MMA prospect Bo Nickal defeated Zach Borrego on Dana White’s Contender Series. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
There will be one more appearance for the former Penn State wrestling star on Dana White’s Contender Series.
This week’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series had a major prospect in the main event, and he’s now one step closer to the UFC.
Three-time NCAA national champion wrestler Bo Nickal made short work of opponent Zach Borrego, submitting his foe with a rear-naked choke a mere 62 seconds into the contest. To give you an idea of how highly touted Nickal was, he closed as a -2800 favorite according to the broadcast.
Borrego missed the middleweight limit on Monday, and wasn’t competitive for even a second of Tuesday’s fight. Nickal scored an early takedown, was looking for chokes early and eventually got one in a finish you can see in the video below.
The hype is REAL! @NoBickal gets the submission in just over a minute #DWCS pic.twitter.com/fvEIPaYK4r
— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2022
The former Penn State star is now 2-0 in his burgeoning professional MMA career, having won his debut via 33-second KO in Virginia just a couple of months ago. He had a couple of amateur MMA fights before turning pro and won them both in the opening round.
In the lead-up to this fight, Nickal said to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn that he could see himself competing twice on Contender Series before a UFC debut later in the year. So with that in mind it’s not too surprising that during the awarding of contracts, Dana White told UFC analyst and reporter Laura Sanko that Nickal will make another appearance on the show, and if he wins that (and presumably in impressive fashion) it’s off to the big leagues he goes.
Nickal has not even two minutes of cage time to his name in the professional ranks, but it’s hard not to get excited about his potential. We’ll see how his third fight goes and if he does get on the UFC roster, he will immediately be one of the top prospects to watch in all of MMA.
As for those who did get contracts, Jamal Pogues, Erik Silva (no, not former UFC welterweight Erick Silva), and Clayton Carpenter got the nods, while Karolina Wójcik came away empty-handed.
UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev. | Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Check out the fight card for UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz in September 10th.
We’re just a month out from perhaps the final fight of Nate Diaz’s UFC career. Entering the final fight of his existing contract, the popular and polarizing former lightweight title challenger will have a daunting task ahead of him against surging undefeated welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev. Not too many pay-per-view main events are non-title these days, but that’s the case for UFC 279 in Las Vegas. This will be Chimaev’s first career five-rounder, whereas Diaz is far more experienced in that department. Chimaev is a humongous favorite to not only beat Diaz but also stop him, which few have done.
As for the rest of UFC 279? Well let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel like a pay-per-view. No co-main has been announced but the next biggest fight we know of for this show is probably Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson, and that is speaking strictly from title relevance. I do know that Jake Collier vs. Chris ‘Huggy Bear’ Barnett is appointment viewing whether it’s the co-main or the opening prelims.
Here are all the fights either officially announced or linked to this September 10th card, keeping in mind things get shuffled around all the time.
Anthony Pettis at PFL Playoffs 1 on Aug. 2022. | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
The PFL lightweight is going to be out of action for a while.
Anthony Pettis is undergoing surgery to repair fractures in both hands following his fight against Stevie Ray at PFL Playoffs 1 this past Friday.
Pettis lost a unanimous decision to Ray, his second consecutive loss to ‘Braveheart’ after being submitted via second-round modified twister at PFL 5 in June. Not only did ‘Showtime’ miss out on advancing to the PFL lightweight finals, but he also sustained injuries to his hands that could leave him sidelined for a while.
The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion previously shared on social media that he broke both hands. Pettis has since revealed the extent of the damage, showing off the X-rays of fractures to his left hand and right thumb.
“Time for surgery and to start the recovery process,” wrote Pettis on Instagram.
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Pettis did not reveal when he would undergo surgery, but it could be soon.
This is not the first time Pettis has sustained a similar injury in one of his hands. The Roufusport product also broke his right hand in a fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 229 nearly four years ago.
Pettis is now 1-4 in his past five appearances under the PFL banner. The sole win came against Myles Price, who he submitted via first-round triangle choke during the regular season at PFL 3 in May. He earned six points and secured his spot in the PFL Playoffs. It is unknown whether the 35-year-old returns for the next PFL season.
The win over Pettis moved Ray one step closer to the PFL lightweight championship and a $ 1 million prize. The UFC veteran faces Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who punched his ticket to the finals with a unanimous decision over Alexander Martinez.
