UFC Fight Night: Luque VS Dos Anjos RECAP
#UFCVegas78
This Fight Night was a good and fun card until the main card. Every prelim fight ended with a finish, but then on the main card the very first fight ends with a decision. In fact, the first two fights of the main card ended with a decision. You know what… I’m not against it for the Fight Night cards. Compared to numbered events like the upcoming UFC 292, the Fight Night cards don’t have as much start power. So, if I can watch a few knockouts and submissions and save the rest of my night, it seems like a good deal.
Prelims
Flyweight 125lb Juliana Miller USA VS Luana Santos BRZ
Winner: Santos, 1st round KO
Santos made her UFC debut, and was still the betting favorite. She has a judo background and mentioned Ronda Rousey as a source of inspiration to fight MMA. However, in the fight she didn’t show any of that. She was throwing wild, telegraphed power punches. Miller did nothing stop them and the ref finally stepped in.
If Santos can zero in on her boxing, she can go far in the division.
Bantamweight 135lb Da’Mon “The Monster” Blackshear USA VS Jose Johnson USA
Winner: Blackshear, 1st round Twister
Johnson is 6ft, which is tall for bantamweight. I thought he would win, but I was wrong. Blackshear, with a high school wrestling background, takes him down and takes his back. He then finishes the fight with a twister, which is only the third one in UFC history. The Korean Zombie and Thug Nasty have the other two twister finishes.
Strawweight 115lb Jaqueline Amorim BRZ VS Montserrat Conejo Ruiz MEX
Winner: Amorim, 3rd round KO
Amorim absolutely dominated this fight from the get-go, and showed everyone why she was an IBJJF champion. All three rounds she would take Ruiz to the mat, maintain top position, and lay on the ground and pound. Ruiz couldn’t do anything on the ground. The ref had enough and called it in the third round. This was Amorim’s second fight in the UFC, but her first win.
Heavyweight Josh Parisian USA VS Martin “Badys” Buday Slovakia
Winner: Buday, 1st round Kimura
Heavyweights got one punch power and Buday was the first to land a good hit that phased Josh. Then he starts beating him up with lots of head strikes, and Josh looks gassed too and its still the first round. Buday then pushes him up against the cage, gets him down on the mat and finishes him with a kimura.
Featherweight 145lb Francis Marshall USA VS Isaac “The Midwest Choppa” Dulgarian USA
Winner: Dulgarian, 1st round KO
Dulgarian takes down Marshall and is on top the whole time. He starts with pop shots to Marshall’s head. Then near the end of the round he spams power elbows that cuts his face open, and the ref calls it.
Dulgarian made his UFC debut, and it was a hell of a debut. Coming into the fight he was 5-0 with all first round finishes, and he continues the streak. This fight lasted 4:48, which is his longest MMA fight. This guy is going to be good and someone to keep an eye on.
Lightweight 155lb Terrance McKinney USA VS Mike “Money” Breeden USA
Winner: McKinney, 1st round KO
I like McKinney’s style. He started the fight very aggressive and kept pressuring Breeden with a flurry of strikes, punches, head kicks, and knees. Breeden was absolutely overwhelmed, and all he could do was cover up. The ref had enough and called it.
McKinney has 6 wins in under a minute and has the record for the fastest finish in UFC lightweight history at seven seconds. A fun fighter to watch.
Bantamweight 135lb JP Buys S. Africa VS Marcus “the Maniac” Mcghee USA
Winner: Mcgee, 1st round KO
Damn, Mcghee has that one punch power and knockouts out Buys with a solid right hook, clean to the jaw. Nothing else to say except I want to see him fight again.
Main Event
Middleweight 185lb Josh Fremd USA VS Jamie Pickett USA
Winner: Fremd, Unanimous Decision
There is a stark contrast between the prelims and main card. All the prelims were finishes, and then the main card starts off with a boring three round decision. Fremd won the fight, but us the fans were the real losers.
The guys would start the round swinging, which was fun, but it quickly became boring. They even got reset twice for lack of action aka stalling.
Middleweight 185lb AJ Dobson USA VS Tafon Nchukwi Cameroon
Winner: Dobson, Unanimous Decision
This was another boring fight to start off the main card. All the rounds started off decent with both guys exchanging blow, but not doing much damage. Then in rounds 2 and 3 Dobson takes Nchukwi to the ground and stays on top the whole time. Not much else to say.
Strawweight 125lb Polyana Viana BRZ VS Iasmin Lucindo BRZ
Winner: Lucindo, 2nd round Arm Triangle
The fight was good on the feet with both women exchanging blows. Lucindo even wobbled Viana at the beginning of the second round. But in both the first and second rounds when the fight went down to the mat it was very boring. In the first round, the ref stood them both up for lack of action. In the second round, the ref almost stood them up again. Good thing for Lucindo they weren’t stood up because shortly after she was able to get the arm triangle for the win.
Lucindo is 21 years old and the youngest woman currently in the UFC. Also, her walkout to the cage was so long that it is officially the longest walkout in UFC history. I’ll keep an eye on her, but not sure how far she will go.
Light Heavyweight 205lb 13 Khalil Rountree Jr USA VS 14 Chris Daukaus USA
Winner: Roundtree, 1st round KO
I’m a Rountree fan, and with the way this main card was going I’m even more of a fan now.
Both guys start the fight boxing and hitting some good head shots. Then Daukaus just gets knocked out. Everyone had to see the replay to see what exactly happened. Rountree knocks out Daukaus with a straight right hand. In the post-fight octagon interview Rountree said he wants his next fight to be a 5 round main event. I’m all for it.
Featherweight 145lb Cub Swanson USA VS Hakeem Dawodu CAN
Winner: Swanson, Unanimous Decision
See below
Welterweight 170lb Vicente Luque VS Rafael Dos Anjos
Winner: Luque, 5 round Unanimous Decision
Not gonna lie. I fell a sleep during these two fights, so I didn’t watch them. But from the internet lots of people thought Dawodu should have won instead of Swanson, and Luque VS RDA was another boring fight.
I’ll drink coffee next time.
Conclusion
Without a doubt the prelims were more exciting than the main card. Look out for up and commers Luana Santos and Isaac Dulgarian. On the main card Rountree was the only fighter that delivered and I hope he gets his wish of a 5 round main event.