UFC 281 was probably the best card in MMA all year. The first event that the UFC did in London in March was great, but I think the actual competition was better this past weekend. So many of the fights were fun matchups, important for the future of their division, or both. There weren't too many fights that didn't provide at least a little bit of intrigue and the atmosphere matched it. There's a lot of fighters to talk about since I need to get to some of the losers here as well, so let's not mess around.
Carlos Ulberg kicked off the night with a bang. It was a mixed bag for CKB on the night, but Ulberg looked tremendous. I had my issues with Carlos and I'm not ready to say he's on the path towards a title shot, but this was the best he's looked in my opinion. Negumereanu was a guy who could pose an interesting style matchup for him, but he had no issues at all. Neg has also been very durable historically, but the power of Ulberg put him out quickly in this one. The winner of Philipe Lins vs Ovince St. Preux next month sounds like a solid fight for Ulberg in his next one.
Montel Jackson notched a very nice win over Julio Arce. Jackson didn't have his best night ever, but this was easily the toughest test of his career, so it isn't an unexpected result. Jackson's physical attributes are going to be really tough for most opponent's to overcome. He's so big and long for the division, while being so fast that there's just not much a lot of guys will be able to do to answer it. The one thing that could take Jackson to another level would be if he could put out more consistent volume with his strikes, but that is something he should be able to improve as he gains more confidence in his ability to strike in general. I think someone like Kyung Ho Kang, Alatengheili, or Brian Kelleher would make sense for Jackson next.
Michael Trizano won a barn burner and he desperately needed the win. He seemed to be on a decline and he really hadn't looked good in his last couple of fights, but he turned it around in a big way. He and Choi were going back and forth the whole time and Trizano landed the shot that finally put an end to the night and may have saved his UFC career, as we found out after the fact that it was the last fight on his deal. Regardless of what the ceiling is for his career, this was a fantastic night and should buy him a few more fights in the promotion. I think someone like David Onama, Luis Saldana, or Makwan Amirkhani is the tier of opponent Trizano should be looking at next.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz finds herself on a small winning streak after a tough stretch and it's good to see. She looked to be pretty much on her way out of the UFC and maybe MMA altogether, but she's reenergized now and seems much more confident. She was in a very tough and close fight and did just enough to earn the decision win. I don't project that she's going to return to her title contention days, but I think she's shown that maybe she has more left in the tank than we may have thought. I think someone like Jessica Penne or Piera Rodriguez is an appropriate level of opponent.
Matt Frevola got his moment in front of his home crowd and it was hard not to feel good for him. He knocked out Ottman Azaitar at the end of the first round pretty badly. Frevola opted to stand with Azaitar, which didn't project to be a great idea, but he got the better of him. Better is really the right word as Frevola just looked like the much better fighter in there. I would ultimately like to see Frevola wrestle more for his own long term success as it would be a very profitable path for him, but he's a guy who loves to entertain. His win and loss record may suffer, but the fans love him for it and that counts for something. Frevola called out Paddy Pimblett and while I don't hate the idea, I don't know that it's particularly likely either. One fight that I really like the sound of is Frevola vs Benoit St. Denis. If not that, maybe someone like Mike Davis or Jamie Mullarkey makes some sense.
Andre Petroski is a guy who just keeps finding a way. I said before that I liked a lot of his skills, but that he's kind of missing some of the things that link those skills together in a way that translates to more consistent wins and cardio was a big one. While I think the improvement in his cardio is being a bit overstated, there was an improvement, which is a great sign. He's clearly putting in the work and that continued effort is going to go a long way towards him maximizing whatever his capabilities may be. His wrestling was what won him this fight though, which isn't surprising, but he did it against a pretty solid BJJ guy, so it's still a solid win for him overall. I'd like to see Petroski against someone like Jun Yong Park, Jacob Malkoun, or maybe Roman Dolidze next.
Outside of those capturing a championship, Erin Blanchfield may have had the performance of the night. She was a heavy favorite and the style dynamics favored her dramatically, but she made it look even easier than I think most even assumed. She got the takedown pretty quickly and advanced to very dominant position without much resistance. She got to a crucifix position where she landed probably 60-80 unanswered elbows to the face before latching onto the kimura for the finish. Blanchfield really put herself on the title radar and with the way the division is going, she may not be as far off as you think. I think she needs to be fighting up against someone like Andrea Lee, Jennifer Maia, or Vivi Araujo next.
Ryan Spann had probably the most surprising performance of the night when he knocked out Dominick Reyes in the first round. Apparently, this was the first timed Spann has ever trained for a fight, but he also missed weight so, I'll let you figure out how that works. Regardless, this was a huge win for Spann and gets him into that next tier of fighter. He's in a good spot going forward and positioned for big fights in the near future. I think someone like Volkan Oezdemir or Paul Craig makes sense for Spann next.