Nate Diaz and Dana White at the UFC 244 presser in 2019. | Photo by Michael Owens/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Cesar Gracie isn’t closing the doors on a renewed business relationship between Nate DIaz and the UFC.
Fan-favorite Nate Diaz will fight out the final bout of his UFC contract when he headlines UFC 279 against rising star Khamzat Chimaev. But according to long-time mentor Cesar Gracie, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the business relationship between his fighter and the organization.
“Nate hasn’t told me this, so I’m not saying that but I can see him coming back to the UFC in better terms for him in the future,” Gracie said in his recent appearance on Submission Radio.
“You know, doing his thing, and then, hey, look, now if you’re really gonna pay me I’ll go fight McGregor or whoever else you guys want me to fight, type of a thing. And then the McGregor fight makes a lot of sense for everybody, I think.”
Gracie is among those who see the sense behind the Diaz-Conor McGregor trilogy and believes Nate’s impending UFC departure could help turn that into a possibility. Especially since the 37-year-old veteran has apparently been getting lucrative offers.
“I think a trilogy makes sense, and I think Nate leaving and then they would have to pay him what he is worth to come back. So, I think it’s a smart move,” Gracie said.
“Because the offers are coming in for Nate from other organizations, from very famous boxers, by the way, have been calling in to fight Nate when he is out and offering a lot of money to do it. Very well-known boxers. Retired ones.”
Diaz is currently focused on Chimaev, Gracie says, along with a new addition to the family.
“I was speaking to Nate yesterday, and he was supposed to come out on Monday [to train]. I think it was Monday night. We were all gonna train at my gym in Pleasant Hill, Nick, Nate. And then Nate kind of canceled. But then what happened was, his wife went into premature labor, and so he had a baby yesterday,” he revealed.
“So, he had just a beautiful little girl. He sent me a picture and everything. And I go, okay, you’re excused from training today, you know what I mean? But, but yeah, he’s doing really good.”
Diaz vs. Chimaev happens on September 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
UFC Vegas 59 went under the radar, but it turned out to be one of the best events of the year, considering every fight ended in a finish. Jamahal Hill sent a message to the rest of the light heavyweight division with a fourth-round TKO of Thiago Santos. Geoff Neal became the first man to finish Vicente Luque with strikes in a near-perfect performance. A pair of The Ultimate Fighter winners were crowned, and the rest of the fights were finished in two rounds or less. With the event now over, we can look at what we have ahead of us on the upcoming schedule.
The UFC either announced or finalized 23 fights this week, and the promotion is returning to Madison Square Garden with one hell of a headliner.
Israel Adesanya knew it was coming. The ’Last Stylebender’ expected to fight a former foe in his next defense, which is now confirmed. Adesanya and Alex Pereira share the Octagon at UFC 281, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Since becoming the UFC middleweight champion, Adesanya has kept a firm grasp on his belt with five successful defenses. The City Kickboxing product recently dispatched Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision at UFC 276 this past July. And on that same night, Pereira earned his championship opportunity with a first-round KO of Sean Strickland. Of course, Adesanya and Pereira have fought twice before in kickboxing, with ‘Po Atan’ winning by decision and third-round KO at Glory of Heroes and Glory of Heroes 7, respectively. If you have some time, please watch those matches before heading into this one in November.
