By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Freedom 250 was this past weekend and featured a lot of exciting fights. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC Freedom 250
GOOD- Diego Lopes stops Steve Garcia
They trade strikes for a while until a Lopes kick goes low and time is called. Garcia is fine so the fight continues. Garcia is striking well as Lopes remains tentative and the first round ends. The second round begins with Garcia pushing forwardly cautiously before being warned for doing the Palpatine. Lopes leaps forward and a huge brawl breaks out. A big left from Lopes drops Garcia to a knee but he’s right back up, only to get smashed by a right-left that drops him fully. Lopes pounces on him and beats on him until the referee jumps in to stop the fight a little over halfway through the second round.
Lopes improves to 28-8 while Garcia drops to 19-6 and has his 7 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Lopes.
GOOD- Bo Nickal stops Kyle Daukaus
Nickal comes out and gets a quick slam. Daukaus is cut from some elbows but the referee stands them up for inaction. They’re swinging at each other before Nickal lands some powerful punches that drop Daukaus. Nickal follows up with repeated elbows until the referee is forced to jump in to stop the fight four and a half minutes into the first round.
Nickal improves to 9-1 while Daukaus drops to 17-5 with 1 No Contest and has his 6 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Nickal.
GOOD- Mauricio Ruffy stops Michael Chandler
Chandler keeps going for takedowns early as Ruffy peppers him with strikes. Ruffy drops Chandler, who’s right back up with a backward somersault. Ruffy nails Chandler with a spinning wheel kick to the head that drops Chandler to his knees and a few punches force the referee to jump in to stop the fight four and a half minutes into the first round.
Ruffy improves to 14-2 while Chandler drops to 23-11 and has lost 4 straight fights. Good win for Ruffy.
GOOD- Josh Hokit stops Derrick Lewis
They trade strikes early until Hokit gets a takedown. Hokit starts laying into Lewis with big strikes before trying for a submission. He can’t get it and the first round ends. The second round begins with more big striking exchanges. Lewis is exhausted but hanging in there until Hokit rushes him and starts unloading with strikes that force the referee to jump in to stop the fight a little over four minutes into the second round.
Hokit improves to a perfect 10-0 while Lewis drops to 29-14 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Hokit.
GOOD- Sean O’Malley stops Aiemann Zahabi
O’Malley moves forward as Zahabi stays elusive early. This continues throughout the entire first round so not much happens. The second round begins with fireworks early, as both men are throwing and landing strikes. O’Malley drops Zahabi with a left and follows up with a right as he’s getting up that drops him to his side. The referee comes rushing in to call off the fight as O’Malley celebrates. Seems like a premature stoppage but O’Malley was likely on his way to winning anyway.
O’Malley improves to 20-3 with 1 No Contest while Zahabi drops to 14-3 and has his 7 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for O’Malley.
GOOD/BAD- Ciryl Gane stops Alex Pereira
This fight was for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
They’re trading kicks and body punches early. They keep trading strikes for the rest of the first round. The second round begins with Pereira trying for a head kick but Gane counter punches and drops him. Gane is all over Poatan with illegal elbows to the back of the head but Pereira fights through it and stands. Gane doesn’t relent, though, and he lands a torrent of strikes that eventually drop Pereira against the cage and cause the referee to jump in to stop the fight a minute and a half into the second round.
Gane improves to 14-2 with 1 No Contest and Gane keeps his dirtiest player in the game streak alive while Pereira drops to 13-4. It’s a win for Gane.
GREAT/BAD- Justin Gaethje stops Ilia Topuria
Topuria was looking to defend his UFC Lightweight Championship for the first time here, in this unification bout. Gaethje won the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship while Topuria was dealing with a personal matter.
They’re trading powerful strikes early. Gaethje cuts Topuria above the eye with an uppercut. Topuria works the body with strikes. The toughness on display already is off the charts as the first round ends. The second round begins with more fierce striking exchanges. Topuria’s nose is busted open but he’s also starting to hurt Gaethje with these body strikes. Gaethje goes down and Topuria follows him and they grapple for the rest of the second round. The third round starts with a clinch that leads to more striking and Gaethje drops Topuria with a hard right hand. Topuria is quickly back up but his face is a mess. Gaethje draws energy from the crowd to keep pushing forward through the exhaustion and damage to pour it on.
And nearly the fight. Topuria tells his corner that he can’t see so referee Marc Goddard calls in the cageside doctor, who waves the fight off. But then Goddard asks the doctor to take a second look and he changes his mind and the fight is still on. What the heck is going on?
Regardless, the fourth round opens with Gaethje unloading on Topuria, who’s fighting back with all he has but Gaethje is fresher and stronger. Topuria’s eye is swollen shut with uppercuts but he’s able to hurt Gaethje also. The unbelievable toughness of both of these men is on full display here. It’s hard to believe that this is real and not a movie. Uppercuts and head kicks and knees are flying from all angles. The fourth round ends and both men are hurting. Topuria can’t continue and the fight is waved off.
Gaethje improves to 28-5 and has won 3 straight fights while Topuria is handed his first loss and drops to 17-1. What a wild fight. Justin Gaethje is the new Undisputed UFC Lightweight Champion.
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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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