UFC 264: The positives and negatives

Another UFC pay-per-view has passed us by and with it came a host of memorable talking points. The usual faces on hand when a big fight is going down were in attendance. Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier reunited at the commentary desk, while Bruce Buffer provided his always-electrifying introductions.

At UFC 264, the promotion welcomed an audience of 20,000+ to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event marked the fourth to be held in front of a full crowd since the easing of restrictions following the Covid-19 outbreak. The PPV also marked the UFC's return to a sold-out Vegas arena for the first time since last March.

This weekend represented a card with some of the top names in the promotion. Alongside a blockbuster trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, the likes of Stephen Thompson, Gilbert Burns, Sean O'Malley, Carlos Condit and Niko Price were also in action.

With that said, here are the positives and negatives from UFC 264.

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Positive - Jon Anik's UFC 264 suit

No man was as dapper as Jon Anik inside the T-Mobile Arena at UFC 264. Bruce Buffer rarely gets upstaged when it comes to suits, but at Saturday's PPV, all eyes were on the UFC's leading man at the commentary desk.

With a stylish pink number, accompanied by a well-patterned tie, Anik looked dressed to impress and ready for one of the UFC's biggest nights of 2021. The outside design was impressive enough, but the inside made it an "instant classic" in the words of Kelvin Gastelum. Along with a tip to the tailor, Mark Russell, the inside of the suit was covered in images of the commentary team's reaction to Rose Namajunas' knockout victory over Zhang Weili at UFC 261 in April.

The suit received heavy praise on social media, with the likes of Terrance McKinney, Tony Gravely, Jhenny Andrade and Tatiana Suarez all joining Gastelum in applauding the design on Instagram. Bravo Jon Anik, bravo...

Positive - A standing submission to remember

UFC 264: Zhumagulov vs. Rivera (Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Everyone loves a knockout, of course they do, but not much is as satisfying to watch as a perfectly executed and unique submission stoppage. In the very first fight of the night, Zhalgas Zhumagulov delivered us exactly that.

After catching Jerome Rivera with a loaded left hand, forcing 'The Renegade' to change levels, the Kazakhstani flyweight sunk in a tight-standing front choke against the cage. Whether you call it a power guillotine choke or a ninja choke, it was certainly a brutal one. With his first submission win in MMA, Zhumagulov recorded his first victory inside the octagon and rebounded from a seriously unlucky decision loss last time out.

In the words of Joe Rogan on commentary, it was "one of the best front chokes you're going to see."

Positive - Du Plessis puts South African MMA on the map

Remember his name and remember it well (and correctly!). At UFC 264, Dricus Du Plessis continued to put South African MMA on the map and continued his impactful arrival onto MMA's biggest stage. 'Stillknocks' is here and he's here to stay.

For a long time, Du Plessis has been one of the most promising names yet to be known across the Atlantic. A second brutal UFC knockout victory will have undoubtedly changed that. I highlighted Du Plessis as one of the five names to watch heading into UFC 264 and he did not disappoint. He may be an awkward and unique striker, who perhaps could struggle against an elite striker as he continues to rise up in the promotion, but the South African's power is undeniable.

In true Pettis vs. Thompson style, Du Plessis bounced off the cage and launched a vicious straight right that sent Trevin Giles, who hadn't been finished on the feet in his 16 MMA fights prior, to the canvas.

He’s a former EFC double champion at middleweight and welterweight. He’s a former KSW welterweight champion. He’s a K-1 kickboxing champion. He’s a scary middleweight, and he’s arrived in the UFC.

Positive - Beware of 'El Matador'

There's a new threat to the featherweight division and his name is Ilia Topuria. Not many fighters on the UFC roster under the age of 25 are as promising as Topuria. His win at UFC 264 means he now boasts a perfect 11-0 MMA record and is unbeaten in three walks to the octagon.

Against BJJ wizard Ryan Hall, Topuria fought the perfect fight. He never looked close to getting caught by the American's classic rolls and attempts to lock up a submission. He simply waited for the opportunity to catch the 36-year-old and eventually did so with devastating effect.

After preventing 'The Wizard' from rolling away from his punches, the part-Georgian and part-Spanish featherweight prospect rendered Hall unconscious with some vicious ground and pound.

At Saturday's PPV, 'El Matador' made a statement to the division. Don't be surprised to see the 24-year-old rise to the top of the division in the coming years.

Positive - As advertised

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the welterweight matchup between Niko Price and Michel Pereira was hard-fought and entertaining throughout. The three-round war had everything we expected. It had a crazy flip, albeit a somewhat illegal one, flying knees and unique striking from the Brazilian's side, and a never-ending persistence and grueling pace from the American.

It was the kind of fight where it hurts to see one man walk away with another loss on their record. At UFC 264, that man was Niko Price. But as is often the case when 'The Hybrid' loses, the fight was still incredible. Both men ate clean and sharp shots, grappled intensely, exchanged transitions and left everything in the octagon. Neither man saw their stock decline inside the T-Mobile Arena.

Positive - Moutinho and O'Malley give us a fight

Who'd have predicted this fight going longer than a few minutes? Kris Moutinho deserves all the praise he's set to receive over the coming days after a valiant display against Sean O'Malley at UFC 264.

This fight brought us two positives, the first of which was O'Malley's performance. Although the main talking points after the bout involved the stoppage and Moutinho's toughness, 'Sugar' was at his best. The rate at which he landed was remarkable. It seemed as though everything he threw landed on the button of the debutant. In the end, he secured the finish he was after and will move onto a bigger name next time around.