UFC San Diego — August 13
Angela Hill vs. Lupita ‘Loopy’ Godinez — women’s catchweight (120 lbs.)* Hill vs. Godinez was already confirmed but shifted from UFC on ESPN+ 70 to UFC San Diego, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
Youssef Zalal vs. Da’Mon Blackshear — bantamweight First rep. by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie
Ariane Lipski vs. Priscila Cachoeira — women’s flyweight* Lipski vs. Cachoeira was already confirmed but shifted from UFC Vegas 59 to UFC San Diego, per Adriano Albuquerque and Evelyn Rodrigues of Combate
UFC Fight Night — September 17
Mariya Agapova vs. Gillian Robertson — women’s flyweight
Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann — women’s bantamweight* Ladd vs. McMann was already confirmed but shifted from UFC San Diego to UFC Vegas 60 per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting
UFC Fight Night — October 1
John Castañeda vs. Daniel Santos — bantamweight First rep. by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie
Randy Brown vs. Francisco Trinaldo — welterweight First rep. by Brown on his OnlyFans and H/T @alexmma
Cody Garbrandt vs. Rani Yahya — bantamweight* Garbrandt vs. Yahya was already confirmed but shifted from UFC Vegas 58 to UFC on ESPN+ 69, per Alex Behunin of MMA Mania
UFC Fight Night — October 15
Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Royval — flyweight First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
C.J. Vergara vs. Tatsuro Taira — flyweight First rep. by John Morgan of The Underground
Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo — women’s flyweight* Grasso vs. Araujo was already confirmed but shifted from UFC San Diego to UFC on ESPN+ 70, per Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
UFC 280 — October 22
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon — flyweight First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Nikita Krylov — light heavyweight
UFC Fight Night — October 29
Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima — heavyweight First rep. by Raphael Marinho of Combate
Chase Hooper vs. Steve Garcia Jr. — featherweight First rep. by Tudor Leonte of Sherdog
Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. — light heavyweight First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
Joseph Holmes vs. Jun Yong Park — middleweight First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa — heavyweight First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
UFC Fight Night — November 5
Mario Bautista vs. Benito Lopez — bantamweight First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
UFC 281 — November 12
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira — middleweight
UFC Fight Night — November 19
Ricky Turcios vs. Kevin Natividad — bantamweight First rep. by Cooper Burke of Overtime Heroics
UFC Fight Night — December 3
Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas — women’s flyweight First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
Matt Schnell vs. Matheus Nicolau — flyweight First rep. by Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator 284 — August 12
Isaiah Hokit vs. Nick Perez — featherweight
Brett Bye vs. M,A, Yah II — contractweight (175 lbs.)
Austin Vanderford vs. Aaron Jeffery — middleweight First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN
Bellator 285 — September 23
Kirill Sidelnikov vs. Kasim Aras — heavyweight
Bellator 286 — October 1
Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire vs. Adam Borics — featherweight First rep. by Brian Martin of Long Beach Press-Telegram
AJ McKee vs. Spike Carlyle — lightweight First rep. by Brian Martin of Long Beach Press-Telegram
Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Richard Palencia — bantamweight
Announced Cage Warriors fights:
Cage Warriors 142 — August 13
Erick da Silva vs. Chris Bungard — catchweight (161 lbs.)
Cheriff Larossi vs. Scott Pedersen — featherweight
Oban Elliott vs. Matthew Bonner — welterweight
Milton Cabral vs. George McManus — catchweight (174 lbs.)
Christos Giagos at UFC Vegas 37 media day. | Photo by Diego Ribas/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The lightweight was scheduled to fight Benoit Saint-Denis on the preliminary portion of UFC Paris.
Christos Giagos is on the mend after undergoing a minor surgery on his hand recently.
The ‘Spartan’ announced Monday that he was forced to withdraw from his fight against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Paris after accidentally slicing open a tendon in his pinky finger on a broken toilet while cleaning. Giagos thought he would recover in time to fight, but a visit to a hand specialist suggested otherwise.
“I was getting some cleaning done and while wiping down a piece of my grill in the trash my hand hit a broken porcelain toilet and gashed my hand open, cutting a tendon in my pinky,” wrote Giagos on Instagram. “Unfortunately, due to the severity of the injury I had to pull out of my upcoming fight in Paris. I was praying the damage wasn’t bad so I could still take the fight, but that wasn’t the case.
“I went to a hand specialist today to check the damage and had to undergo a minor surgery to reattach my pinky tendon,” continued Giagos. “My focus is to get healed up as fast as possible. As much as this pains me, the only thing I have control over is how quickly I get back.”
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There is no word on whether Saint-Denis will receive a short-notice replacement or be removed from the event entirely.
Giagos hoped to return to the win column after suffering consecutive first-round losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Thiago Moisés at UFC Vegas 37 and UFC Vegas 57, respectively. The 32-year-old is now 4-4 in his past eight appearances since rejoining the promotion nearly four years ago.
UFC Paris is set for Sept. 3 at Accor Arena in France.
Cody Garbrandt before his fight with Kai Kara-France at UFC 269. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Cody Garbrandt was supposed to fight Rani Yahya in July.
