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After the cancellation of its planned main event, UFC Vegas 15 was basically devoid of any kind of name value, even when the UFC upgraded Anthony Smith vs. Devin Clark into the top spot.
In execution, the show was an up-and-down one, with only a couple of slower fights across the card in the end. However, thanks to the show sharing a date with the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Junior boxing match, it might end up as the most overlooked UFC show of 2020.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Vegas 15: Smith vs. Clark.
#1 Best: Smith ends his year on a high note
He might not be the best fighter on the UFC’s roster, but there are few more likeable characters in the promotion than Anthony Smith. And to that end, it was nice to see ‘Lionheart’ end his year on a high note by submitting Devin Clark in last night’s main event.
Smith had suffered a pair of pretty bad defeats earlier in 2020, taking a beating against both Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. And coming into last night’s fight – which was switched to a five-rounder by the UFC on very late notice – he didn’t exactly look in the best shape we’ve seen him in.
However, ‘Lionheart’ absorbed the wild aggression of his opponent, quickly got him to the ground, and then used a textbook triangle choke to submit him at the midway point of the opening stanza.
The win was Smith’s third in the UFC by tapout, and his first win overall since June 2019. With a pretty nasty year put behind him, this win should give ‘Lionheart’ a nice platform to work off going into 2021 – assuming he doesn’t try to fight again in 2020 to get the UFC out of a hole, that is!
#1 Worst: Covid-19 puts paid to another UFC main event
UFC Vegas 15 was a pretty weak card by anyone’s standards, but the main event of Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis sounded good at least. With that in mind, you can only imagine how frustrating it was to find that the Heavyweight clash had been cancelled on Friday due to Blaydes testing positive for Covid-19.
It’s probably fair to say that the UFC has done a great job of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic from the start, putting events on during the peak of the problems in May and largely keeping its fighters safe.
However, the cancellation of Blaydes vs. Lewis was the third UFC event in a row to see its main event switched at late notice, and the next two UFC cards have already suffered the same fate as well.
Obviously nobody can blame Blaydes for contracting the virus, nor can they blame the UFC for having to fiddle around with their cards so much, but basically, the loss of the main event ruined this show overall.
Everyone now needs to keep their fingers crossed that neither Khamzat Chimaev nor Leon Edwards go down with the virus before December 19th!
#2 Best: Baeza is the real deal
There was quite a bit of hype – at least from hardcore UFC fans – around last night’s co-main event due to the presence of Miguel Baeza. ‘Caramel Thunder’ had last been seen knocking out tough UFC veteran Matt Brown back in May – a win that took him to 2-0 in the UFC and 9-0 in MMA overall. It was one of the more impressive wins from a prospect in some time.
Last night he was faced with probably his toughest test to date in the form of Takashi Sato, a Japanese veteran who’d gone 2-1 in the UFC and looked like a pretty serious challenge. But Baeza basically blew him out of the water.
‘Caramel Thunder’ got the better of the early striking exchanges, and then, deciding he didn’t want to risk the win too much, took him down and submitted him moments later with a beautiful arm triangle choke.
We’d heard about Baeza’s grappling skills – he’s apparently a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – but never seen them in the UFC until now. However, judging on last night he’s a fighter who can finish from all areas.
Basically, Baeza might be the prospect to watch in the UFC’s Welterweight division right now – if you already count Khamzat Chimaev as a contender of course – and I fully expect him to be in title contention by this time next year.
#2 Worst: Did Porter vs. Parisian really belong on a UFC main card?
Okay, so it’s worth stating that both Parker Porter and Josh Parisian performed to probably the best of their abilities last night. The two Heavyweights put on a hard-fought bout with both men throwing huge shots at one another throughout, and despite their size, they didn’t really slow their pace down too much.
In the end, Porter came out with his first UFC victory, ruining Parisian’s UFC debut. But despite the fight not being a disaster, it’s worth asking the question – did this fight really belong on the main card of a UFC event in 2020?
The honest answer is no. Neither man looked to be in the best shape, even if they didn’t gas out, and it wasn’t like they were demonstrating sharp striking skills like say, Mark Hunt once did. This was a crude brawl, simply put, and while it was watchable, it felt more like something you’d see on a regional card than at the sport’s highest level.
Basically, if Parisian and Porter were fighting in any other weight class, they probably wouldn’t have made it into the UFC. Despite being fun to watch at points, this fight showed that even at the UFC level, the Heavyweight division lags behind the rest when it comes to overall skill levels.
#3 Best: Su Mudaerji shows off his punching power
The most impressive finish last night came on the preliminary card, when China’s Su Mudaerji used his punching power to take out Malcolm Gordon in just 44 seconds. The win was Mudaerji’s first in the UFC as a Flyweight, and ended up being the second-fastest finish in the division’s history.
Gordon simply looked physically overmatched by ‘The Tibetan Eagle’, as Mudaerji opened up early with some heavy punches. And sensing that his opponent was hurt, he then followed up with some piston-like shots to drop Gordon face-first, ending his night early.
The win was Mudaerji’s first in the UFC at 125lbs, and after seeing how good his striking looked last night, it’s worth asking how far he can go up the rankings. Sure, his 2018 loss to Louis Smolka showed that he’s not the finished article, but a fighter possessing such raw power is always going to be dangerous.
And with the UFC’s Flyweight division not exactly being filled with top-level talent right now, I’d say ‘The Tibetan Eagle’ is a man to watch going into 2021.
