#ufc307

[theanticool]

Joaquin Buckley KOs Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in the 3rd - UFC 307

[theanticool]

Mario Bautista squeaks by Jose Aldo via cage grinding.

The fact that all these much younger/fresher fighters are out here struggling to do anything of significance against an obviously diminished Aldo at altitude is wild. Bautista couldn't do anything but push Aldo to the cage and hold him there. Just like Merab. Not going to argue Bautista didn't win it cause nothing much happened in that 3rd round outside of the cage wrestling but oh boy, this is not how you want to beat someone like Aldo. Still out here keeping these folks honest.

[theanticool]

Pereira has never been a defensively aware fighter. Relies on that tall guy defense a lot to just back up and lean out the way. Not surprised Khalil is landing on the blitz. But not too sure Rountree can keep landing those if he’s being forced to move backwards like he was in the 1st. Found that right hook a couple times. It’s like a sprint every time he comes forward. He’s been coming up just short.

[theanticool]

Alex Pereira KOs Khalil Rountree in the 4th round

Props to Rountree and his team. Great gameplan. You know that Pereira is going to lean back and retreat in straight lines. So you train your extremely fast, powerful puncher to punish that. Straight punches, sometimes doubling up on the rear hand with the open guard match up. Keep Pereira honest by having that right hook on a trigger. Pereira looked ready to take the fight over in the 2nd round before missing on that head kick. The right hook comes while Pereira's back is still turned and then all of a sudden it's another Rountree round.

But Pereira came correct with the leg kicks and attritive damage. The leg kicks to Rountree's lead leg at space did a great job of helping to slow him down. Attacking the body with those kicks also helped wind him in the third. The jab was also fantastic. Kept it on Rountree, who was trying to counter with the rear hand off it but swinging and missing. Proved too much for Rountree who fell apart in round 4. Stumbling about while Pereira switched between picking him off with smart singular shots and just going ham for the finish.

This is a fight that probably shouldn't have been made but happy it was. We got to see Pereira in a genuine unique challenge by a extremely talented but flawed fighter.

[theanticool]

Almeida with 3 straight fouls inside of 45 seconds of fighting. A man after my own heart.

[theanticool]

Tecia Pennington takes UD over Carla Esparza in Esparza's retirement bout.

Not an action fight and very much looking like a fight between two fighters with a foot out the door, but a nice send off effort for Carla Esparza. Pennington came out uncharacteristically hot. Marched straight into the pocket and started throwing heat. Had Esparza really badly hurt before getting taken down and controlled for the last 2.5 minutes.

From the 2nd on, it was primarily a tepid kickboxing match with Pennington's corner advising her to fight from the outside in order to prevent the takedown. While Esparza had success blitzing forward because Pennington was looking to set her feet, she was also eating leg kicks. Like a lot of them. And when Pennington did lead, she scored as Esparza did not have the defensive skills to evade or make her pay with the takedown.

Hats off to Esparza. Crazy career. From fighting Megumi Fujii on the untelevised Bellator prelims for a shot at 100k to first ever Invicta FC strawweight champion to first ever UFC strawweight champion to first ever fighter to lost the title and win it back like 7 years later.

1-0 for the power couple on the night as we wait to see what becomes of Raquel Pennington's title defense.

[theanticool]

Well, this is going to be a long 5 rounds. Pena and Pennington content to exchange jabs from way too far out. I like that Pennington is willing to triple/quadruple up but she’s not doing anything with the position as Pena backs into the cage.

[theanticool]

Joaquin Buckley knocks out Stephen Thompson in the 3rd round!

Huge KO by Buckley late to secure himself the win against his biggest named opponent to date. From the onset it looked like the plan was to explode forward and try to tie up with Wonderboy. Get to his hips or the body lock and then try to grapple him to the ground. He managed to push Thompson backwards into the fence and get him down a couple times but it wasn't keeping him down. But Thompson was also allowing himself to be pressured into the fence by a guy who was hopping straight forward. Again, age. Those types of entries are things Wonderboy used to make his bread and butter with the counter on. But Buckley is legit fast so while Thompson did land some nice counters moving backwards, it wasn't enough to keep Buckley from just charging him along the fence. And that's what cost Thompson. Instead of circling or using his arms to frame off, he throws up a half hearted kick with his back to the fence and eats an wound up right hook from Buckley that crumbles him to the floor and stops the fight. This is why I don't like people kicking on the back foot. You're inviting someone to step in and hit you while you have a foot off the ground.

Huge win for Buckley, placing him promptly in the top ten at welterweight. Some big fights to be made for him - JDM, Garry, Brady, or Neal. Fun fights (possibly).