Best Matches Seen March 2020 |
11/14/77 Tokyo Nippon Budokan, WKA Super Lightweight: Benny Urquidez vs. Kunimatsu Okao R4 1:31. Urquidez was the leading light of the Americans full contact fighters (including Howard Jackson & Sam Montgomery) who were now making their way to Japan, and Japanese superstar Okao, the top fighter of the Mejiro Gym, came out of retirement to challenge him in this high-paced barnburner. Set to be Benny's first fight in Japan, the contest was delayed 3 months when Okao was injured in training, resulting in Urquidez scoring a 6th round KO over far inferior last minute replacement Katsuyuki Suzuki. America was still amidst the above the waist dark ages, so despite taking place in Japan, this wound up being a modified rules match where low kicks were legal but knees & elbows to the head were not. Urquidez was very wary of the low kicks having little experience against them, and the threat was enough that Okao was able to instead come over the top with an overhand right for the 1st round knockdown. Urquidez is a slow starter under the best circumstances, but when you add in being rattled and a bit apprehensive, Okao wound up owning the early portion with his high pressure style, throwing everything he had at Benny as Urquidez laid back trying to figure things out. The Japanese knew their style was superior because it was more complete, but did this knowledge combined with Okao's early success swell his head too much? The argument could be made that Okao thought the possibility of the kick was enough, and he could instead mostly just beat Benny with shorter range game even though his training was more suitable to winning at distance (because the Thai fighters own the clinch game) and all he was allowed to do on the inside was punch. However, I think Okao just burned himself out with the combination of pushing so hard for the 1st round KO and probably not being in peak condition given he was no longer a full-time fighter and the injury interrupted his comeback. There's also the fact that Urquidez was just a step or three above the rest, and even having to go slightly outside his box, he had the chin to weather the bad times & the power to capitalize on the good. In any case, while Okao did somewhat leave the low kicks he started with, he's a knockout artist who was trying to finish fast, and the head hunting was a lot more likely to accomplish that than the game of attrition. Urquidez mainly just tried to keep Okao off him in the 1st, particularly with the left front kick, and this may also have contributed to Okao wanting to stay inside kicking range & throw heavy leather. Okao arguably also won the 2nd, but it was his low kick, which he could have thrown at a safer distance, that was now carrying him as Urquidez got his jab going and was now winning the boxing encounters and settling into a fight that was both more comfortable & conventional for him. Okao slowed down noticably in the 3rd, and while he did now shift to a more distance based attack, that was more because he'd tired himself out with two rounds of going all out and didn't have the energy to maintain the all out insanity, or even do the more active distance style he needed. Finally given time, Urquidez was the one who was landing most of the heavy strikes now, taking the round and swelling Okao's eye. Urquidez landed a high kick to start the 4th, but Okao answered backing Benny with a low kick then following with a front kick. Urquidez hurt Okao with a left hook though, and really turned on the gas, blitzing Okao with an endless flurry until Okao finally wilted after a great right cross. Definitely a rocky start for Urquidez, but he got better with each round, as he tends to do. The 1st & 4th rounds were definitely the best, but every round was high action & activity. Very good match.