Cody Garbrandt has struggled since losing his UFC bantamweight title to T.J. Dillashaw in 2017. Prior to that Garbrandt was an 11-0 fighter coming off an impressive championship winning performance over Dominick Cruz.
After being TKO’d by Dillashaw in the second round, Garbrandt was handed an immediate rematch. That ended in a first round KO. In 2019 Garbrandt suffered his third stoppage loss in a row, a first round TKO to Pedro Munhoz.
Garbrandt tasted success after that fight, by KO’ing Raphael Assuncao at 2020’s UFC 250. That was his first win in over three years.
Since then Garbrandt dropped a decision to Rob Font and was then TKO’d by Kai Kara-France. The loss to Kara-France was Garbrandt’s flyweight debut.
After that short stop at flyweight, Garbrandt announced his intention to return to his more familiar bantamweight division.
He was supposed to fight Rani Yahya in July. However, that fight was cancelled after Yahya suffered a neck injury.
But it seems as if the Brazilian submission specialist has recovered. According to MMA Mania, who spoke to a source with knowledge of the situation, Garbrandt vs. Yahya is back on.
That outlet has reported that the fight is now scheduled for UFC on ESPN+ 69 on October 1. At this time of writing no venue for that event has been announced.
Former ADCC champion Yahya is currently on a three fight unbeaten streak. He won his last two fights, versus Kang Kyung-ho and Ray Rodriguez, and drew versus Enrique Barzola.
Before that he lost a unanimous decision to Ricky Simon. Yahya owns 13 UFC wins in total, including victories over Luke Sanders and Mike Brown.
The October 1 event is expected to feature strawweight contenders Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan in the main event. Other bouts announced for that card include Brendan Allen vs. Krzysztof Jotko, Randy Brown vs. Francisco Trinaldo and Vinc Pichel vs. Jesse Ronson.
Sam Alvey weighs in for his UFC Vegas 35 fight against Wellington Turman. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Veteran Sam Alvey reveals he suffered a broken jaw after his first round TKO loss at UFC Vegas 59.
Veteran Sam Alvey suffered another setback over the weekend at UFC Vegas 59. The 36-year-old was stopped in the first round by Michał Oleksiejczuk, marking a four-year winless streak over his last nine fights.
But even with the loss, Alvey lived up to his “Smilin’ Sam” nickname in his post-fight Instagram post.
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“Well shit… I swear I used to be good. I lost a step somewhere but my family got to see me fight live. I’m fine but my pride hurts right now. Love you guys,” he wrote.
To add insult to injury, Alvey also revealed suffering a broken jaw during the fight.
“At this current moment, I have a broken jaw from the first damn punch he hit me with,” he said on TikTok (H/T MMA Fighting). “Son of a bitch. Likely getting my mouth wired shut but I tell you, I wouldn’t have picked a different career if I had the opportunity years ago.”
In March, Alvey (33-18-1, 1 NC) happily announced that the promotion was allowing him to fight out the remaining bout in his current contract. He has yet to announce his plans regarding his immediate future.
Alvey, who holds wins over former Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt and former UFC champion Rashad Evans, last tasted victory in 2018 against Gian Villante.
UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera. | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
Check out the fight card lineup for UFC San Diego.
The UFC is on the road again, heading to San Diego, California for the first time since 2015. In the main event, former UFC bantamweight champion and San Diego native Dominick Cruz looks to continue his push for one more shot at the title against the surging Marlon Vera, a winner of three straight and looking in the best form of his career. In the co-main event, featherweight prospect David Onama takes on the very entertaining Nate Landwehr.
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Nina Nunes and Prischila Cachoeira vs. Ariane Lipski should’ve happened by now, but those fights were postponed to this event due to respective fight day cancellations. A short notice fight between Angela Hill and Loopy Godinez will take place at a 120 lbs catchweight.
Here’s the lineup for UFC San Diego, which takes place on August 13th:
Geoff Neal punching Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59 | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Get a unique rundown of all the trophies that should have been handed out at UFC Vegas 59 with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards.
Early indications were that UFC Vegas 59 was going to be a cursed card. Two contests fell out less than 24 hours before the event was scheduled to kick off, after the fighters had already weighed in. Call me superstitious, but my experience with the sport portends bad things when those issues crop up. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Though whittled down to just 10 fights, nary a one of those contests required the judges to submit a scorecard, becoming just the second card in UFC history to have every one of the contests be decided before the final bell. The final finish came when Jamahal Hill unloaded on Thiago Santos after hurting him in the fourth round of their fight. Though a Hill win wasn’t a surprise, it did prove to be the gritty type of fight many were looking to see out of the light heavyweight up-and-comer.
