2023 January 21
ufc.com
Tag: Marc Goddard
UFC 300 : Max Holloway knocking out Justin Gaethje
2024
espn.com | ufc.com
video review : Israel Adesanya versus Alex Pereira at UFC 281
Israel Adesanya’s first UFC loss came at the hands of Jan Błachowicz, but that didn’t really count. He stepped up to test himself in a new weight class and got outwrestled, but his belt wasn’t on the line. This; getting Technically Knocked Out by Alex Pereira; is his first real defeat and it’s sort of surreal. Even the commentators can’t seem to believe it as the normally elusive Stylebender gets pummeled by what may as well be the final boss in a video game.
To Adesanya’s credit, he looks to be on his way to another decision victory; he wobbles Pereira at the end of the first round and, perhaps taking a cue from Błachowicz, even goes on to mix in some ground work; until that fifth and final round when he gets a kick checked and tumbles backward. That marks the beginning of the end as Pereira backs him up against the cage and almost leaves him “Frozen like” he did in their last kickboxing bout.
my rating : 4 of 5
2022
video review : Aljamain Sterling versus TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280
Aljamain Sterling earned himself a lot of detractors after faking a concussion and winning the Bantamweight belt via DQ. The stupid dance he does here after another questionable victory; we eventually learn TJ Dillashaw took this fight with a shoulder injury; does him no favors.
Not that Dillashaw isn’t to blame. “I completely blew my shoulder out at the end of April”, he reveals in his post fight interview, “It probably dislocated a good twenty times in training camp”. Why he wouldn’t simply postpone the bout till he has a better chance at a victory is beyond me.
my rating : 3 of 5
2022
video review : Dan Hooker versus Michael Chandler at UFC 257
I’d say Bellator fighter Michael Chandler couldn’t have hoped for a better UFC debut, but perhaps it wasn’t a matter of hope. He seemed confident in not only getting an impressive victory here but going on to become UFC Champ and he’s already accomplished the first goal.
All it takes is a fake right followed by a sneaky left (punch) to the face to drop The Hangman just halfway into the very first round. The only solid strike a backfooted Dan Hooker, who hints at retirement by throwing his gloves down after the bout, manages is a low calf kick.
my rating : 3 of 5
2021
Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show : Colby Covington complaining about his loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245
2020
espn.com
video review : Tyron Woodley versus Kamaru Usman at UFC 235
Dominick Cruz is right. Tyron Woodley doesn’t seem to be awake here. Not in the sense he needs to be to beat a monster like Kamaru Usman, who almost completely dominates him in this fight.
There’s a vicious striking exchange near the end of the fourth Round, but it’s the constant pressure of Usman’s wrestling that ultimately costs Woodley his Welterweight Championship title.
my rating : 4 of 5
2019
video review : Cris Cyborg versus Amanda Nunes at UFC 232
Declaring her “the greatest women’s mixed martial artist of all time”, as Joe Rogan does here, is a ridiculous overstatement, but you have to give Amanda Nunes a lot of credit. She knocks out Cris Cyborg; a fighter I rank above her; in less than a minute; about the same amount of time it took for her to beat “goat”-contender Ronda Rousey.
Rousey is just a tough woman though. Cris Cyborg is, from the looks of it, a virtual man, which, considering modern society’s delusional coddling of so-called transgenders, shouldn’t be regarded as an insult. That makes this Nunes victory all the more impressive, though a rematch could help remove the feeling of flukiness.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018