Defiant 12/12/17 Defiant Internet Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Mike Bailey 15:33. Another excellent technical match between to of the top workers in the world. These guys have been trying to be progressive and actually take wrestling into the 21st century where people know what a real fight looks like. At the same time though, they focus a lot more on doing an entertaining match than an MMA match, so we wound up with something where the first half somewhat realistically lays out the striker vs. grappler strategy of Bailey trying to stay on the outside & use his fast kick, while Sabre just wants to grab hold of him or them and drag him down so he can tap him. However, once they let loose, they pretty much abandon reality and shift into a super slick and spectacular anything goes fantasy version of said match. Conceptually, the first 8 minutes are more or less a flashy approximation of if these two had an MMA match, with Bailey staying long and using his kicks to keep Sabre on the outside, and Sabre being an Imanariesque submission specialist who just needs to find a way to drag you to the canvas somehow to start chaining submissions. Bailey does a number on Sabre's right leg with his low kicks, and even though it's early on, Sabre seems a bit desperate in trying to keep adjusting into any submission he can think of in the ropes, which Bailey, being the consummate sportsman, takes offence to. Sabre will obviously take any submission he can get, but if he has a choice, he's kicking & contorting Bailey's knees, which are supposed to still be weakened from his #1 contender series with David Starr. They begin to completely leave the whole theme of realism when Bailey hit a Frankensteiner and Sabre countered the running shooting star press with a triangle. The crazy switches Sabre made to turn this into a kneebar are an example of why he's the best technical wrestler since Kiyoshi Tamura stopped competing. The action switched to full on spectacle when Bailey caught Sabre's high cross body & did a standing moonsault to powerslam him, but Sabre just kept going with a Kimura into an octopus, and they exchanged pinning predicaments until Bailey hit his standing ultima weapon. Bailey seemed to purposely do a sloppy springboard moonsault to the floor to put over the knee injury, and kept fighting through it as he hit the ultima weapon on a hunched over Sabre. He seemed ready to KO Sabre when Zach finally caught his kick & went into a modified half crab to pull it out more or less out of nowhere. I think the idea for the finish was good, but why not use a kneebar or something that actually works? Both were in great form, but it says a lot about Bailey that he was stealing the show even in a match that was theoretically more toward what Sabre needed to excel. It's not the best they are capable of together, or on par with the 11/10/17 Sabre vs. Ospreay that may be MOTY even though being a better striker or more adept in the MMA leaning style than Will, Bailey is theoretically a better opponent for Zach, but in adding some new wrinkles as well as condensing their Cockpit match from 2/5/17 they were at least able to improve it. ****
UFC Fight Night 170 3/14/20
Bea Malecki vs. Veronica Macedo 3R. One of the problems with fighting at bantamweight when you're only 5'4" is you can run into an opponent such as Malecki who has a 10 inch reach advantage, which is probably why Macedo was at flyweight her last 3 fights. Macedo was actually the favorite here though, and a couple of the reasons why were speed & movement. She got off to an excellent start, moving backward & sideways to keep away, but regularly cutting good angles to get inside for a a big right or a punch combo then get right out of the pocket. Macedo is a hard hitter & was landing an extremely high percentage for someone who throws everything full power, while Malecki spent the 1st round trying to walk her down then usually letting her off the hook once she actually got Macedo against the cage even though she had success with her front kicks when she was willing to unleash them. Macedo began to slow down toward the end of round 1 because she was expending so much more energy with her movement, and while she recovered decently to start the 2nd, Malecki, who was scolded by her corner for hesitating, began to actually use her jab & let the kick go. Malecki stuffed a takedown 2 minutes into the round, and came down on top of Macedo into mount, but Macedo actually pulled off the old schoolyard kick your legs up & sneak out the back trick, which seemingly hasn't worked in a real fight in the past quarter century. Nonetheless, the fight turned here as Macedo was just blown up, and really did little the rest of the round beyond landing a super slow spinning backfist. Macedo couldn't slow the fight down with the takedown, eating a knee for her trouble or giving up the top of Malecki wanted it, and her spinning kicks were missing, with Malecki nailing her with a hammerfist when Macedo lost her balance missing a spinning heel kick. Malecki landed a nice front kick to the face early in the 3rd, and even though it was a round a piece, it was becoming difficult to see Macedo's path to victory because she just didn't have the energy to execute her high movement winning style. Macedo's single legs were failing badly, and she seemed content to lie on the mat due to exhaustion. Malecki was racking up numbers, coming forward & landing kicks, but in the final minute & a half Macedo began to just swing for the fences, and started connecting with her overhand rights again to get back into the round. Malecki possibly hurt Macedo with a right just before the closing bell though; Macedo was just so exhausted it was difficult to tell if she almost fell from the punch or from laboring to keep throwing full power until the end. Malecki got the unanimous decision 29-28. Good match.
Maryna Moroz vs. Mayra Bueno Silva 3R. Silva came forward & had the power, but Moroz had a lot more craft, technique & diversity. Moroz played the long game, working the body & legs, just doing a great job of using the body jab to halt Silva, especially in the 3rd. She built up quite an advantage in volume, but Silva landed some big shots, for instance a spinning elbow in the 1st. 3 minutes into the fight, Moroz caught a head kick & got the takedown, working ground & pound the rest of the round. Silva was able to land the high kick in the 2nd, and seemed to take over in the middle of the round mixing low kicks with heavy hands & spinning strikes, but got taken down despite being the one to initiate the clinch work against the cage, and again Moroz just had her way with Silva on the ground, mauling her with elbows. Silva had two big right hand counters just before the 2 minute mark in the 3rd and cramped Moroz's calf with another tough low kick. Moroz tried for the takedown, but Silva was able to defend it & wobble Moroz with a 1-2 combo. Moroz was still outlanding Silva considerably in the 3rd, swelling Silva's right cheek with her right hand, but it was mostly Silva's shots that were the ones that were really registering. One of Silva's big advantages is if she could grab the clinch, and one knee late opened up a nasty cut. Silva made on one hand a good adjustment using the front kick to take away Moroz's body jab, but she needed the finish and wasn't really likely to get it from the outside, especially not going after the cut. Round 3 was Silva's, but not being able to get off her back really cost her this fight. Good match.
