Holloway was able to defend his belt in front of the loud Edmonton crowd, and Cyborg put on a dominant display in the co-main event. This was a solid card from top to bottom despite lacking big name appeal. As always, the Canadian cards always deliver some of the better UFC content. I will take this time to see what’s next for both the winning and losing fighters.
Losing Fighters:
Kyle Stewart: Ismail Naurdiev or Kyle Prepolec
The UFC prospect has now lost two in a row after this contest with Erik Koch. Stewart had a couple of moments in this fight, and actually wobbled Koch in the second round but couldn’t capitalize. He struggled to deal with the takedowns, scrambles, and overall grappling of Koch. Every time Stewart shot for his own takedown he ended up in a bad position. I simply feel he got out positioned throughout this fight against a season veteran like Koch. Stewart deserves at least one more shot to prove his worth in the UFC.
Sarah Frota: Ariane Lipski or Priscila Cachoeira
Frota was outgrappled and out cut open by the tough Gillian Robertson. Frota was unable to defend the takedowns of Robertson. She did well in the first round striking from her back, and using several submission attempts. However, she used a lot of energy striking off her back and throwing up these desperate attempts. Robertson busted her open with elbows, and sealed the deal with a flurry of shots from mount in the second round. Frota was highly touted coming into the UFC, and now finds herself on a two fight losing streak.
Alexandre Pantoja: Tim Elliott or Ryan Benoit
Pantoja showed a lot of heart and toughness in his fight against Deiveson Figueiredo. He was overmatched with the striking and punching power of Deiveson. Pantoja thrives on the ground, and was unable to take the fight there and actually ended up on the bottom of a few exchanges. Alexandre is still one of the best Flyweight’s in the world, and if he can improve his striking could become a real force in the future.
Seung Woo Choi: Steven Peterson or Sung Bin Jo
Choi showed his durability and solid grappling defense throughout this fight. The takedowns and ground prowess of Tucker ended up being just too much. Choi is still a talented striker that could greatly improve if he sharpens up his grappling skills. He is still very young and will certainly learn from this fight. He just needs to improve his overall game in order to take that next step.
Yoshinori Horie: Daniel Teymur or Julian Erosa
Horie can certainly take a big shot, and showed just how tough of a 22 year old he is. Horie was frustrating Hakeem Dawodu with his movement and striking from range early in the fight. He was able to use this solid footwork to land a few big shots. However, the pressure and power of Dawodu ended up being too much for the young prospect. Horie still has loads of potential, and at his age he can certainly improve and come back stronger than ever.
Alexis Davis: Maycee Barber or Montana de la Rosa
The veteran from Canada showed a lot of heart after getting pieced up time after time on the feet. Davis was able to take the fight to the mat in the second round and clearly win that exchange. However, she wasn’t able to land anything of significance on the feet, and clearly was bothered by the speed of Viviane Arajuo. Davis is going to have to find a way to improve her striking, or find a more consistent way to get takedowns in order to survive in the UFC.
Marc-Andre Barriault: Jack Marshman or Eric Spicely
This was a lackluster performance by both competitors, but Barriault ended up on the wrong end of a close decision. Marc-Andre tried to push the pace, and use his boxing to hurt Jotko but struggled to land. He also struggled with the clinch work, and takedown attempts of Jotko as well. Both guys struggled to make a major impact in the fight, and it was really a stalemate from start to finish.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier: Released or Marco Polo Reyes
The Canadian prospect had his moments in the fight, but struggled against the pressure and non-stop takedown attempts by Tsarukyan. Aubin-Mercier was able to use his kicks to hurt Arman on a couple of occasions, and did well early on in stopping the takedowns. He found himself however being pressed up against the cage the majority of the fight, and was stuck on his back in the third round. Every time Olivier started to open up, it seemed as if Tsarukyan had an answer to slow him down. This is three straight losses for Olivier, and his standing in the company is in danger.
Niko Price: Diego Sanchez or Anthony Rocco Martin
Price is a wild man, and added to this moniker in his fight with Geoff Neal. Price was able to land some really good shots, and actually dropped Neal on a couple of occasions. Oddly enough, Price actually struggled with the takedowns of Neal, and was eventually finished with strong ground and pound by Neal. The fight might have been stopped a little early, but Price was getting blasted with hard strikes and was clearly hurt. Niko is still a very exciting, crowd pleasing fighter that always brings his best effort.
Felicia Spencer: Holly Holm or Move to Women’s Bantamweight divison
Spencer earned a lot of fans from her valiant effort against the dangerous Cris Cyborg. Spencer is the first women to actually cut Cyborg with a beautiful step in elbow. She attempted to use her strength and takedowns, but wasn’t able to take this fight to the mat. She was overmatched on the feet, and was dominated with the versatile striking of Cyborg. Spencer impressed the masses with her toughness and granite chin taking Cyborg’s best shots and refusing to go down. Spencer wasn’t able to get the victory, but proved she deserved to be in the ring with high level competition.
Frankie Edgar: Zabit Magomedsharipov or Move to UFC Bantamweight division
“The Answer” put a good effort up against Holloway, but just couldn’t ever get control in this fight. As usual, he looked light on his feet, and was able to land some solid shots in the contest. He struggled to consistently find the range against the taller, and elusive Max Holloway. He tried many times to force a takedown, but was only able to successfully complete one shot. It seemed like Edgar had a real problem fighting at range, and struggled with the speed and size of Holloway. This was a solid performance by Edgar, but he just a step behind against the “The Pride of Hawaii”. It will be interesting to see if Edgar changes weight classes again, because he could easily make the cut to Bantamweight (135).
