UFC Fight Night Las Vegas

Hello fight fans! UFC Fight Night took place this weekend at UFC APEX, Las Vegas and it was an interesting night.

Trivia (answer at end)

Who has the longest active win streak in the UFC Women’s Flyweight Division?

Gilbert Urbina vs. Charles Radtke

Recap: Both fighters came out hot and Radtke took control of the octagon right away.  Throughout the fight, Radtke was being very patient and looking for an opportunity to throw his left hook since that’s his bread and butter.  He was also finding a lot of success with his jab.  With 45 seconds left in the round, Radtke found that left hook of his and dropped Urbina.  Urbina managed to get up but only to be dropped again by a jab-left hook.  Radtke only needed an additional uppercut before the ref called it at 4:47.

What’s Next:  This was Radtke’s second fight in the UFC.  If he keeps up with these TKO’s, I can see him moving to a top 15 opponent fast.  That left hook is crazy!  This was Urbina’s 3rd fight in the UFC, so we’ll see who his next opponent is.   He currently has 2 losses.

Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Makhmud Muradov

Recap: This unfortunately only lasted 11 seconds and was declared a no contest.  Khizriev poked Muradov’s eye and he couldn’t see out of it so the ref called the fight.

What’s Next: We’ll see if this is going to be rerun but I doubt it since both are unranked fighters.  Also, Khizriev hasn’t fought since 2022 so I can see him just accepting the next opponent he gets to get back into the swing of things.

Viviane Araújo vs. Natalia Silva

Recap: This fight looked like a game of cat and mouse.  In all three rounds, Silva ran around the perimeter of the octagon while Araújo chased her.  As Silva was playing the perimeter, she would burst at Araújo with her strikes and return to the outside.  When Araújo was in front of her, she didn’t do anything and it seemed like she was thrown off by Silva’s speed.  Overall, I was not impressed with either of the fighters.  Araújo was boring and barely threw any strikes.  As for Silva, she’s fast but she couldn’t knock out Araújo.  I’m curious to see how she’ll do against someone in the top 5 who knows how to stuff a perimeter fighter.

What’s Next: This moved Silva up in the rankings to at least 7th in the division.  Because she’s undefeated, I can see her getting a top 5 opponent next.  I don’t see Araújo ever getting a shot at the title but I can see her being one of the gatekeepers to the top 5.

Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov

Recap: This fight was rescheduled from last December due to Brown getting pneumonia, and what a huge win for Randy Brown.  He said he wanted to get the TKO and he definitely got it.  Brown is known for his jab and Salikhov was doing an excellent job countering it with a lead leg kick and attacking Brown’s lead leg throughout the round.  Brown did a great job of using his movement and feints.  Then, Brown threw a double jab, did a spectacular job of fading to his left to open the cross, and down went Salikhov.  Textbook 1-1-2.  Brown followed it up with one more punch before the ref called the fight at 3:17.

What’s Next: Brown wants to fight Chiesa because Chiesa needs to defend his ranking.  He mentioned in his post fight interview that they have already been talking about it.  Salikhov has been in the fight game for a long time and is currently 39 years old.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he retires when his contract is up.

Renato Moicano vs. Drew Dober

Recap: This fight went how I expected . . . for the most part.  Moicano dominated the first round and the majority of the second round with BJJ and Dober surprised me in the last minute of the second round.  Moicano was trying to get Dober to the ground but Dober went with the momentum and spun Moicano.  Moicano ended up going down to the ground with Dober on top and then for the last minute, Dober inflicted some good damage to his face and opened him up.  Going into the third round I had it 1-1.  In the third round, Dober was finding a lot of success with his striking but when Moicano went in for the takedown unfortunately Dober tried to do the same move as he did in the second round but he didn’t have enough momentum.  Instead of turning Moicano on his back, Moicano ended up putting Dober on his back where he continued to be the rest of the round.  Moicano came out ahead with all three judges scoring the right 29-28.

What’s Next: Moicano is ranked 13, Dober is ranked 15, and there’s a lot of fights that need to be played out in this division.  Right now, it’s too early to tell who either are going to fight later this year.

Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Recap: I thought this fight was going to be a TKO in the first round but Dolidze survived all 5 rounds.  In the first round the two were in clinch and had a really good back and forth.  Then, Imavov dropped Dolidze with a right, a knee, and a plethora of punches. He inflicted A LOT of ground and pound after, and I was surprised that Dolidze survived because it was a good minute of being absolutely demolished.  One judge even scored the round a 10-8 round.  In the second round, Imavov looked like he coasted and Dolidze was a bit more active so I gave Dolidze that round.  Then, after the second round it was a slow death for Dolidze.  Imavov’s right is a sniper and was finding Dolidze’s face.  Every time they weren’t against the fence (Dolidze would clinch to survive the strikes), Imavov was landing CLEANLY.  Dolidze’s coaches wanted him to get the takedown, but I think after the beating he got in the first round, he was too tired to even attempt one.  He managed to get in some ground work in the last round, but it wasn’t enough.  The judges scored the fight 49-44, 48-46, and 47-47 for Imavov.

This fight had another one of those downed opponent controversies which affected the scoring.  Dolidze was bent over with one hand down and Imavov kicked him in the head.  To me, it didn’t look like it was completely weight bearing so I could understand why Imavov took the opportunity to kick him.  I can also see it going the other way like the ref decided as he ended up taking a point away.  I fucking hate this rule.  I think it’s such a shitty cop out for fighters when they’re in a compromised position.

What’s Next: This fight will move Imavov up in the division and he said he wouldn’t do a rematch between him and Chris Curtis.  They previously had a no contest because of a head clash and Imavov lost to Strickland last year at 205.  I thought he’d want to take a break from Extreme Couture for a bit but he called out fighting Sean Strickland.  If he wants to fight him at Middleweight, I say no. Strickland is ranked way too high. If he wants that fight he’d need to do another Light Heavyweight fight but that wouldn’t make sense. There are so many fights that still need to happen in this division, so I think after next month we’ll have a better idea of how things are going to play out.

Trivia Answer

Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot are tied with 6.

Until next time fight fans!

BMF

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