The Newark, New Jersey fans were treated to a heck of a card Saturday. There were a ton of interesting matchups, and a ton of finishes today. We saw two legends of the sport clash in the co-main event, and a dominate performance by a title contender. This article takes a look into what is next for the winning and losing fighters.
Losing Fighters:
Hannah Goldy: Tracy Cortez or Sarah Frota
Goldy represented herself well in her UFC debut against a tough opponent in Miranda Granger. She was able to have her moments on the feet, and actually caught Granger a few time in the second round. However, she seemed to struggle with the reach and size of Granger. She landed with less volume, and was unable to land with the force of Miranda. This was not a bad performance for Goldy, but seemed to be out paced in this fight. She is young and has talent so I expect her to be back in the mix soon.
Cole Williams: Salim Touahri or Kyle Stewart
This was a tough matchup, weight cut, and overall week for Williams. He was a last minute replacement, and obviously did not have ample amount of time to cut weight. Williams was taken down by Claudio Silva, softened up by some hard shots, and succumbed to the rear naked choke. This was a tough loss for Williams, but you have to give him credit for stepping in against a game opponent without a full camp.
Mara Borella: Lucie Pudilova or Gillian Robertson
The Italian fighter was in control early on winning the majority of the striking exchanges. She used solid pressure and combinations to land frequently on Lauren Murphy. The second round she was able to take Murphy down, and briefly had her in some trouble with a guillotine attempt. The third round started in a similar way, but then Borella was cracked by Murphy. She shot for a takedown which was stuffed, and ate a huge knee for a trouble followed by the finishing elbows. This was a tough loss for Borella against a adversary not known for her striking. Borella is still a competitive force in the division and deserves another shot.
Jordan Espinosa: Mark de la Rosa or Ryan Benoit
Espinosa had the misfortune of making a tactical error that led to his demise. Espinosa is the crisper striker than his opponent Matt Schnell. For some reason, he decided to take Schnell to the ground where the majority of his wins have come by. He escaped an early guillotine attempt, but then found himself in a perfectly executed triangle choke and had no choice but to tap. This loss will sting even more for Espinosa because he made the decision to turn this fight into a grappling exchange.
Lucie Pudilova: Gillian Robertson or Mara Borella
The Czech Republic native showed a lot of heart in her fight against Valentina Shevchenko. She struggled to land any significant blows early on, and found herself getting beat up in the clinch. She tried for a couple of takedowns, but was unable to secure a finish on these shots. She did land a hard elbow towards the end of round 1 that stunned and cut Shevchenko. She finally landed a takedown, but found herself in a wicked tight armbar. She somehow survived to see a second round after this attempt. Pudilova tried another takedown in the second round, but gave up her back and was put to sleep by a sneaky rear naked choke finish. Pudilova was a game opponent, but just seemed to be a step behind in this fight. Her heart cannot be questioned, and never gave up despite being on the wrong end of most of the exchanges.
Salim Touahri: Cole Williams or Ismail Naurdiev
Touahri put up a solid performance in what was a hell of a scrap between two young Welterweights. Touahri did his best work in working the body of Mickey Gall. He landed some really crisp shots, and also found a home for a strong jab on numerous occasions. He made a few tatical errors by shooting from too far out on his takedowns. Gall countered this, and was able to win the majority of the grappling exchanges. Touahri also found himself struggling against Gall when he blitzed with attacks. Touahri put up a solid effort, but was clearly just a few steps behind in a really fun fight.
Darko Stosic: Mike Rodriguez or Vinicius Moreira
This was a very weird fight that took a turn for the worse in the second round. Stosic started strong using hard leg kicks and blitzing attacks to take control. However, as the fight progressed Kennedy Nzechukwu was able to pressure and land on Stosic. The biggest factor in this fight was Darko being docked two points for repeated groin strikes. He kept hitting the cup area, and paid dearly for this repeated offense. Stosic in my opinion would have won the fight if not for these fouls. He landed more takedowns, solid leg kicks, and pushed the pace. However, Stosic was rightfully punished for repeated fouls, and is lucky the fight was not ruled a disqualification. This was a tough performance for the Serbian.
Dong Hyun Ma: Joaquim Silva or Dan Moret
Ma is incredibly tough and certainly earned the fans respect in this fight. He struggled with the explosive Holtzman for the majority of the fight, and had real issues with Holtzman’s top control/takedowns. He was caught by a sneaky right hand early in the fight and somehow recovered. This right hand left a serious mark and instantly forced a mouse on his left eye. Ma fought through this and actually dropped Holtzman in the second round. However, Holtzman recovered to punish Ma against the cage and on the mat. Ma’s eye was completely shut by the end of round two, and the doctor mercifully saved him from further damage. Ma is a warrior, and deserves another shot for his toughness alone.
