Best Matches Seen March 2021 |
UFC Fight Night 187 3/13/21: Charles Jourdain vs. Marcelo Rojo R3 4:31. This fight got off to somewhat of a slow start, as Rojo did a good job of always controlling the center of the octagon, but at the same time was never really able to back Jourdain to the point he could use the cage to capitalize. Jourdain would always fire back with the middle kick, and reclaim his territory, sometimes using a very effective jab, but would never continue to push Rojo back past the center. Midway through the second, Rojo finally began to put it together, throwing a great combination of body punches, followed by a clinch knee and some head punches, making Jourdain actually work to get himself off the cage. Rojo had most of the bigger/flashier moments in this round, but he also spent too much time waiting, and Jordain outlanded him by being more consistent with his straight punches and upper body kicks. Rojo definitely won the first, but the second was more debatable until Jourdain stunned Rojo with a punch combo after missing a jumping knee in the final seconds to presumably steal it. Rojo did good damage with leg kicks when he actually threw them, but Jourdain did a much better job of using all his weapons, and attacking all quadrants. Jourdain switched to southpaw in the third round, but was still leading with a left hand, often ripping the body then following with the right. Jourdain's knockdown was totally due to mixing it up, suddenly leading with a right uppercut, and following with a right jab. Even though both missed, he was able to floor his backing opponent with the big left hand that had been coming first so often. Jourdain couldn't finish on the ground, so I thought he was going to let Rojo up as the DC had been suggesting, but instead he did a crazy Showtime guard pass punch. Jourdain was now standing over Rojo dropping bombs down unimpeded, and because Rojo was too damaged to either get guard or scramble back to its feet, he eventually had to give his back. Jourdain might have been able to choke Rojo out, but his corner wasn't certain he won the first two rounds, and was screaming that he needed to finish, so Jourdain let Rojo back up and started ripping the body and forcing Rojo to move if you didn't want to get finished against the cage, really resulting in Rojo essentially just collapsing for the finish. The second half of the fight was way better than first, with the fairground being quite good albeit suddenly a bit one-sided after two really competitive rounds. Good match.
UFC 259 3/6/21
Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney 3R. A major step down in competition for Cruz, but that is a reasonable idea when you have only fought twice in five years due to injuries, and both were title losses. Kenney was confident he could do what Cody Garbrandt & Henry Cejudo did to defeat Cruz, beat up his legs, which have to be around when he is in front of you, rather than try to beat him with punches when his head is constantly moving. Kenney wasn't as disciplined as those two though, and also isn't nearly as good a puncher. He did a good job of landing low kicks, but didn't throw enough to win two rounds, especially with Cruz making him look silly by constantly dodging most of his punches, which I think is actually a factor when the rounds are close, as Cruz just seemed much more professional, for lack of a better term. Still, this ridiculous 25 foot kiddie cage was a huge advantage for Kenney, as it does its best to take the skill out of the fight, and just force guys to stand in front of each other and bang (or hold onto each other until everyone falls asleep), which is exactly what Cruz's style is designed to avoid. Cruz still looked fast, and is the most uniquely beautiful mover around. This fight was mostly good because he is a special and inventive artist, but he certainly struggled offensively, as well. This was an extremely close fight in the sense that both fighters landed about 20 strikes each round, and Cruz may only have pulled it out due to a few empty takedowns in the 3rd. Even though Cruz didn't have a lot of success with the takedown, his ability to change levels was a key factor in him getting his strikes in. He does a good job of following high after punching the body or going for the takedown, and vice versa. Certainly, there was no comparison in the level of deception each fighter brought. Cruz, who has only fought one 3 round fight since 2009, clearly had a cardio advantage in the third, which wasn't a good sign for Kenney, who needed Cruz's movement to be compromised in order to close the gap. Cruz won a split decision 28–29, 29–28, 30–27. Good match.