Far from being the only story of the event – which also served as a TUF finale – let’s take a look at all the other developments on the card with my Unofficial Awards….
For a different perspective, click here. For an audio recap of the event, click here.
Biggest Jump in Stock: There were a LOT of names to consider in this spot. I admit I tend to circle those in the official rankings or those on the verge of entering them given those final jumps are the hardest to make, so that narrowed the choice down to Sergey Spivak and Geoff Neal. Ultimately, I went with Neal given his opponent actually put up a decent fight. It didn’t look like that would be the case early when Neal hurt Vicente Luque in the first round, looking like a finish was on its way. The referee gave Luque a lot of leeway and the Brazilian fought his way back into the contest, arguably taking the second round. However, Neal hurt him again in the third and didn’t let up, becoming the first to finish Luque via strikes. Luque may never fight for a title, but that’s an impressive feat. Plus, Neal looked much improved from his recent spat of lackluster showings. If this proves to be the aberration, all this praise is for naught. However, I’m of the opinion those showings were the fluke given what we saw out of Neal prior to that. It looks like heavy hitter is back.
Biggest Fall in Stock: This was a hard spot to figure. I have a rule not to put anyone whom I believe is going to be released here, so that eliminates a lot of options. When it boiled down, it came to either Santos or Luque. The longer track record of losing belongs with Santos, establishing him as someone who shouldn’t be considered one of the elite of his division anymore. Throw in the fact Luque is significantly younger and has the time to turn his ship around, the choice became obvious. To be fair to Santos, none of the names he has lost to in his recent skid – five losses in his last six appearances – is anything to be ashamed of. Hell, I would even say this was the best Santos has looked since returning from his long injury layoff. The problem is, to be one of the best, wins need to follow. That hasn’t been happening.
Best Newcomer: No doubt both Mohammed Usman and Juliana Miller looked good in their official UFC debuts, but Miller’s success over the contest was more sustained. Usman was having a nip and tuck affair with Zac Pauga before the KO came out of nowhere. Miller was winning the fight almost from the opening bell. Plus, Miller is much younger with a much higher upside. I wouldn’t say I see a title in the future for Miller, but I do see her staying on the roster for a long, long time.
Saved Their Job(s): Given all the names that appear to be on the chopping block, the lack of people who were lucky to pick up the win is amazingly scant. The best way to put it is there were several contests that were made with a high expectation of one side or the other winning and those expected to win, did so. I suppose a case could be made Cory McKenna could have been on the chopping block with a loss, but I’m of the opinion the UFC is willing to give the youngster a lot of leeway. Even if they weren’t going to, becoming the first female to pull off a Von Flue choke in the UFC ensured there were no worries about her employment status.
Start Typing a Resume: Four straight wins, followed by four straight losses. That’s the narrative of Augusto Sakai’sUFC career. Granted, Sakai was facing significantly easier competition on his way up the ladder than that after he began his backslide, but the UFC is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately organization. Sakai hasn’t done much of anything positive. Either Spivak improved so much that he looked like a world-beater or Sakai has declined to make Spivak look that way. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle, but it’s still a bad thing for the Brazilian. The guess here is that it’ll depend on his contract status, but Sakai could be headed elsewhere.
He was always a curious signing, but given the general non-competitive nature of his fights, it looks like Erick Gonzalez may be on his way out the door. To be fair, Gonzalez lost to Jim Miller and Terrance McKinney, more than respectable names. That could be enough to get Gonzalez a third crack in the organization, but I have a hard time believing the brass isn’t considering chopping him at the very least. Being finished in the first round doesn’t help his case.
Is the day finally here? Are we really at the end of the line? At this point, I kind of hope it isn’t as I want to see how many fights Sam Alvey can go without picking up a win. As it currently sits, he’s at nine, easily a UFC record. Given Alvey wasn’t competitive in the least against Michal Oleksiejczuk, we may have finally reached the point where the UFC gives him his pink slip. It’s a bit of a shame it got to this point as this winless streak is going to be the thing that defines Alvey’s career. Prior to that, had he been released when a fighter is typically released – after three, maybe four consecutive losses – he would have been thought of as a limited KO artist who made the most of what he had to work with.
