UFC 279 ended up working out as a pretty solid night after the card got shuffled around. If you didn't read my write up for the main event yesterday, I'm not so into the idea of giving the UFC all of this credit for making a better card when they were the one's responsible for making the initial, lesser card in the first place. What I do give them credit for is having the ability to get everyone on the same page and actually get the contracts agreed to for the updated card, but not for the matchups they chose because everyone knows that should've been the initial layout the whole time. The card as a whole was just ok. It probably didn't really ever feel like a PPV, but it was a pretty standard card. As a PPV, it will be on the weaker ones of the year, but overall, it was just another event. It ended up being special because the main event felt like it should. It should have always been a celebration of Nate's run in the UFC and that is what we got. Tony Ferguson was an appropriate opponent in both ability, age, and status and it ended up making for a fun night. There aren't a ton of talking points from the night beyond the final 3 fights of the night, but I think the version of the card that we saw positions it with the rest of the lower end PPVs of the year instead of having it stand out as the clear worst. I think it was at least on the level of UFC 272, which was the Masvidal vs Covington card. While there wasn't a ton in the way of impactful fights within a particular division, there are still some winners to go over this week.
Yohan Lainesse picked up the first win of the night in somewhat controversial fashion. Most people seemed to think Darian Weeks should have gotten the nod and that is what I was expecting when they read the decision. Lainesse came out with the decision and I think the deciding factor was his overall aggression. Even though Weeks was landing more and doing so much more consistently, the optics of Lainesse throwing big shots and coming forward while doing so was enough to sway the judges. While I think the general consensus was that Weeks won, that isn't Lainesse's fault and he shouldn't be punished for it. The biggest thing going forward is going to be either improving his cardio or doing a better job of managing it across the entire 15 minutes as he has been pretty reliable to slow down after the midpoint of the fight.
Elise Reed collected her second UFC win in a close fight. Reed pretty much did her thing out there in this one. Her striking is her strength and she largely relied on that, even getting a knock down in the first round. She forced more grappling exchanges than usual and had a moderate amount of success there. With Reed, she's one of those fighters where you have to balance what she's earning against the actual expectations. If she keeps collecting wins, she is earning the right to face tougher competition. However, her limitations, especially in the grappling, feel like she needs very specific matchups in order to have any success. She needs someone who will strike with her, so I think maybe Cheyanne Vlismas or Yazmin Jauregui would make some sense for her next.
Alatengheili turned in another really solid performance and continues to display a really tough all around skillset. He's always been a pretty clean boxer with good power, but I've always wanted him to wrestle more. He really didn't look to wrestle too much here either, but it seemed like he worked on his output issue. If he is going to strike with competitive volume, I am much more comfortable with him using the grappling less than I was in the past. He has all of the tools to be a really dangerous fighter in this division, it's just a matter of how far his style can take him. Men's bantamweight is a really tough division to move up though, so I'm not sure his next opponent will be as exciting as one may expect. I think someone like Kyung Ho Kang, Aiemann Zahabi, Saidyokub Kakhramanov, or maybe even Davey Grant would make sense.
Norma Dumont absolutely dominated and positioned herself for a potential featherweight title shot. We all know women's featherweight isn't the best or deepest division in the world, but if Amanda Nunes is going to defend her title there, Dumont is probably the number one contender at this point in time. The fact that she was dominating Wolf in the striking probably says more about Wolf than Dumont to be honest, but it was still a statement about the levels in this game, even in the perceived weaker divisions. If she doesn't get the title shot, I think matchups with Josiane Nunes or Joselyne Edwards are probably the spots to look for Dumont.
Chris Barnett came up big in an upset win over Jake Collier. Barnett took a lot of damage early, but Collier emptied the tank looking for the finish and when he didn't get it, Barnett turned the tide. I'm not really sure why Collier felt the need to go all out like that as I thought he had the skills to beat Barnett over the full 15, but he chose the path he did. Barnett was landing big after that initial onslaught and then with Collier gassed out badly, he was able to do almost whatever he wanted. Once he started being Collier to positions on the ground, that was the beginning of the end. Barnett showed a lot of heart and didn't quit on himself and there's something to be said for that. I don't think he's necessarily ready for a push into or towards the rankings, but he is a guy that people want to watch. I think a matchup with Mohammed Usman, Josh Parisian, or Justin Tafa would make sense.
Denis Tiuliulin put on a pretty impressive performance by finishing Jamie Pickett. Tiuliulin isn't the most complicated fighter in the world, but that doesn't mean it can't be effective. Tiuliulin is a pressure heavy fighter and he's going to throw his shots with power and that is what we saw here. Pickett was the more technical fighter and probably had the wider array of skills, but he just had no answer for Tiuliulin and couldn't get him to take a step back. Eventually the pace, pressure, and power just because too much and once Pickett was hurt, Tiuliulin put it on him and found the finish. I think someone like Jordan Wright or Dusko Todorovic would make sense for Tiuliulin next. Maybe even Abus Magomedov would fit.
