UFC 296 Las Vegas Post Fight Analysis

Hello fight fans! UFC 296 took place this weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and we got an extra fight/preview of UFC 297 to close out the year!

Trivia (answer at end)

Who was the first UFC fighter to appear on a Wheaties box?

Josh Emmett vs. Bryce “Thugnasty” Mitchell

Recap: Emmett was originally supposed to fight Giga Chikadze who pulled out due to injury and Mitchell came in on two weeks' notice only to get what I could call one of the most brutal knockouts I’ve ever seen.  Mitchell came out to control the center of the octagon, and the two felt one another out.  Then out of nowhere Mitchell moved in and threw a right that missed and Emmett threw a right counter that landed in the center of Mitchell’s face.  Mitchell went down right away and his body started to convulse.  I’ve never seen a knockout like this . . . EVER.  Emmett got the win at 1:57.

What’s Next:  Thugnasty was cleared from the hospital and according to his social media he is doing well.  I hope he has a very good recovery and maybe he got some of that flat earth nonsense knocked out of his head.  As for Emmett, I still want to see him against Giga.  I’d love to see a stylistic matchup between a puncher and a kicker.  Also, fans would love that fight since there won’t be any grappling.

Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson vs. Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett

Recap: This fight went all three rounds with Paddy getting a huge win after a controversial win against Jared Gordon.  In the first round, the two were fighting in standup and Paddy slowly picked apart Ferguson.  Paddy was throwing really sharp combinations, keeping his chin down (he got his hair cornrowed for that reason), and fast.  Tony wasn’t able to counter because of Paddy’s speed.  With one minute left, Paddy dropped Tony with a plethora of combinations and flying knee, and Tony did what Tony does and somehow survived the rest of the round receiving ground and pound.  In round 2, Tony ended up on the ground early on and managed to do some damage (he’s very dangerous on his back) and got Paddy to bleed a little.  However, it wasn’t enough to win the round as Paddy dominated with control and had some ground and pound in there.  By the third round, Paddy looked really tired and Tony was getting some good shots off.  I thought there could be a small chance for the veteran but Paddy managed to get him back on the ground where he dominated the rest of the fight.

What’s Next: I love Tony and what he’s done for this sport but I think it’s time to hang up the gloves.  Do I think he will?  No.  It’s hard to tell fighters when their time is up and Tony is pretty hard-headed.  As for Paddy the Baddy, after this performance I think he deserves a guy in the top 15.  Although he didn’t submit Tony, I still think he’s ready.  Tony is EXTREMELY hard to finish and Oliveira has the most finishes in the division and couldn’t do it.  I say top 15 and if I had to choose someone I’d pick Drew Dober.

Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson

Recap: In round 1, Shavkat started off by feeling out Wonderboy since he has such a unique bladed style.  Towards the end of the first minute, he closed the distance and got Wonderboy against the fence in the clinch where he dominated.  In the second round, Shavkat got Wonderboy in a clinch again and was finally able to get him to the ground a little before 2 minutes in.  Shavkat did a great job of getting in position and controlling Wonderboy (at one point he pinned Wonderboy’s arm pinned behind himself and against the cage so Wonderboy was only able to use his other arm).  Then Shavkat transitioned to get the back and choked Wonderboy but he managed to escape.  Even though he escaped, Wonderboy was still on the ground and not in a good position (he’s not a strong grappler at all but has good defense).  Shavkat ended up working his way to gain control of his back, secured the rear naked choke, and with 4 seconds left of the round Wonderboy tapped for the first time in his UFC career.

What’s Next: After this fight, Wonderboy’s run for the title is over.  I think from here on out he takes the money fights.  Shavkat is a force to be reckoned with.  Covington says he doesn’t want to fight him and Gilbert Burns has a fight lined up.  I think if he’s going to get a fight with someone ranked above him it will be Belal or Usman.  Belal is up next though for the title shot and Usman at this point wants money fights.  We’ll see who has the guts to fight him next year.

Alexandre “The Cannibal” Pantoja vs. Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval

Recap: To start off the second bout between these two, Pantoja came out like a bat out of hell and put a pace on Royval.  The two went back and forth striking until Pantoja secured the takedown 2 minutes in.  The rest of this round and rounds 2-4 were the same with Pantoja getting the takedown and controlling Royval on the ground.  In round 4, Pantoja almost got a rear naked choke but Royval managed to get out.  In the fifth round, Royval came out and put a pace on Pantoja (who looked exhausted) to a point where I thought Pantoja was going to go down.  However, he got Royval back on the ground to secure the win.

Even though there was a lot of groundwork, this was a very exciting (most exciting of the main card), technical, and scrappy fight.  Despite Royval being on the bottom the majority of the fight, he wasn’t content and still fought to get back on his feet.  This isn’t an easy thing to do and is EXTREMELY exhausting but Royval has some INSANE cardio too.  He runs 10 miles at a 6:30 pace and barely breaks a sweat.  Also this fight was at such a high pace.  I love the Flyweight division because of this.  They move so fast that sometimes you can’t even comprehend what has happened.  Out of all the fights in the main card, this was my favorite one of the night to watch.

What’s Next: Pantoja said he’s going to fight anyone he needs to keep the title and didn’t call anyone out.  For Royval, I think he’ll get the loser between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi who fight in February.

Leon “Rocky” Edwards vs. Colby “Chaos” Covington

Recap: After all the shit talking that occurred at the press conference leading up to this fight, I thought it was going to be a banger but unfortunately it was one of the most boring fights I’ve ever watched (worst fight ever was Rose vs. Carla).  For the first two rounds, Colby looked frozen and Edwards just teed off on him like he was racking up points in a point fighting match.  Edwards has power and speed, and after the second round, Colby’s right thigh looked like a baseball bat was taken to it.  Finally in the third round, Colby secured a takedown but Edwards, who has incredible grappling defense, got out.  Then Edwards went in for a takedown (I think it was to show Colby up) and after Colby got out the two ended the round in standup.  The fourth round was another uneventful round that was similar to the third.  The fifth round probably had the most action and was Covington’s best if I had to choose one and that was a bit of a stretch.  The two grappled the most in this round but Covington lost position easily too many times.  All in all, Edwards got his fuck you, and Covington hopefully learned to shit talk less, fight better (he struggled with Edwards’ speed), and maybe taking two years off wasn’t the best idea.

What’s Next: Colby said that the next fight that makes sense is against Wonderboy.  I’m a little shocked at this call out but at the same time I’m not.  Colby doesn’t want Shavkat and he just signed a new contract.  Does this mean he’s accepted that he won’t get another title shot?  Maybe.  Him and Wonderboy would make for a good money fight and apparently Wonderboy was talking trash about him.  Sounds like he’s already promoting the fight.  Also, random fact . . . after he had his low blow comment to Edwards, the pre-PPV orders increased by 25%.  Leon said that he wants to be active next year and fight 2-3 times.  Belal is up next for the title but he said that Belal doesn’t deserve it and doesn’t get to jump the line.  Ummm . . . Belal is ranked 2.  I don’t know who he wants next but Belal is the next rightful title challenger.

Trivia Answer

Anthony Pettis

Until next year fight fans!

BMF

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