The Hit List: The Five Top Moments From UFC Fight Night
On paper, UFC Fairfax looked primed to be a great card. It played out as good or better than most could have expected.
Here are our five top moments from Saturday's breakfast brawling. Read on and let us know yours on Twitter and in the comments section!
Mendes keeps top contender position
Let's face it: Chad Mendes fought featherweight champion Jose Aldo close and well enough in their amazing title rematch last year to earn an immediate third bout. That didn't happen, in large part, because of a little talk-and-KO machine named Conor McGregor.
So Mendes got back to the drawing board Saturday in Fairfax and faced about as tough of a fighter as he could without taking on Aldo again or Frankie Edgar, in Ricardo Lamas. Though Mendes was understandably favored heading into the fight, he and Lamas' two similar styles and ability levels promised to make for a competitive fight.
And it was. At least for a minute or two.
Lamas scored with solid leg kicks, one of which Mendes said made his knee buckle. Mendes was just getting warmed up, however, and when he connected first and flush with a short right hook, Lamas was never the same.
"The Bully" dropped, and Mendes continued with ground strikes until he guilted referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight. Mendes' quick win was impressive because of whom he got it over.
Lamas was on a two-fight win streak since losing to Aldo. Heck, against Aldo he even managed to finish strong -- taking the champ down and pounding on him in the fifth round of their title contest.
The point is, Lamas is very good. In the featherweight division, there is Aldo, Mendes, Edgar, Lamas, and then there is everyone else.
Mendes showed that he is definitely the No. 2 guy in the division, and hopefully he is no more than one fight away from another crack at the belt.
Julianna Pena puts stamp on her return, and division
Julianna Pena was an inspiration by simply stepping back into the cage after horrible leg injuries that kept her out of action for a year and a half, after she won "The Ultimate Fighter." However, the violent vixen didn't just step into the Octagon Saturday night; she owned it.
After a rough start in which she over-pursued Milana Dudieva with punches and got taken down, Pena rallied back with an arm bar attempt, a scramble to her feet, and her own takedown.
Just as she did on "TUF," Pena showed that once she's on top on the ground, chances are the fight is close to over. Pena bashed her opponent from the mount, the back, and the mount again, until the referee stepped in to stop it.
Afterward, Pena was awarded a performance bonus of $50,000, which probably feels like a million bucks after not earning for a year and a half, and expecting only her modest base pay. Pena was sitting up on a small stage in the media room in the back of the Patriot Center during the start of the post-event news conference when she heard the news.
Overcome with joy at the life-changing news, she cried. Watching her, it was hard not to well up along with her.
Pena makes it easy to cheer for her, and the constantly improving fighter is making it easy for the UFC to move her up the contender ranks in the bantamweight division.
Clay Guida's slamming performance
There was a time when Clay Guida's frenetic and aggressive wrestling style of fighting packed local Northern Illinois banquet halls, gyms and theaters with supporters who chanted for him and his brother Jason: "Guida! Guida!" Over the past nine years or so, it has been amazing to see Clay bring that style to the UFC, find incredible success with it and evoke the "Guida!" chant in big arenas all over the world.
Guida's accomplishments in the UFC include wins over the likes of Rafael Dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz. Saturday, Guida looked as good as ever against a young and dangerous fighter in Robbie Peralta.
On the feet, Guida's work with Edmond Tarvedyan in Los Angeles and with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento seemed to pay off as he looked smoother, with a better sense of distance than he has ever had before. Though he scored nicely a few times with an overhand right and a high kick, Guida was smart enough to use just enough striking to set up his bread and butter: takedowns.
And, as is often the case with his takedowns, they were of the dramatic, high-flying variety. Guida didn't just drag Peralta down to the ground and threaten with submissions there; time and again he scooped him up, lifted him overhead and slammed him down to the mat violently.
It's no wonder why, long after he was done fighting Saturday and was announced the winner, the Fairfax crowd kept chanting, "Guida! Guida!"
Chad Mendes looked impressive with a first round TKO win over top contender Ricardo Lamas.
Dustin Poirier looks sharp, and happy, at lightweight
Dustin Poirier always fought well at lightweight, and when he went down to featherweight, he also had success. He was, however, a bit more miserable during training camp than he perhaps needed to be while fighting at 145.
Saturday, Poirier fought and won with an impressive TKO over the very good Diego Ferreira in a return to the lightweight division. Afterward, Poirier said he intends to stay at 155 pounds for fights.
He was able to eat during training camp this time around, as opposed to the near-insane regimen he had to keep while fighting at featherweight. During those camps, he said his No. 1 focus was simply on making 145 pounds, not necessarily on getting better as a fighter.
On Friday night, I ran into him in an elevator and he was even brighter and more cheerful than he appeared to be hours before while weighing in. "It definitely feels better," he admitted, "but 155 is a big cut, too." I believed him.
That seconds-long elevator conversation was the first time I'd ever stood next to Poirier, and he was significantly bigger than many UFC lightweights. It is no wonder then that while competing at featherweight, even an extra single almond consumed on one day would mess his weight up the next day.
Hopefully Poirier continues to treat his body a little bit better by cutting down to only 155 pounds, which, again, looks to be a pretty big weight drop. He's long been one of the most well-rounded young fighters in the world, and if he's able to concentrate on skill development and not just diet and dehydration, he could continue to rise in the ranks.
Dustin Poirier punches Diego Ferreira in their lightweight fight Saturday.
Al Iaquinta gives fans some of their own medicine
Yesterday, I defended in writing Al Iaquinta's cussing at booing fans after his win over Jorge Masvidal in the Fairfax co-main event. Not only do I feel he was justified in doing so for the reasons mentioned in that article, Iaquinta standing up for himself and then later explaining how the undeserved jeers were hurtful was one of the highlights of the entire weekend for me.
I regret that it took a fighter getting mistreated by those he worked so hard to entertain for it to happen, but I've long wished for fighters who are routinely casually but loudly disrespected on social media and during events to speak up about how absurd and bad it is. Some folks seem to believe that paying for a ticket to a sporting event gives them the right to curse and mistreat the actual participants in the sport.
It does not. I don't want to live in a world where it would.
It is time for us all to put down the beer(s), stop living vicariously through others and instead get inspired by the incredible feats we see in the ring and on the field, and go do something with our lives. Maybe there's nothing wrong with not having the guts or skill to do what professional athletes, especially fighters, do.
But if we don't, isn't that all the more reason to appreciate and respect those who do? It was cathartic to see Iaquinta call B.S. on the notion that athletes should just accept abuse rained down on them from the peanut gallery, and it has been amusing to read comments on Facebook and Twitter from readers who admitted to booing but were offended that Iaquinta gave them some of their own medicine.
