UFC 256: Figueiredo vs Moreno - Dec 12 🇺🇸

[Panhead]

What a great card. I didn't expect Kevin Holland to KO Jacare. One of the knockouts of the year for me, just for the originality of it. 

I can't argue with a draw. I've loved Brandon Moreno since TUF, but a draw was a fair result and I can't wait to see them run it back. 

[neil]

Urgh that fucking arm bar. I knew that crazy bastard Tony wasn't going to tap to it even though it was locked up, I had to look away when Oliveira stuck it under his armpit, fucking brutal. Makes me want to vomit.

And for those wondering, the arm doesn't typically "break", like the Tim Sylvia style of breakage when the bone actually snaps is pretty rare, instead an arm bar dislocates the arm at the elbow - its very much like when you take a chicken wing and snap it into two pieces.

Great night of fights overall.

[sukhy]

Figgy and Moreno, holy crap. Absolute barnburner of a fight. Draw was probably fair, because that kick in the balls by Figgy was solid. 

It was sad to see Tony Ferguson getting schooled for 2 fights in a row by 2 killers. The damage that Gaethje put on him was insane, but this loss to Oliveira is probably more damaging to his, now, slim chances of getting back in the title picture.

Poor bastard won 12 fights in a row and only had an interim title to show for it.

Oliveira looked like a younger, stronger, faster version of Tony, absolutely dominant. If Khabib is staying true to his retirement, then Charles would have to be in the next title fight, most likely vs the winner of Conor/Poirier

Kevin Holland is a scary, scary man. That KO was one of the most obscene knock outs of all time, never seen anything like it. 

JDS time to hang up the gloves I'd say, I don't like seeing him getting wiped out by these heavy hitters. Call it a day please Junior.

On the other hand, Gane looked very slick. Solid leg and body kicks, could be a real contender in that shallow division. 

[Zebra Kid Mark]

What an absolute belter of a card from top to bottom. It hasn't been mentioned yet but Chase Hooper won in the early prelims in awesome fashion. He was getting lit up on the feet in rounds 1 and 2 with Joe Rogan questioning on commentary if he was UFC ready yet (he did this in his previous fight) and then in the 3rd round he pulled off a heel hook from out of no where and got the submission. His stand up needs serious work as it's quite obvious if he can't pull off plan A then he's in big trouble but if he keeps working on it and when his body naturally fills out he will be some force.

DoBronx looked incredible. It was almost as if he wasn't fighting the Tony Ferguson we all know. He rag dolled him for 15 minutes and made Ferguson look human. I've never liked Ferguson's personality or character so I was very pleased to see him get demolished here. Ever since I saw him on TUF in his drunken outburst I've disliked him. It's also very much safe to say that Khabib vs Tony is officially over. If the Justin loss or the Khabib retirement were the first two nails, then this loss was nail 3, 4, 5 and 6i in that coffin . It will never happen.

Kevin Holland was awesome, I think he's a terrible winner and a terrible sport and he's the type of guy you want to cheer against but I kind of warmed to him in his pre-fight video where he said "I just want to go out there and have fun, I don't want to be your kids role model."......I kind of did a u-turn on him there and just appreciated his honesty.

I'm fully onboard the Khamzat hype train but surely what Holland has done is far more impressive, the only reason he's not getting the same hype is he has those 5 loses on his record. What Holland has done in 7 months (against that opposition) is far more impressive than what Khamzat did in that 3 month period. Especially when you look at what two of Khamzat's opponents have gone on to do (lose to weaker opposition).

That main event, wow. Very few main events have me watching standing up and shadow boxing when it was going on and clapping and cheering but this was one of them. I love Moreno even more now, his stock has risen incredibly. After the fight I had it as either a Brandon win or a draw. I didn't see how Figgy could win it, sure he landed some dominant blows that looked like they hit but Brandon took him down numerous times and landed some clean combos. The rematch is going to be insane. The only plus point of there being a weak flyweight division is you know the rematch is the only fight to make, there's no other fighters waiting in the wings who will be offered the rematch in Moreno's place.

Fighter of the year was surely between either Holland, Figgy or Izzy going into tonight. With the main event result and the Holland win then it's definitely between Izzy and Holland now. Figgy is out of the runnings.

Time to rewatch the main event now.

[Dai]

Echo the love everyone is giving the show. It was one of those handful of events you get every year where everything just seems to click. A perfect storm where there's something for everyone. There isn't even anything to moan about with Rogan too (slightly more talk about how gassed Figgy was getting and there would have been). 