UFC 248 3/7/20, Women's Strawweight Title: Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrejczyk 5R. The best women's match we've seen in the UFC. Just a back & forth all-out standup war for 25 minutes with such narrow margins that each round more or less could have been scored either way. What made it such an outstanding matchup is both had major advantages that kind of counteracted one another. Weili had the power & speed while Joanna had the reach, technique, & cardio. Joanna is best when she dictates with her jab, but the problem is Weili is not only fast enough to counter it, but her counter is going to be the harder shot, so Joanna really had to pick her spots rather than just fighting long & putting volume on Weili. Early on, Joanna was able to keep her distance & score with the right low kick, but her nature is to follow it up, and Weili was really dangerous in the lengthier exchanges. Though Weili's power was enough of an advantage that trading shot for shot was not a good option, it was a hard one to avoid because she's got the hand speed to answer, but if you don't throw, she'll come in and force the brawl. Jedrejczyk's strategy of working the body was good because Weili is an explosive knockout artist who has only gone 15 minutes 3 times in 21 fights, but it was also potentially her downfall in these really close rounds because judges wrongfully score shots to the head above shots to the body & legs. Joanna won the 1st 3 minutes of round 1, but Weili came on in the final 2, landing some heavy right hands to counter the jab that rattled Joanna's confidence, putting her into a mode of backing & trying to jab, which allowed Weili to step in and land the counter punch easier & more effectively. The more Weili tried to back Joanna, the more Joanna tried to jab to keep her off, allowing Weili to throw powerful combos which Joanna was more prone to trying to answer because her back was near the cage. Round 2 started off much like the 1st with Joanna coming forward & dictating at range, but after she defended a takedown attempt Weili landed the counter right & then hurt her with a 1-2. Weili was doing good work with the right low kick, but late in the round Joanna hurt her, countering it by high kicking her over it. Weili's coach had to carry her to her corner at the end of the 2nd, though part of the damage was from a headbutt when Joanna charged in to clinch. Nonetheless, Joanna outstruck Weili 38-23 in this round, and I thought she stole it back at the end to even the fight. Ironically, only Eric Colon, the judge who scored the fight for Joanna, had Zhang up 2 rounds. Weili responded coming out strong in the 3rd, pressing the action & dictating some great, heated exchanges, but in the final 3 rounds she was much stronger early than late. Jedrejczyk switched to southpaw looking to land another left high kick, but quickly stunned Weili with a couple left hands. Weili was now beginning to slow down, and Joanna mixed the left inside leg kick & the front kick to the body, having a little more time to then evade Weili's counters & forward pushes. Weili tried harder to slow things down with the takedown, but while she wasn't able to keep Joanna down after catching a low kick & tripping her up, she did create a massive face changing hemotoma in the middle of Joanna's forehead with the right hand counter before the trip. This seemed like a Joanna round because she was dictating after switching things up with the stance change, but she actually only landed 1 more strike, with Weili being the one who did disfiguring damage. Weili made the early push again in round 4, with some amazing violent exchanges. The damage these two withstood was pretty crazy. Weili didn't even seem stunned from a high kick, and was soon able to hurt Joanna back with a right cross then big left hook. The pace early in the round was insane, and this is where again their styles meshed so beautifully as the firefight was to Weili's advantage, but since Joanna had the conditioning she was able to fill in the gaps later in the round because she was still bouncing around looking fresh the whole way. Almost all Weili's shots were head punches, and Joanna head's was increasingly resembling Joseph Merrick's. It felt like Joanna won the round because as the better conditioned fighter she had some volume in between the exchanges that were a slight edge to Weili due to her power, but statistically the round was even, and visually the advantage was clearly to Weili. One would figure the fight was even going into the final round, and in that case the advantage was to Joanna, especially when Weili wasn't dictating the first two minutes. If there was a difference in the fight, it was exemplified by the sequence a minute into the 5th where Joanna landed a clean overhand right but Weili didn't even flinch, whereas Weili soon answered with a left to the nose that twisted Joanna's nose. This broken nose was likely the difference in the fight because Joanna no longer seemed the fresher fighter after this because her breathing was compromised, as well as everything else on her increasingly Elephant Woman face. Joanna said her head was "going on and off" due to the swelling, and there wasn't much strategy down the stretch, they were pretty much just standing in front of each other and bombing away, which was still great for the fans. Joanna still managed to outland Weili by about 10 in the 5th, with a nice spinning backfist in the final seconds, but Weili clearly had the damage with the broken nose, which gave her the edge. Weili won a split decision 48-47, 47-48, 48-47. Great match.
