'%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)
To say that there was little fanfare around UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad would be an understatement, particularly as the card was not even finalized until midway through the week.
In the end, it’s safe to say that despite a handful of explosive moments, this UFC Fight Night was largely a disappointment.
With a number of bouts being marred by fouls, and the majority of the fights on the card going the distance, this turned out to be an event to forget – even if there were some watchable moments overall.
With this considered, here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad.
#5. Martin Buday produces one of the most controversial moments in recent UFC history
Last night’s event saw two of the more controversial moments in recent UFC history, as two of the 14 bouts were stopped due to illegal blows, and ended up going to a ‘Technical Decision’. Incredibly, on both occasions, the fighter who threw the illegal blow ended up winning.
The decision not to disqualify UFC middleweight Caio Borralho after he illegally kneed Gadzhi Omargazhiev was perhaps understandable, as the Brazilian clearly thought his opponent had lifted his hand off the mat prior to the blow, meaning there was no illegal intent there.
In the heavyweight bout between newcomer Martin Buday and opponent Chris Barnett, though, that wasn’t the case.
Buday, who was clearly winning the fight with his superior striking, hurt Barnett in the third round with a knee to the body. When ‘Beast Boy’ got to his feet, the UFC newcomer unloaded on him and landed a blatantly illegal elbow to the back of the head.
Barnett was crumpled, and referee Dan Miragliotta quite rightly stopped the fight. However, when it became clear that Barnett couldn’t continue, then it seemed like the only path would be to disqualify ‘Badys’.
Not so, apparently. Somehow deciding that the blow hadn’t been intentional – on what grounds remains a mystery, the bout was allowed to go to the scorecards, where Buday was awarded a victory.
Had this elbow landed to the side of Barnett’s head, then there’d have been no disputing Buday’s win. However, the illegal nature of it, and the odd choice not to disqualify the newcomer, left a black cloud over this clash altogether. Hopefully the promotion can run it back soon. Overall, this was an explosive moment, but a frustrating one to see, too.
#4. Heili Alateng opens the night with a bang in his KO of Kevin Croom
Whenever the UFC puts together a weaker card like they did last night, the only hope from the fans’ perspective is that the fighters in action can produce some tremendous action despite their lack of name value.
While that didn’t prove to be the case last night, the event at least started with a bang, giving everyone false hope that we were about to see something special.
The opening fight saw UFC bantamweights Heili Alateng and Kevin Croom throw down, and it took just 47 seconds for the Chinese fighter to make his mark.
He wasted no time in opening up on ‘Crash’, dropping him with a brutal combination that began with a right hand and ended with Croom basically faceplanting, forcing referee Chris Tognoni to rescue him.
Was there a case to suggest this one was stopped early? Croom did seem to snap back into consciousness quickly, but the truth is that he was clearly done from the second he hit the canvas.
Overall, this was an explosive finish from Alateng to pick up his first win in the octagon by stoppage, and he can probably count himself unlucky not to have claimed one of the UFC’s $50k performance bonuses.
#3. Devin Clark takes out William Knight with a last-gasp rush
The UFC heavyweight clash between Devin Clark and William Knight was given the top spot on last night’s preliminary card, and the hopes were for a major slugfest ending in a knockout. We did get that, of sorts, but it didn’t go in the way many would’ve expected.
Knight, a heavy-handed fighter with nine wins via KO or TKO, started strongly in the first round. After coming close with a guillotine choke, he began to land some bombs on ‘The Brown Bear’. After knocking him around the octagon, it looked like he might be on his way to a win.
However, the second round saw Clark come back, working a tired Knight over on the ground. In the third round, it was clear that ‘The Knightmare’ was pretty exhausted. Clark began to work him over largely from range, but when he found himself in the clinch, he could’ve been forgiven for cruising to a decision.
Instead, sensing that Knight was there for the taking, ‘The Brown Bear’ opened up with a huge combination from close range, dropping Knight with an elbow into a left hook and then finishing him off with a heavy flurry.
This was a hugely explosive finish from Clark, the first of his UFC career. Given that he was coming in on a two-fight losing streak, it may well have saved his tenure with the promotion. Despite looking a little undersized, perhaps he’s got a future as a heavyweight after all.
#2. Andre Fialho opens his UFC account with a beautiful KO of Miguel Baeza
On paper at least, the welterweight clash between Andre Fialho and Miguel Baeza looked likely to produce a contender for the 'Fight of the Night' award. Fialho had been involved in a thriller against Michel Pereira in his UFC debut while Baeza had been in a number of wars in recent years.
In the end, the fight simply didn’t last long enough to be in contention for the award, but thanks to an explosive showing that won him the fight in just under five minutes, it did net Fialho a $50k bonus.
The fight was full of striking exchanges from the start. In the end, Baeza made a largely fatal mistake that led to his downfall. A trade-off saw him land a glancing right hand, but he also ate an uppercut. When Fialho grabbed a clinch, ‘Caramel Thunder’ couldn’t free himself.
That allowed the Brazilian to rock him with a series of heavy uppercuts that were reminiscent of Chris Leben’s win over Wanderlei Silva. With Baeza on wobbly legs, it didn’t take much more for Fialho to drop him and finish him off.
Baeza disputed the stoppage after the fight, but it was clear that he was definitely done, with referee Mark Smith making an excellent call. This was also an excellent, and explosive, win for Fialho, who should steal Baeza’s thunder as a prospect going forward.
#1. Drakkar Klose returns in style to dispatch Brandon Jenkins
One of the most controversial UFC moments in 2021 saw Drakkar Klose somehow get badly injured by a shove from Jeremy Stephens at the weigh-ins for their eventually scrapped bout, and incredibly, he’d been on the shelf ever since.
Last night saw Klose return to action for the first time since that incident. With nearly a year in the books, he wasted no time in getting back to it, taking out late notice replacement Brandon Jenkins in violent fashion.
Quite how this fight made it into the second round is anyone’s guess. Klose abused Jenkins from the off, hitting him with basically everything in his arsenal and knocking him all over the octagon throughout the opening five minutes.
In reality, Jenkins’ corner should probably have called a stoppage between rounds, but instead, they let the action continue. It came as no surprise to see Klose open up on him again in the second, destroying him with a combination that finally put him down for good.
While this win clearly came over a weaker opponent, it was still great to see Klose return this way after such a freak incident put him on the shelf, and it was also great to see his explosive finish net him a bonus of $50k.
