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The best way to describe UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige would be to call it memorably unmemorable. The show was always going to be somewhat of a throwaway one, coming just days after the blockbuster UFC 251. But despite having some great-sounding fights on tap, the action on Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island was lacking.
Once we got to the main card, nothing really lived up to expectations. In fact, we didn’t get a single finish amongst the five fights, which was hugely disappointing after the prelims were largely exciting.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.
#1 Best: Kattar vs. Ige ends the show in decent fashion
The Featherweight main event between Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige wasn’t as explosive as fans might’ve hoped going in, but it was still a strong five-rounder to end the show with. Kattar ended up picking up a unanimous decision, but the fight was actually much closer than many would’ve imagined.
Ige fought well, particularly in the early rounds, and there could even be an argument for him doing enough to take the decision. I personally scored the fight 48-47 for Kattar, giving him the first, fourth, and fifth rounds, but that opening stanza was definitely close.
Either way though, the two 145lbers showed their extreme toughness, as both men took some heavy blows and didn’t back down an inch.
If anything, we found out more about Ige than we did about Kattar despite the result. Thanks to his wins over Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, and Shane Burgos, we knew that Kattar was an elite-level Featherweight already.
The same could not be said for Ige, who’d edged out his previous two fights in semi-controversial fashion. Now we know, though. The Hawaiian is capable of hanging with anyone in the division, particularly if they’re willing to strike with him.
Overall, this won’t be remembered as one of 2020’s best main events, but it at least provided the viewer with some excitement – something that’d largely been lacking on the main card.
#1 Worst: The UFC’s decision to use the bigger Octagon backfires
A notable feature of June’s UFC shows – which took place in Las Vegas’s UFC APEX facility – was that many of the fights featured wild action or stunning finishes. It was suggested by many observers – me included – that part of the reason for this was the APEX facility’s use of a smaller Octagon.
As we touched upon a few weeks ago, the UFC’s smaller Octagon has an area of 518 square feet, compared to 746 square feet for the bigger one.
When presented with the idea that the smaller Octagon made for better fights, UFC President Dana White seemed unconvinced. He suggested that it didn’t make a difference, pointing to a handful of exciting fights on the UFC’s May shows in Jacksonville, Florida – which used the larger Octagon – as evidence.
Well, after Fight Island’s first two shows – both using the larger Octagon – it’s probably safe to say that White was wrong. Sure, last night’s prelims featured a bunch of finishes, but the night ended with a run of largely uneventful decisions.
Would fights like Molly McCann vs. Taila Santos and Tim Elliott vs. Ryan Benoit been better had the UFC been using its smaller Octagon? The general feeling has to be yes – and so UFC fans should probably hope that the promotion returns to the APEX facility for their August shows.
#2 Best: Rivera returns to form in a big way
Jimmie Rivera hadn’t been on the best form in the UFC’s Bantamweight division in recent years. ‘El Terror’ was still widely recognized as one of the best 135lbers in the world, but losses to Marlon Moraes, Aljamain Sterling, and Petr Yan had seemingly knocked him miles out of title contention.
Last night though, the New Jersey native returned to form in a big way, thoroughly out-pointing the highly-underrated Cody Stamann. Rivera was not able to secure a finish, but outside of that, this was a perfect fight from him.
‘El Terror’ was the more accurate striker, as he chewed Stamann’s leg up with low kicks and cracked him with some huge counters, too. Stamann’s chin did well to hold up to the punishment as he never went down, but by the time the fight ended he was well beaten.
The win – as well as the fact that he remains the only fighter to really push Yan, who now holds the UFC Bantamweight title – should put Rivera firmly back into the title picture.
A high-profile fight with someone like Cody Garbrandt should almost definitely be next for ‘El Terror’. As he proved last night, he remains a very relevant contender in this division.
#2 Worst: Alhassan shows the fragile nature of relying on power alone
Abdul Razak Alhassan has always been an entertaining fighter to watch in the UFC due to his penchant for throwing nothing but power punches.
The Ghanaian was returning to action after a long time on the shelf following a successful legal battle. And prior to that, he’d won four of his five UFC outings in violent fashion. So last night, against a fellow striker in Mounir Lazzez, it was expected that his power punches would pull him through again.
Alhassan indeed unloaded some huge shots on Lazzez in the first round, but it quickly became clear that they wouldn’t be enough. The Tunisian had enough about him to avoid taking any really flush shots and had a strong enough chin to withstand the ones that did get through.
By the midway point in the first round, it was painfully obvious that Alhassan had largely run out of steam. And from there, he essentially became a walking target. Lazzez wasn’t able to finish him, but when the fight ended there was no question as to who’d won.
Alhassan remains an exciting fighter to watch, but his showing last night proved that to succeed at the top of the UFC these days, you need a lot more to your game than simple power punching.
#3 Best: Chimaev impresses on his debut
The preliminary fights last night featured a number of impressive wins. Modestas Bukauskas and Lerone Murphy, for instance, both finished their opponents in violent fashion. The performance that stood out the most to me though was the one put on by Khamzat Chimaev.
The Swedish-Chechen fighter took his clash with John Phillips on just under a week’s notice, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
He bullied the Welshman from the beginning of the fight, ragdolling him and hammering him on the ground in a style reminiscent of UFC Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. It seemed only a matter of time before Phillips was finished, and sure enough, Chimaev latched onto a D’Arce choke in the second round to seal the deal.
Sure, Phillips isn’t the best fighter in the UFC, but he’s also super-tough, and yet he got dismantled last night. Chimaev is apparently set to move to 170lbs following this win, and judging by last night, he’ll be a man to watch.
