UFC Vegas: Holm vs Vieira - May 21 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

This Saturday, yet another trip to the Apex…

ESPN+ MAIN CARD
Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira 

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Michel Pereira 

Chidi Njokuani vs Dusko Todorovic 

Polyana Viana vs Tabatha Ricci

Eryk Anders vs Jun Yong Park 

ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS 
Joseph Holmes vs Alen Amedovski

Parker Porter vs Jailton Almeida

Omar Morales vs Uros Medic

Jonathan Martinez vs Vince Morales 

Chase Hooper vs Felipe Colares

Elise Reed vs Sam Hughes 

 

Yeah, not in love with this one. There are some bits and bobs worth a look but on the whole, this has to be one of the weaker Fight Nights we’ve had so far this year. Main event is leaving me cold but there’s some stuff to cherry pick on there.

 

Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira is your 5 round main event. Whether you like it or not. Ugh. I don’t even hate the matchup itself, it’s just dead on arrival as a headliner. I’d love to know what dirt Holm’s got on Dana. Doesn’t matter how far she falls or how long she’s been inactive or how dull her last fight was, she’s in a main event or a prominently featured fight next time out. Every time. I know she’s a former champ, ended Ronda Rousey’s streak etc but you can’t coast on that forever. Or maybe you can.

She is coming off a couple of wins, to be fair. Decisions over Irene Aldana and Raquel Pennington. But she also hasn’t fought since 2020 and she’s 40 years old now. I know I sound like I’m being harsh but I don’t think anyone wants these Holm main events at this point. And it’s probably not even fair to her. 2 years out of the game and 40 years old and she’s coming straight back into a 5 rounder against a younger opponent who’s been active?

Vieira‘s a decade younger at 30, 12-2 and a BJJ black-belt under Andre Pederneiras. The man who trained the legendary Jose Aldo his whole career. I remember thinking she was gonna be a serious problem a few years ago. She was undefeated and beat Sara McMann and Cat Zingano early in her UFC run. But a bad knee injury sidelined her for nearly 2 years and when she finally came back she got sparked by a brutal Irene Aldana left hook. She then beat Sijara Eubanks on points, which wasn’t that impressive. Then lost to Yana Kunitskaya on points, which really made me reevaluate my previous expectations. I don’t know whether she was never much good or if the knee issues really fucked her over. But she hasn’t looked great since going under the knife. She comes into this fight off the biggest win of her career to date, a decision over Miesha Tate in November. But again, Tate’s past her best and I haven’t been convinced by her since she returned to action. Unless Holm’s completely dropped off in her time away, which is possible, especially at 40, I think she probably wins this. And on we’ll go with another Holm headliner in a few months.

 

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Michel Pereira is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** here. Easily. I know we’re not exactly spoilt for choice on this card but this is a fight that would deserve highlighting on pretty much any show. See, why couldn’t they switch this and Holm vs Vieira around? Would anyone have complained about a potential 5 rounds of this? What a fun pairing. Both exciting to watch, both dangerous, neither are afraid to take risks and put themselves in harm’s way to make something happen. Ponz is coming off a split decision loss to Geoff Neal in December but he’d beat Miguel Baeza in a tremendous FOTN war before that. I’d say he’s lost a step from a few years ago when he was on that winning streak, knocking out Neil Magny, beating Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry etc. But he’s still a big hitter and he’s always game. And Pereira’s a lunatic.

I don’t think I need to explain to anyone on here. He’s like someone brought Eddy off Tekken to life and plonked him in the cage. He’s one of those guys like Johnny Walker, where fans seem to love to point out his flaws and throw ice on peoples enjoyment of them. But I don’t think anyone ever expected Pereira to become UFC champion or anything. He’s just a fun fighter to watch and adds a bit of spice to the division. And to be fair, he’s on good form at the moment. He’s won his last 4 in a row and I do think he’s found a bit of a better balance in recent fights, between still doing the wacky shite but reigning it in just enough to not completely gas himself out after a round. I thought he looked really good against Niko Price last July and even better against Andre Fialho in January. On both guys current form I’d have to favour Pereira here but I certainly wouldn’t count Ponzy out. Whatever happens, it should be chaos.

