Following an incredible night of fights at UFC 249, there were worries that last night’s card wouldn’t be able to deliver the same level of entertainment, especially with only one title bout that many saw as an easy fight to predict going in and with three out of the five main card fights being fought in the Bantamweight division, a division currently without a champion.
However, any fight fan who chose to skip this card sorely missed out on a night that absolutely shook up how people are talking about the Bantamweight division, a gutsy performance in defeat by title challenger Felicia Spencer and an emotional victory on the prelims for Cody Stamann.
Doing it for Jacob:
One of the stories that flew somewhat under the radar going into the event was the weight on Featherweight fighter Cody Stamann’s shoulders, only a week removed from the tragic and unfortunate passing of his brother Jacob at only 18 years-old, it would have been understandable for Stamann to request the fight to be postponed.
However, Stamann would press on and put on a hell of a performance against Brian Kelleher, getting the nod on all three judges scorecards for a unanimous decision victory. It also must be said that Kelleher showed class in defeat, recognising the struggle his adversary must have gone through not only to make the walk to the octagon but to also to battle for the full 15 minutes, embracing Stamann as soon as the horn sounded for the end of the final round.
In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Stamann described his mindset for the bout, saying how he had to ‘buckle up and be a man to get this done, for him, my family, for myself’. Cody would also be incredibly humble in victory, thanking his cornermen for their support saying that ‘they told me, let’s do this for your brother and we’ll mourn him afterwards. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing’.
A fistful of ‘Sugar’:
It was a bad night to be undefeated at UFC 250, as both Light Heavyweight fighter Alonzo Menifield and 20-year-old Featherweight prospect Chase Hooper both suffered their first losses by unanimous decision. Sean O’Malley, however, wasn’t going to let his fight with Eddie Wineland be decided by the judges.
O’Malley would connect flush with a straight right hand two minutes into the first round that knocked Wineland out cold, O’Malley then pulling off his best Mark Hunt impression with the walk-off knockout (not the last that fight fans would see on the card).
‘Sugar’ Sean would improve to 12-0 with the win over the former WEC champion, this being his eighth first round finish.
Sterling wins title eliminator:
With Henry Cejudo retiring, the title picture in the 135-pound division was in serious need of some clarity, and fight fans got all the answers that they needed during last night’s card. Dana White has previously made his intentions known to pit the man who was supposed to face Cejudo for the belt at UFC 249 before travel restrictions stood in the way, José Aldo against the 14-1 Russian, Petr Yan for the vacant championship and confirmed in the post-fight press conference that the negotiations for the matchup were close to finished.
White also confirmed that the victory on the main card for Aljamain Sterling, who tapped out Cory Sandhagen via rear-naked-choke in the first round would be considered as a title eliminator fight, meaning that if all goes to plan, ‘Funkmaster’ will be rewarded with the next shot at the Bantamweight gold, facing the winner of Yan vs Aldo.
One fighter that seems to have been left out in all of this however is the man who is actually ranked number one in the division, Marlon Moraes. Moraes was originally scheduled to face off against Petr Yan in a headline bout at a UFC card in Kazakhstan in June, but that fight has since been cancelled due to the pandemic and Yan is now rebooked to fight Aldo, presumably in June. With Sterling receiving the next shot at the belt and with other fighters in the division surging forward, it will be interesting to see how Moraes fits into the title picture.
Garbrandt outdraws the horn:
As if the Bantamweight division didn’t already have enough moving parts coming out of this event, UFC 250 also saw a return to force for former champion ‘No Love’ Cody Garbrandt following a three-fight skid.
Garbrandt appeared much more reserved and patient with his shots that he has been in the past, noting that change himself in his post-fight interview, saying ‘I know I’m a skilled fighter, I’m fast, I’m strong, I’m technical. But I just give these fights away when I brawl, I have too much fight in me at times.’
The finish came with only one second left in the second round with Garbrandt slipping under a hook from Raphael Assuncao and unloading a brutal overhand right, with the horn to end the round ringing out before Assuncao even hit the ground.
It was one of the most shocking knockouts in recent memory and capped off a night of incredible finishes, with four fighters being awarded Performance of the Night bonuses, Garbrandt, Sterling, O’Malley and Alex Perez, who scored a rare leg kick TKO on the early preliminary bouts.
With all of the contenders at 135-pounds, it was surprising to hear Cody at the post-fight conference call for a matchup with Petr Yan on ‘Fight Island’, even proposing a Pride-style Bantamweight tournament to determine the true champion amongst all of the contenders.
Who’s next on the Lioness’ hunt?
The main event of the evening was a bout for the UFC Women’s Featherweight championship between challenger Felicia Spencer and the woman who is considered the greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes, who is also the Women’s Bantamweight champion.
Major props have to be given to Spencer, who even in defeat, is one of the few women to last the distance in a fight with Nunes. Despite this, many have argued that the fight should not have been allowed to progress past the fourth round, as Nunes was dominant and badly hurting Spencer, including the Canadian challenger sporting an ugly hematoma by the end of the fight.
While it is not the worst example of a fight that has been allowed to go on longer than it should have, it is yet another fight to discuss when a fighter’s corner should feel that it is necessary to throw in the towel. Along with the recent fight between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira, the argument of whether or not fighters should be allowed to ‘go out on their shield’ is one that will likely rage on with no resolution in sight.
Nunes would get the nod on all three judges scorecards by a lopsided margin but she paid respect to her adversary after the fight, allowing Spencer to have a moment holding the championship to acknowledge her toughness. When asked at the post-fight press conference who Nunes’ next opponent would be, UFC President Dana White was cryptic in his response, comparing Nunes’ dominant reign to that of fighters like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones saying that, ‘There’s always somebody next’.
One name that was mentioned by reporters was UFC Women’s Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who despite the fact that Nunes boasts two victories over her, has easily come closest to beating Nunes since the Lioness has truly hit her stride.
However, Dana was quick to dismiss the idea saying that ‘I don’t think that’s the right fight for Valentina’. To any fans that may be disappointed at seemingly losing another potentially incredible fight between the two champions, White instead opened the door for speculation on another super-fight in the women’s divisions, saying that a couple more wins for UFC Women’s Strawweight champion Weili Zhang could instead line her up for a fight with the Flyweight queen Shevchenko instead of a third fight with Nunes.
Full fight card results:
Main Card
Women’s Featherweight – Amanda Nunes def. Felicia Spencer via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight – Cody Garbrandt def. Raphael Assuncao via KO (Round 2 – 4:59)
Bantamweight – Aljamain Sterling def. Cory Sandhagen via Submission (rear-naked-choke, Round 1 – 1:28)
Welterweight – Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight – Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland via KO (Round 1 – 1:54)
Preliminary Card
Featherweight – Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper via Unanimous Decision
Middleweight – Ian Heinisch def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO (Round 1 – 1:14)
Featherweight – Cody Stamann def. Brain Kelleher via Unanimous Decision
Middleweight – Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd via TKO (Round 2 – 1:10)
Early Preliminary Card
Flyweight – Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO (Round 1 – 4:06)
Light Heavyweight – Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield via Unanimous Decision
Catchweight – Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham via Submission (rear-naked-choke, Round 1 – 1:20)
The Inbound Observer 