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#1 Worst: We’ve still got no Flyweight Champion
Last night’s show was meant to be the beginning of a new era for the UFC Flyweight division; either Joseph Benavidez or Deiveson Figueiredo would be crowned the new Champion and things could move on following Henry Cejudo’s strange title reign. Instead, we’re left with more questions than answers after Figueiredo knocked out ‘Joe-B-Wan’ in the second round.
The worst part is that due to ‘The God of War’ missing weight for the fight, he was no longer eligible to win the title and so we’ve still got no Champion. That’s bad enough, but to make matters even more frustrating, the fight ended controversially; it was largely even until a clash of heads stunned Benavidez and opened up a huge cut – blood spewed from his forehead, leading to Figueiredo’s knockout punch.
The best route to go for the UFC is just to run this fight back and hope Figueiredo makes weight, but who knows if they’ll do that or whether the long-standing rumor of the closure of the division will happen instead. Either way, this fight was supposed to provide clarity and instead it missed the mark by miles.
#2 Best: Grant Dawson impresses again
Whenever a fighter faces off with a late replacement, it’s tricky for them to gain some traction. If they win, well, it was always expected against a fighter with far less preparation time, but if they lose, it’s always a bad look.
Last night saw Featherweight prospect Grant Dawson put into that position, as his fight with veteran Chas Skelly (a chance to move a few rungs up the ladder) fell apart, and instead, he faced newcomer Darrick Minner, who took the fight on with just over a week’s notice.
Thankfully for Dawson, he fought excellently, fending off a lot of offense in the early going from Minner who attempted a lot of chokes but couldn’t quite get them synched in. By the second round, it looked like the newcomer had run out of steam somewhat, and ‘KGD’ took over, dominating on the ground before choking his opponent out.
The victory gives Dawson a 3-fight win streak in the UFC, and while a win over Minner doesn’t mean as much as a win over a veteran like Skelly would’ve done, it should still shunt him into a better position next time out, particularly as he picked up a main-card finish. This was a strong performance from ‘KGD’ and I look forward to seeing him in action again.
