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The UFC’s return to New Mexico after 6 years was a solid-sounding Fight Night on paper, but in the end we got a show that was more strange and confusing than anything else, with two rare disqualification finishes on the main card alone.
Thankfully, there was no confusion in the main event; Jan Blachowicz violently knocked out Corey Anderson to potentially net himself a future meeting with Jon Jones in what was an entertaining finish to a largely frustrating night.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs. Blachowicz II.
#1 Best: Blachowicz capitalises on his big opportunity
The main event fight last night between Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz was a big one for the Light-Heavyweight division; both men had been on strong runs coming into the fight and with Jon Jones keeping hold of his title last weekend, the word was that the winner could be next in line for ‘Bones’.
As it turned out, it was Blachowicz who pulled out that strong performance, knocking Anderson out in brutal fashion midway through the first round with a clean counter right hand. Sure, ‘Overtime’ may have played into the Polish fighter’s hands by not going for more takedowns, but regardless, this was a huge win for ‘The Prince of Cieszyn’ and stands as his 7th in 8 fights.
Blachowicz picked up more than just a big win last night though; he also forced himself into Jones’ firing line by calling the champion out aggressively in his post-fight interview – a far better idea than the usual line about fighting whoever the UFC wishes.
Could we now see Jones vs. Blachowicz in the summer? Quite possibly, and that makes the Polish fighter last night’s big winner.
#1 Worst: After going two steps forward, Anderson takes another step back
Corey Anderson had been talking up a potential title shot coming into last night’s fight with Jan Blachowicz, and for good reason; ‘Overtime’ picked up arguably the biggest win of his career over the red-hot Johnny Walker in late 2019, his fourth win in a row after beating the likes of Glover Teixeira and Ilir Latifi. Even Jon Jones had mentioned the TUF 19 winner as a possible challenger to his throne.
Unfortunately, Anderson made a major error last night – he simply didn’t fight to his strengths, and he got KO’d for his troubles. When ‘Overtime’ fought Blachowicz in 2015, he simply used his wrestling to ground the Polish fighter for a decision, and while Blachowicz’s ground game has improved since then, the likelihood of him being able to stop Anderson’s takedowns still seemed slim.
And yet Anderson chose to trade strikes with him, barely even looking for a single takedown. It was a bizarre gameplan, and in the end ‘Overtime’ paid the price. Was he simply looking to bait Blachowicz in the early rounds? Or was he too confident in his striking? We’ll never know, but essentially, this feels like a blown opportunity for him.
#2 Best: Dodson shows he’s still got gas in the tank
It was a bizarre decision to have John Dodson’s fight with Nathaniel Wood on the preliminary portion of last night’s show; many fans rated Wood as one of the best prospects in the entire 135lbs division and while Dodson hadn’t looked so great recently – losing two in a row – this was still a tremendous fight and the first truly big test for London’s Wood since entering the UFC.
In the end, Wood fought well – a super-exciting fight saw the Londoner arguably edge the first two rounds with some excellent striking and fast hands – but it was ‘The Magician’ who came out on top, as he landed a crushing left hand early in the third round that dropped Wood, and then finished him off with a barrage of follow-up shots.
The finish was Dodson’s first since his 2016 win over Manvel Gamburyan, and it should be a message to any up-and-comers looking to use his name value to climb the ladder as Wood was hoping to last night – this veteran still has plenty in the tank, especially if you fight him in a fight that suits him, a down-and-dirty fist-fight like we saw last night.
#2 Worst: The bizarre case of Diego Sanchez and his new coach
Diego Sanchez appeared to be in trouble even before last night’s fight with Michel Pereira began. Sure, on paper the veteran matched up well with ‘Demolidor’, as he appeared to have a big advantage in both grappling and in conditioning, but he’d also abandoned his longtime training team in 2019 and had replaced them with a single man – Josh Fabia – with little experience in MMA.
Sanchez looked every bit his 38 years last night and was being destroyed by Pereira, who displayed a lot more control in his assaults than he’d done in his previous UFC appearances.
It looked like only a matter of time before ‘The Nightmare’ was knocked out – despite Fabia telling him he’d won the first round – but when the killer blow came, it came in the form of an illegal knee.
Moments later – despite the doctor appearing to suggest he could continue to fight – Sanchez told referee Jason Herzog he couldn’t see out of his left eye, and the fight was called off, with ‘The Nightmare’ being awarded a win by DQ.
I refuse to believe Sanchez looked for an easy way out last night – he’s just not that kind of fighter – but he certainly got lucky to an extent and as a longtime fan of his, it’s simply horrible to see him fighting in this manner seemingly due to such a questionable coach.
Had he been KO’d last night there may well have been calls for his retirement, and while I won’t go that far, I will say that I’m uneasy about seeing him fight again with Fabia in his corner, which is sad.
#3 Worst: Borg’s weight miss taints his win
Make no mistake about it, Ray Borg looked fantastic last night. ‘The Taxmexican Devil’ showed the kind of form that earned him a Flyweight title shot in 2017 by completely dominating the tough Rogerio Bontorin with his grappling, taking the Brazilian down on numerous occasions and acting practically like a human backpack for most of the fight.
Usually a win like this would put a fighter into title contention, but for Borg, I’m not sure that’s the case. Why? Because for the 3rd time in the UFC as a Flyweight – and 4th overall – he missed weight, coming in at 128lbs, 3lbs over the 125lbs limit. That’s simply inexcusable at the UFC level, and means that ‘The Tazmexican Devil’ remains in a holding pattern of sorts.
Should he be fighting at 135lbs? It’s debatable – despite missing weight there too on one occasion, he looks just too small to face off with the bigger men in that division, and yet he clearly struggles to cut down to Flyweight. So despite picking up a big win last night, it’s clear that he’s at a crossroads of sorts, and he won’t be able to truly progress until he sorts this issue out.
