The Good and Bad of UFC 276
Was UFCs Biggest Event of the Year a Success?
Fourth of July weekend is circled on Dana White’s calendar every year. With the NBA and NHL wrapping up their seasons and baseball approaching the All-Star break, the UFC uses the holiday weekend as an opportunity to put on what they hope to be their biggest fight card of the year.
The Notorious Conner McGregor has headlined the special weekend multiple times. However, with the Irishman enjoying retirement, the UFC desperately needs someone to step in as the new face of the company, and that is exactly what Israel Adesanya is for.
‘The Last Style Bender’ has established himself as one of the greatest strikers the UFC has ever seen in any weight class. The 6'4" Nigerian is now 23–1 in the UFC, with the only loss coming from his lone fight in the 205 weight class. On track to becoming one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time, Israel Adesanya has the perfect combination of dominance, unique fighting ability, swagger, and cockiness you need in the face of the company.
Although Adesanya was supposed to be the star coming into the paper view, Dana White must have made it clear to his fighters that if they have something to say, say it. Each of the ten fighters were confident, bold, and had a message to say to the audience. The production behind the event showcased each fighter’s personality through unique camera angles, drone shots, backstage looks, and above-the-ring shots. Toping it all was the iconic voice of Bruce Buffer to introduce the fighters (he must have had a $100,000 bonus if he strained his vocal cords last night). It all made the event truly feel like the Super Bowl of the UFC.
Of course, none of that would have mattered if the fighters didn’t put on a show, but that certainly was not the case last night. All 5 of the fights on the paper-view card were stand-up punch exchange fights; the typical viewers preferred fighting style, perfect for the giant audience they brought in. While the UFC still hadn’t fully recovered from McGregor leaving, Dana White promoted this event perfectly, landing all eyes in Vegas on Saturday. White absolutely killed everything about this weekend while, most importantly, displaying the new face of his company.
Sean O’Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz
Sugar Sean O’Malley has been the king of prelims for a while now in the UFC. Why? Once you see him fight once, you cannot forget him. People over the age of 33 probably can’t stand him. Anyone younger, he might be your favorite fighter. Nonetheless, he’s unforgettable.
The courageous 27-year-old is cocky and arrogant but thrives on social media. The Flyweight fighter has a unique personality, gaining him a lot of traction in the UFC, probably the biggest reason why he was given a spot on the main card.
His match against Pedro Munhoz was interesting, to say the least. After the fight stopped initially due to an accidental kick to the groin by O’Malley, in the very next round, another accidental move by O’Malley stopped the fight for good.
O’Malley accidentally poked his finger into the eye of Munhoz, causing his eye to shut and the doctor/official to call the match a no-decision.
Dana White was either having a heart attack or throwing chairs in the back after this happened. Not the greatest way to kick off your big summer bash. In hindsight, however, with three epic battles to follow, in an odd way, it may have been a good way to start the night. Certainly weird, but weird is good for the UFC. If you see a friend the next day and talk about the card, are you more likely to bring up an average fight that went the distance or the crazy-colored hair dude who kicked his opponent in the balls and poked his eye?
The best and worst way to start the night. Like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, It was like a good, bad movie.
Robbie Lawler vs. Bryan Barberena
If you are a fan of all offense, no defense, this fight was for you. The Welterweight battle may as well have been fought in a 5x5 room. Exchanging blow after blow to the face, these guys were a prime representation of what it means to say, “he looks like he just went ten rounds with Tyson.”
This was shockingly entertaining despite not being the most talked-about fight coming into the weekend. The referee called this match (TKO) with 13 seconds to go in the round, when Robbie Lawler could hardly stand on his feet, taking headshot after headshot.
Alex Pereira vs Sean Strickland
Ninety-nine percent of people tuning in to UFC fights just want to see someone get their lights knocked out cold. While it’s rarer than people realize, UFC 276 delivered a nasty one.
