UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs Moreno - Aug 5

[wandshogun09]

Saturday August 5th in Mexico City.

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD
Sergio Pettis vs Brandon Moreno 

Randa Markos vs Alexa Grasso

Alan Jouban vs Niko Price

Martin Bravo vs Humberto Bandenay

Rashad Evans vs Sam Alvey 

Alejandro Perez vs Andre Soukhamthath   

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS
Brad Scott vs Jack Hermansson

Dustin Ortiz vs Hector Sandoval

Rani Yahya vs Henry Briones

Jose Alberto Quinonez vs Diego Rivas

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
Joseph Morales vs Roberto Sanchez 

Alvaro Herrera vs Jordan Rinaldi

 

Decent looking little card, I reckon. Nothing earth shattering and I can't say I'm too familiar with a lot of the Mexican names there but there's a nice mix of stuff on this one. 

 

Sergio Pettis vs Brandon Moreno is a potential corker of a main event. One of the more slept on and under the radar fights currently on the schedule for me. And it could well determine the next contender for Mighty Mouse after he mops the Octagon with Ray Borg in September. 

Pettis is 15-2 and still only 23 years old. Success and name recognition hasn't come as easily for him as it did for his big bro Anthony but he's plugging away and has racked up 3 solid wins in a row. 

Moreno is also 23 and has a 14-3 record. He's coming in off an impressive 11 fight winning streak, after initially going 3-3 in his first 6 fights. He's on a roll now. He's an exciting fighter to watch, always on the attack and he's a really likeable bloke as well. He submitted Pettis' teammate Dustin Ortiz in his last fight in April so Pettis will be looking to get one back for Team Roufusport but he's up against it going into Moreno's home turf to do it. 

Should be an exciting fight. Sergio isn't as flashy as his brother and he hasn't really been known for having those barnburners but I think the ingredients are there and Moreno might be just the man to drag him into a bit of a war. 

 

Randa Markos vs Alexa Grasso is the co-main. You get the feeling they're hoping Grasso shines here. She's the hometown Mexican girl and they've put her in the co-headlining position despite her suffering her first defeat last time out to Felice Herrig. She hasn't been given an easy rebound fight in Randa Markos though. She hasn't got the best of records at 7-4 but Randa is one of those darkhorse fighters in the division for me who could be a banana skin for a lot of the division on a good night. I could see her giving Grasso problems, to be honest. But regardless it'll probably be a good fight. 

 

Rashad Evans vs Sam Alvey, I don't know what to make of this really. Just feels like a really odd fight. Rashad finally dropped to 185 after a rough few fights at 205. And in his middleweight fresh start in March, he dropped a split decision in a weird fight to Dan Kelly. So here we are. He's now got a second stab at it and he's in with Smiling Sam. Rashad really shouldn't be losing this. I like Alvey but he's got no business beating Rashad Evans. The mad thing is though, at this stage I wouldn't be shocked if he did. It makes me sad to admit it but my confidence is shot with Rashad. He just doesn't seem to have it anymore. It's like wants it mentally, he can still get in tremendous physical shape, but something's just not clicking anymore. If he loses to Alvey, man, I think it's time to do the analyst/commentary thing full time. Which is no bad thing IMO, because he's great at it. 

 

Alan Jouban vs Niko Price is your ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. Jouban is always good value. You can usually rely on him to deliver an entertaining fight as his battles with Matt Dwyer, Belal Muhammad and Mike Perry in the UFC have shown. Don't let his other career as a model fool you, he's a scrapper no doubt. Price I know less about but he certainly looks the part so far. He's 9-0-1 and has finished nearly all his fights. He submitted Brandon Thatch in a round in his UFC debut and he KO'd Alex Morono in his last fight, only to go and test positive for weed and the fight got overturned to a No Contest. I like what I've seen so far though and I reckon him and Jouban could make for a right chaotic ruck. Keep an eye out for this one. 
 

Brad Scott vs Jack Hermansson could be alright. Scott's been on a win one/lose one run ever since he got in the UFC. Literally, he's 3-3 now in the big show and he's alternated between wins and losses with each fight. He won his last fight against Scott Askham so, if we go by his UFC form, he's due a loss again here. He's in with Sweden's Jack Hermansson. 15-3 and coming off a first round TKO over Alex Nicholson on the Stockholm card. 

Nothing else is particularly jumping out at me on this one. Dustin Ortiz has been one of the more entertaining flyweights to watch for me. His fight might be worth a gander. 

That's about it. 

