By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 329 was this past weekend and featured a lot of exciting fights. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 329
GOOD- King Green stops Terrance McKinney
They come storming out of the gate and trade immediate strikes. McKinney lands a good knee. Green is cut on his left eye. McKinney backs Green into the cage and is unloading powerful strikes on him. Green is talking trash while getting the hell beat out of him. McKinney gets a takedown and continues teeing off with punches and elbows. Green turns his back to McKinney and is absorbing a lot of punishment. The referee is about to stop the fight when Green explodes back to his feet. Green summons all of his energy and crushes McKinney with a liver shot that drops him. Green turns it on and is smashing McKinney with repeated bombs that force the referee to jump in to stop the fight with just one second to go in the first round. Wow, that’s incredible! What a comeback.
Green improves to 36-17-1 with 1 No Contest and has won 4 straight fights while McKinney drops to 18-9. Good win for Green.
GOOD- Brandon Royval submits Lone’er Kavanagh
They’re trading strikes early, Royval’s speed being the difference. Royval gets the fight to the ground and Royval starts unloading heavy elbows onto Kavanagh, who quickly gets back to his feet and gets a trip takedown before the first round ends. The second round begins with Royval using his piston-like jab to keep Kavanagh at bay. Kavanagh lands a beautiful counter and drops Royval and starts unloading some strong ground-and-pound. Royval Gumby’s his way back to his feet and goes back to his jab and power strikes to beat on Kavanagh for a moment. They go back to the ground and are up and down a few times before the second round ends. The third round starts with Royval hurting Kavanagh with a big right hand but Kavanagh somehow swings back and hurts Royval, who gets a takedown and starts tearing into Kavanagh with elbows. They grapple for a while as Royval hunts for a submission. Royval eventually grabs a rear-naked choke and gets the tap a bit over three and a half minutes into the third round.
Royval improves to 18-9 while Kavanagh drops to 10-2. Good win for Royval.
GOOD- Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista
They trade some strikes before Sandhagen defends a Bautista takedown attempt and goes for one of his own. Now they’re swinging away at each other, both landing powerful strikes. They both go for takedowns but Bautista gets his and grabs Sandhagen in a Suloev Stretch that hurts Sandhagen but can’t finish him as time runs out of the first round. The second round starts with Sandhagen limping noticeably. Sandhagen is doing his best to attack and defend but his injured leg has severely compromised both his offense and defense. Sandhagen’s toughness is nuts, Bautista is getting tired from beating on him so much. Sandhagen lands some good strikes so Bautista goes for and gets a takedown. They end the second round with Sandhagen connecting with some nice strikes. The third round starts with Bautista dropping Sandhagen, who tries for a leglock so Bautista backs away. Bautista gets another takedown. Sandhagen fights back to his feet so Bautista takes him down again. They’re up and down a few times, with each man getting a takedown. Bautista gets one last takedown before the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Bautista wins the decision to improve to 18-3 while Sandhagen drops to 18-7. Good win for Bautista.
GOOD- Paddy Pimblett submits Benoit Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis goes for an immediate takedown but Pimblett rolls through with a guillotine choke that he turns into a Peruvian Necktie. Saint-Denis tries to resist but he loses consciousness and the fight is over fifty-two seconds into the first round. Wow.
Pimblett improves to 24-4 while Saint-Denis drops to 17-4 with 1 No Contest and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Pimblett.
UGLY- Max Holloway beats Conor McGregor by TKO (Injury)
McGregor runs out immediately with a flying kick and hurts himself on the landing. He tries to fight on but can’t. Holloway even tells the referee that McGregor is hurt but the ref won’t listen. Holloway asks McGregor if he’s okay. McGregor tries to fight on but eventually has to turn and concede the fight. What a dud ending to a great card. Injuries happen and they suck so much. Bleh.
Holloway improves to 28-9 while McGregor drops to 22-7 and has lost 3 straight fights.
*************
Last week I predicted every fight on this card. Let’s see how I did.
Early Prelims
Alessandro Costa (17-5) submits Cody Durden (18-11-1)
I got the winner right but not the method.
Ryan Gandra (10-1) stops Zachary Reese (10-4, 1 NC)
Again, I got the winner right but not the method.
Damian Pinas (10-1) stops Cesar Almeida (7-3)
I got the winner right but I didn’t give a method.
Tracy Cortez (12-4) vs. Wang Cong (10-1)
I got the winner wrong here and the wrong method. It was a decision but not Split. Maybe I can get half-credit?
So I got 3 winners right and 0.5 methods right
Prelims
Luke Riley (14-0) stops Kai Kamaka (18-8-1)
I got the winner right and the method. I was off on the round.
Adrian Yanez (18-6-1) stops Cody Garbrandt (15-8)
I was wrong about the winner and the method.
Gable Steveson (4-0) vs. Elisha Ellison (5-3)
I got the winner right but the method wrong.
Robert Whittaker (28-9) stops Nikita Krylov (31-12)
I got the winner right and the method, including the exact round.
I got 3 winners right and 2 of the methods.
Main Card
Terrance McKinney (18-9) stops King Green (36-17-1, 1 NC)
I got the winner wrong but the method right, though the round was wrong.
Brandon Royval (18-9) submits Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2)
I got the winner and method wrong.
Cory Sandhagen (18-7) vs. Mario Bautista (18-3)
I got the winner and method right.
Benoit Saint-Denis (17-4, 1 NC) vs. Paddy Pimblett (24-4)
I got the winner and method wrong.
Conor McGregor (22-7) vs. Max Holloway (28-9)
I got the winner and method right. McGregor’s injury stains the method a bit but I need it so I’ll take it lol.
I got 2 winners right and 3 of the methods.
Overall I got 8 winners right out of 13 fights. And 5.5 methods right. Not great but not terrible.
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