UFC 197 took place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and we certainly had no shortage of highlights that took place. From the knockout that'll forever cemente the legacy of the young Yair Rodriguez to the return of the great Jon "Bones" Jones, UFC 197 certainly had the card to deliver some much needed excitement over the controversy of this whole Conor McGregor fiasco, and they didn't dissappoint from any stretch of the imagination.
Jon Jones outworks Ovince St-Preux, claims interim Light Heavyweight title
Following a litany of legal incidents starting with his hit and run incident last April, fans were wondering when the next time we'd see Jon Jones back in the octagon. Well, it came in the form of last night and much like any other performance we'd see from Jones, he dominated challenger Ovince St-Preux straight from the opening bell. Although, fans didn't exactly get to see the performance that they'd hope to see from a seemingly rusty Jones. The first round saw Jones and OSP engage in a stand up battle which no man seemed to really generate any kind of significant offense and this played into the crowd who let the main eventers know exactly how they felt. The second round saw OSP start to pick up the pace as he generated using kicks to the legs and body to set up his heavy hands which connected quite a few times to the grill of the former champion. This prompted Jones to turn it up a little bit as he used his kicking game to keep the Haitian at bay before connecting with his signature spinning back elbow. That turned the tide of the fight as Jones began to find his rhythm landing a series of oblique, body, and leg kicks while also avoiding the huge power of OSP. The fourth saw Jones get the better of OSP using a spinning back kick and a slipping right hand before taking OSP down and landing a series of elbows from the guard. OSP tried desperately to get back to his feet, but instead gave up his back where Jones continued to unload until the end of the round. With just five minutes left to seemingly pull off the impossible, OSP the first minute of the fifth stanze circling and trying to set up a big left, but it was Jones who went to work first and managed to land a big slam and land a big soccer kick to the body. After OSP connected with a counter right, the last fifteen minutes were spent with no action and left a restless crowd. The judges scored the fight 50-44, 50-45, and 50-45 in favor of Jones but the most exciting point came after the fight, when Joe Rogan interviewed Bones afterwards Jones threw his newly awarded interim light heavyweight championship and said "I don't even want this belt." hinting at a clash between his originally scheduled opponent - current Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier. Not only did it stop there, Jones flipped the bird to Cormier after the fight as he was leaving the cage. Ladies and gentlemen, Jon Jones is back, and mostly certainly he's got no shortage of brashness to stir up some controversy the way he used to.
Demetrious Johnson defends title for 7th time, KOs Henry Cejudo in the first.
Although often debated due to his lack of popularity, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson proved once again that he was the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world by dispatching a man who many thought would be his toughest challenge to date; Henry Cejudo in the first round. Cejudo came into the UFC as an undefeated former olympic gold medalist in wrestling. From December 2014 to November 2015, Cejudo made work of Dustin Kimura, Chris Cariaso, Chico Camus, and Jussier Formiga before finally meeting the champion at UFC 197. But sadly for Cejudo, his 15 minutes of fame didn't even last five. Cejudo tried to get off early with a takedown but closing the distance only put him in favor of the champion who controlled the distance throughout the first minute of the fight. Cejudo was able to get a trip takedown but Johnson quickly scrambled back to his feet where he landed a series of strikes from the clinch. After a series of knees head and body Cejudo staggered back and one more knee to the body sent Cejudo crashing down and forced referee Big John McCarthy to call a stop to the fight at 2:49 of the first round. Johnson is now undefeated in 11 fights, 10 wins with one no contest and holds the currect title holding record at 8 title defenses. Can anybody stop this guy? Let this video help tune your thoughts:
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
[/u]Edson Barboza dominates Anthony Pettis, gets biggest win of career to date.[/u]
It's hard to believe that little over a year ago Anthony "Showtime" Pettis was lightweight champion of the world. First he loses his title to current champion Rafael dos Anjos, then loses a close decision to Eddie Alvarez who's next in line to challenge, and after watching him last night at UFC 197, I (against my own personal belief) have a hard time seeing if he'll ever get back into title contention. Nothing taken away from Barboza though, as he made good on the performance he needed to cemente his spot into the top 10 of the lightweight division. Barboza started out looking well with a series of kicks to the body, jabs, and hooks in the first round. Pettis was able to get some success with a step in uppercut and some jabs of his own, but his signature spinning kicks were unsuccessful at causing any kind of signficant offense. The next round saw Barboza counter Pettis' big looping shots with quick jabs and body kick, Pettis saw little success with his hands but was able to land a couple of nice rights before having a takedown attempt stuffed. Barboza then continued to pepper Pettis with a series of low kicks and eventually dropped him to the ground. A kick to the groin halted the action but Barboza picked up right where he left off tearing apart the leg of Pettis until the final bell, Pettis attempted a flying knee out of desperation but worked to no avail. Barboza now crawls 4-2 in his last six dropping losses to Michael Johnson and Tony Ferguson while earning wins over Evan Dunham, Bobby Green, Paul Felder and most recently Pettis. As for the former champion - he now falls to 0-3 in his last three fights. Damn, you gotta get a win Showtime, for the sake of your fans!