 

Most of the replays seemed to miss the first Holland punch that really stunned Jacare (as does the gif above). He was properly out of it even before that massive forehead punch connected. 

[WeeAl]

What an incredible main event that was. As it was going on I had it scored as a draw too, Figgy took the 1st, 2nd and 5th for me, then the 10-8 for Moreno in the 3rd with the point deduction and also the fourth for Moreno. Both men came out of this looking great. At the end of the day, they both took the fight on short notice, went toe to toe and neither blinked an eye the entire time. A real back and forth war of attrition. The re-match is the only fight to make, and hopefully it's in the summer when both men get a rest. 

This show also stood out as being a card where a new crop of contenders really stepped up against their more tested counterparts, and swept them aside. Charles Oliveira, Kevin Holland, Rafael Fiziev and Cyril Gane all pole vaulted some of the older guard they had been paired with. What's notable too is every single one of them did it emphatically, in style. 

An extra special bonus nod to Kevin Holland, for the perfectly timed call out of Chimaev for next week. If that's not 'getting it' then I don't know what is. He puts all the pressure on Chimaev with a move like that. Chimaev was in camp, won't have to cut as much weight and was preparing for a supposedly higher level competitor in Leon Edwards. It looks good for Holland whether Chimaev accepts or not. It only looks good for Khamzat if he accepts and wins. Good move. 

Oliviera won't get the title shot right away, but I'm not sure I even want to try and guess what's going on there. I was certain McGregor and Poirier would be for the vacant belt, so God knows. If the belt is vacated after they fight, then I expect the winner of that fight to face the winner of Gaethje Vs Chandler. I think Do Bronx will have to fight again before he can get there. 

[Zebra Kid Mark]

13 hours ago, Zebra Kid Mark said:

The only plus point of there being a weak flyweight division is you know the rematch is the only fight to make, there's no other fighters waiting in the wings who will be offered the rematch in Moreno's place.

Sorry to quote myself but I completely forgot about Cody Garbrandt when I wrote this. Moreno deserves that rematch based on his performance of the night performance but you never know with UFC when it comes to their favourites.

[wandshogun09]

I’d be down for Holland vs Chimaev but it’s looking like that Edwards vs Chimaev fight is being rescheduled for the Fight Night card on 20th January. I get why Chimaev would stick with that as it’s a higher ranked opponent, a main event and a fight he was already training for. The Holland fight would probably be a better fight to watch though. And yeah, Holland should be getting every bit as much hype as Chimaev is getting. 

Holland absolutely deserves a big fight next time out after the year he’s had. There’s some fun options at 185 as well. They could rebook that Hermansson fight. Then there’s Till, Vettori, Cannonier etc. I’ve left Whittaker and Costa out because I think they’re rumoured to be facing each other. A win over any of those names would put him firmly in the running for a crack at Adesanya. 

[Kfogg1991]

Yeah the UFC have said there is no chance Holland vs Chimaev is happening this weekend they have rescheduled the fight with Edwards for January on Fight island and that is by far a much bigger fight for him so yeah it was a nice dream while it was there. 

I also absolutely agree with the comment on Holland's next fight i think he absolutely deserves a bigger name after the incredible year he has had and what he did on Saturday to a guy with a decent name and skill set like Jacare. 

I've also commented on the whole Olivera situation with him saying he want's the winner of Conor vs Dustin. Honestly as much as i really respect and like Olivera now after what he went in there and did to a guy like Tony Ferguson. I just do not see him getting anywhere near a name as big as Conor McGregor if indeed he does win again against Dustin next month. 
I think there are too many bigger names and bigger fights already forming a fairly big que to face McGregor and as much as i do like and respect Olivera he isn't a name that will shift PPV buys and tickets like say a Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, Khabbib ext. I think those trying to argue it might happen really do need to think about the guys already in line to get in there with the guy that fights once a year if were lucky right now.  

[David]

Am I the only one who thought that Figueiredo won that fight quite definitively? Without the point deduction for that ridiculous low blow it would have been a win for the champ and he'd have moved on to the next challenge.

I don't think Moreno is big enough to cause much damage in the rematch to be honest, and think he took a whole ton of punishment that he's not going to want to take too many more times.

I think Figgy Smalls stops him in the rematch.

[Kfogg1991]

5 minutes ago, David said:

Am I the only one who thought that Figueiredo won that fight quite definitively? Without the point deduction for that ridiculous low blow it would have been a win for the champ and he'd have moved on to the next challenge.

