After Khabib Nurmagomedov’s botched weight cut and eventual hospitalisation, the UFC 209 card was left with just one of its two advertised title-fights. Nevertheless, on a night where the card seemed to be cursed, the UFC had several young stars save the day and a couple of Heavyweight K-1 legends throw heavy leather.
The co-main event was a cracker, which was followed by a controversial main event that once again failed to provide the Welterweight division with a clear ruler.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Undisputed UFC Welterweight title bout: Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Stephen Thompson
I know many of you think this was a stinker, but just hear me out. Woodley and Thompson are two very different fighters with contrasting styles and it’s that clash of styles that either makes fights exciting or boring.
Thompson outpointed Woodley in Rounds 1 and 2 with T-Wood taking the third owing to the takedown. Thompson came back to control the fourth, and the fifth round was characterised by T-Wood catching Wonderboy off-balance and then scoring a flash knockdown.
Nevertheless, Thompson recovered almost immediately and the buzzer rang ending the bout. As many fans and pundits feel, Wonderboy was the rightful victor, however, the Vegas judges sided with the defending champ Tyron Woodley. This was an out-and-out ‘Chess match’.
Tyron Woodley def. Stephen Thompson via Majority Decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47)
Lightweight bout: Lando Vannata vs. David Teymur
Vannata and Teymur put on the fight of the night and just like the Elkins-Bektic fight showcased two young, hungry lions doing battle across every inch of the Octagon.
Initially, Lando showed no respect, whatsoever, to his opponent, something that Teymur, the multiple-time World Muay Thai champion, made him pay for. Teymur outpointed ‘Groovy’ but regardless of what the scorecards say, the real winners of this fight were the fans.
David Teymur def. Lando Vannata via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight bout: Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Kelly
Shades of Lil’ Nog and Evans!
The former UFC Light Heavyweight champ made his long-awaited Middleweight debut against Aussie judoka Daniel Kelly. As a longtime MMA fan, it was sad to see Evans lose the standup battle to a fighter who is primarily a grappler.
‘Suga’ looked gun-shy against the Aussie and failed to mount any effective offense despite Kelly’s awkward, rudimentary striking. Bad loss for Evans to a lower-tier MW.
Daniel Kelly def. Rashad Evans via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight bout: Cynthia Calvillo vs. Amanda Cooper
Cynthia Calvillo absolutely trucked through Cooper, showing slick movement in the standup exchanges and total domination on the mat. Keep an eye on Calvillo, she’s a fighter with an eye for the kill.
Cynthia Calvillo def. Amanda Cooper via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (R1, 3:19)
Heavyweight bout: Alistair Overeem vs. Mark Hunt
Coming into this matchup, Hunt’s mental and emotional states were rightfully questioned, owing to his recent legal issues against the UFC, Dana White and Brock Lesnar. ‘Super Samoan’ seemed a bit off tonight and after suffering an apparent shin break, slowed down drastically towards the final round.
The Reem smartly avoided engaging Hunt in a boxing match and used his kicks at range and knees in the clinch to chop down the hulking Kiwi. Reem hit him with a pair of beautiful knees reminiscent of his Strikeforce and K-1 days that put Mark to sleep. Ubereem is back in the title picture!
Alistair Overeem def. Mark Hunt via KO (Knees) (R3, 1:44)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Heavyweight bout: Marcin Tybura vs. Luiz Henrique
Tybura is an underrated HW and he proved that tonight by staying composed and patiently working his way to the finish. Granted that it wasn’t the most exciting of fights, but ‘Tybur’ did what he’s supposed to and scored the W.
Marcin Tybura def. Luiz Henrique via TKO (punches) (R3, 3:46)
Featherweight bout: Darren Elkins vs. Mirsad Bektic
This fight and the Vannata-Teymur scrap deserve fight-of-the-night honours, 50Gs Dana! Bektic absolutely dominated Elkins in rounds 1 and 2 and was cruising to victory, when Elkins unleashed a Mortal Kombat finishing sequence that included several accurate punches. He capped it off with a head-kick and Bektic took a nap.
Darren Elkins def. Mirsad Bektic via TKO (punches and head-kick) (R3, 3:19)
Bantamweight bout: Iuri Alcantara vs Luke Sanders
Man, how long has Alcantara been around!
Sanders was winning this fight, dropping and almost finishing Iuri on multiple occasions. Somehow, an absolutely dazed Alcantara managed to instinctively roll Sanders into a knee-bar and get the tap.
Crazy comeback win for ‘Marajo’. PS- Sanders’ illegal-knee definitely played a part in hurting Iuri, not that it mattered in the end anyway.
Iuri Alcantara def. Luke Sanders via Submission (Kneebar) (R2, 3:13)
Heavyweight bout: Mark Godbeer vs Daniel Spitz
Forgive me I just Spitz out my Beer (Sorry, couldn’t resist). Mark Godbeer, the name is enough. In a decent back-and-forth Heavyweight matchup, Godbeer won a clear decision over Spitz, not a lot of big moments in this fight, but a decent scrap nonetheless.
Godbeer is a decent HW and just 33 years of age, fairly young for the division of giants. I’d love to see him matched up against someone like Marcin Tybura going forward.
Mark Godbeer def. Daniel Spitz via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Light Heavyweight bout: Tyson Pedro vs. Paul Craig
Pedro demolished Craig by tagging him with a straight-right and following-up with a few good knees. After securing top position on Craig, Tyson sealed the deal with some slick ground-and-pound elbows from the crucifix position. Ruthless finish from Pedro.
Tyson Pedro def. Paul Craig via TKO (elbows) (R1, 4:10)
Bantamweight bout: Albert Morales vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Morales took the first and Soukhamthath took the second. Soukhamthath found his opponent’s body in the third round, repeatedly tagging Morales before shooting in for an unnecessary takedown that Morales sprawled.
Morales took over from there, landing some good shots on the ground and controlling his opponent for the rest of the round. Decent scrap by the two 135-pounders.
Albert Morales def. Andre Soukhamthath via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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