 

Chidi Njokuani vs Dusko Todorovic. Had no idea this was booked but I’m all for it. Probably won’t get much discussion on here or social media but it’s one of those fights that should deliver on the night. I don’t think I’d actually seen Njokuani fight before his UFC debut. I was only familiar with him through his older brother, ex UFC/WEC veteran Anthony. But Chidi had knocked about a bit himself, fought in Bellator and LFA, beat Melvin Guillard etc. He got a TKO win on DWCS last September which got him into the UFC. Then his Octagon debut in February…

…he stopped Marc-Andre Barriault in just 16 seconds! It really couldn’t have gone any smoother for him. Obviously he’s gonna be tested going forward but, as an intro to the UFC, this was about as perfect as a debut gets. Came across really well in the post-fight interview as well. He’s 22-7-0-1 now, 14 inside the distance. Todorovic is no pushover himself though. The Serbian slugger. 27 years old, 11-2 with 10 finishes. He’s had his ups and downs in the UFC but he’s been great to watch from what I’ve seen of him. Just throws to take heads off. On paper he matches up for some fireworks with Chidi.

 

Polyana Viana vs Tabatha Ricci. Nothing amazing here but might be alright. If it turns out crap at least they’re both nice to look at. Viana’s been a bit of a prelim favourite of mine ever since that story came out about that guy trying to mug her in Brazil and she twatted him about. Like most things though, Rogan ruined that story by beating it to death. In the cage she’s 12-4 and had a bad 3 fight slump a while back but she’s clawed it back with 2 quick armbar finishes in her last couple of fights. Ricci’s 6-1 with the only loss being her Octagon debut against Manon Fiorot. But that loss isn’t ageing too badly as Fiorot is looking more legit with each passing fight and Ricci was giving up a lot of size in that one. She got her first UFC win in October, beating Maria Oliveira by decision.

 

Eryk Anders vs Jun Yong Park. Could be decent. I’m at the point with Anders where I just can’t really get excited about his fights anymore though. I think that unexpectedly shite rematch with Darren Stewart last year was the final straw. He’s had a funny old UFC stint, Anders. Lost decisions I thought he won (Machida/Theodorou), won decisions I thought he lost (Meerschaert), scored some nasty knockouts but has struggled to pull the trigger other nights. Just a strange few years. He’s 35 now and got armbarred in a round by Andre Muniz last time out. Just seems like he’s about a loss or two away from ending up in BKFC or Eagle. Park’s been pretty consistently entertaining to watch though. If anyone’s gonna drag something out of Anders, it’s this fucker. He’s 13-5 and got knocked out by Gregory ‘Barack ObaMMA’ Rodrigues in his last fight. But it was a wild scrap. I remember his other fights being exciting as well. He’s not shy about throwing down.

 

Joseph Holmes vs Alen Amedovski. Dunno. Barely remember either of them. A quick refresher on Sherdog tells me Holmes is 7-2 with all 7 wins being finishes. Lost a decision to Jamie Pickett in his UFC debut in January. Oh, and his nickname is ‘Ugly Man’ apparently. Some moustache as well. Amedovski is 8-2, and like Holmes, all finishes. He’s fought twice in the UFC, lost on points to Krzysztof Jotko in his debut, then got laid out by John Phillips in 17 seconds in his next fight. Hasn’t fought since 2019 for some reason. So yeah. If nothing else they’re both finishers.

 

Parker Porter vs Jailton Almeida. Interesting one this. And it’s got fuck all to do with Porter. He’s 37 years old, 12-6 and just your typical waddling lump of a Heavyweight. He is on a 3 fight winning streak but those wins were over Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman and Alan Baudot. Titans of the Heavyweight division! The most noteworthy thing about his career was that he got knocked out in 36 seconds by a young, green rookie named Jon Jones back in 2008. Yeah, it’s Almeida who’s got my attention here.

That’s him bashing up Danilo Marques in his UFC debut in February. Took him less than 3 minutes. He’s 15-2 now with all his wins coming inside the distance. Doesn’t fuck about. He was all set to face Maxim Grishin on this card but Grishin dropped out. So Almeida’s just casually decided to move up to HW for this one. Don’t know if that’s gonna be a permanent move or if this was just an opportunity that popped up and he took it. But I’m intrigued. On the one hand, 205 could really do with new blood so I kind of hope he goes back down after this. But I like that he’s got the balls to go up in weight and test himself here. Not like Porter’s high level but if nothing else he’s clearly a legit Heavyweight.

 

Omar Morales vs Uros Medic. Not a bad fight here. Morales is alright. 11-2 with wins over Shane Young, Gabriel Benitez and Dong Hyun Ma in the UFC. Got subbed by Jonathan Pearce last time though. He’s never gonna climb too far in the UFC’s Lightweight division but he’s gonna trade wins and losses at the prelim level enough to where he’ll probably stick around a while. Medic’s the one I’m interested in here. He’s 7-1 with 7 finishes, has only been out of the first round once, got in off DWCS and stopped Aalon Cruz in his first Octagon appearance. He tasted defeat for the first time in his last fight though. Got submitted by Jalin Turner at UFC 266 in September. Always interesting to see how an undefeated fighter responds to their first loss. And especially here, in the case of a finisher being finished himself in his last fight.