As for Dominick Reyes, this loss was the hardest to watch. He's on a horrible stretch, but it came against 3 champions. Most people think he beat Jon Jones that night and it's such a shame that he didn't get the nod knowing what we know now. He would lose the vacant title fight to Jan Blachowicz after getting his ribs beaten up badly and then his nose was destroyed. I thought he fought fairly well against Jiri Prochazka, but Jiri is just super human right now. That fight ended with him being badly knocked out and now he just doesn't look the same at all. He looked a little slow against Spann, he was getting hurt with every strike, and then he is put out cold by like a jab/hook hybrid. I'm not really sure what the future holds for Reyes, but for his sake I hope he turns it around. It's hard to watch because he isn't far removed from what could've been a life altering win and he just seems like a shell of that guy right now. It's hard to say what he should even do next and if just walking away is a real consideration right now for him. The step down could be an incremental one like Khalil Rountree or Dustin Jacoby. It could also be a dramatic one and he fights someone like Ion Cutelaba, Alonzo Menifield, or Da Un Jung. I hope Reyes takes the appropriate time to decide what the right thing is though as he's playing a very dangerous game right now as he's taken a ton of damage over the last couple of years.
Renato Moicano was one of the biggest winners of the night as he submitted Brad Riddell in the first round. He looked fantastic and then stole the show with his post fight speech. He also earned himself a spot in the rankings, so he should be getting some bigger fights next. Moicano is incredibly dangerous and now that he's at lightweight, I think he has the potential to be a real player. His style and skill set really is somewhat similar to what took Charles Oliveira all the way to a title reign. I think Moicano vs Jalin Turner would be an awesome fight. If not that, then Arman Tsarukyan, Damir Ismagulov, and Dan Hooker are all right there.
Shoutout to Brad Riddell. He didn't announce his retirement, but he sent out a message that he is going to take an extended time away from the sport. I think this is the right call as he just hasn't quite looked like the same guy in the last couple of fights. I liked Riddell more than the average fan, but I think this is the right thing for him right now. I'm pretty sure he's one of the striking coaches at CKB and he seems to really love doing it. I hope it brings him happiness in the long term. If we never see him back, then it was a great run and he left us with some incredible performances. His fight with Drew Dober was a great one. Thanks for the memories and maybe we'll see him back one day.
Dan Hooker got back into the win column and he also needed it badly. He was in the midst of a tough stretch and this step down got him back on tract. He really had Claudio Puelles covered and he fought like it this time out. He defended the leg lock attempts and the body kicks ended up getting him the TKO. Now that he's back in the win column, he can start ramping up the level of competition. I don't know that he needs someone ranked immediately, but closer to it. A Bobby Green or a Drew Dober type makes sense to me. Renato Moicano and Tony Ferguson could also be options, even though I really don't know what I want to see Tony do next.
Next up was the biggest win of Chris Gutierrez's career. It was a bit bittersweet, but it may have been the most flawless fight of his career. It didn't last long, but for a guy who isn't known as a finisher, that was a pretty devastating knockout. Gutierrez is a pretty reliable guy and he's going to fight largely the same fight each time if he can help it. He's not a fun night at the office for anyone and he's set up for a great opportunity in this fantastic bantamweight division. I think Adrian Yanez or Pedro Munhoz would be some really fun matchups for him if possible.
The bittersweet part is that it had to be the final fight in the career of Frankie Edgar. What an incredible career it was. Frankie accomplished basically everything there is to do in this sport and he has nothing to hang is head about. It would've been great to go out with a win, but it didn't turn out that way. Congratulations to Frankie Edgar on a legendary and hall of fame worthy career.
The final fight that we haven't gone over is Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler and it was a great one. Dustin Poirier notched the win via third round submission and continued his steak of bouncing back after a loss. Dustin stole the first round with a huge flurry of strikes at the end of the round, which included a knock down. He dropped the second round when he spent most of the time on his back after a Chandler takedown, but he found the finish after he transitioned to Chandler's back after another takedown in the early part of the third round. Dustin continues to prove that he is one of the very best in the division. With that said, I really don't want to see him get another title shot right now. He said he's not interested in a Dariush fight, which isn't really surprising. I think this probably sets up for a rematch with Justin Gaethje, which no one will or should complain about. A matchup with Rafael Fiziev would be pretty fun, but I'm not sure Dustin would be interested in that either. While I do want the top of the lightweight division to start giving some guys in the tier below them a chance, Dustin vs Gaethje is big business and it would obviously be a great fight, so I'm not really going to complain about it.
The final fighter to talk about is Michael Chandler. He basically did the Michael Chandler thing in this fight, but he did mix in the wrestling more than he has in the recent past. It wasn't enough though, but Michael Chandler never really loses. His fights are so exciting that the fans love him regardless. He'll continue to be in crazy, exciting fights until his body just doesn't allow him to do it anymore. He may never get back to a title shot, but I think the kind of money he has to be bringing in is a pretty good consolation prize. At this point, he's really set up perfectly for the McGregor fight and I don't see why it wouldn't happen at this point. Chandler is as big a star as the UFC has to put in with Conor and that's a winnable fight for both sides. Chandler is coming off of a loss as well. He puts his body through so much that they extended time off that he would have to take in order to wait for Conor would be fine by him. An international fight week headlined by Chandler vs Conor would be huge. There's no reason to look elsewhere, but a Fiziev matchup would be great as well. Maybe even Eddie Alvarez returns to the UFC for another fight with Mike. Just give him someone who will stand and bang with him and it's guaranteed fireworks.
That's it for me on this card. What did you guys think? What was your favorite fight? Who was the biggest winner in your eyes? Leave any and all thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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