The 6th Round Post-Fight Show

UFC Des Moines looked like a glue factory convention on paper and it delivered that same energy in practice. Were there a few good fights? Sure, and we got a few finishes, but by and large, this was an Apex level event that the poor folks in Iowa paid prime rates for. Shameful promoting by UFC.

There was a moment that brought almost all MMA fans together, though. That was when Reinier de Ridder stopped Bo Nickal with a vicious kne...

UFC Kansas City looked like a mixed bag on paper, but in practice, it ended up being a pretty good event. The card started off strong with several finishes right from Jump Street, but it would level out with some decisions, albeit good ones with the exception of Pereira-Magomedov. Carlos Prates found out the hard way why you don’t ...

UFC 314 looked incredible on paper and in practice, it was pretty good. It didn’t reach greatness, but it was pretty good. That said, there were some factors that kept it from that greatness that must be acknowledged. Let’s look at the good: Michael Chandler got dominated and choked out, making Paddy Pimblett look like a world-beat...

UFC Vegas 105 was miserable on paper and didn’t provide much more in practice. From weird judging to lackluster performances, the big moments we DID have just didn’t seem as impactful. There were a few surprises, though. Rhys McKee finally got a win, and a big one. Brad Tavares didn’t let Gerald Meerschaert have his way. Then there were the expected outcomes: Dione Barbosa finished Diana Belbita super fast and Loma Lookboonmee adde...

UFC Mexico turned out to be a pretty eventful card, filled with wild escapes, questionable reffing (I’m looking at you, Mike Beltran), and a fighter’s post-fight speech that reminded everyone why UFC is the bad guy when it comes to fighter pay. Loopy Godinez and Julia Polastri put on one helluva fight but received no reward for it,...

UFC Vegas 104 turned out to be a typical card. When you look at it on paper, it inspires you to want to load it into a cannon and fire it directly into the sun. But in practice, it delivered a lot of action and plenty of finishes. When it came to the main event, Roman Dolidze was able to scrape together the victory, avenging his previous loss to Marvin Vettori—who somehow managed to forget his cup before the fight. Dolidze wasted n...

UFC 313 looked decent on paper but in practice, it wasn’t much to write home about. We did get four great finishes and a banger from Gaethje-Fiziev, but the main event was anti-entertainment. It was a dud of a fight that saw Ankalaev hug his way to a title. Jalin Turner declared he was retiring, but King Green said he wasn’t—both were finished in the first round of their respective fights. It was an odd fight night that somehow did...

UFC Vegas 103 looked absolutely dismal on paper and in practice…well, it wasn’t too bad. Hyder Amil managed to get a good fight out of William Gomis and Nasrat Haqparast defied the odds to eke out a split over Esteban Ribovics. Andrea Lee may have set a UFC record with most losses in a row, as she just logged her sixth, consecutive...

UFC Vegas 102 was awful on paper but delivered some high action moments. The problem still remains, though, just how valuable are those moments considering the level of talent. Youngish Gregory Rodrigues learned the hard way that old man strenf is a real phenomenon when Jared Cannonier introduced him to the power in his fists in R4...

UFC 312 was not a good card and only saw a couple good fights amid a sea of nothingburgers. Rongzhu’s battle with Kody Steele was definitely worth going back to see if you missed the event, and Weili’s absolute domination of Tatiana was just a wonder to behold. Sean Strickland made zero adjustments to his game from the last fight w...

UFC Saudi Arabia was a solid card that came with a few surprises. First, we got to watch a daylight robbery when Hamdy Abdelwahab ‘defeated’ Jamal Pogues. Then, Michael Page managed to avoid Shara’s hot hand and won a decision. Said Nurmagomedov fell to the insanely good Vinicius Oliveira. And finally, we saw Izzy lose for a third, straight time via TKO, this time to Nassourdine Imavov.

Let’s take a look at the results and bonuses:

M...

UFC 311 looked phenomenal on paper, and despite having to get to the sixth fight before a finish was recorded, it did indeed deliver some really exciting moments. We saw some hype trains derailed, fantastic finishes and loud mouths closed—at least for now. We got to see new wrinkles from Jiri Prochazka, a sense that Reinier De Ridd...

UFC Vegas 101 was absolutely awful on paper but delivered some great action in practice. Not that cards like this are luring in new viewers but for the sake of just watching some fights, they delivered reasonably well. Mackenzie Dern avenged her loss to Amanda Ribas with a third-round submission and The Ponz showed he’s still got s...

UFC Tampa saw a night of action with several knockouts dotting the card, but the satisfaction of watching Colby Covington get worked over like Christmas dinner was undeniable. Having the last four fights all end by knockout was pretty gnarly too. And Cub Swanson, you’re never gonna go out on a higher note than that. Considering how...

UFC 310 has played out in reality and just as we thought, Kai Asakura couldn’t stand up to the Cannibal test, opting instead to take a nap on the job. Shavkat Rakhmonov got a lot more resistance from Ian Machado Garry than he bargained for, and we got to see some of the most egregious judging in recent memory with Volkov-Gane. The undercard also bore witness to more questionable judging in the Sterling-Evloev fight, but alas, what ...

UFC 309 is officially history, and likely Mickey Gall is too. Jon Jones still reigns supreme and Michael Chandler got the absolute brakes beat off him for 22 minutes, then did what he always does: rally as hard as he can for naught. Karine Silva F’d around and found out and Bo Nickal bored us all to tears.

Did I mention Donald Trump...

*Note: Eddie is out again this week with his high seas adventures.

The card that should’ve been left an unfulfilled dream on Sean Shelby’s pillow is over and with it, Neil Magny’s hopes of hanging on to that Number 15 ranking. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but watching it in practice was kind of sad. Reinier de Ridder showed out in his debut, defeating Gerald Meerschaert in a wild brawl that saw the UFC vet arm-triangled...

*Note: Eddie out this week, so Zane winged it solo

UFC 308 is in the books and with it, the hopes and dreams of many. What hopes and dreams, you ask? The ones that would’ve seen Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker leave the octagon victorious. Instead, they were finished, and they were violent finishes, to boot.

Topuria never opened his mouth the entire fight. Cardio through the roof and I’d imagine his pulse rate hovered in the triat...

UFC Vegas 99 is thankfully in the history books and not a moment too soon because that was an insanely long card. Just two finishes in eleven fights, and the fights that went the distance were mostly nothing to write home about. Michel Pereira got absolutely dominated by Fluffy Hernandez, then finished in the fifth round. It was an...