UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs Ponzinibbio - Jul 16

[L_E_T_H_A_L]

Scottish Job Squad, more like.

 

[d-d-d-dAz]

Bobby Nash has come out and said that the shot he got caught with didn't hurt him, that it was a ripoff stoppage and he wasn't allowed to show what he can do.

He should really have told his face, because after he got dropped like a sack of shit he didn't half give the ref a 'please help me' look..

[Noah Southworth]

Leslie Smith (135lbs, 9-7-1) vs. Amanda Lemos (134lbs, 6-0-1) was a decent scrap; Lemos did well in the first round and made a fight of it, but her late replacement status seemed to show as she tired after the first round. Smith weathered the storm and piled up the pressure to get a standing TKO victory. Smith delivered a decent post-fight interview, and she actually had the nous to call someone out, Bethe Correia, to set up her next fight.
Five Word Review: Smith is all-round impressive.

Brett Johns (135lbs, 13-0) vs. Albert Morales (134lbs, 7-1-1) was a decent but unspectacular fight. Morales had his moments but they were few and far between, with Johns looking dominant throughout.
Five Word Review: Johns dominates; doesn’t excite, though.

Danny Henry (155lbs, 10-2) vs. Daniel Teymur (155lbs, 6-0) was a real good scrap. Teymur was landing some real big shots on Henry and he managed to keep going, despite being wobbled. The second round was similar for the first minute or so until Henry caught Teymur and Teymur was the one left reeling and needing to defend. Henry had Teymur in a rear naked choke at the end of the second round but Teymur held on. The pace slowed in the third round; Henry took Teymur down early and controlled him there for the remainder of the fight.
Five Word Review: Wild slugfest that tapered off.

Charlie Ward (169lbs, 3-2) vs. Galore Bofando (170lbs, 4-2) was brewing nicely until Bofando blocked a takedown and threw Ward to the mat; Ward hit the mat head first, was knocked silly, and Bofando landed  a few punches before the referee realized Ward was out and stepped in. Bofando has potential for some exciting fights but his style does leave himself open.
Five Word Review: The most unique of finishes.

Alexandre Pantoja (125lbs, 17-2) vs. Neil Seery (125lbs, 16-12) was a real good scrap, with lots of action and never a dull moment. Pantoja took Seery down in the third and got his back, getting a rear naked choke for the submission. Until that point, Seery was likely going out with a victory, this being his last fight, but Seery ended up going out on his back.
Five Word Review: A real good flyweight scrap.

Danny Roberts (170lbs, 13-2) vs. Bobby Nash (170lbs, 8-2)  was another brawl, perhaps a few steps below the previous fight.
Five Word Review: Decent brawl; a powerful finish.

James Mulheron (240lbs, 11-1) vs. Justin Willis (264lbs, 4-1) was as unremarkable a fight as you will ever see.
Five Word Review: This fight was just ‘there’.

Khalil Rountree (203lbs, 5-2) vs. Paul Craig (204lbs, 9-1) saw Rountree put in a really good performance; it wasn’t necessarily a good fight, but Rountree just looked sharper in everything he did than he had done before, and showed some really good boxing.
Five Word Review: Rountree with a good showing.

Jack Marshman (185lbs, 21-6) vs. Ryan Janes (185lbs, 9-2) was a sloppy brawl, carrying on something of a theme for this show with most fights turning into brawls. Marshman was landing almost at will for the first round or so, and then Janes finally decided to try and make a fight of things. Marshman ended the fight with his right eye almost closed but he had done enough to earn the unanimous decision victory.
Five Word Review: Marshman wins a sloppy brawl.

Stevie Ray (155lbs, 21-6) vs. Paul Felder (154lbs, 13-3) was a nothing happening fight until Felder caught Ray with a knee in the clinch; Rey dropped and Felder started landing punches. Ray scrambled to try and escape but a well placed elbow knocked Ray out and the fight was over.
Five Word Review: Felder finishes in violent fashion.

Joanne Calderwood (118lbs, 11-2) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (116lbs, 5-0) was an OK fight; it was mostly Calderwood pressing forward and utilizing volume striking. Calvillo landed a few shots of her own and Calderwood ended up with a bloody nose, but Calvillo’s best efforts came at the end of the first and third rounds when she had Calderwood in near-submissions, which Calderwood defended against. Cavillo got the nod with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. It felt like a case of a fighter taking the rounds with late flurries of aggression.
Five Word Review: Decent fight; outcome wasn’t popular.

Gunnar Nelson (170lbs, 16-2-1) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (171lbs, 24-3) was developing nicely until Ponzinibbio caught Nelson with a right hook; Nelson wobbled a bit, and backed off, but Ponzinibbio smelled blood, hit a blitz of punches and knocked Nelson out cold.
Five Word Review: A new contender at 170lbs.

I did not think this was a particularly good show. There were a few exciting or otherwise brutal finishes, and one really good scrap, but most of the fights felt lacklustre or were just overly sloppy, and some fighters were not quite up to par. I picked Ponzinibbio in the main event because he’s a good striker and the way Nelson tends to carry his hands leaves himself open. I thought people were really sleeping on Ponzinibbio and not giving him his due. I didn’t expect a first round finish, though.

 

[Ross18]

Yeah. Im about as biased as it comes with Calderwood and I still scored it 29-28 Calvillo.

