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The last time the UFC went to Atlantic City, New Jersey was back in July 2014 for a fun Fight Night show that was capped off with a classic match between Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller. Last night’s return to the city didn’t provide quite as good a show as that one, but for a Fight Night, it was still pretty decent.
The main event saw Kevin Lee stop Edson Barboza in the fifth round following a doctor’s stoppage, while elsewhere we saw wins for the likes of Frankie Edgar, Justin Willis, Aljamain Sterling and David Branch. As with all UFC shows there were good and bad points, so here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 128.
#1 Best: Kevin Lee might be the future at 155lbs
Last October saw Kevin Lee granted a surprising shot at the UFC Interim Lightweight title, and after a back-and-forth match he was beaten by a third-round triangle choke from opponent Tony Ferguson. It felt like Ferguson simply had too much experience for Lee to handle, but at just 25 years old it was clear that the ‘Motown Phenom’ had a lot of time on his side.
At last night’s show though, Lee proved that even in the six months following the loss to Ferguson he’s been able to improve by leaps and bounds. His wrestling and ground game looked just as strong as ever but his cardio was much improved – he still seemed full of energy in the 5th round where he was tired in the 3rd against Ferguson – and his striking seemed better than ever too, outside of taking a nasty spin kick from opponent Edson Barboza.
In many ways, Lee’s beatdown of Barboza was somehow more impressive than the one dished out to the Brazilian by current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in December.
Will this win be enough to net Lee a title shot? It’s not likely given Lightweight is the most loaded division in the UFC right now and the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Eddie Alvarez and Ferguson himself are all in contention right now, but it bodes well for Lee’s future – if he can continue to improve at this rate then I could see him with the UFC title in the future.
#1 Worst: Did Khabib take Barboza’s soul?
We’ve seen plenty of times in the past that one single bad beatdown can change a fighter’s career for the worse – witness Renan Barao post-Dillashaw or Josh Koscheck post-GSP for instance – and we may have seen another example last night in the form of Edson Barboza. The Brazilian – who looked to be in the form of his life in 2016-17 – took a horrendous beating from Khabib Nurmagomedov in December, and the big question became whether he would ever be the same after.
Judging by last night the answer might be no. Taking nothing away from opponent Kevin Lee, who fought fantastically, it just felt like Barboza had very little answer for the pressure being put on him, where in the past he’d at least be able to push back at an aggressive opponent like that. There’s no shame in giving up takedowns to a fighter like Lee, but Barboza essentially gave up two 10-8 rounds and made a win very unlikely before even the halfway point.
Yes, he showed he was still dangerous with that spin kick that rocked Lee in the third, but outside of that kick, this was a one-sided beating – again – with Barboza on the wrong end. When the doctor did call the fifth round stoppage it felt like mercy, and in hindsight, perhaps the Brazilian’s corner should’ve stopped the Khabib fight earlier too. We’ll probably know for sure how much Barboza has lost when he fights next – which should probably be after a long layoff – but last night was a worrying signpost to suggest he might be shot.
#2 Best: Edgar’s gamble pays off
The last time we saw a fighter make a quick turnaround from what was essentially a violent loss in his previous fight, Michael Bisping was knocked flat within minutes by opponent Kelvin Gastelum. That’s why so many observers were concerned for Frankie Edgar when it was announced that he’d be fighting Cub Swanson on last night’s card just seven weeks after he was knocked silly by Brian Ortega. It sounded like a bad idea.
Thankfully for Edgar, it turned out to be a gamble that paid off. Sure, it wasn’t a vintage Edgar showing – he beat Swanson up in more impressive fashion in their first fight in November 2014 – but there was never any point when it looked like ‘The Answer’ was in danger and for the most part it was a pretty routine victory for him.
It was an important one, too. With the announcement of a Max Holloway/Ortega title fight to take place at UFC 226 in July, it means that if Holloway defends the title, Edgar is probably back in line for a title shot again – something that looked highly unlikely after the Ortega loss.
