The UFC returned to Dallas tonight for an incredible night of fights that was headlined by two very entertaining championship bouts. The night saw some impressive performances by some big-time contenders and set up a historic future title fight. And that was all before an epic main event.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the night and break down the three fights we looked at in our UFC 277 preview.
UFC
Prelim Highlights
In a fun heavyweight bout, UFC newcomer Hamdy Abdelwahab scored a close split decision victory over Don’Tale Mayes. Abdelwahab clearly had the advantage in the punching power, to go with his superior grappling skills. Mayes used his athleticism to steal the second round from a clearly tired Abdelwahab though and brought us to a third round with the fight on the line. Abdelwahab scored an early takedown in the third and controlled most of the round before getting stood up, perhaps prematurely, by the referee. Mayes landed some big shots in the closing seconds, but it wasn’t enough to steal the fight from Abdelwahab.
An early contender for fight of the night, Drew Dober and Rafael Alves went to war in their lightweight contest. Alves throw some absolutely wild stuff in the first round that put Dober on his heels. It was the grappling though that won Aleves the round as he controlled Dober for most of it. In the second though, Alves appeared to slow down considerably and Dober took advantage. With about a minute left, a poke to the eye gave Alves the time he apparently needed to rest and he came out absolutely wining punches, getting the crowd on their feet. It was actually some impressive head movement followed by some dance moves from Alves that really kicked this fight into high gear. The energy was high for the start of the third and the two traded some huge, wild strikes. Dober eventually landed a hard left cross to the body that dropped Alves and scored him a rare body shot knockout.
The final prelim of the night was almost being presented as a showcase of the fast-rising Matthew Semelsberger. It was actually Alex Morono that put on a show, putting it all together with his hands, legs and grappling. Semelsberger had the speed and explosiveness advantage and he landed some big exciting moves, including a flying knee in the third round. It was the composure and technique of Morono though that earned the veteran a decision victory. If we learned anything from this fight, it’s that Semelsberger is a great athlete but Morono is a fighter.
Main Card Highlights
In a matchup of two top-five light heavyweights in the world, fans in Dallas saw just why Magomed Ankalaev is looked at as the next big thing. It was a slow start to this fight against Anthony Smith as the two cautiously exchanged a few strikes over the first few minutes. However, Smith appeared to hurt his leg either from a kick from Ankalaev or getting his own kick checked. On his way back to his corner after the first, Smith had a noticeable limp and told his corner he was hurt. That was evident in the early second as he immediately shot for a takedown. After a long grappling struggle, Ankalaev got to an advantageous position and dropped some big punches that forced the ref to step in and stop the fight. After the fight, Smith immediately told his corner his leg was broken. Meanwhile, Ankalaev question how many more fights he has to win before he fights for the championship. Spoiler alert, it likely won’t be many.
Speaking of impressive performances from top contenders, fourth-ranked flyweight Alexandre Pantoja absolutely mauled sixth-ranked Alex Perez. Both guys stood in front of each other and threw punches right from the word go. After a few seconds and several punches landed for both guys, Pantoja scored a trip and immediately pounced on the back of Perez, quickly locking in a body triangle. Perez managed to stay on his feet and fought the hands, but Pantoja was still manage to get the tap with a brutal crossface type of variation of a rear naked choke. When all was said and done, it took Pantoja just over a minute and a half to score the submission win. Like Ankalaev, he is also looking for a title shot in the near future.
Sergei Pavlovich def. Derrick Lewis
The crowd was unsurprisingly in the corner of the Texas native Lewis in a big way for this fight. Like the previous fight, these two wasted little time before absolutely winging punches at each other. The difference here though was these guys both weight about 260 lbs as opposed to 125. It was only a matter of time before one of them got clipped by one of the big fists and hit the mat. Unfortunately for the Dallas audience, it was Lewis who got hurt first and dropped to the mat. The ref jumped in to stop the fight after less than a minute and Lewis immediately protested after quickly bouncing back to his feet. The replay showed that Lewis certainly had a case, but it was also clear Pavlovich had him hurt. Either way, it was a huge win for Pavlovich who just continues to put guys away quickly. He’ll find himself inside the top 10 in the class next week.
My pick: Pavlovich via 3rd round knockout
Result: Pavlovich via 1st round knockout
Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara France
Right from the beginning of this co-main event, it was clear this was a matchup of two of the best in the world at any weight. The crowd was very vocal in the corner of Moreno who came out looking much more comfortable, as he should, with his last three fights being championship bouts. Kara France remained composed and technically sound but it clearly took him some time to loosen up and get accustomed to the big stage. That said, he never let Moreno get the best of him for too long and the first two rounds were very close. In the third, Kare France landed some big shots and seemed to hurt Moreno, who sustained a pretty bad cut under his right eye. That seemed to take Moreno out of his gameplan for a moment and the tides briefly seemed to be turning. Moreno scrapped though and landed a few shots of his own before dropping Kara France with a beautiful step in kick to the body. Kara France’s body shut down on him and Moreno landed a few big shots before the ref had to step in.
The wildest part of this was actually what happened after the fight. Remember, Moreno’s previous three fights were all for the flyweight title and they were all against Deiveson Figueiredo. No two fighters have ever met in the octagon four times, but now Figueiredo holds the championship and Moreno holds the interim crown. And yet, even with their history, Moreno stood in the octagon after Figueriedo made his way from the seats into the octagon and raised his belt in his face, and simply said he wanted to be an example for his family and not talk trash, but rather forgive and apologize to his longtime rival. He still made it clear that he was looking forward to their fourth fight and specifically said he wants it to be in December. Figueiredo agreed to the challenge, provided the fight takes place in Brazil. Moreno’s response was simply “I don’t care.” It looks like these two guys are going to make some UFC history very soon and the fans should be very excited about it.
My pick: Moreno via decision
Result: Moreno via 3rd round knockout
Amanda Nunes def. Julianna Pena
After the biggest upset in UFC history, Amanda Nunes sought to become a double champ for the second time. Julianna Pena, despite holding the championship, still had a lot to prove after knocking off the legend the first time. The stage was set for an absolutely epic main event and these two women delivered in a big way.
The story of this fight was Nunes’ switch to the southpaw stance, which Pena just couldn’t seem to figure out. In their first meeting, Pena managed to blitz Nunes again and again and get the better of her in the exchanges. This time though, Nunes found a home for her counter right hook and she dropped Pena multiple times. Pena just couldn’t figure out this pizzle and Nunes took advantage. Eventually, Pena tried to work her grappling but Nunes still showed a major power advantage and got into the top position for the majority of the last three rounds. There is a lot to be said about the toughness of Pena, who was bloodied and beaten but continuously attacked with submissions off of her back and came very close to stealing the fight on a couple of occasions. In the end though, a motivated and fresh Amanda Nunes was just too much for Julianna Pena and she recaptured the bantamweight championship. Nunes looked better than she ever has and that is a scary prospect for the rest of the women in the UFC.
A couple of interesting statistics come out of this result. Nunes becomes the only fighter in UFC history to become a champion in two different divisions on multiple occasions. The second is perhaps the most exciting for the fans though. Nunes winning this rematch sets up a potential third meeting with Pena, which would be the first ever trilogy between two women in the octagon. And after this epic main event, you can bet a lot of fans will be looking forward to that one.
My pick: Pena via decision
Result: Nunes via decision
The UFC will return to ESPN+ on Saturday, August 6th for UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill. Be sure to check back for a preview of the event.