Robert Whittaker destroys Rafael Natal, earns Unanimous Decision.
UFC President Dana White has long said that Robert Whittaker has the ability to produce Conor McGregor like fame for his home country of Austrailia, and his match up against Rafael Natal served as a stage to set for that wanted popularity. And although he was able to finish the fight, he most certainly didn't disapprove of any audiences. He started off by putting leather on Natal's face stuffing an unsuccessful takedown from Natal after many staggering exchanges. Both men connected with rights but Whittaker's did more damage and had Natal in a world of trouble just before the first round ended. Natal tried to get some momentum going as Whittaker continued to peg away at him with crosses and hooks but Natal managed to get that low kick going. Whittaker eventually came back and landed a series of heavy hands before missing an uppercut. Natal tried to shoot in for a takedown but got punished on the inside before Whittaker attempted a wild lunging head kick which signaled the end of the round. A low kick to the nuts halted the action at the beginning of the third but Whittaker continued to a land of series of rights as Natal continued to kick away. Whittaker got Natal backing up with a series of chopping low kicks but Whittaker once again rocked Natal with one of his left hands who was beginning to show the signs of his hands from bleeding. Natal did however manage to bust up Whittaker's leg with red welts before Whittaker nearly finished Natal with a huge head kick. After a brief slugging, all three judges scored the contest 30-27 for Whittaker who is now 5-0 in his last 5 and undefeated since making the jump from welterweight to middleweight.
Yair Rodriguez cementes his hype with brutal KO
23 year old Yair Rodriguez may be one of the most exciting young prospects in the UFC's Featherweight division. His flashy strikings has earned the ire of many of MMA critics and he certainly filled those shoes in his main card bout against Andre Fili. Rodriguez showed his superiour kick boxing not only by landing a series of his own out of the opening stanza, but also by dumping Fili to the mat after catching one of his own. From there, the mexican prospect continued to tee off on Fili before a side control pass cost him his position. Back on the feet Rodriguez tagged Fili with a hard leg kick before using his unique innovative offense, Fili attempted a takedown but worked to no avail before the closure of the first round. In the second round, however, one of the most amazing things happened as a takedown forced Fili to the ground and as soon as they rose... Rodriguez hits Fili with a FLYING SWITCH KICK TO THE JAW. This spelled the end of the bout and Rodriguez has definitely cemented the hype that many including UFC President Dana White have been high on over the last little while. If you want an idea of how amazing this was Check out the video below! Rodriguez now climbs to 4-0 since winning the first Ultimate Fighter: Latin America series where as Fili now falls to 3-3 in his last six fights. Just look at this damn kick.
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
Final Results
Jon Jones def. Ovince St-Preux via Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45) to win interim Light Heavyweight Championship
Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO at 2:49 of Rd. 1 to defend Flyweight Championship
Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via KO at 2:15 of Rd. 1
Author: Alex Cochrane
Sources: MMAfighting.com
Images: Bleacher report, UFC.TV, USA Today
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Bones is back baby! I think people are a little critical of his performance, I mean it's not like he created no action at all, he fights at a championship level, I don't understand why people expect him to run through people, like at how GSP handled business.
I always said that Mighty Mouse is probably the most efficient fighter. Obviously Jon Jones is up there because he's efficient and more exciting but Mighty Mouse is the more technically sound IMO, and it's because he's nearly 80 lbs lighter. Us little guys have to do that ya know! Plus he showed how Muay Thai guys can beat wrestlers, so much for wrestling being the best base for MMA lol.
Damn Pettis, what the fuck?