Winning Fighters:
Erik Koch: Sergio Moraes or Chance Rencountre
This was a solid performance out of Koch against a dangerous striker. Koch was actually able to win the exchanges on the feet, and beat Stewart to position every time on the mat. It’s crazy to see Erik succeed at 170 pounds when he used to fight at 145 in the Featherweight division. Koch showed his well-rounded game, and is still young enough at 30 to make a run at the title.
Gillian Robertson: Paige VanZant or Molly McCann
What a performance for the Canadian fighting on home soil against a highly touted performance. Robertson just seems to get better, and more dangerous with every fight. She is improving as a striker, but has real skills in terms of wrestling and grappling. Her elbow TKO finish was one of the most brutal stoppages of the night. She just refused to be stopped, and kept pouring it on until the referee stepped in. Robertson is putting herself in the conversation for some big time fights in the Women’s Flyweight division.
Deiveson Figueiredo: Joseph Benavidez or Henry Cejudo
Figueiredo continues to impress in his climb up the rankings at 125 pounds. Deiveson showed great boxing and kicking ability against Pantoja. He used pressure and counter striking fluidly to bust the face of Alexandre open. He also showed versatility by scoring a couple of takedowns, and controlling the black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Figueiredo seems to get better with each passing fight, and is on the cusp of earning a title shot.
Gavin Tucker: Alex Caceres or Sheymon Moraes
This was a much improved version of Tucker who bounced back nicely after his first professional loss. Tucker had some trouble on the feet at times, but was able to thwart Choi’s striking by using his wrestling. The takedowns and ground control implored by Tucker was impressive. He put a bow so to speak on his performance by finishing the fight with a rear naked choke. Tucker learned from his last fight, and used that to lead him to victory in this contest.
Hakeem Dawodu: Darren Elkins or Ricardo Lamas
Hakeem continues to be a very dangerous up and comer in the 145 division. This featherweight has real power in his striking, and is able to use his pressure to break guys. He was not deterred by the unorthdox movement of Horie, and stuck to the gameplan which led to a big time head kick finish. The biggest question will be how does Dawodu handle a grinding wrestler, but so far he has shown he is a serious threat on the feet.
Viviane Araujo: Joanne Calderwood or Roxanne Modaferri
This was quite the Women’s Flyweight debut for Viviane, and she instantly bumps herself into the top 15. Her hand speed and boxing skill was on full display in this contest. This is by far the best she has looked against her first major step up in competition. She also is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but was comfortable in winning this fight on the feet alone. If Araujo continues to improve her takedown defense, she could be a real problem in the female’s 125 division.
Krzysztof Jotko: Karl Roberson or Marvin Vettori
Jotko was able to extend his winning streak to two after getting the nod in a split decision. Jotko did a good job of mixing things up on the feet, and imploring clinch control against the cage. He tried for takedowns as well, and was successful at the end of the fight with his final shot. This was not a stand out performance, but was a good win for a guy on the outside of the top 15 looking in. Jotko will have to sharpen his tools in order to beat higher level competition.
Arman Tsarukyan: Francisco Trinaldo or Roosevelt Roberts
Arman opened a lot of eyes with his valiant effort against Islam Makhachev, and used this platform to beat Aubin-Mercier. Tsarukyan showed solid boxing and power on the feet, and used his wrestling to keep Olivier off balance. He forward pressure and cardio were on full display in this fight. The kid is only getting better, and has big time potential at the age of 22. If Tsarukyan continues to improve he could become a future contender in the talent filled Lightweight division.
Geoff Neal: Neil Magny or Michael Chiesa
Neal just continues to impress and win every fight that comes his way. This is the first fight that we have seen Neal’s chin tested in the UFC. He was hit with some hard shots, but was able to recover and eventually get the finish. Neal showed more variety to his game using his powerful takedowns which we have not seen before. Neal is normally a striker only so this change in his style was a nice surprise. Neal is quietly making a run up the ladder and deserves a shot at a top 15 opponent.
Cris Cyborg: Amanda Nunes or Leave the UFC
Cris continues to show why she is one of the best female fighters on the planet. She was able to use her overall striking game to hurt and control Spencer. She showed technical patience in this fight, and was impressive in putting her combinations together. Cyborg did a good job in showing controlled chaos in this fight. She was aggresive, but did not put herself in danger like she did in her fight with Amanda Nunes. I believe she deserves a rematch against Amanda Nunes, but will now become a free agent. She could leave the UFC after Dana White has made disparaging remarks about her.
Max Holloway: Alexander Volkanovski or Zabit Magomedsharipov
This was a tremendous comeback performance by Max Holloway after losing at Lightweight against Dustin Poirier. His striking and distance management was very sharp in this fight, and forced Edgar to be on the end of his punches. He also showed great takedown defense as usual, and was constantly striking in the face of Edgar. He landed some really good shots, and was able to wobble Edgar on a couple of occasions. The key to this fight was Max using his length, and imploring a stinging jab throughout the contest. This proves the jab can still control the fight when used properly. I was impressed with Max’s composure and patience as he continues to evolve into a better fighter each day. This performance shows that Max needs to remain in the Featherweight division. He is just too undersized to compete at Lightweight, but is able use his size to his advantage at Featherweight. This wasn’t his most impressive performance, but was still a good showing for his newfound Canadian fans.
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