UFC 215: Nunes vs Shevchenko 2

[Paul2j]

Personally had the main event as a draw, with 1 and 5 going to Nunes (though can see the case for Shevchenko to get the 5th). Thought 2 and 4 were clearly Shevchenko's rounds so it boiled down to the 3rd which I thought was dead even with perhaps Shevchenko shading it if it had to go either way.

A draw and subsequent rematch would likely have been best for the division too with no clear number 1 contender. Holm and Pennington are both still one win away in my opinion.

Cejudo and Dos Anjos both looked great - and I agree with the above poster stating that Cejudo was absolutely robbed against Benavidez. I would give Cejudo either that rematch or Pettis for the next Title shot.

[Noah Southworth]

Kajan Johnson (21-12-1, 155lbs) vs. Adriano Martins (28-8, 156lbs) was a complete snoozer, with almost nothing happening for two rounds and change, before Johnson clipped Martins coming in and knocked him out. Johnson celebrated, and whilst it was a victory in his comeback fight, Johnson having spent a lot of time on the shelf due to injuries, it wasn’t a performance to celebrate because he did almost nothing but back up until he landed that knockout punch.

Five Word Review: Knockout finish caps off snoozer.

Luis Henrique (10-3 1 NC, 244.5lbs) vs. Arjan Bhullar (6-0, 239lbs) was painfully average with nothing outstanding but nothing that bad, the kind of fight you’ll forget all about once it’s over. Bhullar won the unanimous decision.

Five Word Review: Bhullar wins but doesn’t impress,

Mitch Clarke (11-4, 155.5lbs) vs. Alex White (11-3, 155.5lbs) had a pretty nondescript first round but things really picked up in the second when White hooked the right arm of Clarke in an underhook and laid into him with elbows and punches. It was the turning point of the fight as White, even after Clarke broke free, kept battering Clarke; White bloodied Clarke up and dropped him a number of times before the referee had seen enough and stepped in to stop the fight. It was a great showing by White, and Clarke should a lot of heart, with Clarke making an emotional post-fight speech announcing his retirement and leaving his gloves in the cage.

Five Word Review: White batters Clarke into retirement.

Gavin Tucker (10-0, 145.5lbs) vs. Rick Glenn (19-4-1, 145.5lbs)  was an almost entirely one-sided fight, with Glenn handing out a 15-minute beating to Tucker, who simply had nothing to threaten his more experienced opponent. Tucker was bloodied and beaten, and the fight could and probably should have been stopped in the third, because Tucker was doing nothing but literally hanging on, but the referee let Tucker take a beating right to the bell. Glenn won by unanimous decision and one judge even gave him the ultra rare 30-24.

Five Word Review: Glenn delivers a one-sided beatdown.

Sarah Moras (4-2, 135.5lbs) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-2, 136lbs) saw Evans-Smith take Moras down very quickly but Moras used tremendous flexibility to set up an armbar; Moras kept a grip in the arm as Evans-Smith tried and tried and tried to escape the grip of Moras, but she couldn’t, and Moras ended up getting the armbar and scoring the upset submission, with Evans-Smith’s elbow appearing to have popped out in the process.

Five Word Review: Moras’ tenaciousness pays off big.

Sara McMann (11-3, 135.5lbs) vs. Ketlen Vieira (8-0, 136lbs) saw McMann dominated Viera for extended periods, controlling her on the ground or against the fence. But in the second round, Vieira managed to trip McMann up to take her down, and Vieira controlled McMann before securing an arm triangle and even though she was still in half-guard, she had enough power to get the tap. It’s something of an upset result.

Five Word Review: Vieira stuns with submission victory.

Jeremy Stephens (25-14, 146lbs) vs. Gilbert Melendez (22-6, 146lbs) saw Melendez making his featherweight debut. The story of the fight was Stephens hurting Melendez with leg kicks in the first round, to the point that Melendez’ left leg was looking lumpy and Melendez couldn’t move properly and was constantly getting dropped because the leg gave out. Stephens stalked Melendez, hitting him with punches and kicks, but it was the leg kicks that did the real damage and Melendez was never in the fight as a result and Stephens got the unanimous decision victory.

Five Word Review: Stephens has powerful leg kicks.

Ilir Latifi (12-5 1 NC, 205.5lbs) vs. Tyson Pedro (6-0, 205.5lbs) saw Latifi use wrestling, grappling and positional control to dominate his younger opponent, with Pedro just unable to defend against the wrestling and takedowns of his opponent.

Five Word Review: Latifi grinds out the victory.

Henry Cejudo (10-2, 125.5lbs) vs. Wilson Reis (22-7, 125lbs) saw Cejudo put in one of the most explosive and dynamic performances of his career as the wrestler eschewed his wrestling in favour of a comprehensive striking game. Cejudo was using footwork, punches and kicks in great combination to dish out consistent punishment, with Reis having trouble putting together any meaningful defence. Cejudo dropped Reis early in the second round and pounded him out for the win.

Five Word Review: The wrestler can now strike.

Neil Magny (19-5, 169.5lbs) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (26-9, 170lbs) saw dos Anjos put in one of his best performances in a long time as he established himself as a real player in the welterweight division. As soon as dos Anjos took Magny down, the fight was pretty much over as Magny never got back to his feet, with dos Anjos completely controlling him on the mat and getting the submission with an arm triangle. After a showing like this, I expect RDA to get a top 10 welterweight for his next fight and he very well may be only a couple of wins away from a title shot.

Five Word Review: RDA asserts his welterweight credentials.