[Egg Shen]

unbelievable that Rashad is sitting below a Randa Markos fight on a Fight Night card in 2017, what a decline it has been, it's quite sad to see. Rashad still looks the part, he just seems to be so low on confidence and unwilling to let his hands go these days, i dont know if he'll ever pull it back.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah it's weird to see for fans who've been watching for years, who remember Rashad when he was the champ, the Liddell KO and his wins over Rampage, Forrest, Hendo etc. Rashad was one of the best in his day. It'd be like in 6-7 years time seeing someone like Jon Jones after a bunch of losses playing second fiddle to a flyweight fight on FS1 or something. You wouldn't have predicted Rashad to fall this far. 

I've got a mate at work who's only got into MMA over the last year or so and to him guys like Rashad and Shogun are nobodies. He watched Chael vs Wandy the other week and I was telling him about Wand in his prime, he'd never even heard of Pride  It shouldn't be a shock really. Pride wasn't really big here, apart from with the absolute hardcores. And this mate is only 23/24 so he was a kid when Pride was at its peak. Why would he know it? But it's still a bit crazy to me that there are people out there who watch UFC and never heard of Pride and don't go back and look into past fights and stuff like that. I thought everyone did that when they got into a new hobby/interest or whatever. It's part of the fun to me. Like when you hear a really good song from an artist or band you've never listened to, naturally you go back through their back catalogue, don't you? 

[Egg Shen]

you'd think so wand, i certainly do i think the general population don't do that. I remember my mate went to see Green Day play Dookie in full at Reading a few years ago and it blew his mind that half the audience didn't seem to know the material, yet the same people went nuts for American Idiot and all that stuff, it's baffling to me but most people just don't have the same sort of mentality as the hardcore fans.

 

[Chunk]

I saw that main event flash up on Fight Pass and I honestly thought it was for the prelim show to a bigger event.

[Noah Southworth]

I think Rashad’s problem is simply that he’s physically well past his prime and his body just isn’t up to it anymore, at least not at the top level. Rashad has been fighting for over thirteen years, and before that, he had an extensive amateur wrestling career that started in high school. That’s going to take a toll on anyone and I think we’re well past the point where Rashad’s body just can’t keep up. Rashad could keep going, and he probably will, and he may even end up in Bellator. But the days of Rashad as a contender or as a serious threat are over and they have been for quite some time.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, he's had a lot of injuries as well. All that plus he turns 38 this year. The chances of him making a resurgence are slim to non-existent  

[wandshogun09]

This is tonight, by the way. 

Got a feeling Brandon Moreno is going to shine tonight. It's his first main event and it's in his home country. I like the matchup for him as well. I think he beats Pettis. 

Oh and look at Rashad in the weigh in staredown with Alvey. He looks small even at 185 there to me. And it's not even like Alvey is a huge middleweight himself. Crazy that Rashad won TUF as a fucking heavyweight when you look at him here. He probably should've been at middleweight his whole career. 

[jimufctna24]

On 23/07/2017 at 7:37 PM, wandshogun09 said:

But it's still a bit crazy to me that there are people out there who watch UFC and never heard of Pride and don't go back and look into past fights and stuff like that. I thought everyone did that when they got into a new hobby/interest or whatever. It's part of the fun to me. Like when you hear a really good song from an artist or band you've never listened to, naturally you go back through their back catalogue, don't you? 

It depends on how motivated people are. With other interests, I have drawn a line in what I hunt down and read up about. There's only so many hours in the day. For example, my knowledge of Boxing, Basketball, Darts and F1 before the 1980's is quite sketchy. I tend to concentrate on the modern history of those sports. 

MMA is a bit different, because it has a relatively short history. It's also piss easy to track down old stuff. Youtube and Fight Pass make it much easier to access old fights. If you are a bit old-fashioned, you can also pick up old DVD's on Amazon for next to nothing. Ebb has a point that some people just aren't inclined in that way. Personally, I enjoy reading up on the history of some of my interests, just as much as I do following them in real-time. 

Oh, and I hope Rashad wins tonight 

[Noah Southworth]

Alvaro Herrera (156lbs, 9-4) vs. Jordan Rinaldi (156lbs, 12-5) had a finish that came out of nowhere. Herrera caught Rinaldi coming in with a punch and when Rinaldi went for a takedown, Herrrera caught him in an anaconda choke. Rinaldi escaped the choke but Herrera kept hold of the head of Rinaldi, which was a bad mistake because Rinaldi pressed his shoulder against Herrera’s throat, and forced his head into the cage at the same time, with the Von Flue choke, and Herrera tapped out, although he had to tap a lot before the referee stepped in.
Five Word Review: Short, bloody, with great finish.

