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What’s the story?
UFC 224 delivered as promised. There were some great matches and some moments that shocked the MMA community. In the main event, Amanda Nunes defended her UFC belt against Raquel " Rocky" Penington via a 4th round TKO. There was some controversy after the fight as Pennington was heard saying "I’m done," after the end of the third round. But her coach insisted she should return and try to finish the fight.
In the co-main event, Kelvin Gastelum defeated Jacare Souza in a split decision. Kelvin with this win has put the middleweight division on notice. Other main card fights featured Mackenzie Dern vs Amanda Bobby Cooper. Dern came in overweight for the bout missing weight by almost 7 lbs. But she managed to win with a first round Rear naked choke. Vitor Belfort was knocked out in his last fight by fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida with a front kick to the face in the first round. After the fight, Vitor said "I will stop fighting here because I think I reached the end. Thanks for your love."
In case you didn’t know…
Amanda Nunes was eyeing a super fight with Cyborg but that failed to materialize. Now after her dominant victory over Raquel Penington, it seems that she'll face the greatest women's MMA fighter to ever step inside the octagon.
On the other hand, Kelvin Gastelum is in hot form and an impressive win over Jacare will surely get him close to be the number one contender for the Middle Weight title. A longtime veteran of the sport, Lyoto Machida is planning to retire and his performance against Vitor Belfort was nothing short of spectacular.
The heart of the matter
All the main card fights at UFC 224 were super exciting. Nunes won against Raquel with a TKO. Gastelum won with a well deserved split decision. Mackenzie Dern even after missing weight with almost 7pounds won with a first-round RNC. The most exciting finish was obviously Machida vs Belfort. Machida knocked out his fellow countryman with a spectacular front kick to the face This was the second time Vitor was knocked out by a front kick. The first one coming from Anderson Silva.
What’s next?
Amanda Nunes might get the fight against Cyborg after this win. In the men's middleweight division Kelvin moves up and is a step closer to the UFC gold. He might face the loser of Whittaker vs Romero next. Machida has been calling out Michael Bisping for some time now. This will be a great fight if it happens between two legends of the game. But it remains to be seen if Bisping is going to fight again.
Author's take
What a week! One of the greatest fighters to ever step inside the octagon Vitor Belfort has retired. Fight fans will miss surely miss him. Okay, the next few months are exciting for sure.
We'll have to wait and watch if Cyborg will face Nunes for her next fight or if she'll fight the winner of Holm vs Anderson. In the men's Middleweight division Kelvin might have to step inside the octagon once again to challenge for the title. Stay tuned for more updates.