I don't think Moreno is big enough to cause much damage in the rematch to be honest, and think he took a whole ton of punishment that he's not going to want to take too many more times.

I think Figgy Smalls stops him in the rematch.

I do have to agree i think round 3 could have been argued either way really but the low blow and point deduction absolutely swung it for Moreno. 
I dunno though dude i think with a full fight camp for both of them and going in there for the full 5 rounds so they know what to work on i think the rematch could either be even bigger fireworks than this one or a total domination.

[Dai]

2 hours ago, David said:

Am I the only one who thought that Figueiredo won that fight quite definitively? Without the point deduction for that ridiculous low blow it would have been a win for the champ and he'd have moved on to the next challenge.

I don't think Moreno is big enough to cause much damage in the rematch to be honest, and think he took a whole ton of punishment that he's not going to want to take too many more times.

I think Figgy Smalls stops him in the rematch.

Definitively is a strong word with regards to this fight, Id say. Theres no doubt Figgy won the first two rounds, but they certainly werent one way traffic. Three was very equal until the groin shot, which gave a Figgy, who was definitely slowing down, a two minute breather. Four is clearly Moreno, and five is clearly Figgy.  Not definitive for me, thninking of it like that.

[wandshogun09]

2 minutes ago, Dai said:

Definitively is a strong word with regards to this fight, Id say. Theres no doubt Figgy won the first two rounds, but they certainly werent one way traffic. Three was very equal until the groin shot, which gave a Figgy, who was definitely slowing down, a two minute breather. Four is clearly Moreno, and five is clearly Figgy.  Not definitive for me, thninking of it like that.

But surely if you’re saying Fig ‘clearly’ won rounds 1, 2 and 5 then that’s pretty definitively. Deducted point aside, of course. I’m not arguing one way or the other myself. I need to rewatch it. I remember thinking a draw was fine but admittedly I was knackered by the time that fight started, having been awake nearly 24 hours. My vague memory is of Figgy winning the first 2 rounds then it all became a blur as I got more tired and swept up in the drama of such a great fight. By the end it just had the feel of that point deduction making the difference and it did.

Whatever. Can’t grumble at a rematch. It’s not like the division has a real obvious next contender anyway. Sod Cody Garbrandt. He’s never even made 125 yet let alone done anything to warrant a shot. One highlight reel KO doesn’t change the fact he got ironed out 3 times in a row previously. Figgy vs Moreno 2 is the one. 

[Dai]

10 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

But surely if you’re saying Fig ‘clearly’ won rounds 1, 2 and 5 then that’s pretty definitively. Deducted point aside, of course. I’m not arguing one way or the other myself. I need to rewatch it. I remember thinking a draw was fine but admittedly I was knackered by the time that fight started, having been awake nearly 24 hours. My vague memory is of Figgy winning the first 2 rounds then it all became a blur as I got more tired and swept up in the drama of such a great fight. By the end it just had the feel of that point deduction making the difference and it did.

Whatever. Can’t grumble at a rematch. It’s not like the division has a real obvious next contender anyway. Sod Cody Garbrandt. He’s never even made 125 yet let alone done anything to warrant a shot. One highlight reel KO doesn’t change the fact he got ironed out 3 times in a row previously. Figgy vs Moreno 2 is the one. 

Depends on how youd define 'definitively' I guess. Ive recently rewatched GSP vs Dan Hardy and Koscheck. 50-45/44/43 scores is beating someone definitively to me. Even without the point deduction, two judges would have had it 48-47. Guess Im getting bogged down in semantics, but can it be definitve if the general opinion is you won 3-2 in rounds. Maybe Im wrong in thinking of definitive as nearer to something like dominiate or such like.

[wandshogun09]

Nah I get you. I think the difference for me here is that Figgy’s rounds are being described as ‘clear’ rounds for him. You can have two fights which are scored 48-47 that look very different to each other as well. If Figgy won 3-2 but the rounds he won he won ‘clearly’, it looks more definitive even if it’s still scored 48-47 at the end. Just like you can have a 49-46 or even 50-45 score but the rounds were all mega competitive and razor close with one fighter just shading every round. Fig certainly never dominated but if he did in fact win 3 rounds clearly out of 5, that’s still a convincing win. Or at least it should’ve been if not for the point he got himself docked. 

Like I said, I’ll have to watch it back with more awake eyes.