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The UFC’s first Fight Night show of 2020 went down in Raleigh, North Carolina last night, and while there wasn’t much fanfare around the show going in – likely a hangover from the previous weekend’s Conor McGregor-headlined pay-per-view – it turned out to be a solid effort overall.
A five-fight main card gave us three finishes, including a big knockout in the main event, and outside of a slow opener between Darko Stosic and Jamahal Hill, everything was relatively fun to watch. Even the prelims all ranged from decent to excellent, with the lone exception being Justine Kish’s dull win over Lucie Pudilova.
Nobody is going to remember this show at the end of 2020, but it was fine. Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs. Dos Santos.
#1 Best: Blaydes stakes his claim
Curtis Blaydes was coming into last night’s Heavyweight clash with Junior Dos Santos as the favorite, but after suffering a bad KO against the last heavy hitter he faced – Francis Ngannou in 2018 – there were some question marks over how well ‘Razor’ would stand up against a power puncher. Well, he passed the test with flying colors.
The first round saw Blaydes shoot plenty of his trademark takedowns, and although ‘Cigano’ was able to stuff them all, they gave the Brazilian plenty to think about, and the result was that he looked jittery standing, nothing like the concussive striker who once held the UFC Heavyweight title.
And so in the second round, Blaydes faked a takedown and threw a beautiful overhand right that connected flush. JDS was clearly hurt by the shot; his legs stiffened up under him and he simply went into a defensive shell as ‘Razor’ bombed on him. The referee’s call to stop the fight while the Brazilian was still standing was an excellent – and merciful – decision.
Was this Blaydes’ best UFC showing? Perhaps not as he didn’t get to use his excellent wrestling, but he showed he’s adding plenty to his game as time goes on, and at 28 years old, it’s easy to imagine that we could be seeing a future UFC champion at work.
#1 Worst: The UFC’s rematch fetish causes a logjam at Heavyweight
The worst thing about last night’s show wasn’t actually something that happened there, per say, it was more a decision made by the UFC a few months back that was highlighted plainly in Raleigh. Essentially, with wins over Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, Justin Willis and now Junior Dos Santos to his name, Curtis Blaydes has more than earned a shot at the UFC Heavyweight title.
The only problem? The last man to beat him – Francis Ngannou – has earned one too by beating Blaydes, Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez in his last three fights. That wouldn’t be a problem if champion Stipe Miocic was due to face Ngannou next, but instead, Miocic is re matching Daniel Cormier, meaning we’ve got a logjam at the top of the division.
Realistically, Cormier shouldn’t have been granted an instant rematch; the title shot should’ve gone to Ngannou, with Blaydes either fighting for the title next or taking on ‘DC’ with the winner making themselves next in line. But once again the UFC’s fetish for rematches and ‘trilogy fights’ – a tired hangover from boxing – has reared its ugly head and means the entire division is now a mess.
#2 Best: Chiesa is a contender at 170lbs
In last night’s semi-main event, Michael Chiesa stepped up in competition once again at 170 lbs and came through with flying colors, using his power and grappling skills to grind out a victory over Rafael Dos Anjos that likely represents the biggest win of his career. ‘Maverick’ is now 3-0 at Welterweight, and given RDA’s lofty status in the division, the fight he asked for next – against Colby Covington – isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Was it a flawless victory for Chiesa? Not quite; his striking still hasn’t quite caught up to his grappling, meaning Dos Anjos was able to catch him with a couple of good strikes – mainly leg kicks – but then it’s become so hard for opponents to stop the TUF 15 winner’s takedowns that he doesn’t necessarily need a world-class kickboxing game.
Even after last night’s win, it seems hard to imagine that Chiesa could beat the men at the top of the division; Covington, Tyron Woodley and champ Kamaru Usman have insanely good takedown defense while Leon Edwards is also a massively improved wrestler, but the fact that he’s even in the conversation with them is a massive achievement for ‘Maverick’, who a year ago, was basically a journeyman at 155lbs. Last night was simply a tremendous achievement for him.
#2 Worst: Where does Dos Anjos go from here?
Junior Dos Santos might’ve edged closer to retirement with his loss to Curtis Blaydes, but the biggest loser last night was probably Rafael Dos Anjos. There’s no shame in a loss to a fighter as good as Michael Chiesa, but the problem for ‘RDA’ is that we’ve seen him lose in that way so many times now that it’s hard to work out where he goes next.
Dos Anjos – a highly credentialed grappler with plenty of submissions to his name – was outwrestled and outgrappled by a bigger, stronger foe last night, and to make matters worse it was the fourth time in his last five fights that it’d happened. The former UFC Lightweight champion isn’t past his prime or anything like that, but he clearly has a problem.
Essentially, the Brazilian is too small to compete with the physical monsters at 170 lbs, but he’s also too big to cut back down to 155 lbs. A 165 lbs division might be perfect for him, but at the minute, the UFC doesn’t seem interested in that.
So what should he do? It sounds odd, but perhaps some smarter choices in terms of opponents would work; as a former champion, Dos Anjos likely has some sway with the UFC’s matchmaking team. For his own sake – and to stop him sliding into irrelevancy – it might be an idea to ask for a striker, rather than a strong wrestler, as his next opponent.
#3 Best: Angela Hill’s developing ground game
Angela Hill came into her strawweight fight with Hannah Cifers as a betting favorite, mainly due to the fact that she’s a tremendous technical striker while Cifers was recognized as more of a brawler. And indeed, ‘Overkill’ came out on top via TKO, but the way she did it was a bit of a surprise and was impressive, too.
Hill has never been known for her ground game – in fact, she’s struggled there and the majority of her UFC losses have come against grapplers – but last night she stunned everyone by tripping Cifers to the ground and getting into top position. And from there, ‘Overkill’ sliced through her opponent’s guard, found a dominant position and worked her over with punches and elbows until the fight was stopped.
The finish received boos from the crowd, but only because Cifers was a hometown favorite. Outside of that, this was a tremendous showing from Hill and one that suggests she might have more to offer to the 115lbs division other than being a recognizable name and an action fighter. We shall see on that front, but it’s always nice to see improvements from a veteran nonetheless.
