Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
It became once a jam-packed Saturday for TV sports.
Two top-three college soccer groups on one community. A Game 7 for a time out to the World Series on any other. And warming up within the wrestle sports bullpen, ideal essentially the most-anticipated boxing match of 2020.
Meanwhile, nearly 8,000 miles a long way flung from any of them, the UFC became once again on Battle Island.
And while the names turning up within the United Arab Emirates this time round did not pretty rival folks that’ll be working the UFC 254 aspect of the avenue next weekend, they nonetheless placed on an eventful music for the eager followers who decided to tune in to the ESPN+ broadcast.
Eventful for pretty a ramification of causes, nonetheless you are going to win no hints right here—beyond our announcing that anyone who spent a really very prolonged time in front of the refrigerator, or in completely different places, overlooked plenty.
Suffice to snarl 11 fights yield pretty a ramification of winners and losers of all shapes and sizes.
Read through to envision what took put aside of dwelling or to simply to contemplate whether your checklist jibes with ours.
Winner: Unique and Improved
It became once nearly 700 days since his closing fight and nearly 1,000 days since his closing make a selection.
But Brian Ortega regarded so factual after a layoff that it shall be five years prior to he returns all over again.
A TKO loser to then-featherweight champ Max Holloway the closing time he entered the Octagon, a leaner, sharper and all-round worthy-improved Ortega turned within the ideal spotlight performance of his profession in a clear unanimous resolution defeat of “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in Saturday’s major match.
All three scorecards gave a 50-45 shutout to Ortega, who entered the cage because the No. 2 contender at 145 kilos when put next to Jung’s arrival because the division’s fourth-ranked challenger.
B/R agreed with the scoring and additionally gave all five rounds to Ortega, who improved to 15-1 in a decade-prolonged pro profession and regarded fully healed from myriad health concerns as neatly.
“All my homies that rolled with me after the closing one, I fancy you,” Ortega acknowledged. “For all those that counted me out, learn about programs to depend mom f—–s.”
The 29-year-stale landed 117 strikes to Jung’s 66, dropped him with a spinning factual elbow within the second round and continuously produced offense while conserving his man out of kinds with efficient go and intermittent takedown makes an try.
“We’re if truth be told seeing Brian Ortega make a selection on the second phases of his profession,” ESPN+ analyst Dan Hardy acknowledged. “They went again into the laboratory and so that they stripped away at him, they changed him, they improved him. This form of fight makes me furious to win him a shot with the champion.”
That champion, Alexander Volkanovski, has earned two wins over Holloway since Ortega’s failed title shot and became once commenting on the fight in right time through Twitter. Ortega became once told prior to the fight that a make a selection would make him the subsequent shot at Volkanovski.
“All people thought I took some spoil day, nonetheless I had some surgeries and got again to work,” he acknowledged. “I had to get better at every thing. We’re gonna discover if I’m ready (for Volkanovski). You don’t grow in a comfort zone. Yeah, we’re ready.”
Loser: Ignoring the Physique
Don’t mediate physique photos are really a thing on the easiest stage?
Katlyn Chookagian would beg to fluctuate.
The No. 1 flyweight contender had Jessica Andrade up against the fence and became once about to lift a onerous knee when her opponent turned the tables with an stale-college counterattack.
Andrade landed first with a factual hook to Chookagian’s midsection, sending her reeling and spinning backward all the blueprint throughout the mat with a sickening grimace on her face. Andrade like a flash pursued and leapt in with three more physique photos—a right left, factual, left aggregate—that carried out Chookagian off interior of a round.
The afflicted fighter fell to her fingers and knees and became once rescued by referee Max Grishin at 4: 55.
“Whenever you occur to fight with happiness, there’s ideal one consequence you can procure,” Andrade acknowledged. “Now I’m No. 1 and I’d hang to win a title shot with Valentina (Shevchenko).”
She grew to change into the principle lady to make your mind up fights in three UFC weight lessons and acknowledged the point of interest on the physique became once an intentional device hatched as a consequence of Chookagian’s pre-fight weight decrease.
“We educated that again within the locker room,” Andrade acknowledged. “My grasp became once announcing ‘Chase to the physique, she’s lost pretty a ramification of weight.’”
Winner: Listening to from the Boss
When Dana White himself affords you kudos, you’ve performed your job.
That’s precisely the circumstance Australian gentle heavyweight Jimmy Crute chanced on himself in after a devastating first-round KO of Lithuanian prospect Modestas Bukauskas.
“Nice job factual there,” the UFC president acknowledged from cage-aspect, moments after the fight became once stopped in 121 seconds. “That became once a factual one, kid.”
That’s an understatement, Dana.
Crute countered a Bukauskas payment with a superbly timed overhand factual, proper now shedding the 6’3”, 205-pounder to the mat in a heap. Bukauskas became once met with a sweeping factual hook as he started to upward thrust and became once driven again to the fence by a left hand as Crute pounced.
“I went to stroll off,” Crute acknowledged, “and then I had to retain going.”
One more brutal factual hand to a inclined and defenseless foe adopted, prompting an intervention from referee Anders Ohlsson at 2: 01.
Bukauskas had started the fight with lateral go as Crute pursued with leg kicks, lastly rendering his man quite more stationary on the technique to the closing sequence.
