UFC 299 went down last night from the Kaseya Center in Miami. All of the main card fights delivered. Read on for a recap of the main card.
Suga Sean O’Malley dominates Chito Vera to defend bantamweight title and avenge only loss
Sean O’Malley made his first defense of the UFC bantamweight championship by rectifying the only loss in his MMA career by putting on a dominant performance against Marlon “Chito” Vera. O’Malley was sharp from the start of this fight as Vera got off to his usual slow start.
O’Malley frustrated Vera all night long with outstanding footwork that seemed to leave the Ecuadorian challenger just out of range with many of his shots. O’Malley, who effortlessly switches stances, landed strikes at range and did well digging body shots on Vera all night long.
Vera, whose best round was the fourth, never seemed to get going until the last couple rounds and only when he attempted to make it a dirty fight. O’Malley simply outclassed the tough as nails Vera with his slick striking. Vera’s best moment came at the end of the fight when he caught O’Malley with a wicked body shot just before the end of the fight. O’Malley had to take several minutes to recover while seated on the canvas after the fight.
O’Malley’s striking prowess was on display late in round 2 when he hammered Vera with a flush knee that would have taken out almost any other bantamweight on the planet. Vera ate the shot surprisingly well, but O’Malley continued to have success late in the round lading big shots.
In round 5, an O’Malley punch appeared to connect directly on Vera’s eye and for most of the round it appeared Vera could not see out of his eye as it was nearly closed shut.
After the fight, O’Malley stated his preference to fight Ilia Topuria next in a move up to 145 to try and capture a second strap. Sign me up for that fight as it is likely the best bet to continue building O’Malley’s stardom and certainly the much more interesting next fight for Suga.
Dustin Poirier crushes Benoit Saint Denis with vicious right hook knockout
Dustin Poirier survived a difficult first round against the savage Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis to come roaring back in the second round to score one of the cleanest knockouts in recent memory. Saint Denis is an absolute beast and likely future title challenger.
And, in the first round, it looked like Saint Denis might be able to send The Diamond closer to retirement as he had the Louisiana native in trouble with his relentless striking attack. Poirier had moments with his striking in the opening frame, but Saint Denis was absolutely relentless and by the end of the round Poirier appeared very tired.
Saint Denis had success on the ground in the first round as he took Poirier’s back and hinted for chokes and even looked for an armbar as the round closed. In between rounds, Poirier’s corner admonished him for continually jumping guillotines in the first round.
Poirier can be excused for jumping even another guillotine early in the second round as just prior he clipped the French special forces veteran with a nasty uppercut that dropped the Frenchman. After the last regrettable guillotine attempt, Saint Denis briefly had mount and Poirier flattened out before The Diamond was able to work his way back to the feet.
The finishing sequence began with Poirier ripping a body shot and then putting Saint Denis down with a left hook. Saint Denis, seemingly programmed to always move forward to seek and destroy, then looked for another shot. After defending with yet another ill-fated guillotine attempt, Poirier made amends by landing a wicked right hook that flattened Saint Denis. One huge right hand from Poirier over the fallen Saint Denis was unnecessary as the fight was already over.
The knockout came at 2:32 of Round 2. It will be interesting to see where each of these fighters goes from here. Poirier, the former interim lightweight champion, is never too far off from title contention. And this spectacular win over a fighter nobody wanted to fight significantly boosts his stock. Saint Denis will go back to the drawing board as he tries to rebuild momentum.
Michael Venom Page makes entertaining UFC debut against frustrated Kevin Holland
UFC fans unfamiliar with England’s Michael “Venom” Page were treated to an entertaining fight against Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland. MVP’s darting karate style is fun to watch as the long fighter will stand at such long range with his hands down and unexpectedly dart in with exception speed as he throws bog right hands.
That right hand connected again and again on Holland throughout the fight. Page also showed some grappling skill as he landed a trip against Big Mouth and held his own in the clinch.
Holland expressed frustration late in the fight as he mocked Page for not engaging. But Page clearly outclassed Holland (an excellent striker in his won right) with strikes.
At 37 years old it will be interesting to see if Page can put together a run to the top of the welterweight division. Page said after the fight that he has a little more work to do to be in the title conversation, but MVP clearly showed he belongs with the upper echelon of 170.
Jack Della Maddalena detonates to destroy Gilbert Burns
Jack Della Maddelena walked out to an all-time great walkout song in AC/DC’s T.N.T. And just like the song says he won the fight after exploding. The Australian won the first round after doing solid work with his strikes, landing punishing body shots.
Durinho won the second round on the strength of two big shots, one a nasty elbow as Della Maddalena was stepping in.
In the final round, the finishing sequence started with Della Maddalena executing a beautiful escape from bottom position by rolling. As soon as the fighters reset on the feet, Burns shot and a perfectly placed knee by Della Maddelena set off the dynamite.
Burns, rocked badly, staggered backward and tumbled to the canvas. Della Maddalena then was all gas with the strikes as he hammered his foe initially with hammer fists. But it was vicious elbows that brought the TKO stoppage at 3:43 of Round 3.
Della Maddalena, one of Seattle Fights’ favorite fighters, improved to 17-2. He has now won seventeen in a row after dropping his first two professional MMA bouts. Improving his UFC record to 7-0, the Aussie has not beat Kevin Holland and the legendary Burns in his last two fights. After the bout he called out Shavkat Rakhmonov. That fight would be absolutely insane and hopefully the UFC puts it together.
Petr Yan scores solid unanimous decision win over Song Yadong
Petr Yan put on a solid performance in an entertaining opening bout against the always tough Song Yadong. But it was Yan’s superior striking that proved too much in the end.
The first round was close and competitive but Song rated a slight edge. Yadong displayed some beautiful boxing technique and the Chinese brings big power in almost all of his punches.
In the second round, Yan stormed back with a strong round. The Russian landed a plethora of beautiful uppercuts in the round. A slicing elbow from Yan in top position put a cut over Song’s eye late in the round.
Yan’s strong striking continued in the final round as he won the fight 29-28 on all three judge’s scorecards.