This past weekend was action packed for combat sports fans. From WSOF, to Bellator, to UFC, to K-1, to Boxing, to ONE Championship and more.
With all these events, there were plenty of fights that piqued the interest of the critics and made social media go wild. Some of the staff members from MMASucka.com threw together their top three favourite fights from the weekend that was.
JEREMY BRAND
- Brian Foster vs. Joáo Zeferino (WSOF 25) – In the quarter-finals, Foster was eliminated by Zeferino. Due to injuries, he was brought back from the sidelines and wound up winning the semi-finals and ended up facing his quarter-final foe, in the finals. This time Foster had Zeferino’s number and wound up finishing him with a brutal head-kick knockout to win the WSOF 8-man lightweight tournament.
- Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto (HBO Boxing) – Alvarez came into this fight much more aggressive than normal and wound up dominating most of the rounds against Cotto. Heavy punches and great combination got the job done and Alvarez wound up winning in dominant fashion bringing his record to an outstanding 45-1-1.
- Neil Magny vs. Kelvin Gastelum (UFC Fight Night 78) – I’m sure you might be thinking this wasn’t a great fight, but in my opinion it showcased Magny’s skillset inside the Octagon and how much the 28-year-old has improved since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter. The masses picked Gastelum to light him up in this main event and that was not the case. Magny was able to utilize his range and outstanding ground game to win the first three rounds with ease. Luckily for Magny, Gastelum took until the fourth round to turn up the pressure and at that point it was too little, too late. Some felt round four was a 10-8 round, but in my opinion the two knockdowns did not justify it being 10-8, when there was not damage done after. Magny impressed and he deserves to get credit for his 9-1 record in his last ten fights.
- Francisco Vargas vs. Takashi Miura (Boxing) – Boxing fans knew going into the bout that when WBC junior lightweight champion Miura met Francisco Vargas is would likely be fireworks, but even then it exceeded expectations. After a solid start from Mexico’s Vargas, Mirua then went on to win rounds 2 through 8, with the potential for one or more 10-8 scores in there. In the ninth round Vargas came out knowing he had to make something happen and began blasting huge shots at Miura immediately. After securing one knockdown in the round, Vargas eventually went on to force referee Tony Weeks to step in and stop the assault, scoring a huge come-from-behind victory over Miura in the 9th round to take his WBC title.
- Brian Foster vs. Joao Zeferino II (WSOF 25) – Really not much to add on from what Jeremy said already. The story of this fight was unreal and explains why I love one-night tournaments.
- Hirotaka Urabe vs. Koya Urabe (K-1 World GP) – No, those aren’t just similar names. They are brothers. The Urabe bros fought for a second time in a back and forth war in front of a pumped up crowd which included their own parents watching the madness unfold ringside. After a hot start from Koya, Hirotaka went on to score a huge flying knee KO for the 60kg K-1 title. The final three fights on this card were incredible, and I highly recommend you watch if given the chance.
NICK BALDWIN
- Neil Magny vs. Kelvin Gastelum (UFC Fight Night 78) – From what combat sports action I watched on Saturday night, this was the most entertaining bout. To be fair, I should note that I wasn’t able to catch any of the boxing, including headliner Canelo vs. Cotto, or any fights from overseas that Mike watched. Anyways, though, Magny vs. Gastelum was one heck of a fight. It wasn’t your typical war that leaves both men injured for the next little while. With that being said, it was a back-and-fourth fight that deservedly picked up Fight of the Night honors. Early on, Magny impressed with his control on the canvas but Gastelum was able to rally in the later rounds. Gastelum’s two knockdowns and a couple takedowns was simply too little, too late, however, as Magny was able to take home a narrow decision victory.
- Brian Foster vs. Joan Zeferino II (WSOF 25) – As Jeremy and Mike both mentioned above, the story of this fight was insane. Zeferino defeated Foster in the quarterfinals, but due to an injury, Foster advanced to the semi-finals despite the loss and made it all the way to the finals, where he fought Zeferino… again. Second time is the charm, apparently, as he was able to pick up a slick TKO win to earn a shot at WSOF gold next year.
- Melvin Manhoef vs. Hisaki Kato (Bellator 146) – This one might be a bit of a stretch because it didn’t take too long for Manhoef to get the job done. With that being said, Kato was able to land a few shots of his own in the short time the bout lasted and actually tagged Manhoef pretty good at one point. A signature Manhoef bomb landed, however, and that put the 39-year old back in the winning column.
JESSE SCHECKNER
- Neil Magny vs. Kelvin Gastelum (UFC Fight Night 78) – Few counted Magny’s late replacement against Gastelum in lieu of an injured Matt Brown as an overtly bad thing for either fighter, nor did the fans seem to prickle too tremendously with the prospect of seeing these two vertically disparate contenders square off. That vast difference in height and reach proved to be the narrative for the first three rounds, in which Magny dictate the pace and range, showed off improvements on the ground and, possibly his greatest strength of all, his adaptability on the fly. But when Gastelum thumped him with a gorgeously timed overhand right in the fourth round, the entire complexion of the fight changed. The TUF winner switched into overdrive, applying body kicks that saw success in the early goings but were inexplicably abandoned later, a suffocating top game on the ground and connecting with a series of shots similar to the ones Rich Franklin landed on Chuck Liddell against the cage while Liddell was chasing and leading with his jaw. Unlike the UFC Hall of Famer Liddell, Magny made it to the end of the fight and earned a close decision with three rounds in his back pocket to Gastelum’s two. Next, I’d like to see Magny face the man he replaced against Erick Silva earlier this year, Rick Story, or Brown. For Gastelum, I believe Thiago Alves is in need of a dance partner.
- Melvin Manhoef vs. Hisaki Kato (Bellator 146) – When you’ve got power like Manhoef has, you are in a fight until you’re taken out completely. He showed that once again this last Friday by weathering some early punishment and turning off Kato’s lights in less time than it takes to steam cauliflower in the microwave. Will he ever wear Bellator gold? My answer is a hard “no.” But he’s solid fun to watch and will keep being must-see TV until he hangs up the gloves–something I don’t see happening for at least another couple of years. …And what about that interesting knockout triangle going on between him, Kato and Schilling? Maybe we lock all three of those animals inside the cage and let the chips fall where they may. (I’m mostly kidding.)
- Andre Fili vs. Gabriel Benitez (UFC Fight Night 78) – Fili ate several leg kicks in the early going while employing the time-tested strategy of positioning his front foot outside of the southpaw Benitez’s, but began picking up the pace with jabs–not wholly common in open guard situations because of the front hands cancelling each other out–a nice right straight and a cracking right roundhouse kick which eventually caught Benitez while he was circling into Fili’s power to escape being against the cage. A short flurry later and that was all she wrote. Next, Matt Grice, who is coming off of a split decision loss to Dennis Bermudez, is a sound test for the young Team Alpha Male prospect.
