Font crushes Garbrandt’s Champ Champ dreams
Last nights fight didn’t do much good to Garbrandt’s vision of being a two-devision champion. Font looked sharp and put on the pressure, leading to a UD win. Font managed to out-strike “No Love” 183 to 78, most of which distant strikes to the head. This is a big win for Font and a big loss for Garbrandt. Font now rides the waves of a 4 fight winning streak and the win solidifies him as a true top 5 contender. Garbrandt on the other hand, is now 1-4 in his last 5. I don’t know how many fights he has left on his contract, but he has to start winning soon.
Garbrandt later took to Instagram to congratulate Font and his team on the dominant win, a classy way to take the defeat.
Earlier on the main card, Carla Esparza managed to dominate and finish Yan Xiaonan in the 2nd round. After the win she called for a shot at the flyweight strap, currently carried by “Thug” Rose Namajunas. We’ll have to see if the UFC sees a rematch with Weili as the next move for Namajunas, which seems like a very probable next fight.
Personally I don’t think a rematch with Weili is the move to make. The first fight was’t close at all. Weili ate a head kick which knocked her the fuck out, not an impressive performance to call back on for a rematch.
If Weili does get the rematch, a number one contender fight between Esparza and Jedrzejczyk seems like a good matchup to make and really gets me excited. Jedrzejczyk last fought early 2020 so a return to the octagon later this year seems likely. Jedrzejczyk is coming off a split decision loss to Weili in arguably one of the greatest fights I ever got to witness. Also, Joanna still has a bone to pick with “Thug” since her KO loss to the current champ so a shot at the title is something to take into account when looking at Joanna’s next fight.
Fight of the Night went to the Vanderaa vs Tafa fight, a bloody ordeal with a lot of action from both fighters. A nasty cut on Vanderaa’s forehead resulted in an outpouring of blood, covering the entire frontside of his torso. “The Mountain” landed some great strikes and looked like the better fighter all around. After going the distance, Vanderaa went to the ER with a UD win.
Starting of the main card Jack Hermansson overcame some adversity after the first round against Shahbazyan, who looked considerably better. Out-striking “The Joker” with apparent ease. After some corner advise, Hermansson decided to take the fight to the ground which was a great idea. It took a little while for Hermansson to initially get the takedown, but as soon as Shahbazyan hit the ground, the fight changed. Hermansson was predominantly controlling the next two rounds, racking up a good 7 minutes 11 seconds of ground control in the last two rounds alone. Some great ground ’n pound by Hermansson was shown, which he is known to be very good at. This eventually lead to a UD win, losing only the 1st round and dominantly winning the 2nd and 3rd.
Paul Felder announced in between fights that he’s taking off the gloves for good. He explained he doesn’t have ‘that fire’ anymore and wants to pursue his career in broadcasting and being an octagon-side analyst.
After a good 6,5 years with the organization and some highlight-reel performances, we say goodbye to the octagon outings of “The Irish Dragon”. Paul Felder was the last man to defeat Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira before he went on his incredible winning streak. Not only did he win, he knocked him the fuck out.
That being said, he will still analyse fights and be a part of the UFC broadcasting team alongside some of my favorite fighters!
That’s it for now, Tuesday’s update will contain the updated rankings and my prediction for yet to be scheduled fights!
UFC Today