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The UFC’s latest show went down last night in Las Vegas, and an event lacking in name value ended up producing a couple of moments of magic.
UFC Fight Night: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev ended in a slightly anticlimactic fashion, but by that point, the craziest parts of the event were done.
Even though next weekend features a major pay-per-view, some of last night’s highlights will likely be replayed for a long time yet.
Here are the five best moments from UFC Fight Night: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev.
#5. Muhammad Mokaev shows off his title credentials in his 6th UFC victory
It wasn’t always the most entertaining fight to watch, but it was hard not to be impressed by Muhammad Mokaev’s victory over former title contender Alex Perez last night.
It was arguable that Perez – concerning Tim Elliott – was the toughest opponent that ‘The Punisher’ had faced to date. Despite this, the veteran was almost entirely shut down over three rounds.
Sure, he managed to stop a lot of takedowns, but Mokaev still got the better of almost every grappling exchange in the fight, even hitting a strong suplex in the third round.
On the feet, meanwhile, Perez was also forced onto his back foot due to the sheer pressure of Mokaev, meaning the Dagestan-born fighter landed the better shots there too.
With no clear-cut top contender at 125 pounds right now, Mokaev could well be pushed into a title shot without it seeming too far out of line. It’s more likely that he’ll have to fight again before that, but based on this, he could be a champion in the making.
#4. Christian Leroy Duncan abuses Claudio Ribeiro en route to a TKO win
The most one-sided bout on offer last night came on the preliminary card in the middleweight bout between the UK’s Christian Leroy Duncan and Brazil’s Claudio Ribeiro.
Sure, it was fair to question the matchmaking given Duncan was coming off a big KO win while Ribeiro had been knocked out in his last bout, but to be fair, there are no easy outs in the UFC.
However, that’s exactly what Duncan made this fight look like. He abused Ribeiro throughout a lopsided first round, landing with multiple combinations and big strikes that had the Brazilian reeling.
Despite his dominance on the feet, though, the UK native decided to switch things up with a takedown in the second round. Remarkably, he was just as dominant on the ground, easily advancing to full mount before smashing his foe with punches and elbows for the stoppage.
Given how good Duncan looked here, it should be time to shunt him up the card and into a more difficult bout next time out. As it was, he arguably should’ve received a $50k bonus here and should feel slightly hard done by after such a great showing.
#3. Ludovit Klein violently finishes AJ Cunningham in the first round
Slovakia’s Ludovit Klein was on a roll coming into last night’s bout, going unbeaten across his last four bouts, and his planned lightweight fight with Joel Alvarez sounded like a fascinating one.
With Alvarez sidelined with an injury, though, ‘Mr Highlight’ ended up faced with UFC newcomer AJ Cunningham – and lived up to his nickname with a violent finish.
Klein poured on the pressure in the early going, backing Cunningham up with continuous combinations. And while the newcomer did his best to fire back, it was quickly apparent that he was painfully outgunned.
Klein eventually hurt him with some shots to the body, causing him to back up, and from there, he landed a vicious front kick to the gut that dropped the debutant.
From there, the result was academic as ‘Mr Highlight’ finished Cunningham with punches as he lay prone, face-down on the canvas.
This was Klein’s first finish in his current unbeaten streak, and he was definitely unfortunate not to win a $50k bonus after producing one of last night’s best moments.
#2. Steve Erceg picks up his first UFC finish in brutal fashion
Flyweight prospect Steve Erceg was coming into last night’s event off the back of two victories in the UFC, but the one thing he hadn’t done was finish off an opponent in the octagon.
That was always likely to change last night if he could find a way to defeat veteran Matt Schnell. Perhaps more than any other fighter at 125 pounds, Schnell has a kill-or-be-killed style that has led to various violent finishes, both in wins and losses.
Sure enough, that style caught up with ‘Danger’ once again and led Erceg to a truly brutal finish that quite rightfully earned him a $50k bonus.
After a back-and-forth first round that saw both men land their fair share of blows, it was clear that Schnell was more than happy to throw caution to the wind and exchange wildly with Erceg.
That proved to be his undoing. Schnell came right out to the center of the octagon and was met by Erceg, who clocked him with a coffin nail left hand that switched his lights off instantly.
Erceg didn’t even need to follow up, simply walking away, channeling his fellow Aussie Mark Hunt. He’s now won eleven fights in a row and is clearly a threat to the UFC flyweight title, and this was his best showing to date.
#1. Vinicius Oliveira scores arguably the best knockout of 2024 thus far
Some of the best knockouts in UFC history have taken place during bouts that were largely flying under the radar beforehand, and that trend continued on last night’s preliminary card.
Nobody was really paying attention to the clash between debutants Vinicius Oliveira and Bernardo Sopaj, particularly as Sopaj had taken the fight on less than a week’s notice.
However, that quickly changed when Brazil’s Oliveira delivered one of, if not the best knockout of 2024 to date, capping off a strong performance in general.
Early on, it looked like it would not be his night. Sopaj flew out of the blocks and took the fight to the Brazilian in the early going.
However, when he failed to take out ‘Lok Dog’ in the second round after claiming a dominant position, he quickly tired out and found himself in deep trouble as the third round began.
From there, Oliveira opened up with some nasty strikes, putting his fellow newcomer on the run, and as Sopaj backed off in an attempt to survive, ‘Lok Dog’ charged in and booked him with a stunning flying knee.
Quite how far Oliveira can go in what is a loaded bantamweight division obviously remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that this was an amazing start to his UFC career.
Even if he flames out, he’ll always have what should be ranked up there with the best flying knees in UFC history, and naturally, this was the best moment of the night.
