The UFC returned to Las Vegas tonight with a loaded pay-per-view card, their last of the year. It was a star-studded night with epic matchups throughout, but it was the flyweight champion and a welterweight contender who came out as the biggest winners of the night.
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 309 preview.
Prelim Highlights
It’s not often you get to see a former champion on the prelims, but this card was impressive enough to find Aljamain Sterling on the undercard. The former bantamweight champ has moved up to featherweight and found himself taking on Mavsar Evloev, and the two put on an absolute show. Both guys being world class grapplers, the striking game figured to be the difference maker, and in the early going, it was Sterling who got the advantage on that front. Eventually though, the former champ went to his bread and butter and took Evloev down. Through some wild scrambles and incredibly impressive exchanges, Sterling found himself on Evloev’s back. Mavsar defended well though and survived the round. The second round was much more even and Evloev found himself in more advantageous positions. It was a master class in grappling from both fighters though as they continued to battle back and forth on the floor. In the final round, it was clear Sterling was fading just a bit and Evloev was the fresher fighter. That slight difference gave Evloev all he needed to take over and grind out a decision victory. We could see a championship opportunity in the future for Evloev after this performance.
UFC veteran Vicente Luque was an underdog against the fast-rising up-and-comer Themba Gorimbo, who was stepping in against his toughest challenge to date. Gorimbo figured to have the striking advantage, but it was Luque who landed a short right in their first exchange and dropped Gorimbo. Luque pounced on an anaconda choke and within seconds, Gorimbo was unconscious. It was a very impressive, very fast victory for Luque.
Main Card Highlights
The pay-per-view got off to a bit of a puzzling start as betting favorite Nate Landwehr was utterly dominated by Dooho Choi. Landwehr never got his offense going as Choi was cleary the much more technical fighter. As the fight continued, it also became clear Choi was the faster, the stronger and the better grappler. Landwehr tried to throw some desperate, wild punches in the third round, but Choi took him down easily and ground and pounded his way to one of the most one-sided victories in recent memory.
The energy didn’t exactly pick up with the second fight as Bryce Mitchell went to his wrestling skillset against jiu jitsu specialist Kron Gracie. Mitchell scored an early takedown, which Gracie mostly accepted in an attempt to look for a submission, and controlled the duration of the first round. The second round saw more of the same but Gracie got Mitchell in some trouble with an armbar attempt late in the round, Mitchell survived though and the fight headed to the third and final round. Gracie looked to pull guard early, but Mitchell answered by slamming him to the mat and landing a massive elbow that ended the fight. It was a slow start but an exciting finish an a big win for Mitchell.
Cyril Gane def. Alexander Volkov
It was very clear early on both of these fighters have evolved greatly since their first meeting years ago. Both Gane and Volkov looked crisp in their striking and showed off some very strong grappling skills. They traded good shots and submission attempts for two rounds and it appeared to be anyone’s fight heading into the third. Volkov scored a takedown early and again Gane looked to lock up a submission. Volkov defended though and kept the advantageous position until the final bell. The decision seemingly shocked everyone in the arena though as Gane was announced to be the winner via split decision. Gane’s corner even seemed surprised and Gane left the octagon before having to be pulled back in for his post-fight interview. He explained he was disappointed in his performance, but he will certainly take the win. Either way, it was clear these are two of the most skilled fighters in the heavyweight division.
My Pick: Gane via 3rd round knockout
Result: Gane via decision
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Garry
This fight had a championship feel as it was clear these are two of the best young fighters in the game today. Rakhmonov was a fairly significant betting favorite, but it didn’t take long for Garry to make it feel like it was anybody’s fight. Garry figured to have a slight advantage in the striking game, at least from a distance, so it came as no surprise that Rakhmonov went to the clinch game and forced his opponent up against the fence. What was surprising though, was Garry’s ability to defend takedowns and keep the fight standing. There wasn’t a ton of action to swing the fight either way, but it was Rakhmonov controlling the position and landing a big shot in each of the first two rounds. In the third though, Garry turned the tides a bit and got his striking going, landing some good shots but nothing significant enough to really hurt his opponent. Then in the fourth, Rakhmonov was finally able to get Garry to the ground and get into some really good positions. Garry scrambled well to survive, but it was clear he did not want to be on his back. In the final round though, this fight had one last curveball to throw us as Garry got Rakhmonov’s back and looked on several occasions to be very close to securing a choke. Rakhmonov defended well and eventually got back to his feet, surviving until the final bell. It was a very tough fight but Rakhmonov was awarded the unanimous decision victory and the future title shot against champion Belal Muhammad.
My Pick: Rakhmonov via 3rd round submission
Result: Rakhmonov via decision
Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura
The flyweights put on a show right from the beginning in this main event. Both fighters showed off seemingly impossible speed as they fired off strikes early on. Asakura landed a couple of his signature knees in the first round, but Pantoja landed a right hand that dropped Asakura and he pounced to secure an advantageous position. Asakura was able to scramble and get back to his feet though, which was important because that was a big question mark coming into this fight. The champ took the first round but it looked like we would be in for an epic fight going into the second. And the action was still fast in the next frame, until Pantoja managed to take Asakura’s back. The challenger fought hard to stay out of the choke, but Pantoja eventually locked it up and Asakura went out. Even with the fact-paced, back-and-forth action, it ended up being another dominant performance by Pantoja as he secured the second round submission victory. It was a good showing by Asakura and it will be interesting to see what;s next for him, but Pantoja proved once again to be in a different class. There’s not much left for him in the current flyweight division, so Pantoja called out Demetrious Johnson, a former UFC champ who is considered to be one of the best of all time. It will be exciting to see if Johnson answers the call.
My Pick: Pantoja via 4th round submission
Result: Pantoja via 2nd round submission
The UFC will return to ESPN+ on Saturday, December 14 for UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley.