UFC 231 Results
- Sean Covington
- Dec 8, 2018
- 3 min read
Main Card:
Jimi Manuwa vs Thiago Santos
They touch gloves and Thiago Santos lands some big shots on Jimi Manuwa, almost putting him away in the opening seconds. Manuwa recovered and the two traded explosive punches at the end of the round. Santos put a ton of energy into his punches and had trouble recovering after Manuwa connected with some bombs.
The power these two men unleashed in the seconds of round two was insane. Neither man ran, they stood and banged. I can’t believe Manuwa took so much punishment before he finally went down.
Santos via KO
Hakeem Dawodu vs Kyle Bochniak
Round 1, paint by numbers. The two fighters feel each other out, Kyle Bochniak goes for a takedown late in the round to secure points. Much of the same in the second round. Both men needed to just let their hands go. The leg kicks were on point but timid isn’t something you should be on the main card of a UFC PPV.
Bochniak was able to get a bit of a better takedown in the third but Hakeem Dawodu was up quicker than he was taken down.
This fight had bad luck going on after the craziness of Manuwa and Santos but it was a solid fight. A paint by numbers fight can be boring but this wasn’t one of them. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to stay as aggressive as Dawodu did against a super aggressive fighter in Bochniak.
Dawodu via split decision
Alex Oliveira vs Gunnar Nelson
Alex Oliveira was all smiles as he entered the octagon; by the end of the round Gunnar Nelson was right where Oliveira wanted him but Nelson was able to escape to the next round.
Nelson found his way on top midway through the second round where he would drop one of the vicious elbows I’ve ever seen. Oliveira was instantly cut open and the fight was stopped. The amount of blood coming out of Oliveira was unbelievable.
Nelson via TKO
Valentina Shevchenko vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Staying busy lasted all of about 90 seconds for Joanna Jedrzejczyk before Valentina Shevchenko took her down. Valentina kept JJ pressed against the cage for the duration of round one separating briefly near the end where she landed a nice spinning kick to the body on JJ.
Valentina and JJ stand up for most of the second, exchanging technical blows, nothing too serious. Valentina takes JJ to the ground again, JJ was able to get up but caught a big knee to the face from Shevchenko.
JJ finally landed some significant shots in the third round but Valentina came back with some great strikes of her own. At the end of the round Valentina landed two knees that took crazy flexibility to do from her position.
JJ was showing damage on her face and picked up the pace again in the fourth. Valentina showing once again that she could take JJ down at will and Joanna showing that she can get up anytime Valentina took her down.
Valentina backed up JJ to the cage but nothing came of it in the 5th and final round. The weight cut looked as if it was taking its toll on Valentina as JJ continuously pushed forward the entire fight.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk showed why she is one of the best fighters in the world today, she just didn’t seem to find the range with Shevchenko.
Shevchenko via unanimous decision
Brian Ortega vs Max Holloway (c)
Brian Ortega certainly wasn’t afraid to stand and trade with Max Holloway. Ortega seemed to be waiting for that one big shot. Max was catching Ortega with shots quit a bit. The takedown by Ortega didn’t stick and Max continued to catch Brian Ortega with very clean punches.
Brian Ortega’s punching power just didn’t seem to bother Holloway at all. Ortega stood his ground and would not back down from the champ. Max Holloway just picked him apart so well.
Ortega gained his composure; landing power punches in round three. The flurry from Ortega slowed him down near the end of the third round but he managed to finish strong.
Whenever these two would stand and throw hands, they would eat unbelievable shots. Max Holloway threw more combinations than I had ever seen in any fight. They were at 500 combined punches midway through the fourth round. These men just wouldn’t stop throwing punches.
The left eye of Brian Ortega was demolished; there was absolutely no way that fight could go on.
Holloway via TKO (Dr. stoppage)
A good night of fights once again. The UFC has really gotten it together and put on some world class events lately. Thankfully, the UFC has even more MMA action throughout the month, ending the year with Jones vs Gustafson 2.
Comments