Invicta Phoenix 3 3/6/20, Invicta Bantamweight Title Decision: Julija Stoliarenko vs. Lisa Verzosa 5R. This almost has to be the bloodiest fight in Invicta history, starting with an excellent albeit totally one-sided first round and continuing to be a total war throughout. Stoliarenko is a quick finisher even by the standards of early Ronda Rousey, with her last 3 fights being armbar wins in 30 seconds or less. She was aggressively closing the distance with superman elbows from the outset, and again came close to a quick win with the armbar off a guard pull of all things. It was quickly apparent that Stoliarenko was a lot quicker & more explosive with her strikes, and she did a good job of mixing the right low kick & the overhand right, not taking much counterfire because she moved her head off the center while Verzosa didn't. Stoliarenko hurt Verzosa twice with high kicks, had a series of clinch elbows, and another armbar attempt that veered into an Americana from the armbar setup, in what probably should have been a 10-8 round. Verzosa made some changes in between rounds defensively, increasing the distance between the two & being a lot more on her toes, but the problem is while this negated much of Stoliarenko's offense because Verzosa was too far away for her to close quickly & land, Verzosa still entered at the same angle, throwing the same shot with her head stationary in the same place, so Stoliarenko still had a better chance of landing than she did. This was totally a nothing round that should be scored even for lack of any reason to give it to anyone, but Verzosa did get it, resulting in a fight totally dominated by Stoliarenko being even going into the 3rd. One of the reasons this open scoring is great is we know the judges bought into what Verzosa was doing with her movement, so her corner knew they should encourage more of this, rather than just hoping she wasn't down 2 or 3 points and putting her into desperation mode. Round 3 was much better as Stoliarenko became more aggressive, using sort of a side stance where she'd slide forward to cut Verzosa off. Verzosa was finally landing some good right hands in their exchanges, but Stoliarenko cut her horrifically with a lead elbow in the last minute. If not for the cut, Verzosa might have won the round, but the damage was such that Verzosa was covered immediately with both a line straight down the nose & a gash under the eye, forming something of a half moon. I was shocked the fight wasn't stopped before the 4th round, though the majority of the blood was going down the face rather than into the eye socket, this was still one of the nastiest sets of cuts I've seen just for being big, long, & deep. The great Jimmy Smith, who I miss every UFC broadcast, especially when it's 6 hours of Bisping rambling on endlessly as if he's doing a solo play by play, described it as "That looks like she got hit with an axe!" Stoliarenko was cut in the 3rd as well, and definitely an amount of the appeal and praise for the match was how high it was ranking on the Muta scale, with Stoliarenko eventually covered mostly by the blood that was flying off Verzosa. Stoliarenko began pumping the jab because every time she hit the nose, the blood would spray into Verzosa's eyes (among other places, Megan Andersen was using a piece of paper to shield herself while providing useless commentary). Verzosa was landing more right hands now because she was setting it up with the left to the body, and generally throwing 2 or 3 shots in the exchanges rather than just leading with the power punch. Though Stoliarenko opened up another cut above Verzosa's left ear with an elbow, I thought Verzosa won the 4th. Stoliarenko seemed a bit out of sorts as she kept getting her mouthpiece knocked out, and just bending down right away to pick it up even though the ref hadn't bothered to stop it. Late in the round, Verzosa offbalanced her countering the elbow with a left hand. Verzosa was up on one scorecard, but down enough on the other two that she needed a finish. There's holes in her game to be certain, but you have to admire her guts. There was just no quit in her, and after running early, she really turned it on & marched forward late, with the 5th being one of, if not her best round. Stoliarenko was making sure Verzosa walked into some jabs, but the final two rounds were much more competitive because she didn't have the same explosiveness she had early on to just beat Verzosa to the punch. Stoliarenko won a split decision 46-49, 48-46, 49-46. Very good match.
