The best and worst from UFC 227

UFC 227 Dillashaw v Garbrandt 2
TJ Dillashaw went to war with Cody Garbrandt in UFC 227's main event

UFC 227 is in the books and although the card wasn’t exactly loaded on paper, for the most part it delivered. Well, at least the top two fights did, as we saw a pretty crazy knockout in the main event and a major – albeit questionable – upset in the co-main event that meant a new champion was crowned in the UFC Flyweight division for the first time since 2012.

It’s doubtful that the majority of this card will be remembered fondly by the time 2018 ends, but as it’s the last UFC show for a few weeks, you can guarantee there’ll be some talking points from it. Here are the best and worst parts from UFC 227.

#1 Best: Dillashaw stakes his claim as an all-time great

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Dillashaw should now be considered one of the best Bantamweights of all time

The long-awaited rematch between champ TJ Dillashaw and former champ Cody Garbrandt for the UFC Bantamweight title was expected to be a war, but in the end, while it was hugely exciting, it turned out to be far more one-sided than anyone could’ve expected.

Garbrandt threw down hard, but in the end he was simply outgunned by Dillashaw, who was more precise, more accurate and quicker to the punch. Once Garbrandt was dropped for the first time, the fight was clearly never going to end well for him and Dillashaw finished him off in ruthless fashion soon thereafter.

In the aftermath of his victory, the announcers were selling Dillashaw’s credentials as an all-time great at 135lbs and it’s hard to argue against that. Essentially you could argue that with different judges, he wouldn’t have a clean loss on his record since his 2011 knockout at the hands of John Dodson.

Last night was probably his best showing since the first Renan Barao fight in 2014, and there can simply be no doubt that he’s the best 135lbs fighter in the world right now. Defend the title a few more times and that “right now” will probably change to “ever”.

#1 Worst: The UFC’s card choices

UFC 227 Dillashaw v Garbrandt 2
JJ Aldrich vs. Polyana Viana simply didn't deserve a PPV main card slot

While it probably won’t sell massively in terms of a PPV buyrate, UFC 227’s top two fights were arguably as good on paper as any others in 2018. The problem with this show came with the rest of the card. When you’re charging as much as the UFC charges for a PPV and the main event doesn’t feature a crossover star like Jon Jones or Conor McGregor, you probably need to stack the show far heavier than the promotion did here.

Sure, Cub Swanson vs. Renato Moicano was a good fight, but fans simply shouldn’t be expected to pay to see stuff like Thiago Santos vs. Kevin Holland (which was decent) and JJ Aldrich vs. Polyana Viana (which was downright awful). Realistically, the undercard of this show was not only worse than the undercard of last weekend’s Fox show, but also arguably worse than the undercard from 07/14’s Fight Night 133.

Worse still, there was a very good fight – both on paper and in execution – on the prelims here between two ranked Bantamweights in Pedro Munhoz and Brett Johns. Why this wasn’t on the main card is beyond me, especially as the Fox deal is ending soon and the UFC shouldn’t be looking to stack the FS1 prelims anymore.

Of all the frustrating things about the UFC in 2018, the poor choices for card placement might be the dirt worst.

#2 Best: There’s a new king at 125lbs!

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Henry Cejudo is the new king at 125lbs

Sure, the decision might’ve been questionable – more on that later – but 08/04/18 will always be remembered as the day that the guard finally changed in the UFC’s Flyweight division. Since 125lbs was introduced back in 2012 we’ve had one champion – Demetrious Johnson – and his dominance was unparalleled, as coming into last night’s fight he’d made 11 straight title defences.

Somehow though – using his improved striking game and his already world-class, Olympic gold medal winning wrestling – Henry Cejudo was able to do enough over five rounds to convince the judges that he deserved to become the new champ. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the decision, we’ve finally got a new king at 125lbs.

The UFC is probably buzzing with this result, too – for all of his skills, Johnson has never resonated with the fans as a true star, but the same might not be said for Cejudo, who has his Olympic background as well as a lot of charisma behind him.