Robert Whittaker is definitely exciting to watch, but I don't think that win will really do all that much for him.
I knew Yair was hype worthy but after something like that? He'll be talked about for ages.
Jon Jones outworks Ovince St-Preux, claims interim Light Heavyweight title
Following a litany of legal incidents starting with his hit and run incident last April, fans were wondering when the next time we'd see Jon Jones back in the octagon. Well, it came in the form of last night and much like any other performance we'd see from Jones, he dominated challenger Ovince St-Preux straight from the opening bell. Although, fans didn't exactly get to see the performance that they'd hope to see from a seemingly rusty Jones. The first round saw Jones and OSP engage in a stand up battle which no man seemed to really generate any kind of significant offense and this played into the crowd who let the main eventers know exactly how they felt. The second round saw OSP start to pick up the pace as he generated using kicks to the legs and body to set up his heavy hands which connected quite a few times to the grill of the former champion. This prompted Jones to turn it up a little bit as he used his kicking game to keep the Haitian at bay before connecting with his signature spinning back elbow. That turned the tide of the fight as Jones began to find his rhythm landing a series of oblique, body, and leg kicks while also avoiding the huge power of OSP. The fourth saw Jones get the better of OSP using a spinning back kick and a slipping right hand before taking OSP down and landing a series of elbows from the guard. OSP tried desperately to get back to his feet, but instead gave up his back where Jones continued to unload until the end of the round. With just five minutes left to seemingly pull off the impossible, OSP the first minute of the fifth stanze circling and trying to set up a big left, but it was Jones who went to work first and managed to land a big slam and land a big soccer kick to the body. After OSP connected with a counter right, the last fifteen minutes were spent with no action and left a restless crowd. The judges scored the fight 50-44, 50-45, and 50-45 in favor of Jones but the most exciting point came after the fight, when Joe Rogan interviewed Bones afterwards Jones threw his newly awarded interim light heavyweight championship and said "I don't even want this belt." hinting at a clash between his originally scheduled opponent - current Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier. Not only did it stop there, Jones flipped the bird to Cormier after the fight as he was leaving the cage. Ladies and gentlemen, Jon Jones is back, and mostly certainly he's got no shortage of brashness to stir up some controversy the way he used to.
Demetrious Johnson defends title for 7th time, KOs Henry Cejudo in the first.
Although often debated due to his lack of popularity, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson proved once again that he was the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world by dispatching a man who many thought would be his toughest challenge to date; Henry Cejudo in the first round. Cejudo came into the UFC as an undefeated former olympic gold medalist in wrestling. From December 2014 to November 2015, Cejudo made work of Dustin Kimura, Chris Cariaso, Chico Camus, and Jussier Formiga before finally meeting the champion at UFC 197. But sadly for Cejudo, his 15 minutes of fame didn't even last five. Cejudo tried to get off early with a takedown but closing the distance only put him in favor of the champion who controlled the distance throughout the first minute of the fight. Cejudo was able to get a trip takedown but Johnson quickly scrambled back to his feet where he landed a series of strikes from the clinch. After a series of knees head and body Cejudo staggered back and one more knee to the body sent Cejudo crashing down and forced referee Big John McCarthy to call a stop to the fight at 2:49 of the first round. Johnson is now undefeated in 11 fights, 10 wins with one no contest and holds the currect title holding record at 8 title defenses. Can anybody stop this guy? Let this video help tune your thoughts:
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
[/u]Edson Barboza dominates Anthony Pettis, gets biggest win of career to date.[/u]
It's hard to believe that little over a year ago Anthony "Showtime" Pettis was lightweight champion of the world. First he loses his title to current champion Rafael dos Anjos, then loses a close decision to Eddie Alvarez who's next in line to challenge, and after watching him last night at UFC 197, I (against my own personal belief) have a hard time seeing if he'll ever get back into title contention. Nothing taken away from Barboza though, as he made good on the performance he needed to cemente his spot into the top 10 of the lightweight division. Barboza started out looking well with a series of kicks to the body, jabs, and hooks in the first round. Pettis was able to get some success with a step in uppercut and some jabs of his own, but his signature spinning kicks were unsuccessful at causing any kind of signficant offense. The next round saw Barboza counter Pettis' big looping shots with quick jabs and body kick, Pettis saw little success with his hands but was able to land a couple of nice rights before having a takedown attempt stuffed. Barboza then continued to pepper Pettis with a series of low kicks and eventually dropped him to the ground. A kick to the groin halted the action but Barboza picked up right where he left off tearing apart the leg of Pettis until the final bell, Pettis attempted a flying knee out of desperation but worked to no avail. Barboza now crawls 4-2 in his last six dropping losses to Michael Johnson and Tony Ferguson while earning wins over Evan Dunham, Bobby Green, Paul Felder and most recently Pettis. As for the former champion - he now falls to 0-3 in his last three fights. Damn, you gotta get a win Showtime, for the sake of your fans!