Trevin Giles: Marc-Andre Barriault or Wellington Turman
This fight turned into a back and forth grappling contest between Giles and Gerald Meerschaert. Giles seemed to have the advantage on the feet, but for some reason continued to play with fire. He was able to find himself in dominant positions on the ground, but more times than not kept getting reversed by the superior grappler. I was surprised that Giles continued to engage on the mat with Gerald, and almost seemed to want to prove a point. After a back and forth fight Giles ended up getting caught in a slick guillotine. He was forced to tap, but the referee Herb Dean didn’t see it, and was actually put to sleep because of this mistake. This was a really tough night for Giles who now finds himself on a two fight losing streak after entering the UFC with much hype.
Joaquim Silva: Dong Hyun Ma or Roosevelt Roberts
Silva came out raring to go out of the gate trying to blast Nasrat Haqparast with leg kicks and heavy combos. Silva found himself missing wildly on most of his shots, and getting counterstriked by the 23 year old Tristar product. Silva had his moments in the first round, but found himself getting clocked with a brutal left hand in the second. He instantly was hurt, and was finished by some heavy shots from Nasrat to close the show. Silva misread the incoming attack and paid for that mistake with a knockout loss. Joaquim is very talented, and simply was caught by a very slick striker who read Silva well.
Clay Guida: Roosevelt Roberts or Marco Polo Reyes
“The Carpenter” was amped up and ready to go from the opening bell. He landed a huge right hand early on that wobbled Jim Miller, but in doing so walked into a cracking left from “A-10”. Jim Miller instantly jumped into a guillotine choke pulling guard. Guida showed his never quit attitude by refusing to tap, and was eventually put to sleep by Miller. This was just an unfortunate turn of events for the UFC Hall of Famer, against a fellow veteran who capitalized on his handy work. You have to wonder what’s left for Guida to prove? However, I doubt he is going to want to call it a career after a loss.
Robbie Lawler: Elizeu dos Santos or Geoff Neal
This was truly a disappointing performance for “Ruthless” in a grudge match. Lawler was stifled from the opening bell to the end. He was constantly defending takedowns, and found himself stuck on the mat being controlled. He also was forced to retreat against Covington he set a remarkable pace in this fight. Lawler was forced to cover up, and continued to eat punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. This pressure seemed to bother Lawler, and was uncharacteristically hesitant to let his hands go. I really feel like Lawler underestimated Covington’s pressure and wrestling. I don’t think he expected Colby to willingly trade in the pocket with him, and the overall pace of the fight wore him down. This is another tough loss for the former UFC Welterweight champion. Lawler has now lost three in a row, and has not been victorious since 2017. At the age of 37, and a ton of miles on his resume it will be interesting to see how much longer Lawler continues to compete.
Winning Fighters:
Miranda Granger: Tracy Cortez or Molly McCann
I was impressed by the forward pressure and striking ability shown by Granger. She did a solid job of out striking Hannah Goldy, and used her physical advantages well. Granger was caught a couple of times by Goldy, but was able to shake it off and control the majority of the fight. Granger is very young in her MMA career, and could have a bright future if she continues to build off of this win.
Claudio Silva: Erik Koch or Niko Price
This was about as solid of a performance as you could have asked for by Silva. He showed up to fight despite dealing with a last minute opponent change. He landed some good strikes early, but took the fight to his domain on the mat. He secured a takedown, quickly transitioned to the back, and secured a rear naked choke finish. Silva has the tools to be a sleeper in the Welterweight division.
Lauren Murphy: Alexis Davis or Andrea Lee
Murphy started slow in this fight against the better striker on paper. However, she started to see more success as the fight moved on. She landed her best shot of the fight in the third round clipping Borella. She then put a stamp on her performance with a brutal knee and elbows to close the show. This was a grittier and more dangerous version of Murphy in contrast to her previous fights. Lauren Murphy is solid all-around, and simply has to stay healthy to be a factor in this division.
Matt Schnell: Alexandre Pantoja or Tim Elliott
“Danger” certainly does not waste anytime when it comes to finishing fights. This was his ninth first round finish of his MMA career. Schnell didn’t settle after being taken down by Espinosa, and immediately started threatening with submissions. He was unable to lock up the guillotine, but smoothly transitioned into a very tight triangle choke to finish his opponent early in round 1. This is back to back first round triangle choke finishes for the Louisiana native. Schnell has improved his game so much over the years, and could be a problem in the Flyweight division
Antonina Shevchenko: Maycee Barber or Montana de la Rosa
This was a heck of a bounce back performance by Shevchenko after suffering her first pro loss in her last fight. Shevchenko showed her skills in fighting in the clinch, she also showed solid takedown defense, and toughness after being cut by an elbow. We also saw how slick her ground game is nearly finishing an armbar in round one. She transitioned smoothly to a rear naked choke after a takedown attempt by Lucie Pudilova that ended up finishing the fight. Shevchenko is known for her high level muay thai, but if she continues to sharpen her ground game she could be a title contender down the road.
