By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 280 was yesterday and featured a stacked card on it with two title
fights and lots of big names on it. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to
the rundown.
UFC 280
GOOD Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot
They exchange a lot of strikes early. The latter part of round one
turns into a kicking affair and they both work the body. The second
round starts with more kicks from Fiorot, who outlands Chookagian this
round so we would appear to be tied heading into the final frame. The
third round opens with more punching, though they do start mixing in
more kicks eventually. This was a very close round but Fiorot got a
late takedown and that probably swayed the judges as she wins the
round and the fight on the judges scorecards. Fiorot improves to 10-1
and has won 10 straight fights after losing her debut while Chookagian
drops to 18-5 and has her 4 four winning streak snapped. Good win for
Fiorot.
GOOD- Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Gamrot gets stuffed on a takedown right away, the first of many. They
scramble for a bit after another Gamrot takedown attempt. Gamrot
catches a kick and gets another takedown. Dariush gets up and Gamrot
gets another takedown. He’s not able to do much with these takedowns,
though, so I would assume Dariush wins the round as he’s done more
damage. Round two starts with Gamrot continuing to go for takedowns.
Dariush is fighting them off, though. Dariush is also landing strikes
high, low, and to the middle while Gamrot continues looking for the
takedown but the round ends as he finally gets the fight to the
ground. Round three starts with more Gamrot takedown attempts but
Dariush stands strong and lands some strikes as he fights him off.
They trade kicks to the body before Dariush drops Gamrot with a
powerful left hand. Gamrot shoots in and gets the takedown but Dariush
scrambles up and they exchange strikes until the round and fight ends.
Dariush wins the decision from the judges and improves to 22-4-1 and
has won 8 straight fights while Gamrot drops to 21-2 with 1 No Contest
and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Dariush.
GOOD- Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley
O’Malley’s using a lot of low kicks early. Yan returns fire with kicks
of his own before getting a takedown. O’Malley stands, though, and
they trade more kicks before the round ends. The second round starts
with some good combinations from Yan but O’Malley fires back and hurts
Yan with a left hand. Yan goes down but gets up and gets a takedown.
They go up and down a few more times before Yan lands a good jab. An
O’Malley body kick is met with several powerful kicks from Yan in
return and he gets another takedown before the round ends. Round three
starts with both men firing kicks and jabs. O’Malley lands a knee and
left hook that has Yan cut, the Russian’s cut. They trade bombs before
Yan gets another takedown but O’Malley is back up. Yan punishes him
with some hard strikes before getting another takedown but the fight
ends. O’Malley wins the Split Decision and improves to 16-1 with 1 No
Contest while Yan drops to 16-4.
This was a hell of a fight but I thought Yan won the clear decision. I
thought Yan won Rounds 1 and 2 while Round 3 was a toss-up. I don’t
want to call this a robbery or anything like that because I’m not a
MMA judge. I could be completely wrong here, I don’t know. I think Yan
won but I could easily be wrong. O’Malley fought really well. He did
more damage to Yan than anyone ever has. He has the big one he needs
to go to the next level. We’re looking at a future champion here. Hell
of a fight. Good win for O’Malley.
GOOD/UGLY- Aljamain Sterling stops T.J. Dillashaw
Sterling successfully defended his UFC Bantamweight Championship here.
The fight started with Sterling getting a quick takedown off a caught
kick. Dillashaw is hurt as Sterling works his ground-and-pound. He’s
beating the hell out of Dillashaw, who gets up a few times just to get
taken down again. He escapes a rear-naked choke as well. The first
round ends and they somehow let Dillashaw continue fighting. They
literally pop his left shoulder in between rounds. This is ridiculous.
Round two starts with Sterling getting a takedown. Dillashaw gets up
somehow and nearly gets finished with an anaconda choke. Sterling gets
another takedown and blasts Dillashaw until the referee finally jumps
in to end the fight 3:44 into the second round.
Apparently Dillashaw injured his shoulder in April and it’s popped out
twenty times while training. Why take the fight then? The number of
fights you can win with an injured shoulder like this is tiny, if any.
And you’re damn sure not beating the champion. Maybe you can beat some
tomato can but you’re not beating the champ. This was not a smart move
by Dillashaw. And the cageside doctor allowing it to continue is also
dumb. Anyway, Sterling improves to 22-3 and has now won 8 straight
fights while Dillashaw drops to 17-5. Good win for Sterling.
GOOD- Islam Makhachev submits Charles Oliveira
Makhacev won the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship with this
impressive win. The fight started with Oliveira taking the fight to
the ground early. Makhachev starts to improve his position but
Oliveira sweeps to get back to his feet. They trade knees before
Makhachev gets a takedown. He cuts Oliveira with some elbows and the
first round ends. The second round opens with them trading strikes.
Oliveira tries a flying knee but gets caught and dropped with a big
right hand. Makhachev at 3:16 of the second round says he’s the new
UFC Lightweight Champion. Makhachev improves to 23-1 and has won 11
straight fights while Oliveira drops to 33-9 with 1 No Contest and has
his 11 fight win streak snapped.
This was an incredibly impressive win for Makhachev. He submitted the
man with the most finishes and submissions in UFC history. Oliveira
also has the most Performance of the Night and Post Fight bonuses in
UFC history. Good win for Makhachev.
My new fantasy book is now out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The Steep
Price of Revenge. It’s the second book in my epic fantasy Kingdom
of Zarias series and follows the adventures of the Summers siblings as
they seek revenge for the wrongs inflicted on them. This book also
introduces lots of other characters as the scope of the world
continues to expand. 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. Also, here’s the link to my new Compendium book about
the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium 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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