During the heyday of Pride, there were a slew of Japanese stars in the MMA world. Kazushi Sakuraba. Kazuyuki Fujita. Hayato Sakurai. Since the demise of the organization, it’s hard to find someone who approaches their level who comes from the Land of the Rising Sun. Thus, it pains me to say it looks like Takashi Sato is on his way out the door. In his previous UFC losses, Sato had struggled with the ground game of his opponents. Though it was expected that would again be the issue with Bryan Battle,Sato was instead put away with a brutal head kick. That gives him three consecutive losses and an overall UFC record of 2-4. That’s not the way to maintain a roster spot.
It might come across as cruel given she just returned from maternity leave, but Miranda Granger is now riding a three-fight losing streak. Given her incredible reach advantage over Cory McKenna, it’s hard to find a matchup in which she would have had more physical advantages. I would say the layoff was bad for her as she didn’t look the least bit comfortable in the cage. You might even say she looked like she didn’t belong in the UFC….
Biggest WOW Moment: Raise your hand if you thought Bryan Battle was going to be the one to deliver this moment? Alright you liars, put your hands down. While Battle has impressed since making his way to the roster, it has been his intelligence that belies his age and experience that has people excited about his future. Against a traditionally durable Sato, Battle landed a perfect kick upside the head of Sato, putting the Japanese native out cold. Mohammed Usman’s perfectly placed punch certainly deserved a lot of consideration – and probably would have taken this spot on most cards – but I ultimately decided Battle not needing a follow-up punch was a nice way to separate the two.
Never Seen That Before: The night opened up with a lot of confusion as Mayra Bueno Silva watch able to get Stephanie Egger’s arm in a tight spot right next to the cage. As Silva locked in the armbar, Egger’s body was positioned in a way that her free arm wasn’t visible to any of the UFC cameras. Normally, that’s not a big deal, but given Silva let up on the armbar, claiming Egger tapped, it created quite the conundrum. The referee looked at all the camera angles, but when he couldn’t find anything conclusive, he checked with the judges to see what they saw. I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t familiar with the process of the referee checking with the judges on what they saw, but it does appear to be a legal process. One of the judges claimed he “100%” saw Egger tap and Chris Tognoni responded in kind, calling an end to the contest and awarded the win to Silva. Egger was non-committal throughout the process whether she did tap, leaving most observers to believe she did. Regardless, it was a unique experience for everyone involved.
Best Learning Experience: Even though the idea is athletes learn more in defeat than they do in victory is absolutely true, that doesn’t mean they can’t learn something in victory. Hill’s win brilliantly illustrates that idea. While Hill had gone to decision before – four times to be exact – there’s a difference in getting cage time early in one’s career and being pushed by a reputed dangerous striker. Santos put a scare into Hill, landing several hard strikes throughout the contest. Perhaps more surprising, Santos utilized more wrestling than he ever had previously in his UFC run and did so effectively. In fact, Hill was down on the scorecards going into the fourth, though he didn’t know that. Regardless, Hill was forced to dig deep, test his mettle, and came out on top.
Bonus Numbers: Lot’s of interesting numbers with regards to the bonuses. Five were handed out instead of the usual four. Given the violent nature of each of those who received the extra $ 50K, it’s hard to argue against any of them. Noted for his absence given he noted he was now nine fights into his UFC career without a bonus was Spivak, easily making him the fighter with the most fights from the card without receiving a bonus. Spivak’s performance was good, but not on the level of those who did pick up bonuses. However, perhaps more conspicuous for a lack of bonuses in his tenure is McKinney. Sure, he’s just four fights in, but all of them have ended in the first round, three of them victories. Another curious note is Neal picking up just his second bonus given his violent reputation. I’m sure I’m not the only one surprised by that. By the end of the night, Luque remained the most decorated fighter on the card in terms of bonuses with eight, but Santos closed the gap, picking up his seventh.
Funky Facts: The other card which featured a perfect finishing rate, UFC Fight Night 55, was headlined by Michael Bisping, who happened to be providing commentary on the UFC Vegas 59. As far as participants, Alvey was featured on both cards, though he was in the victory circle at Fight Night 55.
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