By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 283 was this past Saturday and the show featured two title fights. Were any new champions crowned? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 283
GOOD- Johnny Walker stops Paul Craig
Things start very slowly until Walker starts throwing leg kicks a few minutes into the fight. Craig catches one of the kicks but Walker begins beating the hell out of him with punches and backfists. Craig is knocked down and Walker is all over him with hammerfists until the referee jumps in to stop the fight a bit over two minutes into the first round. Walker improves to 20-7 while Craig drops to 16-6-1. Good win for Walker.
GOOD- Jessica Andrade vs. Lauren Murphy
Andrade throwing a lot of leg kicks early. She mixes in some other strikes but continues to pelt Murphy with these low kicks. Murphy can’t get a takedown but continues to land repeated jabs. Andrade keeps connecting with the leg kicks while Murphy tries to get her to the ground. She can’t and absorbs some heavy strikes as the first round ends. The second round begins with Andrade continuing the onslaught with those low kicks while mixing in some strong punches. Murphy just cannot get a takedown and she keeps getting pounded for her efforts as the second round ends. The third round starts with both fighters connecting with some heavy strikes. Andrade gets a takedown
but Murphy’s able to stand up. Andrade is brutalizing Murphy with all these strikes. Murphy makes it to the bell but you could argue the referee should have jumped in to stop this fight. Andrade wins the decision and improves to 24-9 and has won 3 straight fights while Murphy drops to 16-6. Good win for Andrade.
GOOD- Gilbert Burns submits Neil Magny
Slow start until Burns gets a takedown and goes to work. Nice defense from Magny but Burns is somehow able to move to mount. He then locks in an arm triangle choke and gets the submission a bit over four minutes into the first round. Burns improves to 21-5 while Magny drops to 27-10. Good win for Burns.
GOOD- Brandon Moreno stops Deiveson Figueiredo
Figueiredo was the UFC Flyweight Champion after beating Moreno by decision one year ago. Moreno won the Interim UFC Flyweight Championship last July. This is the fourth fight between these two fighters in the last three years. The tally was 1-1-1 heading into this fight. Moreno got an early takedown but nothing came of it. They trade kicks and then trade punches. Moreno gets another takedown and they grapple on the mat to end the first round Figueiredo tried a few submissions but couldn’t get anything. The second round starts with Figueiredo getting a takedown. Again, nothing happens and they stand
back up. Moreno gets stuffed on a takedown attempt so Moreno softens things up with some strikes before landing another takedown. Figueiredo reverses and they grapple a bit before Moreno ends up on top to end the second round. The third round starts with them trading until Figueiredo claims he got poked in the eye. The referee says to fight on and Moreno gets a takedown. Figueiredo is cut under his right eye but that eye is also badly damaged. The third round ends on the
mat after some trading and the cageside doctor stops the fight in between rounds. Figueiredo can’t open his right eye. It’s all over, Brandon Moreno is your undisputed UFC Flyweight Champion. Yet another very close fight. Moreno improves to 21-6-2 while Figueiredo drops to 21-3-1. They just had the UFC’s first ever quadrilogy, though maybe tetralogy would be a better way to say that? A quintology (pentalogy?)
is out, as Figueiredo said he’s moving up to bantamweight. It’d be interesting if language experts weighed in on that. Regardless, good win for Moreno.
UGLY- Unhappy fans throw garbage at Brandon Moreno
Not much else needs to be said. This card was in Brazil and some fans were unhappy that Figueiredo (who’s from Brazil) lost and decided to pelt Moreno with beer and other beverages as he returned to the back. It’s a terrible look and those fans should be ashamed of themselves.
GOOD- Jamahal Hill vs. Glover Teixeira
This was for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Teixeira immediately tries for a few takedowns but gets stuffed each time. They trade strikes as Teixeira tries a few more takedowns. He can’t get any and Hill is starting to light him up with strikes. The second round is more of the same. They’re trading strikes and now they’ve both been
eyepoked. Teixeira just can’t get any takedowns. He keeps trying, though, and gets blasted with some hard uppercuts. Teixeira finally gets a takedown and starts working for a submission. However, Hill works his way up to his feet. They trade strikes for the rest of the second round. The third round begins with another Teixeira takedown attempt. Hill avoids it and staggers Teixeira with a head kick. He can’t finish him, though, so he lets Teixeira up. He’s showing
incredible toughness but Hill is hurting him badly. The fourth round starts with Hill dominating the action. He punishes Teixeira with hard punches, head kicks, and knees. The damage is adding up but Teixeira fights on. He’s cut and blood is pouring out into his eyes. He’s still doing damage, though, but Hill is doing more. You could easily argue the fight should be stopped here. Teixeira makes it to the end of the
fourth round and is somehow ready to fight as the fifth round begins. Teixeira gets a takedown and we fight on the mat. Hill reverses and gets on top before he lets Teixeira up. Hill fights cautiously as the
fight closes, he probably believes Teixeira has been possessed by something and is barely human anymore. I don’t know how else to explain how Teixeira can continue fighting so hard after being beaten so much. Hill’s probably connected with more strikes than Teixieira has thrown. This is wild. Hill wins the dominant decision and is the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Hill improves to 12-1 with 1 No
Contest and has won 4 straight fights while Teixeira drops to 33-9 and announced his retirement afterwards. Good win for Hill.
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Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had his final MMA fight on the undercard for UFC 283, losing to Ihor Potieria. He announced his retirement after the fight and finishes his career with a record of 27-14-1. Shogun had some legendary fights and moments that included winning the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix by beating Ricardo Arona and Alistair Overeem in the same night. He also won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
once and had 8 post-fight bonuses while in the UFC. He had a great career and I wish him success and happiness in retirement.
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Glover Teixeira announced his retirement after his fight at UFC 283 as well. Teixeira finishes his career with a record of 33-9 and was a one-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and had the most finishes and submissions in light heavyweight division history. He also had 9 post-fight bonuses. He had a great career and I wish him success and happiness in retirement.
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Jose Aldo will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July. That’s no surprise, he was one of the greatest of all-time and is probably the greatest featherweight in MMA history. He was a two-time UFC Featherweight Champion and a one-time WEC Featherweight Champion and finished with a record of 31-8. Congrats to him on this announcement.
My new fantasy book is now out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: A Fight For Survival. It’s the third book in my epic fantasy Kingdom of Zarias series and follows the adventures of the Summers siblings as they fight to defend the world from an evil villain named Galren. This book also introduces lots of other characters as the scope of the world grows. 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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