The UFC did something special for its 25th Anniversary show. Not only did they return to Denver, Colorado, the same place where UFC 1 was held on November 12th, 1993, but they also had a lot of classic fight clips, current fighters reminiscing about watching the early days of UFC, as well as the old UFC 1 graphics, the original music, and the first UFC logo in the center of the cage. Hell, the likes of Dan Severn and Art Jimmerson were there, and Jimmerson brought a supersized glove! A nice nostalgic touch to celebrate the occasion, making this card feel different and unique without resorting to ill-conceived ideas like the piss-colored mat of UFC 200.
As for the fights? We just saw what was, at least to me, the most amazing KO in UFC history. Yair Rodriguez was on his way to losing to Chan Sung Jung, and then he KNOCKED THE KOREAN ZOMBIE OUT WITH AN UPWARD ELBOW AT THE LITERAL LAST SECOND! ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?! I am still in awe as to what just happened. That was an absurdly entertaining fight as we’d hoped, but I couldn’t think of a more insane, dramatic way to end a fight, let alone the 25th Anniversary Show, than THAT. Was it a lucky shot? Was it planned? Who cares? It was incredible and will go down as an all-time great comeback win, knockout, elbow, the whole shebang. This was truly special. Applause to both men for that glorious chaotic encounter.
Main Card
- As much as Rodriguez should be praised for pulling off a Hail Mary (On short notice! With a broken foot!), he obviously has plenty to work on. His striking defense is absolutely terrible and he lost an overwhelming majority of the boxing exchanges, but we can save that chat for another day, because considering the drama surrounding his brief UFC release, then return, and accepting this fight in place of Frankie Edgar, the man who wrecked him last year, it’s just a tremendous story. At the very least, “Pantera” is one of the craziest action fighters around, and come next week he’ll be moving up the UFC featherweight rankings.
- You have to feel sorry for The Korean Zombie. He did not look rusty at all after his latest long layoff, he was one second away from earning a decision... then he is rendered unconscious with a strike he never saw coming. It’s a devastating, heartbreaking loss, and it was a frightening way that he collapsed.
- Donald Cerrone’s last fight in Denver saw him get TKO’d by Jorge Masvidal. As an underdog vs. Mike Perry, he pulled off a beautiful belly-down armbar win with just under 20 seconds to go in the opening round. Perry was inexplicably the one who went for a takedown, and of course he got schooled on the ground by Cerrone’s underrated grappling. He now has the most wins and most finishes in UFC history, and he provided a great moment by bringing his four-month old son in the cage with a little belt around his waist. Given the JacksonWink drama and Cerrone’s obvious downslide in recent years, this was a great win for him, and it appears he wants to head back down to 155 and go after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s belt.
- Not to completely take away from Cerrone’s glorious win in front of his home fans, but what the hell was Perry’s in-fight strategy? He looked totally aimless and devoid of process in there. Awful set-up to his strikes, looping wild shots, and then the takedown itself was asinine, as he played right into Cerrone’s strengths. I certainly won’t complain, as his curious decision making led to an outcome I was certainly thrilled to see.
- In her first fight since a controversial win over Holly Holm almost two years ago, former UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie returned to bantamweight and thoroughly outclassed recent bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington, scoring a shutout decision on the scorecards. De Randamie outstruck her, stopped Pennington’s takedowns, and barely got hit with anything of consequence. GdR puts herself in title contention at 135, while Pennington gets beaten up for a second straight fight.
- Lightweight veteran Beneil Dariush snapped his three-fight winless run with a dominant decision over late replacement Thiago Moises, who bizarrely get going for guillotines against a seasoned BJJ black belt in Dariush. Not an exciting contest whatsoever, but Dariush has been through a rough patch and desperately needed a victory.
- 20-year-old women’s strawweight prospect Maycee Barber busted up Hannah Cifers’ face with obscenely violent elbows, and in round two she sealed the deal with monstrous ground-and-pound to force the referee to intervene, as Cifers was rendered a bloody mess. Keep an eye on Barber as an up-and-coming talent to watch. She impressed on Dana White’s Contender Series and did very well in her UFC debut.
- TUF 27 lightweight winner Mike Trizano kicked off the main card with a split decision over Luis Pena, aka “Violent Bob Ross.” I thought Trizano deserved the nod, especially with his stand-up, as Pena was frustrated and unable to land many meaningful shots against the fellow TUF 27 alum.
Preliminary Card
- In a competitive, entertaining bout, women’s strawweight Ashley Yoder picked up her first-career UFC win, winning a split decision over Amanda Cooper. I thought Cooper deserved the nod, but the 30-27 scorecard she received is indefensible, as Yoder undeniably won round three. That said, great for Yoder to perhaps keep her UFC job, however debatable the outcome may have been.
- So uh... featherweight Bobby Moffett got a “TKO win” vs. Chas Skelly via d’arce choke, as Skelly appeared to be in trouble and then referee Tim Mills declared him unconscious and stopped it without a tap. Skelly immediately protested, insisting he wasn’t out. Mills went to instant replay (which can happen in Colorado for fight-ending circumstances) to focus on the limpness of Skelly’s arm at the time of the stoppage, and the call in the cage was upheld, and it’s listed as a TKO and not a technical submission. I am confused as hell and Skelly is obviously unlucky here, but he handled himself well after the initial anger. Kudos to Moffett for rallying from a tough first-round, but I’m not sure the result should’ve stood. Had it been overturned, it would’ve been a no-contest.
- In a total squash match that wouldn’t have looked out of place if you’d put that fight on the UFC 1 card, BJJ phenom Davi Ramos needed less than two minutes to notch a third consecutive rear-naked choke finish in the UFC, as he made the severely overmatched John Gunther tap out. Let’s see Ramos in against better competition, ASAP. After all, he’d like to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at some point.
- Lightweight prospect Devonte Smith shined in his UFC debut, knocking out Julian Erosa in under a minute. Fast, powerful, and accurate can all describe his performance, as he improves to 9-1 in his career.
- On the Fight Pass prelims, flyweight Eric Shelton fended off submission attempts and used takedowns to earn a split decision vs. Joseph Morales, who never should’ve gotten a 30-27 in his favor. Meanwhile, Mark De La Rosa won a split decision over short notice opponent Joby Sanchez in a well-paced, hard-fought bantamweight scrap.