UFC Bantamweight Title: Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling R4 4:29. UFC Bantamweight Title: Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling R4 4:29. The only really high level match on a UFC card that was sold as being potentially the best ever, and even then it was ruined by a bad split second decision regarding a terrible rule that changes from place to place, and an Oscar winning performance that resulted in the fighter who was losing the fight walking away with the title. I love the constant movement of Dominic Cruz, but also the lack of obvious movement from Yan. Yan has mastered the economy of movement, which is why his chances were growing with each round. He is difficult to read, and just extremely accurate with his striking because he does everything so subtly. He doesn't force anything, and is a really tough fighter to damage because he is defense first and so patient. Aljo, on the other hand, was a bit hyper. He was totally following the game plan of endlessly pressuring Yan, which was good. However, he was doing it to such an extreme that things were too big and broad, and it wasn't having quite the effect it could have if he was looser & more relaxed. He was pressing, rather than flowing, but he is such a good athlete and so well conditioned that he was mostly able to get away with it. A minute into the fight, Joe Rogan was already questioning whether Sterling could maintain this pace for five rounds. I suppose fighters competing way beyond their means was on his mind after the disaster that is Carlos Ulberg, a prelim warrior who looked like he might win without even taking a strike, but was so blown up after 2 minutes, he instead managed to limp his way into getting knocked out. The first round here was good for both fighters. Aljo landed two big jumping knees, and may have put down a lesser fighter with them. However, Yan actually did score a knockdown with an overhand right, so to me it is rather silly to consider giving Aljo the round (bad judge Ron McCarthy ruled in his favor) even though he had a 27/11 significant strike advantaged in the first. I wish UFC knew how to score knockdowns. It is ridiculous that a knockdown doesn't guarantee you even a 10-9, whereas laying on the guy for 3 minutes may get you a bogus 10-8 round, as we saw in the main event. A near finish should certainly be worth more than a near nap. Aljo was trying to grapple with Yan in any way possible to wear on him, even trying to get him down by scissoring his legs, but it was actually Yan who was getting all the takedowns, mostly tripping Aljo up and then letting him back up after a few kicks to the thighs, though he did have one nice slam in the first. Aljo was able to win a close a 2nd round by refusing to give Yan any space, working on the inside a lot, and tying him up. Yan did get Aljo's back at the end of the round though. Sterling began to slow down in the third, which wasn't a good sign given Yan was landing at almost a 70% clip when Sterling was at full stamina. After two rounds where Sterling was out landing Yan by outthrowing him three or four to one, Yan finally had a significant strike advantage in the third round. Yan was winning the fourth round, but not long after Daniel Cormier explained that he was beating Sterling to every position, Yan made an ill advised attempt to score a huge blow by doing just that. Yan claimed "I was focused on his hands and when he raised them, I hit him.” I'm not sure I buy even that, but I also don't think Yan just decided it was a good time to foul the opponent, given he was about to go up three rounds to one. In any case, after a lot of the usual pro wrestling selling, kneeing a downed Sterling eventually resulted in the exhausted challenger claiming the belt by DQ. What a downer! Good match.
Shoot Boxing INFINITY-S Vol. 3 6/4/04
Eihei Yabu vs. NIIZUMAX! 3R. NIIZUMAX! doesn't have a ton of technique, footwork, or head movement, but he's a super aggressive brawler who is going to attack. He'll lead with a middle, high, or axe kick, he'll charge in and grab trying for any kind of throw, he'll make it an unconventional scrap. Yabu was the better technical fighter by a wide margin, but he had a hard time finding any rhythm or consistency against this unorthodox opponent. NIIZUMAX! became a much easier target in the third round as he had tired himself out somewhat with all his aggression and pressure, and Yabu also made a good adjustment pushing forward with a sort of STO trip when NIIZUMAX! would try to grab him. Yabu landed a lot of clean punches in the third, bloodying NIIZUMAX!'s face. At one point, he backed NIIZUMAX! from one corner to the other with a series of big right straights. I would have liked to see this go another round, though obviously I can't see it changing the result. Yabu won round 3 big, but you could make the argument that NIIZUMAX! won the first two rounds. Yabu won a unanimous decision. Good match.
Koichi Kikuchi vs. Yuki 5R. A hard nosed, toe to toe battle of Kikuchi's punches vs. Yuki kicks. This was really a war, but Kikuchi just had too much volume. A lot of that comes down to Yuki not utilizing enough footwork, as if your strategy is to throw 70% low kicks, you don't want to just be standing in front of the opponent. That being said, Yuki actually did way better when he was willing to punch, and in these instances he could sometimes get away with being right in front of Kikuchi because he just kept attacking. Though Yuki's low kick was the most consistent and effective strike in the fight, he didn't really make any progress with it, and Kikuchi quickly figured out that the more he threw, the harder it was for Yuki to get his shots in, especially if he backed him with a front kick after throwing his punch combo. As the fight progressed, Yuki had to switch to boxing, but that was where he came close to getting a knockdown. In the 3rd, Yuki landed a solid short left hook, and began to finally push forward and let his hands go, only to be promptly dropped by Kikuchi's left straight. Yuki hurt Kikuchi with a right straight early in the 4th, but kind of punched himself out trying to capitalize, and was standing in front of Kikuchi even more later in the round. He had a good series late starting with a left hook though, and this was clearly his round, even knocking Kikuchi's mouthpiece out late. Both fighters were fading fast in the 5th, but Kikuchi reestablished his front kick, and was just keeping Yuki away. Yuki got another wind in the second half of the final round though, and the last minute was very dramatic, as Yuki was battering Kikuchi with punch after punch. Kikuchi seemed one or two good punches away from being finished during the final 45 seconds, but managed to will it out. Kikuchi won a unanimous decision. Very good match.
