Benoit vs Elliott:
Benoit seemed willing to backpedal and pick his shots in the first round and primarily backpedal. In the second round, he shot in a takedown and was reversed via guillotine and mounted but avoided much damage from bottom position. Benoit also managed to use butterfly guard to get in a solid kneebar attempt which had Elliott grimacing and with some clearer striking as Elliott waded in hands down and head bobbing, the second round probably went to Benoit by a clear margin. I was perplexed to see the tweets coming in with Elliott down rounds as it was only the 2nd round that was clearly for him, and even then, with the guillotine to mount vs the kneebar, you could make the case for either fighter taking the 2nd round. Benoit seems unwilling to jab his way forward into range and rather needs to plant his feet to strike and against a veteran with erratic movement like Elliott, he wasn't able to pull the trigger when Elliott was in front of him, and Elliott isn't unhittable as anyone who's seen him fight can attest. Elliott picked up the win, but it doesn't raise his stock toward a title shot as Benoit has alternated wins and losses virtually his entire UFC run. Elliott just inked a new UFC deal which he says him for being professional and a company man. He'll have to clean up his taking chances style ever so slightly if he wants to make a legitimate run at the belt, which is now wide open at 125 as Figueiredo vs Benavidez will soon settle the clash of headbutts questionable stoppage and weight miss debacle in their last outing. It doesn't really matter who wins the belt for Elliott as he has losses to each of them (Benavidez in 2014 by submission and Figueiredo by submission in 2019). Elliott will have to pick off some the likes of Moreno, Pantoja, and Perez as the top ranked guys not slated to fight for the belt soon which is actually good for him as he hasn't previously fought them and they'll need a dance partner with a solid resume to vie for a rationale to give them a title fight.
Rivera vs Stammann:
Rivera simply outworked Stamman who spent much more time backing up than I've seen in previous fights. He seemed wary of fatiguing in the first 2 rounds but by then was probably down on the scorecards anyway. It wasn't a breakout performance for either guy, as Rivera just outworked him with some jabs and kicks, and by pressing him against the cage and fighting for more takedowns. Rivera has only lost to Yan, Moraes, and Aljamain Sterling, which is wild because Moraes was the only one who stopped him. I think folks have slept on him since that Moraes KO which is silly because the rest of his resume is wins over Faber, Almeida, Alcantara, and Munoz amongst others. Rivera may want to stump for a fight with or Cruz (which was booked previously but didn't happen) or Raphael Assuncao (though he'd be coming off a loss) as it doesn't do Rivera any good to beat any more guys less than top 10 if the goal is to fight for the belt. He's beaten enough unranked and now top 10-15ish level guys that he had to finagle a fight with another guy with a considerable resume to erase the lost momentum from the Moraes stoppage.
Kattar vs Ige:
The fight played out about how I expected, with the reach and precision of Kattar being more effective across 5 rounds. Kattar had some kick catches he used to create takedowns but didn't engage much on the ground because why bother when you're picking your opponent apart on the feet. He's 2 UFC losses are decision to Zabit and Moicano, so that tells you he's definitely a cut above the bottom half of the top 10 at featherweight and now has wins over Ige, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, Andre Fili, and Shane Burgos. He's quietly compiled a solid resume of wins and can join the retinue of almost contenders who will want to face Holloway to stamp a proof that they're ready to face Volkanovski.
Benoit seemed willing to backpedal and pick his shots in the first round and primarily backpedal. In the second round, he shot in a takedown and was reversed via guillotine and mounted but avoided much damage from bottom position. Benoit also managed to use butterfly guard to get in a solid kneebar attempt which had Elliott grimacing and with some clearer striking as Elliott waded in hands down and head bobbing, the second round probably went to Benoit by a clear margin. I was perplexed to see the tweets coming in with Elliott down rounds as it was only the 2nd round that was clearly for him, and even then, with the guillotine to mount vs the kneebar, you could make the case for either fighter taking the 2nd round. Benoit seems unwilling to jab his way forward into range and rather needs to plant his feet to strike and against a veteran with erratic movement like Elliott, he wasn't able to pull the trigger when Elliott was in front of him, and Elliott isn't unhittable as anyone who's seen him fight can attest. Elliott picked up the win, but it doesn't raise his stock toward a title shot as Benoit has alternated wins and losses virtually his entire UFC run. Elliott just inked a new UFC deal which he says him for being professional and a company man. He'll have to clean up his taking chances style ever so slightly if he wants to make a legitimate run at the belt, which is now wide open at 125 as Figueiredo vs Benavidez will soon settle the clash of headbutts questionable stoppage and weight miss debacle in their last outing. It doesn't really matter who wins the belt for Elliott as he has losses to each of them (Benavidez in 2014 by submission and Figueiredo by submission in 2019). Elliott will have to pick off some the likes of Moreno, Pantoja, and Perez as the top ranked guys not slated to fight for the belt soon which is actually good for him as he hasn't previously fought them and they'll need a dance partner with a solid resume to vie for a rationale to give them a title fight.
Rivera vs Stammann:
Rivera simply outworked Stamman who spent much more time backing up than I've seen in previous fights. He seemed wary of fatiguing in the first 2 rounds but by then was probably down on the scorecards anyway. It wasn't a breakout performance for either guy, as Rivera just outworked him with some jabs and kicks, and by pressing him against the cage and fighting for more takedowns. Rivera has only lost to Yan, Moraes, and Aljamain Sterling, which is wild because Moraes was the only one who stopped him. I think folks have slept on him since that Moraes KO which is silly because the rest of his resume is wins over Faber, Almeida, Alcantara, and Munoz amongst others. Rivera may want to stump for a fight with or Cruz (which was booked previously but didn't happen) or Raphael Assuncao (though he'd be coming off a loss) as it doesn't do Rivera any good to beat any more guys less than top 10 if the goal is to fight for the belt. He's beaten enough unranked and now top 10-15ish level guys that he had to finagle a fight with another guy with a considerable resume to erase the lost momentum from the Moraes stoppage.
Kattar vs Ige:
The fight played out about how I expected, with the reach and precision of Kattar being more effective across 5 rounds. Kattar had some kick catches he used to create takedowns but didn't engage much on the ground because why bother when you're picking your opponent apart on the feet. He's 2 UFC losses are decision to Zabit and Moicano, so that tells you he's definitely a cut above the bottom half of the top 10 at featherweight and now has wins over Ige, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, Andre Fili, and Shane Burgos. He's quietly compiled a solid resume of wins and can join the retinue of almost contenders who will want to face Holloway to stamp a proof that they're ready to face Volkanovski.
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