 

Jonathan Martinez vs Vince Morales. All Mexican battle. Could be a hidden gem actually. Martinez is usually in lively scraps. His losing effort against Davey Grant last year being the one that immediately springs to mind. He’s since rebounded with wins over Alejandro Perez and Zviad Lazishvili. Morales is 11-5 and coming off a knockout win over Louis Smolka. He was briefly linked to a fight with Nathaniel Wood on the last London card but pulled out at the last minute.

 

Chase Hooper vs Felipe Colares. Don’t really know what to make of this one. I like Hooper but nearly every time I watch him I just get the feeling he’s not ready for the UFC yet. He’s only 22 and he looked good coming into the UFC and in his debut but he’s come unstuck a couple of times now, losing to more experienced guys like Alex Caceres and Steven Peterson. He’s clearly got some talent but you really get the sense watching him that the UFC came calling probably 2 or 3 years too soon for him to make the most of it. Colares has a similar record at 10-3 and doesn’t seem anything special. On paper, it’s a fight Hooper should be winning if he’s ever gonna realise the potential a lot of people think he has. Hopefully he shines here and starts putting some wins together.

 

Elise Reed vs Sam Hughes. Nothing special going on here. Reed got fucking battered bad by Sijara Eubanks in her UFC debut, eye badly swollen up, the lot. In fairness to her though, I’m sure she took it on very short notice and she came back on the London card in March and looked good outpointing Cory McKenna. She’s 5-1 now with the only blemish being that Eubanks beat down. Hughes is proper floundering though. 6-4 record and lost her first 3 fights in the UFC. She just about scraped a win last time out, snapping the losing streak and most likely saving her job. But she’s going nowhere.

 

That’ll do. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by wandshogun09

[wandshogun09]

Nooooo.

Polyana Viana’s joined the ‘MMA shit tattoo’ club. 

[Carbomb]

I dunno, I don't think it's that bad. Way more imaginative than some of the dross we've seen. Not a fan of the weird nose design.

Think it needs looking into.

[wandshogun09]

It’s the positioning as well for me. Makes it look like the boobs are part of the face, like bloated cheeks. Reminds me of a toad and I can’t unsee it. Almost a boner killer.

Almost. 

[Egg Shen]

Big fight for Holm this. She been name-checked by Eddie Hearn as a potential opponent for Katie Taylor next. I know that's not the kind of thing the UFC would usually do, but if they were gonna allow anyone to box, surely it would be Holm against Taylor. Holm gets inducted into the Boxing HOF this year too. Would be a great story.

[wandshogun09]

Completely missed that about Holm potentially fighting Katie Taylor. Can’t say I’d be that interested in it at this stage, I’m really over these Boxing vs MMA crossover things now. But I supposed it wouldn’t be a 100% crossover as Holm was actually a Boxer first. It’d be nice for Holm to get a big payday at 40. She boxed when I imagine there was no money in women’s Boxing so she missed out on that. Plus, from a selfish fan point of view, I know this sounds a bit harsh but maybe if she got a nice chunk of coin out of this, she’d feel content and happy to finally retire and we wouldn’t keep getting these piss weak Fight Night main events. Of course, whether the UFC green light the thing is another matter. 

[Egg Shen]

yeh, if there's going to be a UFC/Boxing crossover fight, that's the one to make isn't it?

Hearn named Holm, Cyborg and a Serrano rematch for next fight. Cyborg would interest me too, but the history and prestige behind a Holm fight makes is the better option for me. Holm won her boxing titles at heavier weights but is established at 135lb in MMA, the exact weight at which Katie Taylor holds all her titles, its perfect.

 

[wandshogun09]

Little bit of an earlier start if anyone gives a fuck 😂

Edited May 21, 2022 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

this one has grown on me during the week, started off not really arsed but reading and listening to a few things has got me interested.

[Egg Shen]

skipped the main event as i was all Apex'd out but by sounds like there was a lot of controversy over the decision? anyone see it.

Highlights were Chidi Njokuani who has come into the UFC late into his career and is just smashing it, great to see. 2 fights, 2 performance bonuses.

Michel Pereira winning was nice, but i can't lie, i miss all the crazy shit. Seems to be something brewing brewing between him and Jorge Masvidal online too, i wouldn't mind seeing that fight.

