ending submission before the first
round ends. The second round begins with more striking before they
clinch against the fence. de Ridder gets Allen to the mat with a trip
and they grapple until Allen reverses and gets on top. Now Allen is
using his top pressure to try to damage his opponent before the second
round ends. The third round starts with de Ridder getting the fight to the ground again. They’re turning and reversing and de Ridder is
having some success but Allen is really laying into him and smashing
him. He’s executing his gameplan exactly.
The fourth round opens with de Ridder visibly exhausted so Allen sprints at him and completes a double-leg takedown with ease. de
Ridder is trying to fight back but Allen is in full control and coasting now. The fourth round ends and de Ridder’s corner smartly
throws the towel in for him. There’s no point in continuing.
Allen wins by TKO (exhaustion) and improves to 26-7 while de Ridder drops to 21-3 and has his 5 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Allen.
*************
Legendary kickboxer and MMA coach Duke Roufus has died at only 55
years old. After a successful fighting career (36-8-1 Kickboxing, 2-0
Boxing) he transitioned to training. He had a lot of very successful students, including former WEC and UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony
Pettis, former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, and
former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. He had many other
successful students but it’d take too long to list them all.
Roufus was a very influential and much-loved man. My condolences to
his family and friends.
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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