I guess Jailton Almeida is a heavyweight for good now and if that is the case, he can probably get himself some big fights very soon. Anton Turkalj stepped in on short notice and put out a pretty solid effort and survived some bad positions against Almeida a lot longer than most would have. Almeida is tremendous from top position and he's extremely dangerous. Eventually, someone is going to force him to stand at range and fight over a full 15 minutes and that's when we'll really find out what level of fighter we're really talking about, but no one has really given him much resistance yet. At heavyweight, I see no reason that Almeida shouldn't be getting someone ranked next. He was booked to fight Shamil Abdurakhimov, but visa issues stopped that fight. I would look to potentially rebook that fight or look to Blagoy Ivanov, Alexandr Romanov, or Serghei Spivac otherwise.
Julian Erosa has looked tremendous recently and this may have been the best performance of his entire career. He kept things very buttoned up and didn't get too wild, which is an interesting progression in his career. Erosa is known for being a pretty wild guy who is going to force the issue, but he did dial that back and fight a more controlled fight this time out. If he's going to be able to adjust based on his opponent, he has the skills to provide serious issues for a lot of guys at featherweight. He's on a nice winning streak as well and he should have a pretty nice opportunity in front of him next time out. I think someone like Nathaniel Wood, Alex Caceres, or Lerone Murphy would be the perfect test for Erosa next time out.
Johnny Walker collected a much needed win and did so in pretty impressive fashion as well. He got taken down, but he held his own on the ground and eventually got himself into the dominant position. After he got to Cutelaba's back, he sank in the choke and he really needed it. He's in a bit of a strange spot as he's been hanging out in this same range in the rankings for awhile now, but I think he's still ok for now. I think a Paul Craig or Jimmy Crute matchup is probably in his future as nothing else feels all that obvious. Azamat Murzakanov finds himself in the rankings so I guess that could be an option as well.
Irene Aldana escaped with a victory over Macy Chiasson in a fight that she may have been losing. It was more competitive than I anticipated and Chiasson was having a decent final round. Aldana landed an up kick to Chiasson's ribs and folded her badly. It must have effected her liver as we've seen many times over the years, but never quite in that way. It was a confusing finish as I thought Chiasson had gotten injured from the kick, but it was just the perfect strike in the perfect spot. It all counts the same and now Aldana is right back in the title picture. I think it is pretty obvious that Aldana should be fighting Ketlen Vieira next for the rightful number one contender spot. Have Amanda Nunes fight Valentina Shevchenko and let Aldana and Vieira determine the next challenger there. It makes too much sense to me.
Daniel Rodriguez picked up a very close win over Li Jingliang in controversial fashion. Most people thought Li won that fight and I am one of those people. With that said, for someone who was out for a long time with an injury and took the fight on a month's notice, I thought Rodriguez represented himself well. He is still working his way back, but I think he is a very good fighter in this division. I think having D-Rod fight Neil Magny, Michael Chiesa, or Michel Pereira makes perfect sense. I also wouldn't mind seeing him get rebooked with Kevin Holland.
Li Jingliang loses his spot in the rankings after the loss, which is kind of unfortunate given that he probably should have gotten the win. Li was in a tough spot after the shuffle and ended up having to fight at a serious size disadvantage and still probably won the fight. I think he ended up gaining a ton of fan support and is much more of a recognizable name now, so that may end up helping him more in the long run than a win over Rodriguez would have, but it is still a very unfortunate situation for him all around. I expect he'll get a very good opponent next time out and didn't realize lose any stock here. I think a Michel Pereira or Michael Chiesa fight would make sense for him as well. Maybe Kevin Holland vs Li is the way to go.
Khamzat Chimaev did his thing and I don't think anyone is really surprised at this point. This was a favorable matchup for him given Holland's problems with wrestlers in the past, but he still came out and absolutely dominated. Holland has always had a decent submission game, both offensively and defensively, so finishing him by submission deserves a little more credit than some people are willing to give. It is sort of unclear what Chimaev's immediate future holds though. Because he missed weight as badly as he did, a welterweight title shot certainly isn't in the cards for his next fight. At 170, he's going to have to go through Colby Covington more than likely to earn that shot and I think that is the fight I would most prefer to see. He could also make the move to middleweight, where I think he could jump right into a title fight. If Israel Adesanya beats Alex Pereira, Khamzat could reasonably slide right into that next opportunity without too much of an argument from most people. He could also go up and fight Robert Whittaker or Paulo Costa in an attempt to solidify his status there. He has a lot of options and I think we just need to let some other things unfold before his next fight becomes a bit more clear.
Kevin Holland doesn't really lose any stock here either. Holland has built his own fanbase over doing just this thing. He will fight anyone, any time, anywhere, regardless of matchup. Taking tough fights on short notice only feeds into what people already like about Holland, so he had nothing to lose here. If he beats Khamzat, he puts himself right there for a potential title shot. If he loses, everyone just says, "well, it was a bad matchup on short notice" and that's that. Kevin Holland is a guy who the fans want to see and in the right matchup, he's almost guaranteed to put on a fun fight. Matchups with Li Jingliang and Daniel Rodriguez make sense in my book. A sneaky interesting one would be Vicente Luque, but I don't know how likely that actually is.
That's it for me on this card. Hopefully I can put out the preview for Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong tomorrow and that the card actually stays structured as it is supposed to. What did you guys think of UFC 279? Who was the biggest winner? What was your favorite fight? What matchups do you want to see next? Leave any and all thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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