Lewis vs Oleinik - As I was concerned, Lewis came out dangerous off the rip in the second round and the flying knee forced Oleinik to pull away and Lewis landed the right hand (all of his punches are dangerous if we're being honest) and put him away with Donkey Kong style hammer firsts. Oleinik looked good from bottom in the first round, reversing bottom position Demian Maia style not once but twice, and keeping Lewis down, but whereas other HW's look like a fish out of water, Lewis has always seemed to avoid submission threats well. DC had the wrestling chops to wear on him and batter him and force him to work and move, and Volkov pieced him up at range. Those two options are the blue print for beating Lewis. I was hoping we'd see a diaphragm choke win by the man Oleinik, but it was not to be.
Weidman vs Akhmedov - despite the usual concerns about his chin, Weidman pulled out the grappling when necessary and advanced position to threaten submissions until the end of the fight. He threatened single legs, chained passing attempts, and in the final round advanced to mount to stamp the win on the score cards. He's only lost to the very best in the division which is truly a murderer's row of guys like Romero, Rockhold, Souza and others. I'd be concerned to see him fight someone like Till who is light on his feet and sets up feints across the early rounds without staying close in range. We'll see what middleweight wants a crack at the former champ while Adesanya prepares for Costa in a bad blood match.
Dariush vs Holtzman - Despite missing weight, Dariush picked up what would've been another FOTN/stoppage bonus level win with his spinning back elbow walk off at the end of the first round. He really does have the skills to fight for the belt in this division. Great stand-up, range control, grappling, and submission threat. He's ranked 14th which is pretty comical as he's finished his last 4 opponents and has only dropped losses to Edson Barboza (a fight he was winning IMO) and Hernandez, Chiesa, and Nijem over a span of 6 years with 13 wins and a draw other than the 4 losses. He's a dangerous fight to take for a guy outside the top 10 and I doubt any of the guys ranked in the 5-10 spots of his division want the fight seeing his last 4 stoppage wins.
Stewart vs Pitolo - Stewart smartly locked up a guillotine as takedown defense, then switched grip after trapping Pitolo's leg that he was slow to clear and/or head post/hop over the legs to counter the guillotine. Pitolo seemed more hesitant than previous outings after the initial dust up of flurries in the first few seconds. Stewart has always talked a big game stoppage wise during interviews, so a stoppage win here can get him another main card spot on an upcoming event, especially after taking minimal damage in this fight.
Means vs Staropoli - Means weathered the danger and spinning back elbows of Staropoli to use his veteran skills to take the fight. Means has the tools and versatility to beat a lot of guys, even the younger crop of fighters coming into the UFC.
Kunitskaya vs Stoliarenko - when the articles describing the fight all use the word "grinded" you already know, fam. Kunitskaya came forward, locked hands and gave a more knee to the midsection head pressure version of what Usman did to Masvidal. The ref allowed this to go on for basically 10 mins of the the fight, then oddly enough restarted from closed guard after a bit of inaction. If you're going to watch a fighter lock hands and land knees to the midsection for 2 rounds standing up, why the rush to restart where there's actual submission threat from the fighter on the bottom? At any rate, it wasn't much of a win for Kunitskaya either to stump for a more ranked opponent as she anemically battered a who is 9-5-1. Kunitskaya is in a tough position as she's lost to Aspen Ladd, Tonya Evinger, and Cris Cyborg and also put on a dreadfully boring decision clinch fest against a fighter with a .65 ish record that was a UFC debut.
Weidman vs Akhmedov - despite the usual concerns about his chin, Weidman pulled out the grappling when necessary and advanced position to threaten submissions until the end of the fight. He threatened single legs, chained passing attempts, and in the final round advanced to mount to stamp the win on the score cards. He's only lost to the very best in the division which is truly a murderer's row of guys like Romero, Rockhold, Souza and others. I'd be concerned to see him fight someone like Till who is light on his feet and sets up feints across the early rounds without staying close in range. We'll see what middleweight wants a crack at the former champ while Adesanya prepares for Costa in a bad blood match.
Dariush vs Holtzman - Despite missing weight, Dariush picked up what would've been another FOTN/stoppage bonus level win with his spinning back elbow walk off at the end of the first round. He really does have the skills to fight for the belt in this division. Great stand-up, range control, grappling, and submission threat. He's ranked 14th which is pretty comical as he's finished his last 4 opponents and has only dropped losses to Edson Barboza (a fight he was winning IMO) and Hernandez, Chiesa, and Nijem over a span of 6 years with 13 wins and a draw other than the 4 losses. He's a dangerous fight to take for a guy outside the top 10 and I doubt any of the guys ranked in the 5-10 spots of his division want the fight seeing his last 4 stoppage wins.
Stewart vs Pitolo - Stewart smartly locked up a guillotine as takedown defense, then switched grip after trapping Pitolo's leg that he was slow to clear and/or head post/hop over the legs to counter the guillotine. Pitolo seemed more hesitant than previous outings after the initial dust up of flurries in the first few seconds. Stewart has always talked a big game stoppage wise during interviews, so a stoppage win here can get him another main card spot on an upcoming event, especially after taking minimal damage in this fight.
Means vs Staropoli - Means weathered the danger and spinning back elbows of Staropoli to use his veteran skills to take the fight. Means has the tools and versatility to beat a lot of guys, even the younger crop of fighters coming into the UFC.
Kunitskaya vs Stoliarenko - when the articles describing the fight all use the word "grinded" you already know, fam. Kunitskaya came forward, locked hands and gave a more knee to the midsection head pressure version of what Usman did to Masvidal. The ref allowed this to go on for basically 10 mins of the the fight, then oddly enough restarted from closed guard after a bit of inaction. If you're going to watch a fighter lock hands and land knees to the midsection for 2 rounds standing up, why the rush to restart where there's actual submission threat from the fighter on the bottom? At any rate, it wasn't much of a win for Kunitskaya either to stump for a more ranked opponent as she anemically battered a who is 9-5-1. Kunitskaya is in a tough position as she's lost to Aspen Ladd, Tonya Evinger, and Cris Cyborg and also put on a dreadfully boring decision clinch fest against a fighter with a .65 ish record that was a UFC debut.
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