Joseph Morales (125lbs, 8-0) vs. Roberto Sanchez (126lbs, 7-0) saw Sanchez takes Morales down quickly and control him on the ground before Morales managed to escape. Morales then dropped Sanchez with a big right hand, allowing for ground and pound, Morales to then take Sanchez’s back, before getting a rear naked choke.
Five Word Review: Another quick and exciting fight.

Jose Alberto Quinonez (135lbs, 6-2) vs. Diego Rivas (136lbs, 7-0) was a classic example of a fight that’s ‘just a fight’; it had a little bit of everything but none if it stood out or made any kind of lasting impression.
Five Word Review: Not bad; just instantly forgettable.

Henry Briones (136lbs, 19-6-1) vs. Rani Yahya (136lbs, 23-9 1 NC) saw Yahya walk right through Briones, taking him down and controlling him on the mat; Yahya went for an armbar before transitioning into a kimura for the submission. Yahya is really, really good on the ground.
Five Word Review: Yahya displays great ground game.

Dustin Ortiz (125lbs, 16-7) vs. Hector Sandoval (126lbs, 14-3) was a blink-and-you’ll-miss it affair. Sandoval started swinging right away and Ortiz responded in kind and it was Sandoval who got rocked and dropped and knocked out in just 14-seconds (officially, it was 15-seconds but the official time is wrong). This was a big finish and the fastest finish in UFC flyweight history.
Five Word Review: Ortiz obliterates hapless Hector Sandoval.

Brad Scott (185lbs, 12-4) vs. Jack Hermansson (185lbs, 15-3) hadn’t gone too long before Hermansson got Scott down to the mat and he never let him get back up. Hermansson controlled Scott and whilst he did have to escape a triangle choke, it was the only moment where Hermansson was in any kind of danger. Not long after that, Scott turned over, Hermansson flattened him out and then pounded him out for the TKO victory.
Five Word Review: ‘Joker’ is no laughing matter.

Alejandro Pérez (135lbs, 18-6-1) vs. Andre Soukhamthath (136lbs, 11-4) was a decent scrap, but the most interesting parts of it were Soukhamthath taunting Pérez after he dropped him three times with his jab, with a some more taunting thrown in later on. It was almost all Soukhamthath for the first half of the fight but Pérez came on strong in the second and third rounds. It resulted in a split-decision win for Pérez, with Soukhamthath falling to his knees in frustration when the result was read out. To his credit, Pérez consoled Soukhamthath afterwards.
Five Word Review: A nice enough little scrap.

Sam Alvey (186lbs, 30-9, 1 NC) vs. Rashad Evans (186lbs, 24-6-1) was a big fight for Evans because he’s been on a major career slide and he really needed a big win or at least a competitive showing to stop the chatter of retirement becoming a full blown crescendo. This fight did neither man any favours; the majority of the action, that there was, saw Evans taking or trying to take Alvey down. There were a few good punches thrown but they were scarce. Alvey won by split-decision but it’s a win that will mean more on paper because the fight was completely lifeless.
Five Word Review: Nobody smiled after this one.

Martín Bravo (145lbs, 12-0) vs. Humberto Bandenay (146lbs, 13-4, 1 NC)  was starting off nicely and then Bandenay caught Bravo ducking in with the most well-timed knee you’ll ever see and knocked Bravo out cold. Bravo fell like a tree as he was knocked stiff; his arms remained tensed for a long time after being knocked out.
Five Word Review: Knockout of the year contender

Alan Jouban (171lbs, 15-5) vs. Niko Price (170lbs, 9-0, 1 NC) added to string of first round finishes. Price was having the better of the early exchanges before catching Jouban with a one-two, and as Jouban fell, Price kicked him in the fact. Jouban was stunned and Price followed up with ground and pound to get the finish. This was a great showing from Price.
Five Word Review: Price was on the money.

Randa Markos (116lbs, 7-5) vs. Alexa Grasso (119lbs, 9-1) was a real good scrap as Markos and Grasso produced a very entertaining fight. It was mostly a stand-up brawl with both women having success but Markos landing the harder shots early on. When the fight went to the ground is when Grasso had her success, so it was very much a fight that was finely balanced when it went to the scorecards. It went to a split-decision with Grasso getting nod but it could very easily have gone the other way.
Five Word Review: A highly entertaining strawweight scrap.

Sergio Pettis (126lbs, 15-2) vs. Brandon Moreno (126lbs, 14-3) was a fight that frequently felt like it was about ready to explode but it never quite did. The fight was good; it just never rose above that level, and you were always getting the idea it was about to. It would be harsh to say Moreno was exposed but his flaws were definitely made very evident; once Pettis figured out Moreno’s strategy and adapted to it, Moreno didn’t have the ability or willingness to change things up. And it meant that after a strong first round, Pettis took over the fight and Moreno didn’t get back in it until the fifth round.

