UFC 278 ended up being a pretty solid night of competition. The main card didn't start off too hot with some less than interesting matchups, but it picked up with time and ended with two really solid fights with emotional elements that brought some added feeling to both bouts. The prelims provided some decent action as well. Even the fights that went to decision were pretty fun to watch for the most part. I already did reviews for the final two fights of the night, but we'll take the time here to briefly go through the rest of the card to talk about the performance for each winner and try to diagnose who their next opponent could be.
We started the night with flyweights and Victor Altamirano picked up a pretty nice win. He weathered an early storm before finding a finish of his own late in round one. This was an important win for Altamirano as it was his first in the UFC and brings him to 1-1 in the promotion. Now that he has the first win under his belt, he can focus on climbing the rankings. I thought Altamirano looked pretty solid and was a lot more comfortable than he was in his debut. Hopefully he can further settle in and let his skills takeover because he does have solid all around skill set. I would like to see him against someone like Ode Osbourne or Tyson Nam next.
Next up is Aoriqileng in a fight that was a pretty fun one. He had a lot of success early and even though he was moving up in weight, he still had a nice power and length advantage that he used to win the early rounds. He was able to hurt Jay Perrin in each of the first two rounds, which ended up being enough for the decision. He still gassed out in the final round and almost got finished in the final seconds, but his chin was just able to hold up long enough late. I think a matchup with Danaa Batgerel would be a pretty fun fight for him. If not him, someone like Aiemann Zahabi or Journey Newson would make some sense in my mind.
Amir Albazi looked really good in his win over Francisco Figueiredo. It was probably his most impressive win to date as he was able to quickly find the finish after grounding the fight. Albazi has a pretty underrated skillset in my opinion as he balances a well roundedness while still being legitimately dangerous in all areas as well. He has slid into the top 10 now, so I expect that he'll be getting a pretty interesting opponent in his next fight. I would like to see him get a David Dvorak or Alex Perez matchup, but based on the fact that they just had him fighting outside the rankings, I feel like a Jeff Molina matchup may be in the cards as well.
Ange Loosa registered his first UFC win in a gutsy performance. He picked up his output towards the end of the first round before being hurt badly in the second. He was able to survive an onslaught from AJ Fletcher to make it into the third round where he took over after Fletcher emptied the gas tank. Loosa has some skills while being a pretty big and athletic guy, but I struggle to really determine where his ceiling really is in this division. Obviously, there's no need to rush things as that is his first win and is only 1-1 in the promotion, so he has time to refine his game. I think an opponent like Mike Malott would make sense as they have similar levels of experience. Maybe a veteran like Mickey Gall would also serve as a solid test for where Loosa is at.
The incredibly weird fight between Sean Woodson and Luis Saldana got the split draw ending it probably deserved. Woodson was a heavy favorite here, but he really didn't look very good at all. He seemed a tad slow and didn't work the body the way he normally does. He got hurt early and probably should've been finished. He made the best of the opportunities that Saldana gave him and at least fought his way to a draw. I would be very interested to see a David Onama matchup for him next. Saldana probably turned in his best performance in the UFC, but even that wasn't enough to get him a win. He should have finished the fight multiple times, but just decided he didn't want to. He got a knockout with a hook and instead of following up and getting the knockout, he stood on the other side of the cage and taunted Woodson and allowed him to get up. After he allowed Woodson to get up, he knocked him down with a jab as Woodson was very obviously still hurt, but instead of finishing the fight there, he kneed him in the face as he was down and lost a point. Saldana should have had the knockout two separate times, but he should have still won the decision had he not had the point taken away. It goes down as a draw, but it really feels like a loss for Saldana. I like a Charles Rosa matchup for him next time out.
Jared Gordon's fight was unfortunately the least entertaining fight on the card, at least for me. It wasn't really Gordon's fault though as Santos really didn't show any interest in engaging him for most of the 15 minutes. Gordon did what he needed to do to win as he was leading the dance and landing with more volume. There isn't really too much to say as Santos just didn't do anything at all, which unfortunately probably leads to some overlooking the win for Gordon. I think someone like Clay Guida or Vinc Pichel are matchups I would want to see for Gordon next.
We got another steady performance from Marcin Tybura. He's not the most spectacular fighter in the world, but he is very reliable in what he does well and knows how to get himself to the spots he needs to be. Heavyweight isn't known for having the most well rounded fighters and that is where Tybura capitalizes. He's a solid grappler, does well in the clinch, and is a decent enough striker that he can keep his opponent away from the strength and out work them where they're weak. He had the grappling to survive the early onslaught from Romanov and then he had the striking and cardio to beat him late after Romanov slowed down. The biggest problem for Tybura right now is that he's really been stuck in the same range for awhile now. He's fought a lot of the guys around him in the rankings, so finding a fresh matchup for him isn't the easiest thing to do. He could wait out for the winner of Chris Daukaus vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik, which is probably the best opportunity he could get right now. I suppose he could also fight Segei Pavolovich, but I don't know how likely that is.
I'm not really sure what the UFC wants to do with Tyson Pedro. The guy clearly has talent and they've given him some pretty favorable matchups after he has returned from injury. It is sort of hard to take a lot away from these wins as he's facing guys who just have nothing to offer him. I'm not really sure where the progression will be for Pedro in his next matchup. They could give him someone like Marcin Prachnio or they could give him someone like Devin Clark. Maybe someone like Da Un Jung. I feel like Clark is the direction they may want to go in since his name does carry a bit of value as I think he is a pretty respected member of the roster.
Lucie Pudilova picked up a win in her return to the UFC and she looked to be improved. She was able to land some takedowns and get off some nice ground and pound at different points. Ground and pound is what got her the finish as well and that wasn't an element that we had seen from her game the first time around in the UFC. I don't expect her to see anything crazy next time out, but maybe someone like Joselyne Edwards would fit.
Finally we have Merab Dvalishvili who turned in a pretty vintage performance. The takedowns didn't come as Aldo was able to stuff them, but Merab controlled long stretches in the clinch to get himself the win. I'm not really sure why the UFC and Dana seemed so upset because this should have been what they were expecting, but apparently not I guess. Because the UFC isn't really happy with him and the fact that he won't fight Aljo, I have a feeling he may end up drawing the short straw in the next round of matchups at bantamweight. The winner of Sandhagen vs Song seems to be a good route for him though in my opinion. The Chito Vera fight is there as well, so we'll see how it all works out.
If that was indeed it for Jose Aldo, what a career it was. He's one of the best male fighters from the smaller divisions of all time. He's right there with DJ in that conversation for me. Part of me wants him to get one more fight on that Brazil card as that would be an incredible way for him to go out. Please UFC, just let him fight Dominick Cruz on that card and have him go out in front of his home fans one more time. That's the fight everyone wants to see and there isn't a better setting for it. It would also give Aldo someone who would probably strike with him and not just control him in the clinch. That's the perfect fight to make.
That is it for me. This is coming out way too late, but I'm struggling with motivation these days, so better late than never. The week off came at a good time though, so just looking to get back on the horse here before UFC Paris. What did you guys think of the event? Who was your biggest winner outside of the main event? What was your favorite fight? Leave any and all thoughts below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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