UFC Fight Night Mexico City Post Fight Analysis

Hello fight fans! UFC Fight Night took place this weekend at Arena CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico and the Mexico City PI Center is officially open!

Trivia (answer at end)

Who has the most performance awards in Featherweight history?

Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan

Recap: These two were putting on a pace from the beginning and came out striking.  Duncan pushed Torres back to the cage and after a missed head kick by Torres, Torres grabbed Duncan to bring him to the ground.  When Duncan was standing up, Torres hit him with a hard knee and got the takedown.  Torres had the guillotine from the bottom but Duncan managed to get up and clinch against the cage.  The two fought it out for a little and then Torres got another takedown away from the cage, controlled Duncan’s back, and got in his leg hooks.  He secured the rear naked choke, squeezed, and got the submission at 1:46 to win his first fight via submission.

What’s Next:  Torres called out Paddy but I think anyone him or Duncan fights next is going to be a good matchup.  Outside the top 15, the Lightweight division has a lot of strong talent.  There’s McKinney, Puelles (who lost), and Zellhuber (who won) to name a few.

Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes

Recap: Jauregui’s performance was top notch Saturday night and she was flowing!  For all three rounds, she mixed it up with sharp flowing combinations.  Hughes was having a really hard time getting any takedowns because of Jauregui’s speed.  Most of the time when Hughes tried to come in with anything, Jauregui countered with a plethora of combinations.  Even though Hughes was always a few steps behind, she still did a great job of staying in the fight and her toughness showed, but unfortunately Jauregui’s technical skills were just unbeatable.  Jauregui won the fight by unanimous decision 30-27.

What’s Next: I wouldn’t be surprised if Jauregui gets a top 15 opponent in the next couple of fights if her performances are like this, and she said she’s not in a rush to get a ranked opponent.  She would actually like her next opponent to be unranked.  Her performance was tremendous and if she can keep up her balance, speed, and technical prowess she’s going to give a lot of women a run for their money.  Hughes is a tough opponent and is sitting within the top 30.  I’d like to see her go against another striker next since we know she can grapple.  Even though she lost to a striker, I’d like to see another fight similar to this so we can see how she comes back and rebounds.

Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios

This was canceled because Raul Rosas Jr. got ill.  This fight is going to be rescheduled next week at Catchweight.

Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado

Recap: Zellhuber had a great disciplined performance and was cool as a cucumber.  In the first round, Prado did a great job of pressuring, closing the distance, and cutting Zellhuber off who stayed calm and composed.  He came in and out with great combinations but it went downhill after that.  In round 2, Zellhuber caught Prado’s right eye early on with a jab and continued to use his length to beat up Prado’s face.  Throughout the rest of round 2 and throughout round 3, Zellhuber played the perimeter and just picked Prado apart with the jab and kicks.  In round 3, Prado was whiffing a lot and I was honestly shocked he was still standing.  After all three rounds Zellhuber won 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

What’s Next: Keep your eyes out for Zellhuber.  He is young and so long and lanky for this division.  I can definitely see him doing great things in his career.  He called out Paddy (everyone wants that $$$) so we’ll see who he goes against next.  There’s so much talent in the Lightweight division outside the top 15.  Prado is a tough fighter (as we saw since he kept going with that eye) so he’s going to be fun to watch as he tries to move up.  He needs to work on that cardio.  He’s smaller so he’s going to have to get that cardio up and work to get inside on his opponents.

Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez vs. Brian “T-City” Ortega

Recap: Welcome back Brian Ortega!  What a huge comeback/redemption fight after a year (his last fight was against Rodriguez and he lost from his shoulder popping out), and I knew he wasn’t going to lose in front of his ex.  All jokes aside, he has made quite the turnaround in his life and it really showed.  In round 1, Rodriguez dropped Ortega and did a great job continuously attacking.  However, Rodriguez needed to be very careful because Ortega is as tough as they come.  Let’s not forget, he went 4 rounds with Max Holloway and 5 rounds against Volk.  Rodriguez didn’t listen to me yelling at the TV, made a mistake, and Ortega had a major comeback toward the end of the first round even though it wasn’t enough to take it.  I could see that round being a 10-8 which was why the turnaround was so incredible.  In round 2, Ortega came out strong and got the takedown against Yair who looked like he missed a few of his grappling classes.  I know grappling is hard but when you’re that highly ranked you have to do more.  In round 3, Ortega again came out strong, clinched, and tripped Rodriguez to the ground.  From there he got straight into mount and then secured the head and arm triangle 58 seconds in the 3rd round.  This was his first submission win since December of 2017.

What’s Next: I would love to see Ortega vs. Evloev next.  Evloev is undefeated (his last fight was questionable) and has yet to submit an opponent.  Ortega is known for his BJJ and his grit so regardless of the outcome, we’ll know if the hype around Evloev was justified.  I love Yair, but he needs to work on his grappling.

Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno vs. Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval

Recap: Congratulations to Royval on a tough win against the former champ.  Royval said he heard his knee pop after the first kick in the first round, so the rest of the 24 minutes were an uphill battle along with the mental battle he mentioned he had after losing the title fight against Pantoja.  In the first round (which didn’t have a lot of output), Moreno was very patient, playing the perimeter, and countering Royval with big overhand punches.  The second round was extremely close and had more output.  I could honestly see it being scored either way.  Then, the third round on, Royval put on a pace and Moreno was swinging and missing a lot more than we usually see (personally, I think Moreno looked off compared to his last fights).  Royval had A LOT of output with 468 significant strike attempts.  Even though he doesn’t have the power of Moreno, he won this fight via “death by 1,000 papercuts” as Laura Sanko put it.  The output he had in the last 3 rounds was insane and he put on a pace.  Moreno at times didn’t have an answer and would clinch against the cage and just hold him.  Herb Dean had to break them up a few times to reset.  At the end, Royval won the fight by split decision 48-47, 46-49, and 48-47.  The judge who scored the fight 49-46 for Moreno was Junichiro Kamijo and needs to be investigated. 

What’s Next: Royval called out Pantoja but I don’t think that’s going to happen.  The UFC wants Pantoja to fight at UFC 301 which will be in May.  After this fight, Royval was struggling to walk and get up from a seated position.  I think he’s going to need a longer recovery than 3 months.  I think he should fight the winner of UFC 301.  As for Moreno, he mentioned he was getting tired of fighting the same fighters so this could be his opportunity to fight new guys!

Trivia Answer

Max Holloway with 10

Until next time fight fans!

BMF

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