By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 328 was this past weekend and featured some exciting fights, a finish, and a bit of an odd stoppage. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 328
GOOD- King Green submits Jeremy Stephens
They’re trading strikes early until Green kicks Stephens low. After they resume Green gets a takedown and starts pummeling Stephens. Green locks in a rear-naked choke and Stephens has to tap not quite four and a half minutes into the first round.
Green improves to 35-17-1 with 1 No Contest while Stephens drops to 29-23 with 1 No Contest and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Green.
GOOD- Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley
They start off trading strikes. Brady tries for a takedown a few times before finally getting it on his third try. Brady works his ground-and-pound and grappling for the rest of the first round. The second round begins with Brady getting an immediate takedown and starting his ground-and-pound again. However, Buckley’s able to get up after a moment before Brady takes him back down and back to smashing his opponent with punches and elbows. The third round starts with Brady getting another quick takedown and resumes pummeling Buckley with strikes for the rest of the fight. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Brady wins the decision to improve to 19-2 while Buckley drops to 21-8. Good win for Brady.
GOOD- Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Volkov is landing some good kicks early until Cortes-Acosta starts chasing him around and throwing strikes of his own. Volkov stays on the move and is tearing into Cortes-Acosta’s lead leg with kicks. The second round begins with more of the same kicks from Volkov. They trade strikes for the rest of the second round, Volkov largely staying on the outside and using his reach. The third round starts with still more of the same until Cortes-Acosta does a leaping Palpatine and jabs Volkov in the eye. When they resume they continue trading strikes, Cortes-Acosta bloodying Volkov. They trade intense strikes until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Volkov wins the decision to improve to 40-11 while Cortes-Acosta drops to 17-3 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Volkov.
GOOD- Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira
Van was trying to make his first defense of the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Taira lands some kicks and gets a quick takedown. Taira is all over him but Van works his way back to his feet. They trade a few strikes before Taira gets another takedown. They’re up and down a few times before the first round ends. The second round begins with the fighters trading heavy strikes until Taira gets another takedown. Van is fighting well off his back and stands then smashes Taira with a right hand that floors him then the second round ends. The third round starts with Van tearing into Taira with strikes that are coming from all angles. Taira goes for a takedown but Van winds up on top and he’s hunting a rear-naked choke. He locks one in but Taira survives and gets to his feet. Van beats the hell out of Taira, who shows good toughness to keep fighting. Taira gets a takedown and a mat return a moment later before the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with Taira landing a nice kick before getting a takedown. Van eventually works his way back to his feet and they trade strikes for the rest of the fourth round. The fifth round commences with Van landing some powerful strikes that have Taira reeling and trying to circle away. For some reason, this causes the referee to jump in to stop the fight a minute and a half into the first round. Taira protests but that probably just saved him from more of a beating. Regardless, that’s an odd stoppage.
Van improves to 17-2 and has now won 7 straight fights while Taira drops to 18-2. Good win for Van as he successfully defends his UFC Flyweight Championship for the first time.
GOOD- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland
Chimaev was trying to make his first defense of the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Chimaev gets an immediate takedown. They’re up and down a few times as Chimaev is all over him and the first round ends. The second round begins with the two trading strikes until they go to the ground and Strickland lands on top. He lands a few strikes before Chimaev gets to his feet. Chimaev flops to his back from a failed takedown attempt and Strickland cautiously lands some ground-and-pound until the second round ends. The third round starts and ends with some big striking exchanges that bloody both fighters up.
The fourth round opens with more of the same, as the fighters trade strikes for most of the round until Chimaev gets a takedown near the end of the fourth round. The fifth round commences with Chimaev getting an early takedown. Strickland explodes back to his feet and they go back to trading strikes. Strickland is landing more and harder but Chimaev is connecting with good strikes also. They’re down and back up a few times but spent most of the rest of the fight trading strikes. We go to the judges to render their decision.
Strickland wins the Split Decision to improve to 31-7 while Chimaev is handed his first loss and is now 15-1. Strickland is the new UFC Middleweight Champion, his second time holding the gold. Great win for Strickland.
Chris Weidman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
Weidman finished his career with a 16-8 and has notable wins over Anderson Silva (34-11, 1 No Contest) twice, Vitor Belfort (26-14, 1 No Contest), and Lyoto Machida (26-12).
Weidman is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and successfully defended that title three times. He also had seven post-fight bonuses.
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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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