Alex Pereira, who came into the fight just 6–, missed a golden opportunity to do the Steph Curry’ night night’ celebration. After connecting on a nasty left strike to the chin, Strickland was physically sent down to one knee but mentally sent to a different dimension. His eyes roll back as he attempts to stand up before Pereira goes in for the kill with two bullseye right hands to a defenseless Strickland. The perfect KO the UFC 276 needed.
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
The co-main event title fight was brilliant. In the finale of the trilogy between the two featherweights, Alexander Volkanovski retained his Title and defeated his foe for the third consecutive time.
However, Holloway deserves a lot of head nods after what he endured for five rounds. In the second period, Holloway got cut above the eye badly. This looked like the end of the fight, and it was for all intents and purposes. The contender was losing blood fast, as the cut was deep, spewing blood all over his face and covering his eyesight. Somehow, someway, Holloway survived the rest of the round.
Volkanovski came out in the third round, trying to finish what he had started with the first blood draw. He continued to hammer the face of Holloway and re-open the cut. Not to mention the broken nose and lack of vision. Taking hit after hit, Holloway managed to stay on his feet for another five minutes.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, Volkanovski kept punishing Holloway, but he refused to go down. With the amount of blood Holloway lost due to the cut, I couldn’t believe the challenger didn’t get put to bed. He strung together a few punches in the final round, trying to take momentum, but it was short lasted.
Each round of the fight went to the Champion, but the heart of Holloway needs to be given credit after the beating he took, combined with the refusal to let the fight end early.
Volkanovski has dominated the division. After the fight, the commentary team asked themselves who could possibly be next for the Champion. Joe Rogan suggested it may be time for ‘The Great’ to move up a division.
Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier
Luckily for the UFC, the three fights before the main event were awesome. While the main event is what carrier the promotions leading up to UFC, this fight was honestly a little disappointing from an entertainment standpoint. On the other hand, however, the UFC flexed its best fighter on the roster, as Adesanya dominated the fight.
Cannonier had a good performance, didn’t make mistakes, and stuck to his game plan for the most part. However, Adesanya is playing chess while everyone is playing checkers.
‘The Last Style Bender’ is on another level right now. Mind tormenting his opponents with unpredictable strikes from unique angles; Cannonier couldn’t see half of Israel’s strikes coming.
Think of a cobra. The snake coils up, sways side to side, and dances with whatever is in front of it before its deadly strike. That is Adesanya.
Dancing with his left leg forward, then switching to his right. Starting with his right hand as his shield, then sticking it in front as the lead striker. His opponents know the wearing leg strikes and deadly punches can come at any moment, yet at the same time, they have no clue how to protect themselves from it. In his past, this has led to incredibly entertaining fights, with many ending with Adesanya going for the kill. However, UFC 267 saw the Cannonier go the distance.
Cannonier is typically a wrestler, but because of Adesanya’s incredible length and size, he admitted coming into the fight; this was going to have to be more of a kickboxing match (Adesanya’s original fight style). Cannonier stuck with this until about the fifth round. He tried tying the Champion up against the cage multiple times in the final round, but the Nigerian fighter has excellent defense and uses his length to slither away from his opponent and get back to a neutral standing position. Cannonier didn’t have a bad fight; Adesanya has just reached a level no one else is on. He’s near impossible to strike back, as he’s in and out of position before you have time to think about what’s happening. Opponents play to Adesanya’s game, not the other way around. Until someone beats him at his game, he’ll continue terrorizing the middleweight division.
The only real knock on the fight was Cannonier basically gave up in the fifth round. Clearly down big in points, fans booed the challenger in the closing seconds as he had no gas left in the tank to go for a knockout. Credit that to the damage Israel pounds his opponents with over the course of the fight.
Verdict
If it wasn’t for the closing moments of the main event being slow, this would have been a perfect weekend for the UFC. Still, the event was a huge success, with awesome fights leading to the main event, introducing us to new faces to remember. Nonetheless, everyone will be watching the next time ‘The Last Style Bender’ enters the octagon.
