UFC Fight Night Las Vegas Post Fight Analysis

Hello fight fans! UFC Fight Night took place this weekend at UFC APEX, Las Vegas and it’s good to be back!!!

Trivia (answer at end)

Who has the most fight time in UFC history?

Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Recap: This fight between the former Heavyweight champ and Acosta went all three rounds with Acosta taking the W for the night.  Acosta controlled the octagon throughout the fight and had a stronger output.  Although the significant strikes weren’t far off from one another, Acosta had more damage as his strikes were so powerful.  He also threw more combinations and Arlovski did a great job rolling with the punches.  I would have liked to see Arlovksi change levels or bring the fight to the ground to give him the advantage as he has a lot more experience but the two stayed standing.  The pace was surprisingly the same which is rare with Heavyweights because they tend to throw some hard punches and then the cardio goes out the window.  While there was no dramatic finish, the fight was full of frustration between the two.  Acosta was showing disrespect to the former champ by showing his salsa skills and taunting.  I’m all about taunting but there’s a time and place for it . . . not when you’re barely winning and the fight is a bit boring.  At the end, all three judges scored the fight at 29-28.

What’s Next:  This was Arlovski’s third loss in a row and he’s been in the UFC since 2014.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he retires soon.  As for Acosta, a top 15 opponent should be in the near future.

Phil Hawes vs. Bruno Ferriera

Recap: Ferreira came out strong and was mixing things up with his striking and he had a couple of takedown attempts.  Then with 3:36 left, he finally secured a takedown and got into side control right away.  Hawes looked really calm (he has a wrestling background) and was making his way to the fence while trying to get out of side control.  Then, Hawes grabbed Ferreira’s left arm and moved it while he was shrimping to create space.  It looked like Ferreira knew he didn’t have side control anymore and went in for the ground and pound and right when that happened, Hawes created enough space to get up.  Once he got up there was back and forth striking and then with a minute left, Ferriera came in with a knee that wobbled Hawes.  Hawes tried to get in the clinch and Ferreira connected with a right hook.  The two went back to the ground, got back up, and Ferreira had a spinning back fist.  Ferreira was pressuring and attacking, threw a kick that missed and followed it up with a left that landed on Hawes right temple and put him to sleep.  Ferreira showed us why his nickname is the Hulk by following up with some Hulk-like punches.  Ferreira secured the TKO at 4:55.

What’s Next: Ferreira called out Sharabutdin Magomedov and I don’t think he has a fight lined up yet.  Phil Hawes is on a three fight losing streak and will be trying to move up in the rankings or stay on the UFC roster.

Ricky Simón vs. Mario Bautista

Recap: Bautista's performance in this fight was hands down the best I've seen from him.  Simón is a tough, well rounded fighter and Bautista made it look easy.  In the first round Bautista rushed a bit and found success using flying knees but Simón caught on.  Bautista did a great job adjusting and really found his flow.  He had fast counters and what I was most impressed with was his takedown defense.  Whenever Simón got him to the ground or against the fence in a clinch, Bautista had quick reversals and got out.  The majority of the fight was stand-up as Simón wasn’t able to get him to the ground.  Bautista found a lot of success by using various combinations with the jab, cross, and uppercut and he did a phenomenal job of switching up his strikes with the leg kicks and body shots.  On Simón’s end, he got a knockdown at the end of the first round and in the third round he actually picked Bautista up and carried him across the octagon to his corner for the takedown which Bautista masterfully got out of.  Both fighters had damage on their face but Bautista had so much more output and started teeing off on Simón in the third round.  At the end, the judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.  This is definitely a fight worth watching if you have a chance!

What’s Next: This fight puts Bautista in the top 15.  He called out Rob Font and I think that fight would be incredible.  Font is such an incredible striker which would test Bautista and Bautista can also grapple.  I don’t think Simón will move out of the top 15.  He’s faced some strong competition but I wouldn’t be surprised if his next fight was against someone trying to make their way into the rankings.

Jim “A-10” Miller vs. Gabriel “Moggly” Benitez

Recap: Jim Miller needs to change his nickname from A-10 to The Legend.  Miller just finished his 43rd fight in the UFC, has been in the UFC now for 17 years, got his 20th submission (second behind Oliveira), and his 26th win.  Leading up to the submission, Miller did a great job of attacking with combinations and following up with a hard leg kick to Benitez’s right leg.  Benitez found success with his jab but Miller just had so much more successful output.  By the third round, Benitez’s right leg was so swollen and he wasn’t moving so Miller took him down.  He got to Benitez’s back easily and secured the submission via face crank / rear naked choke at 3:25 of round 3.

What’s Next: Jim Miller wants to fight in UFC 300 and I think with him being such a fan favorite Dana should find him an opponent.  He threw out Paul Felder, Matt Brown, and Brock Lesner for the money. I don’t think Felder is in the mix since he has races in April, I don’t like Matt Brown at 170, and Lesner has been retired for a while.  Matt Brown would be fun to watch at a catchweight or 155 but I highly doubt he will go to Lightweight.  The best bet will be catchweight.  All three would be so entertaining to watch though.  As for Benitez, he’s been in the UFC since 2014 so I think retirement is going to be around the corner soon.

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker

Recap: We return to the desert! After the controversy in Abu Dhabi, we definitely needed a rematch and Ankalaev left no doubt that he was the better fighter.  Ankalaev looked extremely composed and wasn’t falling for Walker’s antics.  In the first half of round 1, Walker had control of the octagon but after that it was downhill for him.  Once Ankalaev took control, Walker looked off.  He was moving around way too much and circling the octagon, which gets extremely tiring, and he wasn’t attacking with technical basics and instead, was doing A LOT of his weird antics as if he wasn’t respecting the skill of Ankalaev.  In the second round, Ankalaev took control right away and Walker was moving around even more.  Then, Walker did a half-assed kick and was out of position and Ankalaev came in and dropped him with a right hook and followed it up with an uppercut that got all of Walker’s nose.  Ankalaev secured the victory at 2:42 in round 2.

What’s Next: This is Ankalaev’s 10th win in a row and after this showing, I think he should have the next title shot over Jamal Hill as Hill is still recovering from a ruptured achilles.  Ankalaev barely took any damage in this fight and could potentially fight within the next 3 months for the title.  As for Walker, I think he’ll move down a rank or two but nothing too much.  After that uppercut, his focus should be fixing that nose.

Trivia Answer

Rafael Dos Anjos with 8:26:49

Until next time fight fans!

BMF

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