Mickey Gall: Chance Rencountre or Danny Roberts
Mickey was able to get back in the win column in front of his home state of New Jersey. Gall showed improvements in his striking especially with his kicks to the body, legs, and head. He also was able to land a few takedowns, and out grapple Touahri on multiple occasions. Gall did struggle with his defense on a few occasions, but we have to realize this is still a developing fighter with only eight MMA fights. The biggest improvement from Gall was his gas tank. In previous fights he struggled to keep a strong pace from start to finish. In this fight his cardio was much improved, and was able to finish the fight strong. This was a big victory for Gall after being stopped by Diego Sanchez in his last fight.
Kennedy Nzechukwu: Sam Alvey or John Allan
This was a tough night at the office for Kennedy in more ways then one. He looked flat for the majority of the fight, and seemed to have issues with the shorter more compact fighter. He found himself on the wrong end of several groin strikes that undoubtedly affected his well being. Nzechukwu in my opinion would have lost the fight had it not been for the two points that were taken from Stosic. He showed great toughness by overcoming these illegal shots. I was also impressed with his ability to spring right back up after being taken down. This was a bad fight for both guys, and both need to go back to the drawing board. However a win is a win, and Kennedy is still young with a great frame to work with moving forward.
Scott Holtzman: Alexander Hernandez or Jared Gordon
Holtzman was motivated to perform with his 15 month old baby boy in attendance, and he certainly delivered. Holtzman landed big shots throughout the night on Ma, and had him hurt badly in the first round. He also landed several strong takedowns, and Ma was unable to defend once the fight was on the floor. Holtzman recovered after being dropped to continue to wear out the comprised eye of Dong Hyun Ma. I was very impressed with Holtzman’s pace and pressure that seemed to overwhelm the Korean fighter. Holtzman is on a nice run, and deserves a step up in competition in his next fight.
Gerald Meerschaert: Karl Roberson or Edmen Shahbazyan
This was not the cleanest performance for Gerald, but this is a significant win over a promising prospect. Gerald showed improved strength and conditioning in this fight which was a major focus for him. He didn’t panic when he found himself in bad positions on the mat. He stayed calm, and was able to continuously reverse position and end up in a good spot. He was able to finish the fight with a nice guillotine that eventually put Giles to sleep after the referee didn’t see the tap. Meerschaert had the luxury of fighting an opponent that insisted to fight him where he is most dangerous. Sometimes you just have to play to your strengths, and that is exactly what Gerald did today.
Nasrat Haqparast: Alexander Hernandez or Francisco Trinaldo
What a performance by the 23 year old Afghani-German fighter who continues to impress. Nasrat Haqparast had a slow start, but seemed to be reading his opponent in the first round looking for counter shots. He landed some good combos in the first, but landed the decisive shot in round two. He cracked Silva with hard left hand, and swarmed on him with vicious ground and pound. This was the first UFC finish for Haqparast after being out of action with a broken hand. Nasrat has proven to be a high level striker, and his work with guys like Firas Zahabi, Georges St. Pierre, and the Tristar gym seems to be paying off. Haqparast is an intriguing prospect with serious potential.
Jim Miller: Drew Dober or Vinc Pichel
Miller put on a quick show for his home state fans in Newark, New Jersey. Miller was cracked by an early shot, but responded with his famous left hand that in turn stunned Guida. As usual, he capitalized with a guillotine choke that forced Guida to go to sleep. This was quick work for the future hall of famer, and Miller continues to defy father time by racking up wins. It will be interesting to see how long Jim decides to keep fighting. This performance shows he still has some left in the tank.
Colby Covington: Kamaru Usman or Tyron Woodley
Love him or hate him, you have to respect how dominate “Chaos” was tonight against a former world champion. Colby was ready to go from the opening bell, and used his pressure to force Lawler to retreat. He leaned on his wrestling and grappling early in the fight trying to drain the energy out of Robbie. As the fight progressed, we started to see Covington more willing to strike, and was able to land many, many strikes throughout the duration of the bout. He actually set the UFC record for the most strikes thrown in a UFC fight ever throwing 533 strikes. He landed from distance, in the clinch, on the ground and everywhere in between. This was a ridiculous output rate implored by Covington, and Lawler had no answer for the onslaught. Covington did a great job of mixing up his attacks, and constantly had Lawler guessing on what was coming next. This was by far the best performance we have seen out of Colby, and will likely lead to a title shot. His post fight speech was controversial as usual, with a low blow dig at UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes. However, this is the persona that Covington has adopted, and so far it seems to be working to his favor. You may not like his approach, but you have to acknowledge the dominance of this performance in a main event spot.
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