UFC 218 promised something special, and special is exactly what we got. Granted, you could argue that there’s no such thing as a perfect night – whether it’s commentators boasting about athletes working day jobs to make ends meet, or referees warning fighters for not blocking punches with their face – but to the extent that we get these in MMA, the battles in Detroit delivered.
It’s especially nice as a follow up to the TUF 26 card. The reality show finale kept us hooked with plenty of guts, but not much arts, even with a title on the line. UFC 218 kept the arts and guts in tact.
On to the tweetdown…
Max Doleaway
There were a lot of similarities between Max Holloway’s first bout with Jose Aldo and the rematch.
Holloway found ways to stay on the end of Aldo’s punches, close the distance with a jab, outside combinations, and gradually shrink the proximity gap until Aldo was forced to fire bullets into an awkwardly mustachioed abyss. It was another truly great performance from Max against a great fighter. He dictated the pace, and as soon as he identified the moment the pace was breaking his opponent – he pounced on 145 lbs of elite but dead meat.
Holloway has Frankie Edgar lined up next. Unless Conor McGregor’s HQ answers the call. As much as I appreciate Conor’s presence in the game, he hasn’t played much of it lately. And despite being tagged with labels like “greatest”, he hasn’t even defended either one of his titles. It’d be nice to see him revisit their first bout when Holloway was still barely old enough to drink.
As for Aldo, I argued in our preview that there were places Aldo could go tactically he could benefit from; using more of his uppercut down the middle, be more reactive defensively, and maybe even attempt an arbitrary takedown here and there. Sure enough, he scored something of a modest trip, landed uppercuts down the middle, and seemed to be pacing his output even when the output itself was anything but measured.
I don’t believe Aldo is done. He’s gone his entire UFC career, still just 31, and only lost to two fighters in their absolute primes, both of whom are looking more and more like future icons.
It doesn’t mean Aldo is still elite. His instincts won’t change, and that’s part of his issue – dictating a general pace with specific tactics. He keeps losing himself in each exchange, for better and for worse. But it’s been a brilliant career nonetheless.
World Breaker Skulk
Francis Ngannou’s knockout of Alistair Overeem looked drawn out of a comic. With Rob Liefield traced muscles, and Lovecraftian scale, the first thing that struck me was how big Ngannou looked next to Overeem in the clinch. And then that left hook happened; a punch that looked like it could tear through aeons, or keep an event horizon pressed against a dark matter fence. No matter how stupid these descriptions sound in my head, they feel appropriate – especially in photoshop form.
Another among many great things about Ngannou was his postfight speech. God help the UFC if they can’t market this man if he wins the title. It was clear from the outset that he’s more than just a strong, heavy, soul separating puncher. Overeem is one of the strongest fighters in the clinch, and Ngannou didn’t break a sweat sitting there, pondering life lessons and racism, and then went back to work with a brain slicing strike.
Stipe Miocic has his work cut out for him, and the world can’t wait.
Overeasy
It’s fitting that Overeem and Aldo lost, since their futures pose similar questions. Both fighters are still dangerous, but that danger looks contingent upon UFC’s matchmaking. Heavyweight will never turn away a dangerous fighter, and Overeem qualifies. If there’s a silver lining for Overeem, other than recovering from an all timer of a knockout, it’s that heavyweight’s universe tends to unfold as it shouldn’t – cycling through contenders who look brilliant one moment against champions who only seem to grab moments they can’t replicate, if not consistently (Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum), then at all (Brock Lesnar and Andrei Arlovski).
Mouthlease
Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje engaged in all out war, plus some added rolling thunder. Alvarez had to survive a brutal leg assault, but his body work and sustained movement allowed him to overcome what looked like the impossible (Gaethje’s leg kicks), and eventually he got the knockout.
A lot has been said about Gaethje, who performed admirably against his toughest competition yet. While his leg kicks do a lot to soften the blows he’s constantly susceptible to, you have to wonder how quickly the shelf life on his chin will decline at his current rate while he’s in his prime. He’s four years older than Holloway, so it’s not like he’s some spring chicken that can handle those punch probiotics. Regardless, that was fight of the year material and their next fights can’t happen soon enough. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down there athletic commissions. Unlike Bisping, give them their allotted medical rest per scientific jurisdiction first.
Ce-few-do
If you could recognize this man, good job, because I couldn’t. Cejudo performed well, and I’ve never been one to criticize fighters for forcing opponents to fight at their pace. Cejudo was brilliant against Wilson Reis, but Sergio Pettis was never gonna be the kind of fighter to grant him the same space or opportunities on the feet.
As a result, Cejudo went back to his wrestling, much to the chagrin of fans. It doesn’t endear him to a potential rematch with Demetrious Johnson, but he’s taking the necessary steps.
Referfee
I couldn’t tell you what exactly was going on in Herb Dean’s mind when he warned David Teymur for circling away from Drakkar Klose. He probably couldn’t tell you either. MMA referees are an elusive bunch, what they do is difficult, but that doesn’t mean they’re bulletproof from criticism. My biggest problem with Dean’s warning is that it’s informed by the general attitude referees have towards pace – if you’re not pushing, maybe you’re stalling. Hence the hasty standups, quick separations in the clinch, and gaffes like standing two fighters up even if one is in side control. Or mount. So yea, awful job by Dean, but symbolic of a larger problem.
Stray Sensations
- Tecia Torres reminds me of a fixed Tyson Griffin; strong, compact, and active, and unlike Griffin, a little more urgent. It wasn’t a great performance, but it was similar to Cejudo – matchmaking didn’t make her look as good as she actually is, but a win’s a win.
- Paul Felder just blitzed Charles Oliveira with those elbows. I’m not sure I’d call it a great performance from either man. Oliveira, as gifted as he on the ground, should have quickly identified Felder’s clear threshold for asphyxiation. Felder, conversely, didn’t have to put himself in those positions. Plus Oliviera just gassed way too quick – a byproduct of my earlier criticism IMO.
- I couldn’t tell you how Yancy Medeiros did it. With his ostrich neck, getting punched seems to require more effort just to square back up. With his lack of head movement, it’s almost comical how much trouble he has dealing with heavy offense. Good for him though – that was a damn well earned win.
- Speaking of, although not related, Ryan Janes’ win at TUF 26 demands respect the same way Tommy Wiseau does. I’m convinced (ironically?) that he has a vision problem, but fights like that remind me that for all of my snobbery, I come here for the technique second, the drama first.
- Between Roxanne Modafferi, Nicco Montano and Ngannou’s postfight speeches, if you came away from this weekend feeling 100% jaded and cynical about the sport like usual, then you are dead inside.
- Check your bank account, Heavy Hands! (and then thank the dude in the comments section who made me laugh)