Moreno has talent and potential, but he needs to be able to adapt or he’ll have a definite ceiling on his career trajectory. Pettis likewise showed potential; he always has. And he was the smarter of the two, and with more experience he could be real force at flyweight.

The fight went the distance and judges scored it 49-46, 48-46 and 48-46 for Pettis. They had been hinting at a possible title fight for Pettis if he won here, but I think it’s far too soon for him to be facing DJ.
Five Word Review: Pettis produces a smart performance.

This was a good show. It lacked that one killer fight to really put it over the top, but it had some great finishes, at least one of which should win awards at the end of the year. Overall, I’d give this show a solid thumbs up.

 

[wandshogun09]

On 5 August 2017 at 1:37 PM, wandshogun09 said:

Got a feeling Brandon Moreno is going to shine tonight. It's his first main event and it's in his home country. I like the matchup for him as well. I think he beats Pettis.

 

Shows what I know. Good show though. Loads of quick finishes. 

So yeah, Pettis vs Moreno was a good fight but I'm disappointed by the result. Agree with Noah that Moreno is going to have to up his game if he's ever going to break through at the top of the division. The good thing is he's still pretty young so there's time. And it wasn't like it was a blowout. This could serve as a good learning experience for Moreno. He got to go a hard 5 rounds in a main event. He should be able to build off this. Can see Pettis getting the next title shot against the winner of Mouse-Borg (Mouse then) by the end of the year or early 2018. 

Grasso vs Markos was a lot of fun. Definitely FOTN and it was a close one. Read something that Markos is going to appeal the decision, can't see anything coming of that. It was close but it wasn't like it was a robbery or anything. Wouldn't mind seeing Grasso vs Cynthia Calvillo next. 

Niko Price looks legit. You don't just run through Jouban on the feet like that unless you've got something about you. 

That knee from Humberto Bandenay!!! I think that's my KO of the year so far. It's either this or Mike Perry's elbow KO into spinaroonie against Ellenberger. Crazy knockout. Scary as well, the way Bravo went down stiff. 

Alvey vs Rashad....fucking hell. 

Prelims were fun. Quinonez vs Rivas was a so-so fight. Nothing to write home about. But the rest...

Rani Yahya running through Henry Briones like a hot knife through butter with his BJJ was a joy to watch. Briones had nothing for Rani's grappling and it resulted in a beautiful quick kimura finish. You don't really see many kimuras these days. 

Dustin Ortiz looked fantastic knocking out Hector Sandoval in 15 bastard seconds! Fastest finish in flyweight history. Always enjoy watching Ortiz fight so it's cool to see him get a big finish like this. 

We got a Von Flue choke, which you don't see too often, from Jordan Rinaldi. 

Jack Hermansson put a right beatdown on Brad Scott. Another first round finish. Liked Hermansson suplexing his cornerman during the celebration as well. 

Really good show, whizzed by. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

Rashad 😞

As long as I live I never again want to see Rashad waiting for a decision, muttering 'please' under his breath.

[jimufctna24]

Rashad has been a shell of his former self for a long time now. His last great performance was when he shutdown Phil Davis in early 2012. 

He looked flat against Bader and Little Nog. Those were very tough fights to watch. The Bader fight in particular was a sign that Rashad wasn't what he used to be. Rashad would have handled Bader pretty easily from 2008-2011. He did edge out Hendo in 2013. I agreed with the decision, but it came during a time where Hendo was consistently being beaten. The Sonnen win appeared impressive on face value, but there is speculation that Sonnen was heavily compromised that evening. I would usually take such rumours with a pinch of salt, but they didn't come from Sonnen himself. They even asked Sonnen about it on TSN. Even if you don't believe the rumours, the Sonnen fight was still 4 years ago, 

It sucks, but it's long past due for Rashad to hang them up. He has nothing left to prove, and his current status in the sport is beneath him. He's done enough to be in the Hall Of Fame, and be considered amongst the top 10-20 MMA fighters of all-time. 

 

[wandshogun09]

Oh yeah, what the fuck happened to Brad Scott? I don't think I'd seen him fight in a year or so and I still remembered him as looking like Forrest Griffin's baby brother. Fucker looks about 45 now. He's fucking 28! He's aged a ton in a really short time and it's not just the receder. He looks well haggard. 

[Bus Surfer]

Rashad Evans, holy fucking Jesus. 

When you're praying  for a decision over Sam Alvey after being a world champ, it's time to hang 'em up. He looked tiny at 185 here too. Madness to think he won the Ultimate Fighter as a heavyweight. 

Depressing.