'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#2 Tai Tuivasa knocks out Greg Hardy to become a UFC superstar
While Dustin Poirier undoubtedly had the biggest win at UFC 264, the man who turned himself into a genuine superstar last night was Tai Tuivasa.
‘Bam Bam’ put himself on the map before he even set foot in the octagon, as he bizarrely walked out to Wannabe by the Spice Girls, with practically the whole arena standing and dancing along with the Aussie.
But Tuivasa also had to deliver inside the octagon, and when it came down to it, he did. Wobbled by Hardy early on in the fight, it looked like ‘Bam Bam’ was in trouble, as his legs turned to rubber under the punching power of the former NFL star.
But as Hardy closed in to finish, he forgot the first rule of MMA – never assume your opponent is done. He left himself far too open, and Tuivasa countered with a clubbing left hand that knocked ‘The Prince of War’ silly.
Hardy went crashing down, Tuivasa pounced to finish, and moments later the Aussie was downing a beer from a shoe while the former NFL man wondered what’d hit him.
This was comfortably the best knockout on offer at UFC 264, and Tuivasa should not only make it into the UFC’s top 15 on Monday, but he should also be considered a potential star.
#3 Irene Aldana puts herself in line for a UFC title shot with her knockout of Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 264
There were no UFC titles on the line at UFC 264, but one fighter may well have captured herself a future title shot with her performance.
Irene Aldana was probably inches away from a shot at UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes last year when she fell to defeat at the hands of Holly Holm. But the nature of the division meant that coming into UFC 264, the Mexican knew that one impressive win would probably shunt her to the front of the queue.
And Aldana delivered, completely dominating ‘Foxy’ en route to an impressive first-round TKO win.
A big left hand dropped Kunitskaya badly, and while she attempted to recover, Aldana quickly pounced on her, pinned her down and blasted her with enough hard punches to force a justified stoppage.
Post-fight, Aldana seemed unsure of a future title shot – probably a consequence of her missing weight – but realistically, if Nunes deals with Julianna Pena in a few weeks, who else is there?
When you consider how tricky it is to earn a UFC title shot, it’s hard to play down how important this win was – and the fact that Aldana did it in explosive fashion makes it even better.
