UFC 291 Post Fight Analysis

Hello fight fans! So many great fights happened this past weekend. Only one fight for the entire card went to a decision. The rest were all finishes. Let’s do a recap of the main card.

Michael Chiesa vs Kevin Holland

What a great finish for Kevin Holland. Kevin Holland who is known for his striking, defeated Michael Chiesa in the first round via d’arce choke. This improves Holland’s record to 25-9, 1 NC. At the end of the fight, many speculated that Chiesa was going to retire however, he said “I ain’t done yet.” This was Chiesa’s first fight after being off for two years. Chiesa is a legend, but coming back from a two-year injury is tough

Tony Ferguson vs Bobby Green

The fight started with some back and forth between the two. Then, Bobby Green poked Ferguson’s left eye. According to Ferguson’s IG post, this impaired his vision, but he is not using it as the excuse for losing. Bobby Green won the fight in the third round with an arm triangle. This is Ferguson’s 6^th loss in a row but let’s not forget who he fought in those losses. The lightweight division isn’t a walk in the park. Many think he needs to retire but it’s Tony, so we’ll see what he throws at us next.

Wonderboy vs. Pereira

This event was canceled due to Pereira missing weight. Pereira’s bitch ass (this applies to any fighter who misses weight) needs to move up a weight class. This is the third time he’s missed weight. He’s ranked #15 and one can’t help but think that he’s a weight bully and/or trying to game the system. I wouldn’t be upset if they cut him from the UFC.

As always, Wonderboy acted classy and who could blame him for not fighting? Wonderboy had a lengthy post about his reasons for not accepting a catchweight fight, and I personally think he made the right decision. These fighters are professionals. Part of their job is to make weight. Let’s just hope Wonderboy is still going to get paid! (apparently there’s some controversy around this)

Derrick Lewis vs Marcos Rogerio De Lima in place of Wonderboy vs. Pereira

I want to start off by giving Derrick Lewis mad props to his abs. I love that he was showing them off and he looked great at weigh-ins. I hope everyone was counting them with him!

Lewis started off the fight with an aggressive flying knee that most fans probably did not expect (not even Lewis himself expected it). The knee knocked De Lima to the ground right away where Lewis continued the beat down. In less than 30 seconds he got the TKO. Lewis is a beast. Don’t be surprised if he’s going for a title shot soon. As always, he had quite the entertaining octagon and post-fight interview. C’mon Dana let’s resign him. I need more hot balls in my life!

Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira

What a debut for Alex Pereira. This fight was a pick ‘em fight and I can see why. Jan showed off his grappling skills, Alex showed us his grappling defense, and as expected both had strong striking. Blachowicz had a hell of a first round but sadly lacked the conditioning to continue dominating the ground game. This was a solid three round fight and Alex Pereira came out ahead by split decision. Jan thinks he was robbed, but I think the call was right. Alex inflicted more damage during the fight and damage is the first criteria for judging. Let’s see if Pereira moves up in the P4P rankings after this.

Side note: Jan Blachowicz is the only other fighter in the UFC to beat Israel Adesanya.

Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

BMF title on the line. The Diamond vs. The Highlight take two. Poirier won the first bout between the two in 2018 and five years later, they’re at it again. We know Poirier is always composed but watching Gaethje progress the last five years had people wondering how this fight would go. The two came in with Poirier as the favorite at -145.

Touch gloves. First round begins. The two went back and forth during the first round with a bunch of kicks and punches being thrown. Gaethje showed us an unexpected head kick and Poirier tried to get him with the knee which he backed off from. First round could have gone either way with a great performance by both fighters. When it’s this close, I wish more judges would be more willing to give tie rounds but fortunately we didn’t need the judges for this fight.

When the second round began, I don’t think anyone thought what happened would happen. Remember that unexpected head kick in the first round? Well, Gaethje shocked the world with it one minute into the second round. He set up the same side combination with a right punch and then the head kick followed for an epic TKO. This definitely needs to be added to the top of Gaethje’s highlight reels. This is also the same set up that Leon Edwards used to knock out his teammate Kamaru Usman a year ago in the same arena. Salt Lake City, Utah has a head kick streak going and we love to see it!

Until next time fight fans!

BMF