The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 151: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy

Donald Cerrone came out on top in an epic main event against Al Iaquinta
Donald Cerrone came out on top in an epic main event against Al Iaquinta

Let’s not beat around the bush: UFC Fight Night 151 was not a good show by anyone’s standards. The main event – Donald Cerrone vs. Al Iaquinta – was fantastic as pretty much everyone expected going in, and it was enough to essentially save the show. But before that we got a bunch of fights that ranged from average to mind-numbing.

I don’t think you can necessarily criticise the UFC for this one; realistically the fights on tap actually sounded pretty good on paper and just didn’t deliver, which happens sometimes. But for me this was probably the worst Fight Night show of 2019 and it’ll definitely be one to forget going forward.

Here are the best and worst moments of UFC Fight Night 151: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy.

#1 Best: Cerrone delivers the goods again

Is a title shot in Donald Cerrone's future?
Is a title shot in Donald Cerrone's future?

Just when this was looking like one of the all-time forgettable UFC shows, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone stepped up again to save the day.

There have been plenty of exciting fighters in the UFC over the years – Diego Sanchez, Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler all come to mind as fighters who usually deliver the goods each and every time – but at this stage, with a ludicrous 23 UFC wins and 16 finishes under his belt, Cerrone has to be considered the most entertaining man to ever set foot inside the Octagon.

Last night he absolutely tore Al Iaquinta apart over 5 rounds; Iaquinta hung tough and managed to last the distance, but outside of a decent second round the fight was all Cerrone, who chewed the New Yorker’s leg up with his low kicks, busted him up badly with his long, rangy punches, and knocked him down in the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.

Iaquinta didn’t look bad in this fight, but there was no doubt that he was outclassed by Cerrone.

Should this earn Cerrone a title shot, against the winner of the upcoming Khabib Nurmagomedov-Dustin Poirier clash? I’d actually say yes; assuming Tony Ferguson is out for a while yet, nobody else is more deserving when you consider Iaquinta was coming off a win over Kevin Lee and took Khabib the distance a year ago.

Whether the UFC goes that way is anyone’s guess but there’s no disputing that his performance was by far the best thing on this show.

#1 Worst: The awful Theodorou/Brunson fight

Elias Theodorou's fight with Derek Brunson was disappointing
Elias Theodorou's fight with Derek Brunson was disappointing

Okay, so I’ve been a huge fan of Elias Theodorou ever since he won the lone season of TUF: Nations back in 2014. He’s got the coolest hair in MMA, seems like a hilarious and charismatic dude and for a while at least he looked like a red-hot prospect to watch.

Somewhere along the line though – shortly after his 2015 loss to Thiago Santos – ‘The Spartan’ changed his style from a grinding takedown artist ala early Diego Sanchez to an unorthodox, stick-and-move striker, and the results of this change have been varied.

It earned him 5 UFC wins with only one more loss, but it also earned him the ire of a lot of fans, and after last night’s performance – a loss to Derek Brunson – he probably won’t be gaining any new fans any time soon.

The fight was simply a poor style clash, as Theodorou deployed his usual unorthodox striking but couldn’t really get a rhythm going or hurt Brunson, and while Brunson was able to gain some takedowns, he didn’t do a lot with them and seemed content to avoid Theodorou’s bizarre attacks.

In the end, Brunson ran out the winner by unanimous decision, but the fight was one of the worst televised ones of 2019 and where both men go from here is a total mystery. For Brunson, I guess the win keeps him afloat in a division that’s currently in flux, but for Theodorou it represents him hitting a pretty notably ceiling.

For me, he’d be best to really work on his wrestling game and look to revive his style from pre-2015, but to see him relegated to the prelims next time around wouldn’t be a shock at all.

#2 Best: Walt Harris doesn’t play with his food

Walt Harris put a beating on Serghei Spivac
Walt Harris put a beating on Serghei Spivac

Heavyweight Walt Harris – who was returning to action following a controversial USADA suspension apparently caused by a contaminated supplement – was initially pegged to face Alexei Oleinik last night, but when the Russian moved into his fight with Alistair Overeem in April, he was instead faced with unbeaten newcomer Serghei Spivac.

Despite the Moldovan’s strong record, I felt he was a good match for Harris and so this was a chance for ‘The Big Ticket’ to send a message.

And send a message he did. Harris simply didn’t mess around here; he came in looking fired up and tore through Spivac, destroying him with strikes and finishing him via TKO just 50 seconds into the first round. Admittedly, Spivac may well have been out of his depth, but for Harris to deal with him so quickly was still impressive – and was the highlight of the show excluding anything Cerrone-related.

Harris still has holes in his game, as we saw in his slow-paced win over Andrei Arlovski late in 2018, but he’s got the athleticism to develop into a contender in the future and a win like this should push him back up the ladder to face a higher-ranked opponent next time out.

#2 Worst: What’s happened to Canadian MMA?

Brad Katona was just one of the Canadian fighters who lost on last night's card
Brad Katona was just one of the Canadian fighters who lost on last night's card

Around a decade ago – when Georges St-Pierre was the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA and other Canadian fighters like Patrick Cote, Rory MacDonald and Sam Stout were making waves in the UFC – Canada seemed like a true hotbed for MMA, one that the UFC could rely on for talent for years to come. In 2019 though, that appears to be changing somewhat.

There were 7 fights on this card involving Canadians against fighters hailing from other countries, and only one Canadian – Arjan Bhullar – pulled out the win. And even that was a controversial decision that most fans thought should’ve gone to his opponent Juan Adams.

Elsewhere Kyle Nelson, Aiemann Zahabi, Sarah Moras, Marc-Andre Barriault, Brad Katona and Elias Theodorou were all well beaten, and only Barriault really gave a decent showing.

Quite what’s gone wrong is hard to say given Montreal’s Tri-Star MMA camp is still highly regarded thanks to the skills of head trainer Firas Zahabi. But right now it feels like the current generation of Canadian fighters are lagging way behind the generation before them, and that’s sad.

#3 Best: Burgos arrives as a contender

Shane Burgos has arrived as a contender at 145lbs with his win over Cub Swanson
Shane Burgos has arrived as a contender at 145lbs with his win over Cub Swanson

Featherweight is one of the most exciting divisions in MMA right now, and the weight class just gained a brand new contender last night in the form of Shane ‘Hurricane’ Burgos. Burgos beat Cub Swanson by split decision in what really should’ve been a unanimous call for the New Yorker; despite some spurts from the veteran Swanson, Burgos largely kept him at the end of his longer punches and pieced him up throughout the fight.

It was by far the biggest win of Burgos’ career, as even though Swanson is past his best, he was still a top ten ranked fighter coming into this clash and will probably see his spot usurped by Burgos come next week.

The best part is that with the likes of Swanson and Ricardo Lamas seemingly on the way down in their careers, right now might be the best time to be a rising star at 145lbs.

Burgos would make a great fight for someone like Renato Moicano, Josh Emmett, or the Korean Zombie right now, and with an exciting style and a lot of swagger, he’s got the potential to catch on as a fan favourite, too. The UFC needs to handle him well as he could be a future star.

Quick Links

Edited by Arvind Sriram