Robert Whittaker destroys Rafael Natal, earns Unanimous Decision.
UFC President Dana White has long said that Robert Whittaker has the ability to produce Conor McGregor like fame for his home country of Austrailia, and his match up against Rafael Natal served as a stage to set for that wanted popularity. And although he was able to finish the fight, he most certainly didn't disapprove of any audiences. He started off by putting leather on Natal's face stuffing an unsuccessful takedown from Natal after many staggering exchanges. Both men connected with rights but Whittaker's did more damage and had Natal in a world of trouble just before the first round ended. Natal tried to get some momentum going as Whittaker continued to peg away at him with crosses and hooks but Natal managed to get that low kick going. Whittaker eventually came back and landed a series of heavy hands before missing an uppercut. Natal tried to shoot in for a takedown but got punished on the inside before Whittaker attempted a wild lunging head kick which signaled the end of the round. A low kick to the nuts halted the action at the beginning of the third but Whittaker continued to a land of series of rights as Natal continued to kick away. Whittaker got Natal backing up with a series of chopping low kicks but Whittaker once again rocked Natal with one of his left hands who was beginning to show the signs of his hands from bleeding. Natal did however manage to bust up Whittaker's leg with red welts before Whittaker nearly finished Natal with a huge head kick. After a brief slugging, all three judges scored the contest 30-27 for Whittaker who is now 5-0 in his last 5 and undefeated since making the jump from welterweight to middleweight.
Yair Rodriguez cementes his hype with brutal KO
23 year old Yair Rodriguez may be one of the most exciting young prospects in the UFC's Featherweight division. His flashy strikings has earned the ire of many of MMA critics and he certainly filled those shoes in his main card bout against Andre Fili. Rodriguez showed his superiour kick boxing not only by landing a series of his own out of the opening stanza, but also by dumping Fili to the mat after catching one of his own. From there, the mexican prospect continued to tee off on Fili before a side control pass cost him his position. Back on the feet Rodriguez tagged Fili with a hard leg kick before using his unique innovative offense, Fili attempted a takedown but worked to no avail before the closure of the first round. In the second round, however, one of the most amazing things happened as a takedown forced Fili to the ground and as soon as they rose... Rodriguez hits Fili with a FLYING SWITCH KICK TO THE JAW. This spelled the end of the bout and Rodriguez has definitely cemented the hype that many including UFC President Dana White have been high on over the last little while. If you want an idea of how amazing this was Check out the video below! Rodriguez now climbs to 4-0 since winning the first Ultimate Fighter: Latin America series where as Fili now falls to 3-3 in his last six fights. Just look at this damn kick.
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
Final Results
Jon Jones def. Ovince St-Preux via Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45) to win interim Light Heavyweight Championship
Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO at 2:49 of Rd. 1 to defend Flyweight Championship
Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via KO at 2:15 of Rd. 1
Author: Alex Cochrane
Sources: MMAfighting.com
Images: Bleacher report, UFC.TV, USA Today
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Bones is back baby! I think people are a little critical of his performance, I mean it's not like he created no action at all, he fights at a championship level, I don't understand why people expect him to run through people, like at how GSP handled business.
I always said that Mighty Mouse is probably the most efficient fighter. Obviously Jon Jones is up there because he's efficient and more exciting but Mighty Mouse is the more technically sound IMO, and it's because he's nearly 80 lbs lighter. Us little guys have to do that ya know! Plus he showed how Muay Thai guys can beat wrestlers, so much for wrestling being the best base for MMA lol.
Damn Pettis, what the fuck?
Robert Whittaker is definitely exciting to watch, but I don't think that win will really do all that much for him.
I knew Yair was hype worthy but after something like that? He'll be talked about for ages.
