UFC 218 Aftermath: A Night Of Two FOTY Contenders And One Crazy KO
What a breathless night of action of UFC 218 provided. It was a night full of talking points and action aplenty. Here’s the aftermath of the UFC’s return to “Motor City”.
The Blessed Era Is For Real
Max Holloway proved to the world last night that UFC 212 was no fluke. The Hawaiian took Aldo’s best shots and barely looked affected as he continually walked down the Brazilian and fired twice as many shots back.
Just like the first time, Holloway finished the fight at the end of the third round when his constant pressure forced Aldo to shoot for an ill-advised takedown. Holloway controlled Aldo on the mat just like he did on the feet and fired in the ground and pound until referee Herb Dean said enough was enough.
Holloway is fast becoming one of the UFC’s biggest stars and with 12 wins in a row, he’s quickly becoming one of the most dominant. Last night he proved to the world that the “Blessed Era” is for real. Now it’s time to seriously consider rebooking Holloway vs Conor McGregor. Who ya got?
Aldo At A Crossroads
Poor Jose Aldo. The last two years haven not been a fun time for the Brazilian and last night ended in heartbreak yet again for the Brazilian and his fans. Aldo was simply outclassed from start to finish and even when he landed a flush uppercut at the end of the first round, Holloway simply laughed it off and walked back to his corner uttering the words “The old man is tired.”
The Brazilian arguably got the better of round two as he began to work his infamous leg kicks, but nothing could stop Holloway in round three when he decided to up the pace yet again. Aldo finished the year the way he stared it. Turtled up getting punched in the head repeatedly until the referee had seen enough.
The greatest featherweight of all time now stands at the crossroads of whether he makes the move to 155-pounds or whether he calls time on his career and leaves the sport as one of the greatest fighters to step foot in the Octagon. One hopes for the latter, but expects the former.
Francis Ngannou Is A Man The UFC Need
Dana White must have been smiling to himself last evening as his UFC PI creation Francis Ngannou landed a monstrous left uppercut on Alistair Overeem.
The Cameroonian-Frenchman completed a picture perfect fight week with a performance that couldn’t have been scripted better. The knockout itself was scary and thankfully Overeem appears to be doing just fine physically.
With one swing of his left fist, Ngannou went from the next big thing to the here and now. With White confirming that Ngannou will be the next man to face champion Stipe Miocic, by this time next year we could be talking about one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
Gaethje And Alvarez Backed Up The Talk
It’s often the case that fights don’t live up to the hype, but Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez somehow surpassed all of our expectations. The fight was just as billed, pure violence from start to finish and the ending was suitably savage given the 14-minutes that has passed before.
Alvarez left the Octagon with his hand raised, but the stock of both men rose exponentially and fans will quickly forget that Gaethje was defeated for the first time in his career. Alvarez now has to finish off the chapter he started with Dustin Poirier. Both men took a slight detour following their original no contest, but now the table is set for a perfect ending.
If Alvarez vs Poirier II is half as good as the fight we saw last night, we’re all in for yet another treat.
Medeiros Is A Slow Bruner At Welterweight
Yancy Medeiros and Alex Oliveira take a bow. Alvarez versus Gaethje might be the fight fans left the arena talking about last night, but Medeiros and Oliveira more than gave them a run for their money on the undercard.
Both men had bright spots during the fight and Oliveira will likely be waking up this morning asking himself how he didn’t win the fight. The night belonged to the Hawaiians though and just like earlier in the year at UFC 212, Medeiros set the table for his teammate Holloway to complete a Hawaii double.
With three wins in a row now, Medeiros will likely find himself in a fight with a man from the top-15. He sure deserves it after going 2-0 in 2017.
It’s Time For Paul Felder To Get His Due
What will it take for Paul Felder to get a shot at a man in the top-15 at 155-pounds? The man from Philadelphia put in another spirited performance last night as he overcame an early scare from a very game Charles Oliveira.
Felder had to hang tough in the first round as the Brazilian on a D’arce choke that he did well to survive. His resistance paid dividends though in the second round as the fatigued Oliveira could do nothing about Felder’s savage elbows as he rained them down from top position.
With three wins now in a row against top competition, Felder has to now get a big fight in his next outing. A fight with his original opponent Al Iaquinta would certainly be an attractive one to reschedule.