Where the UFC goes with his title reign is a question mark at the minute, but whether it’s an immediate rematch with Johnson or something else, the Flyweight division suddenly feels fresher than it’s done in a long time.

#2 Worst: Questionable judging mars Cejudo’s victory

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Did Cejudo really do enough to wrestle the title away from Mighty Mouse?

Okay, so nobody could deny that the Johnson/Cejudo Flyweight title fight was a close one to call, but if I’m honest I was shocked when it was the challenger who had his hand raised at the end of it all. Personally I scored the fight 49-46 for Johnson – giving him the first, second, third and fifth rounds – and although I could see a case for Cejudo winning the second round, I’m not sure exactly how he took three rounds on any scorecard.

It was clearly a tight call but I came away feeling like the judges had simply over-valued Cejudo’s takedowns, despite the Olympian not really doing all that much with them – he didn’t damage Johnson with heavy ground-and-pound, and nor did he come truly close with any submission attempts. You could argue, in fact, that Johnson was in more trouble in fights he ended up winning against John Dodson and Tim Elliott.

Hopefully the fact that the judges might’ve got this one wrong in the eyes of many means the UFC will run it back – they love rematches anyway and Johnson more than warrants an instant chance to win his title back – but a more convincing win would’ve been much better for Cejudo and this wasn’t it.

#3 Best: Moicano is clearly for real

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Renato Moicano finished Cub Swanson in impressive fashion

I felt like Renato Moicano was one of the more underrated fighters on the UFC’s roster prior to UFC 227, largely because despite some impressive wins – Jeremy Stephens, Calvin Kattar – he hadn’t quite picked up that signature victory. Last night changed that though as he simply destroyed a very highly-rated contender in Cub Swanson.

Most fans expected Cub to have an advantage striking, but that turned out not to be the case as the Brazilian dropped him with a stiff jab midway through the first round, and from there his finishing instincts were ruthless, as he submitted Swanson with a rear naked choke moments later.

Sure, Swanson might be past his prime – he’s lost his last three fights now – but he’d only ever lost to legitimate top fighters like Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega and Max Holloway before, and so this win must put Moicano in the conversation with those three. With the future of Holloway up in the air and a recent loss to Ortega on his ledger it’s hard to see where Moicano goes next, but he’s a genuine contender for sure. Maybe he could face the winner of Edgar vs. the Korean Zombie?

#3 Worst: The UFC’s weird matchmaking fetish might be getting worse

WSOF NYC - Gaethje v Zeferino & Fitch v Shields
Marlon Moraes - not Dominick Cruz or Cejudo - deserves the next shot at Dillashaw

While the results of the final two fights on the card were both fascinating and make for an exciting future, the post-show discussion between Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan and Jon Anik largely had me shaking my head. Rather than pushing a Bantamweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and the most-qualified contender right now – Marlon Moraes – the talk turned to a possible 135lbs title shot for either Dominick Cruz or the new Flyweight champ Henry Cejudo.

Either route simply wouldn’t make sense. Cruz does have a previous win over Dillashaw, but he’s been on the shelf since December 2016 and hasn’t actually won a fight since June 2016 – over two years ago. And Cejudo hasn’t fought at 135lbs since 2014, and probably owes Demetrious Johnson a rematch – something discussed by the announcers but seemingly played down by Rogan.

For me, part of the reason that the UFC’s current champions are struggling to resonate with the fans is the fact that the promotion keeps on pushing these so-called ‘Superfights’ rather than simply having champions defend against the best possible contender in their division. After all, that’s what Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre, Matt Hughes and Ronda Rousey did – and all four were high-drawing superstars at their peak.

The fact that when he won his fight with Cub Swanson, Renato Moicano called for an Interim title match with Brian Ortega rather than simply a title shot should tell you a lot. The UFC’s weird, McGregor-inspired matchmaking over the past few years might be finally coming back to bite them.

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Edited by Shiven Sachdeva