Amanda Nunes © (14-4, 135lbs) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (14-2, 133.5lbs) – for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship was the rematch a long time coming and it was underwhelming in the sense that it wasn’t the explosive barnburner that a lot of people were expecting. Instead, both Nunes and Shevchenko fought a measured and calculating fight, especially Shevchenko, who fought very much as a counterfighter. Things picked up in the fifth round and it felt like both women were happy to kick it into gear now that the fight was almost over, and Nunes edge the action a little as she was able to counter an attempted headlock takedown and get the back of Shevchenko, although Shevchenko escape fairly quickly. It was a close fight; I had it 48-47 for Nunes, although some of the rounds could have gone either way.

The judging reflected that as the fight went to a split-decision, and it was Nunes who edged it with scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 47-48 to remain UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. The fans didn’t like this fight because it was contested at a very methodical pace and they booed a lot, especially at the end and when the result was announced. It seemed like the fans felt that Shevchenko should have won and Shevchenko was adamant she should have won, obviously, but the fight was that close that either fighter could have won.

Five Word Review: Nunes retains in tactical battle.

Overall, UFC 215 was a show that didn’t have any great fights, but it did have some great performances, like Jeremy Stephens and RDA, as well as some great moments; I thought Sarah Moras fighting for that armbar was so awesome.

[ColinBollocks]

It was a night of some mighty solo performances. In particular the bloke Conor made famous, Cejudo and RDA.

I hope they don't rush Cejudo v DJ, again. They may not have a choice, but I don't want to see them touch for at least another fight or two. I think they're doing a massive disservice to a beast like Cejudo by rushing him, particularly when you can clearly see the leaps he's making fight-to-fight. He looked every inch Olympic gold on this. Super impressed.

Chuffed to see the real RDA back again. He's had a ropey year, or so, but there was no fat in that performance. I worried about the size difference, but one kick later and it was such a non issue. DC said it, we may have not seen the best RDA, which is scary. Can't wait for Woodley v RDA now; Woodley won't be able to get his rest against RDA.

The main event was tight as can be. I didn't hate it, but it was definitely an underwhelming scrap.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I'm hoping they don't rush Cejudo back in there with DJ. Ideally, I'd like to see DJ defend against Borg or Pettis next. Then see what's happening then. 

I don't know who Cejudo would fight in the meantime. Maybe do the Benavidez rematch to give Cejudo a chance to avenge that decision? Maybe Dustin Ortiz, he's coming off the fastest KO in flyweight history (15 seconds). So maybe set that up? DJ vs Borg/Pettis (maybe at the same time) and Cejudo vs Benavidez or Ortiz and have the winners face off next year. Unfortunately there's just not enough depth at 125 to move Cejudo along much slower than that, I don't think. 

Oh yeah, once again, DC was really fun on colour commentary.

DC on DJ;

"Most guys would've boarded the first flight out of here and went home, saw his kids. DJ and his family stayed. They wanted to see the fans. Give them what they came to see. It wasn't his fault that he didn't get to fight. So he's here, he's hobnobbing, he's shaking hands and kissing babies like he's the president. DJ is in the building".

DC on Stephens vs Melendez;

"You see Jeremy coming out to Eazy E with his hat on. You see Gil coming out with that jheri curl looking thing. You think those are two bad looking boys, don't you? You go 'alright I wanna see these two dudes fight!' I would watch these guys fight in the Octagon, I'd take these guys out behind the building and watch them fight, I'd watch them fight in a high school gymnasium. These are two fighters. And a great way to start off this PPV card".

[ColinBollocks]

Apparently, Cejudo and Pettis want to fight each other next. Pettis is of the opinion he's not ready for DJ, yet.

[wandshogun09]

Fair enough. DJ vs Borg and Cejudo vs Pettis would work nicely then. IF Borg makes weight/doesn't get ill/isn't struck by lightning etc. 

[David]

4 hours ago, ColinBollocks said:

Can't wait for Woodley v RDA now; Woodley won't be able to get his rest against RDA.

If they don't go with RDA vs Woodley, they could do worse than slinging RDA in there with Lawler. That would be a fight.

[weevil]

If you count the lineage as going back to strikeforce, that is the first time in seven and a half years that the womens bantamweight title has gone to a decision.

[ColinBollocks]

3 hours ago, David said:

If they don't go with RDA vs Woodley, they could do worse than slinging RDA in there with Lawler. That would be a fight.

Every chance of that happening, seeing as Woodley may be out for a while. There are so many interesting match ups I want to see from the pair of them. RDA v anyone in the top 5 is cool with me.

[Paul2j]

2 hours ago, weevil said:

If you count the lineage as going back to strikeforce, that is the first time in seven and a half years that the womens bantamweight title has gone to a decision.

Great stat.

What is Woodley out with?

[ColinBollocks]

He tore his labrum during the Maia fight, which he points to as the reason his offensive performance was underwhelming. He'll probably be out for a while.

[wandshogun09]

I fucking love the RDA vs Lawler idea. That's the fight to make now, I won't hear of anything else for either of them. It's perfect. 

Do we know yet how long Woodley's going to be out? 

[Paul2j]

10 hours ago, ColinBollocks said:

He tore his labrum during the Maia fight, which he points to as the reason his offensive performance was underwhelming. He'll probably be out for a while.

Thanks.  In that case, Lawler vs Dos Anjos is an absolute no-brainer.

[lambyUK]

10 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

I fucking love the RDA vs Lawler idea. That's the fight to make now, I won't hear of anything else for either of them. It's perfect. 

Do we know yet how long Woodley's going to be out? 

I agree completely. I think RDA needs a bigger test than Neil Magny to warrant a title shot, and Lawler needs another win under his belt to get a title shot too. His performance against Cerrone, whilst certainly not terrible, wasn't convincing either. 

RDA/Lawler is a perfect fight to make. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

You utter bag of bastards.

If that fight doesn't get made, I blame you all.