Didn't go well for the Scots at all. The Craig fight wasn't even competitive at all. Ray got caught with that nasty knee. Thought that one might of went the distance. But there was no stopping that knee and then the follow up elbows. Fantastic performance from Henry though. Thought that was a great fight. Felt he could have finished him but they were both just absolutely knackered in the third. Suppose they both got the call on 3 weeks notice, so a bit understandable. 

Nice performance from Ponzinibbio. Kind of thought people were sleeping on him a bit. Seemed to be all Nelson coming into the fight. Proved the he deserved that spot.

Wasn't Marshmans best fight but a nice wins for both the Welsh guys with Johns dominating. Maybe a market the UFC will look into next as with the losses on this card will be a while before they consider coming back tbh. Although the atmosphere was incredible. We just don't seem to have that breakout fighter at the moment.

[David]

Anyone seen the US MMA media describing Calvillo's win as "dominant"? It was a close fight in my opinion, not a dominant performance at all.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't call it a domination. I felt like she did enough to nick each round but the rounds themselves were all competitive. There were spells in the fight where Calvillo looked dominant but the fight as a whole wasn't what I'd call one sided.

Shame to see Seery go out on a loss but it was a good fight and I liked Pantoja. He should be an exciting addition to the division. Thought that and the Henry vs Teymur fight were the best fights of the night. 

And again, where did that Galore Bofando guy spring from? Never heard of him before but I like his style. 

And Charlie Ward is one for the Shit Tattoo thread when I can be arsed to find a picture. 

[Philjax]

Calvillo is a future champ, possibly at two weight classes once Flyweight comes in. Just the highlight of any card to watch her progression, and I really loved this card.

[wandshogun09]

I don't know about that. Being the highlight of a card doesn't necessarily mean future champ or success. I mean, Bruce Leeroy is the highlight of pretty much every show he's on. As is Pepey, and Joe Lauzon, and Erick Silva etc etc. 

Remember who's weight class she's in. This was a good win for her but it's not like she breezed through Calderwood or anything. 

She's good but I can't see her doing much against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. And probably not Gadelha, Andrade or Kowalkiewicz either. She's got a way to go. The problem is, because she's undefeated, active and the UFC brass like her she could end up getting rushed along too soon. Especially with Joanna running out of challengers. Give her time and who knows, she might be a legit problem for Joanna down the line. But she might be a victim of her own success and get moved up the ladder faster than she's ready for. 

Who would you put her in with next? It's got to be a step up from Calderwood logically. Maybe a Michelle Waterson or Paige VanZant? Actually, Tecia Torres would make sense. 

[Philjax]

It'll probably be Herrig seeing as she's on a mini streak and everyone seems to hate her. May aswell clear out Torres and Esparza aswell who aren't going to do anything.

[David]

7 hours ago, Philjax said:

Calvillo is a future champ, possibly at two weight classes once Flyweight comes in. Just the highlight of any card to watch her progression, and I really loved this card.

You think so? Personally, I thought she looked a tad lost on the feet, and let's be honest, despite the commentators bigging her up Calderwood is no Joanna Champion.

I remain to be convinced.

[Philjax]

I don't rate Calderwood that much at all but she was always going to be awkward because of her length. The counter to that was obviously to take her down and show off quite the ground game. High praise but when she goes to ground I get as excited as I do for Demian Maia because it's all just so beautiful to watch. I think by the time it rolls around she'll be troubling Andrade and Gadelha and it'll be a spectacle to watch. Very fun division for me.

[David]

35 minutes ago, Philjax said:

I don't rate Calderwood that much at all but she was always going to be awkward because of her length. The counter to that was obviously to take her down and show off quite the ground game. High praise but when she goes to ground I get as excited as I do for Demian Maia because it's all just so beautiful to watch. I think by the time it rolls around she'll be troubling Andrade and Gadelha and it'll be a spectacle to watch. Very fun division for me.

Here's hoping you're right mate, as another exciting fighter is never a bad thing. Personally, I'll see how she does in her next few before making judgement, but it'll be interesting.

I'm not normally one for female MMA, usually watching Cyborg and Calderwood only, but I'll be watching for Calvillo in future.

[Keith Houchen]

Just finished up watching this, I thought it was a solid show with only the odd dud in amongst some cracking brawls. Nelson getting starched like that looked gruesome.  Was Roundtree being a dick for the sake of it,more was there some beef between the two?

[wandshogun09]

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Was Roundtree being a dick for the sake of it,more was there some beef between the two?

I haven't seen anything to suggest there was beef there but Rountree doesn't usually seem like a dick either. He usually comes off well in interviews and stuff. Fuck knows. There must've been more to it, I reckon. It was out of character and he looked pretty intense before the fight started as well. 

[Cousin Jim Bob]

59 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

I haven't seen anything to suggest there was beef there but Rountree doesn't usually seem like a dick either. He usually comes off well in interviews and stuff. Fuck knows. There must've been more to it, I reckon. It was out of character and he looked pretty intense before the fight started as well. 

 

He could have just been hit by the adrenaline of a big finish away from home. Bisping on his podcast has talked about the daft post fight interview after the Hamill win and the Jorge Rivera celebration where he said sometimes you get a big win and you just lose your shit. Just go nuts for awhile. You look back and cringe but you lose yourself in the moment after all that pressure (unless your Mark Hunt). Rountree had said the fans had been nice all week, just a rush of blood I think.