The second positive was Moutinho. Nobody expected the short notice promotional newcomer to give us the fight he did. He ate everything O'Malley threw and continued to move forward, piled on the pressure and even caught O'Malley in some exchanges. It was a fantastic way to introduce himself to the UFC fanbase.

Positive - 'Shoeyvasa' lights up Vegas

How great is Tai Tuivasa?

'Fan favorite' barely comes close to describing the Australian heavyweight. From his octagon walk to his post-fight celebrations, Tuivasa showed us exactly why it's so good to have fans back in arenas.

In terms of his performance, 'Bam Bam' extended his winning streak to three in a crazy way. After getting rocked by Greg Hardy's immense power, Tuivasa steadied his wobbly feet and countered. The result was emphatic. Hardy was sent sleeping to the mat.

Multiple shoeys with the crowd made this portion of the card one of the most memorable and entertaining moments of the night. Let's hope Tuivasa's next fight also takes place inside a sold-out arena.

Negative - Stephen A. Smith...

It's a sad state of affairs when Stephen A. Smith is the man chosen to join two UFC legends at ESPN's analyst desk. The term 'out of place' barely describes his presence alongside two former UFC champions in Michael Bisping and Dominick Cruz.

When we've seen names like Paul Felder, Alan Jouban, Belal Muhammad and Michael Chiesa provide some fascinating insight and superb analysis during UFC cards, it's a shame to see them miss out in favor of someone who openly admits, while acting as a voice of authority during a UFC event, that he's no "expert."

It was also almost insulting to receive Smith's view on each topic first ahead of Cruz and Bisping, as if his words were the most valuable and the most sought after. Smith's very first line of the night showed exactly why he shouldn't have been there. His very first opportunity to speak saw him suggest that there wasn't much at stake for Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. With 'The Diamond' having turned down a title opportunity in favor of a trilogy fight with McGregor and a shot at Charles Oliveira's gold on the line, I don't even need to explain why that statement made zero sense.

The consensus on Twitter was largely negative. UFC welterweight Sean Brady had his say on Smith's analysis:

UFC bantamweight Randy Costa also made his views known, even addressing the addition of ESPN's Max Kellerman in his tweet:

But one man in attendance at UFC 264 had a different view. Daniel Cormier tweeted out his support for the controversial personality:

Negative - A Covid reminder

Hu Yaozong and Alen Amedovski (Image Credit: Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire

At a time when cities, states and countries are re-opening and we're seeing UFC PPV's held in front of a sold-out crowds again, it's easy to assume that we're out of the woods when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic that's devastated the world. The return of withdrawals due to the Covid protocol at last night's event was a stark reminder that the virus still exists.

For fans, the cancelation of the middleweight bout between Hu Yaozong and Alen Amedovski was a negative part of the night because it meant one less fight. For the fighters, it meant they lost their chance to impress as the opening bout on a Conor McGregor card. Nevertheless, the health of the athletes, coaches and UFC staff is the most important factor to consider. Hopefully both men will have the chance to make the walk to the octagon again in the coming weeks or months.

Negative - You had one job...

Come on guys, really!?

How is it possible to spell your own champion's name wrong on their title plate? It's as laughable as it is disrespectful. After more than a decade of octagon walks, 'Do Bronx' finally reached the pinnacle of the sport, UFC gold, only to have the second 'i' in his name left out from his precious piece of hardware.

Oliveira himself seems to have seen the funny side, but can we please get the champ a new plate?

Negative - Moutinho deserved to go all the way

Despite Sean O'Malley's performance and the toughness of Kris Moutinho on debut providing some huge positives from the UFC 264 main card opener, the stoppage put a sour end to what was a thoroughly entertaining watch.

Herb Dean seemingly called a stop to the contest with just 30 seconds left due to accumulation of damage. If that was the criteria, the bout wouldn't have gone beyond the opening round because O'Malley simply didn't miss. Moutinho ate virtually every shot from the very first second. So why, with less than a minute left of the whole fight, did Herb suddenly decide enough was enough.

It's a frustrating case of inconsistency. Herb Dean allowed Calvin Kattar to be beaten, bruised and dominated by 445 significant strikes across five rounds against Max Holloway. It made little sense for him to have allowed that to go the distance but deem Moutinho, who was throwing back and wasn't wobbled, unable to continue with 30 seconds left. After such a resilient performance, it was a shame the debutant wasn't given the chance to see out the final seconds.

Negative - A gutting way to end the trilogy

What an anti-climactic way to end what had all the hallmarks of a classic trilogy. Dustin Poirier undoubtedly had the better opening round and looked close to a finish on numerous occasions, but even he wouldn't have wanted to win by way of a broken bone for McGregor.

It was a shame for such a great card to end in yet another horrendous injury. With Chris Weidman's broken leg, Jacare Souza's broken arm, Jamahal Hill's dislocated elbow and now McGregor's break, the return of fans in 2021 seems to have brought with it an injury curse.

Whatever happens next, it's hard to imagine McGregor will let his feud with 'The Diamond' end there.

About the author

Harvey is an MMA journalist with experience writing for publications like MMA News, GiveMeSport and WhatCulture. He has a degree in Sports Journalism, having graduated from Solent University in England. He currently serves as an MMA editor at Sportskeeda and the assistant lead writer at MMA News.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard

The positives and negatives from UFC 264