HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 244

UFC 244 was this past weekend. Let’s get right to the rundown.

HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 244

UFC 244

GOOD- Kevin Lee stops Gregor Gillespie

They exchanged strikes early until Lee plastered Gillespie with a headkick that knocked him out in a little less than three minutes into the first round. Good win for Lee.

GOOD- Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov

Lewis landed some really big shots during this fight. Ivanov took them, though, as he showed good toughness. Ivanov also had some good takedowns. This was a really close fight. Lewis won the decision but I could definitely see it going to Ivanov. I thought Lewis won myself but maybe if I rewatched the fight I would feel differently. Good fight, and good win for Lewis.

GOOD- Stephen Thompson vs. Vicente Luque

Luque came out strong in the first round but faded as the fight wore on. He seemed to have Thompson backpedaling early but he came roaring back and dropped Luque a few times in the third round. Thompson won the decision and showed that he’s still a threat to the top guys in the division. Good win for Thompson.

GOOD/BAD- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till

Till was the clear winner to me, even though he had to settle for a split decision win because one of the judges gave Gastelum all three rounds. Till hit a lot of leg kicks, so did Gastelum but his seemed less effective. Gastelum got a takedown late in the third round but couldn’t do anything with it. The BAD is for that one judge who gave Gastelum all three rounds. I don’t agree with that at all, but anyway, good win for Till.

GOOD/BAD- Jorge Masvidal stops Nate Diaz

Masvidal basically beat Diaz the hell up throughout this fight. Diaz showed that incredible toughness he’s always had but Masvidal just kept laying into him. It was pretty one-sided. The ref stopped the fight in between the third and fourth rounds, saying that Diaz had cuts that would prevent him from fighting.

First off, that’s a complete and utter BS way for a BMF fight to end. Yes, the baddest MF in the company is decided by a doctor at cageside. I know that’s the way the sport is, but if you want to introduce this title and make an actual belt for it, you can’t have it end this way. It’s like promising Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak and delivering Neil Breen in Double Down. An exaggeration, for sure, but I think it’s appropriate.
The fight itself was good, as Masvidal showed a killer instinct and Diaz showed his amazing toughness.

Could Masvidal have faded down the stretch and allowed Diaz to lock in a submission and get the stoppage? Perhaps, but that’s speculation and also unlikely.

Masvidal gets the big win and has to be looking at a title shot next, a real title. The ending was anti-climatic but the fight was pretty good and Masvidal showed why he’ll be a threat to whoever he faces next.

Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.comand you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank

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