By stepping back in there so soon and defeating a top contender like Swanson, Edgar’s essentially been able to jump right back to the front of the queue, where he might’ve slipped back further in people’s minds had he taken a more extended leave of absence.
Taking last night’s fight sounded crazy, but for Frankie Edgar, it’s turned out to be the best thing he could’ve done.
#2 Worst: That weird finish in the Dvalishvili/Simon fight
Every now and then a UFC show will throw up some kind of weird finish that makes everyone shake their head, and last night was one of those shows. The prelim fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Ricky Simon had been exciting throughout – it ended up winning both men a $50k bonus – but the finish is the only thing that anyone’s going to be talking about going forward.
Dvalishvili appeared to be two rounds ahead going into the third and with Simon beginning to take over, the Georgian wrestler attempted a takedown to seal the likely victory. Instead, he found himself caught in a tight mounted guillotine choke. Dvalishvili seemed to be fine, though – kicking his legs like he was riding a bicycle and giving referee Liam Kerrigan the thumbs up.
When the final buzzer sounded, Dvalishvili remained downed for a second before sitting up, seemingly conscious throughout. But rather than go to the decision, Kerrigan curiously decided Dvalishvili had been out cold and awarded Simon the victory – by TKO, strangely enough, rather than a technical submission.
It didn’t make much sense – if Dvalishvili had indeed been unconscious at any point surely he’d have stopped moving? And if he was out after the buzzer then surely that shouldn’t count anyway, as the fight was over? It was a bizarre ending up there with the strangest in UFC history and for my money, Dvalishvili should feel aggrieved this morning. Hopefully the UFC books a rematch soon.
#3 Best: The Hangman keeps on rolling
New Zealand’s Dan Hooker wasn’t expected to develop into a contender when he debuted in the UFC back in 2014, but 9 fights into his UFC career and it looks like he might be getting there. He’s now won three fights in a row – all via finish, too – and last night’s vicious knee knockout of veteran Jim Miller might’ve been his most impressive showing yet.
Sure, Miller is past his prime now and probably ought to consider retirement, but he’s still unbelievably tough and prior to last night, he’d only been stopped via KO or TKO once, by Donald Cerrone in 2014. For Hooker to turn his lights out like that was a real eye-opener, and it tells me that the Kiwi ‘Hangman’ might be one of the most dangerous Lightweights on the UFC roster right now.
His post-fight call out of announcer and current Lightweight contender Paul Felder made a lot of sense, too – Felder is without an opponent right now and while he’s ranked, he isn’t the biggest name in the division and so he’s a realistic opponent. And the UFC loves their fighters to call someone out by name – it makes the fight much easier to build.
Assuming they do book Hooker against Felder, it’d be the type of fight that could easily co-main event a smaller Fight Night show – especially if it’s in Hooker’s home territory of Australia or New Zealand. Beat Felder and Hooker would be a legit title contender – something that nobody expected to happen. In a night of many winners, he was one of the biggest for sure.
#3 Worst: Heavyweight MMA remains ugly at times
The UFC’s choice of Justin Willis vs. Chase Sherman as a main card fight for this show was always a questionable one, especially when talented fighters like Ryan LaFlare, Alex Garcia, and (initially at least) Aspen Ladd and Magomed Bibulatov remained on the prelims. But the word was that the UFC wanted to push Willis as a high-end prospect following an impressive KO in his last outing.
After last night’s fight, the likelihood is he’ll be back on the prelims next time out. For one round at least Willis did look like a contender, generally teeing off on Sherman and having him in serious trouble on more than one occasion. But Sherman’s chin kept him in the fight and unsurprisingly given his questionable physique, Willis appeared to run out of steam.
He was able to outwork Sherman for the remainder of the fight to pick up a decision win, but it wasn’t really impressive and it made for a dull fight to watch. It was a stark reminder that while rock-em-sock-em Heavyweight fights can be entertaining, if they end up going long then they usually stink out the joint. And it was also a reminder that truly great Heavyweights like Stipe Miocic and Fabricio Werdum are hard to come by.