Chase Hooper looked fucking great! I completely underestimate that guy but he looks like a nightmare to deal with on the ground, arms and legs everywhere.

Jailton Almeida continues to look the real deal too, clinical.

The Apex sucks.

[Zebra Kid Mark]

I also skipped the main event because I saw the result on Twitter and saw that it was a controversial decision so I didn't fancy watching it.

The rest was very enjoyable, echo your thoughts on the show. I love Chase Hooper, he looks so hittable though but his ground game is just so good. They need to stop putting him on the prelims, he needs to be on the main card.

Pereira is definitely fighting a lot smarter but he is still exciting to watch still. He has managed to still be dangerous but stop doing all of the crazy stuff that used to wear him out.

The Apex truly does suck.

[wandshogun09]

I watched most of this over the weekend. Holm vs Vieira was the lacklustre 25 minutes everyone expected. If you missed it, you didn’t miss much. It was a close one but all the bellyaching with people acting like it was some terrible robbery is a bit overblown for me. I’m not even gonna argue with anyone who scored it for Holm, it was one of those fights that really could’ve gone either way. For me, Vieira was the one doing more damage. Holm was either just neutralising her in the clinch against the fence or throwing flurries of punches that looked like they either did very little damage or missed altogether.

If Vieira wasn’t hindered by the fence there and was able to get the hooks in, that would’ve been a wrap for Holm, I think. 

I can’t remember exactly which rounds I had for who now but I just remember thinking when it was over that I’d score it for Vieira but they’d probably give it to Holm. I was actually pleasantly surprised when Vieira got the decision. Holm was understandably disappointed but her saying after that she thought she clearly won 4 rounds doing the absolute bare minimum and getting wobbled a few times baffled me. Seeing how much she got clipped and hurt here by Vieira, who’s predominantly a grappler, I dread to think what Katie Taylor will do to her if that fight actually materialises. I wouldn’t have fancied Holm’s chances anyway, of course, but whether it was age catching up to her or ring rust or what, I didn’t think she looked too clever in this fight. 

Pereira vs Ponzinibbio was fun as expected. Pereira is definitely improved from the fighter who first burst into the Octagon and made a highlight reel out of Danny Roberts. Mightn’t be quite as crazy and exciting to watch but I don’t think he’s lost too much of that. I don’t see him climbing too far up the ladder at 170 but he’s on the right track. I think the Pereira of a couple of years ago probably gets caught by someone like Ponzinibbio.

Seen Pereira’s calling out Masvidal and there’s been some silly back and forth ‘wife’s in me DMs’ shite attached to it now as well. I could do without all that bollocks but I wouldn’t mind seeing the fight. Saw Masvidal and Gilbert Burns talking about fighting each other as well though recently and I think I’d rather see that.

The Chidi Njokuani elbow KO was nasty.

Really like Chidi. Nice to see him doing well. Some fun matchups to be had with him at 185, I reckon.

Jailton Almeida and Chase Hooper stole the prelims for me. Almeida looks a beast but I hope he stays at 205 for now. I got why he took this fight with his original opponent pulling out and Porter not being much cop but I’m not convinced Heavyweight is the best move for him long term.

Hooper looked class.

His grappling is a treat to watch. I get Zebra calling for him to be on main cards and I’m fine with that as long as they match him fairly sensibly and move him along slowly. I get the feeling he could gain quite a following if they don’t rush him along too quickly or feed him to the wolves too soon. He’s already had a couple of hiccups. Problem is, I’m not sure who I’d like to see him fight yet but Featherweight isn’t gonna be an easy division to move slowly in. 145’s packed with killers.

Oh, and yeah I’m sick of the Apex as well.

[Egg Shen]

Hooper could get that O'Malley push where he's on a main card but against limited opposition, id have no problem with that.

[WeeAl]

Pereira Vs Ponzinibio was a really fun fight. Very enjoyable stuff. By the end, neither man was leaving it to chance, both had the intention of trying to get the W there. Kind of feel the decision could have gone either way, I'm pleased that Michel got it though. There's more craic to be had with him at this stage of both of their careers. 

I didn't even watch Holm v Veira. Partly because I thought I had seen the result beforehand, when Holm was in that choke I thought she had lost by second round submission. A day later when I heard there was a judging controversy and that, clearly, it had went the distance. . . I toyed with the idea and then figured there's a good chance I won't feel at all left out by giving it a miss at that stage. Which I don't. 

Chidi Njokuani. More of him please. An elbow on him that would fell a rhino.