“I went again to the game notion,” Crute acknowledged, “The game notion became once to diminish his leg up and never let him pass.”
Winner: Toughing it Out
This upright in, James Krause is an stale-college badass.
The neatly-known cornerman shook off his trainer cape and stepped into the cage as a fighter all over again on Saturday’s major music, handing streaking Brazilian welterweight Claudio Silva his first loss since 2007 with a unanimous resolution shutout—after taking the bout on upright 12 days’ look.
“Closing time (in February) I wished a day to trudge to middleweight,” he acknowledged. “So I figured why not invent it 12 to trudge to welterweight.”
And to hear Krause elaborate it, he did two-thirds of it with a “torn up” left knee.
The Missouri native told his team that he’d injured the knee after taking an interior leg kick from Silva within the principle round, nonetheless he bit down on the mouthpiece, moved as neatly as he might well on the gimpy wheel and silent outfought his foe on the toes all the blueprint through 15 minutes.
Krause carried out with an 80-68 edge in strikes and became once faster and sharper with his fists all the blueprint through.
Silva lumbered towards the cage and climbed to the pinnacle with fingers aloft in an obvious celebration at the closing horn, nonetheless he nodded and clapped softly when the resolution became once introduced.
“He got me with a factual kick, an interior low kick within the principle round, and I knew (the knee) became once tousled,” he acknowledged. “Normally I’d hang to push the tempo quite harder. But it’s what it’s.”
Loser: Accepting a Gift
All people knew the preliminary characteristic bout would be memorable.
In spite of every thing, it became once a matchup of two heralded UFC newbies, one of whom became once unbeaten as a good and any other who’d been prepping for a prime-stage change since his days in elementary college.
But when you suggest you saw what transpired after the bout between Mateusz Gamrot and Guram Kutateladze coming, we’re going to must call bulls—t.
The nip-and-tuck three-rounder at gentle-weight featured 112 landed strikes, five takedowns and a knockdown between the 2 fighters, prior to a spoil up resolution on the scorecards—entire with a trio of reed-skinny 29-28 tabulations—went to Kutateladze.
Self-discipline became once the winner wanted no half of a celebration.
“I’m an knowing man. It wasn’t my fight. I’m sorry to snarl nonetheless it with out a doubt wasn’t my fight,” Kutateladze told a disquieted Daniel Cormier in mid-cage, prior to turning to Gamrot as he exited and announcing “You are a warrior brother, thank you so worthy. I told you it became once your fight.”
Gamrot became once indeed superior within the statistical breakdown, connecting on 69 of the aforementioned strikes, producing the general takedowns and working up better than three minutes of retain an eye on time.
He became once never ready to retain the violence, nonetheless, and Cormier steered midway throughout the fight that Kutateladze, who trains with summertime phenom Khamzat Chimaev, became once as much as tempo.
The Pole fared better within the third round, prompting a reversal from Cormier by the pinnacle of the bout.
“This Mateusz Gamrot is a man that I hang to explore fight,” he acknowledged. “Dude can struggle.”
For the memoir, B/R gave all three rounds to Gamrot, scoring it 3-0.
Don’t blame us, Guram.
Winner: The “Other” Nurmagomedov
For the record, Said Nurmagomedov is not on the level of the Nurmagomedov who’ll fight next week.
But in terms of impressive performances, he’s a tough act for the lightweight champion to follow.
Stepping into the Octagon for the fourth time, the 28-year-old bantamweight—who’s no relation to Khabib—showed fight-defining one-shot power, rattling foe Mark Striegl with a fall-away left hook and following up with enough punishment to get a stop after just 51 seconds of Round 1.
“I got him with a left hook and then he wanted to go to my legs and wrestle,” Nurmagomedov said. “I just kept punching him until he fell and then I knocked him out.”
Indeed, the decisive sequence began as Striegl, a UFC newcomer, charged forward and prompted the Russian to step back off balance as he launched a looping left hand.
The shot clipped Striegl along the right side of his head and dropped him to knees. He rose quickly, but Nurmagomedov sensed the opening as Striegl went for a takedown and drove him back to the canvas, where he landed another dozen shots before referee Lukasz Bosacki stepped in.
“I’m ready for top 10, top 15, I’m going to show much more,” Nurmagomedov said. “I’m just going to go home to spend time with my family and then eat.”
UFC Fight Night 180 Full Card Results
Main Card
Brian Ortega def. Chan Sung Jung by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Jéssica Andrade def. Katlyn Chookagian by TKO, 4:55, Round 1
Jimmy Crute def. Modestas Bukauskas by KO, 2:01, Round 1
James Krause def. Cláudio Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Martinez def. Thomas Almeida by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Guram Kutateladze def. Mateusz Gamrot by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Gillian Robertson def. Poliana Botelho by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Jun Yong Park def. John Phillips by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)
Fares Ziam def. Jamie Mullarkey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Maxim Grishin def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO, 4:58, Round 2
Said Nurmagomedov def. Mark Striegl by KO, 0:51, Round 1
UFC Fight Night 180 Bonuses
Battle of the Evening
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Guram Kutateladze
Performances of the Evening
Jimmy Crute, Jessica Andrade
