5 best UFC Fight Nights of 2021

#2. UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo

The penultimate UFC Fight Night of the year produced one of the best fight cards of 2021. Jose Aldo, the former two-time featherweight champion, took on bantamweight contender Rob Font in the main event, with both fighters looking to edge closer to a title shot.

Jose Aldo’s undeniable skills shone through on the night as he outclassed Rob Font, who was the betting favorite going into the bout. Despite being outstruck by Font, it was Aldo who was landing the harder and more powerful shots.

Additionally, the Brazilian showcased his improved wrestling and grappling skills on the mat, securing a significant amount of control time in top position en route to a convincing unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the contest 50-45, 50-45 and 49-26 in favor of the MMA legend.

Aldo’s incredible performance in the main event of this UFC Fight Night drew praise from former opponents Petr Yan and Max Holloway, who paid their respects to ‘The King of Rio’ following the bout.

The rest of the main card was sensational as well. MMA veterans Chris Curtis and Clay Guida secured impressive victories over Brendan Allen and Leonardo Santos respectively. Light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill returned to the win column with a KO victory over Jimmy Crute.

The most memorable moment of the night came in the third round of the co-main event between rising lightweight contenders Brad Riddell and Rafael Fiziev. The latter knocked the former out with a stunning spinning wheel kick that sent the crowd in attendance at the UFC Apex into a frenzy.

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#1. UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez

UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez was undoubtedly the best UFC Fight Night of the year. The event, which was held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, was headlined by Max Holloway, the former UFC featherweight champion, and Yair Rodriguez. Astonishingly, out of the 11 fights on the fight card, 9 ended in finishes.

Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez produced one of the best fights of the year as the featherweight duo threw down for five full rounds.

Many expected Holloway to put a beating on Rodriguez, much like his performance against Calvin Kattar in January. However, Rodriguez was just as dangerous as Holloway in the striking exchanges, as the Hawaiian took multiple heavy blows throughout the bout.

Holloway came out on top after the judges scored the contest 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in his favor. Rodriguez, despite coming off a two-year layoff, earned a lot of respect among fans and fighters alike for his gutsy and admirable performance.

Watch Max Holloway’s post-fight interview with Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez below:

The duo had nothing but respect for one another after the bout, and even shared a light moment before leaving the UFC Apex for the hospital.

The four other fights on the main card of this UFC Fight Night ended in TKO finishes as Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Felicia Spencer, Khaos Williams and Song Yadong defeated Ben Rothwell, Leah Letson, Miguel Baeza and Julio Arce respectively.

The Holloway-Rodriguez headliner bagged the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus, while Khaos Williams’ victory over Miguel Baeza earned the American the ‘Performance of the Night’ honors for his vicious TKO.