Saturday night’s UFC 272 featured the conclusion of a bitter rivalry, with Colby Covington scoring a dominant decision win over Jorge Masvidal in their epic grudge match.
For my thoughts following that five-round non-title affair, check out this column: Colby Covington makes it awfully easy not to like him, but it’s impossible to deny his talent
But what else stood out to me from Saturday’s event? Check below for my final thoughts on the card as we prepare to turn the page and begin another fight week.
I didn’t need to see round 5 in Rafael dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano
Renato Moicano is one of the toughest human beings on this planet, and this fight, alone, is enough to secure that reputation for the rest of his career. Stepping in on less than one week’s notice to take on a former UFC champion in a five-round fight? It takes a special kind of human being to volunteer for that assignment.
Unfortunately for Moicano (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC), the gamble didn’t pay off. He was just a step behind opponent Rafael dos Anjos (31-13 MMA, 20-11 UFC) from the start and dropped the opening two rounds. Then in the third, dos Anjos connected with a left high kick that sent Moicano crashing to the canvas.
With dos Anjos following to the floor and delivering additional punches, both Joe Rogan and Michael Bisping suggested on the pay-per-view broadcast that the fight was over. For me, it was with about 2:42 remaining that I was convinced the action should be stopped, when a pair of left hands bounced Moicano’s head off the canvas. From my press row seat, he seemed to be fighting purely off instinct.
That said, referee Marc Goddard is unquestionably one of the finest officials in the game, and he had a much more direct perspective of the action than I did from outside the cage, and if he deemed Moicano as suitable to continue, then I do trust his judgment.
At the end of the frame, Moicano wobbled slowly back to his corner, and the damage around his left eye first became clear. Goddard brought in the attending physician to take a look at the damage, but he was ultimately allowed to continue.
Moicano started quickly in the fourth, but at the close of the opening minute, dos Anjos tripped him to the canvas once again. He then spent all but 15 seconds of the remainder of the frame pounding away from the top with punches and elbows that only increased the damage around Moicano’s orbital structure.
As Moicano’s corner entered the octagon, I witnessed Goddard asking the corner if they were OK with their fighter going back out for the final frame. It seemed clear to me he was hoping they were not. He asked legendary trainer Marcos DaMatta a second time as he exited the cage if he was considering ending the fight, but “Parrumpa” insisted Moicano was OK.
DaMatta is a fixture at American Top Team and works corners on essentially a weekly basis. He knows his athletes far better than me, but I also know sometimes it might be difficult for a coach to pull the plug on his athlete’s night, especially in MMA, where there are so many different ways to end a fight.
The attending physician again took a look and said it was “reasonable to stop” the fight but that Moicano could see out of the eye, at which point Goddard told the gritty Brazilian he would be operating on a short leash and needed to turn things around in the opening 30 seconds or the fight would be stopped.
To his credit, Moicano did again open quickly, and though he was taken down early in the frame, he was able to work back to his feet and actually had what was his best round of the fight, winning the frame on the cards of two attending judges, Mike Bell and Ron McCarthy. That said, he did absorb another 38 significant strikes in the final five minutes, any of which could wind up leaving a more lengthy bit of damage than we first realize.
Does that fact that he basically won the final round mean Moicano should have been out there? I don’t know. I suppose it’s an easy justification to make. But it just seemed rather unnecessary to me at the time, if I’m being completely honest.
That said, all credit to Moicano. Besides being a kind-hearted, positive human being to everyone around him, he’s also an absolute savage inside the octagon. But personally, I would have been happier to see him not have to go out there for those final five minutes.
‘Thug Nasty’ doing a different kind of work in the streets
The first time I saw Bryce Mitchell compete was in his 2016 win over Jorge Medina at WSOF 27. His slick skills were evident in the 62-second victory, but his post-fight interview really got me on board, where he was wearing a “Thug Nasty” T-shirt and speaking to Joey Varner, who asked Mitchell about his nickname.
The featherweight prospect, without hesitation, answered in that thick Arkansas accent, “Man, you ain’t seen me on the streets, man. I’m straight thug.”
Sold.
Mitchell (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has since encountered some criticism for some of his political views, but if I’m being honest, I don’t generally look to professional cagefighters for their recommendations on how governments should properly operate. Instead, I’ve remained on the undefeated contender’s bandwagon as a name that should be remembered. Saturday night, following an absolute domination of respected veteran Edson Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC), Mitchell did something completely unexpected by committing $45,000 – half of his fight purse – to children of Arkansas with medical conditions who have no hope.
“We will be their hope!” Mitchell exclaimed. “In the name of God, these children will be healed.”
At the evening’s post-fight press conference, Mitchell revealed that UFC president Dana White actually told him to keep his money, and that the promotion would make that financial commitment on his behalf. “Thug Nasty” was appreciative but also said he would find a way to give some money of his own, anyway, and wants charitable acts to remain a key focus as his career progresses.
“Do you know what the greatest thing I can do in that cage is?” Mitchell asked me after his fight. “It’s inspire. That’s the greatest thing I can do in that cage is inspire people, and let me tell you why: Because me, by myself, I really can’t do sh*t. My $45,000, when it comes to medical professions, really ain’t sh*t. That sh*t’s going in one surgery. That sh*t’s gone in a couple of skin grafts. You see what I’m saying?
“But if I can inspire you and you and you and you and you, then it’s limitless. You see what I’m saying? It keeps going. It’s perpetual, and so the greatest thing I can do is inspire, and I really feel like I’ve done that, and I really feel like I owe that to God.”
Mitchell’s fighting game continues to develop since I first watched him compete a little more than six years ago, but so does his life outside of the cage. While some of the things he believes aren’t for everyone, his latest drive is something I can certainly get behind.
Kevin Holland is going to be a real problem at welterweight
Call him “Trailblazer” if you like – I personally prefer “Big Mouth” – but Kevin Holland looks like the total package at 170 pounds.
Perhaps it’s the added focus needed for him to cut down to the welterweight division, or maybe something just clicked after going all of 2021 without registering a victory, but Holland (22-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) looked sensational in all aspects of his performance against Alex Oliveira (22-12-1 MMA, 11-10 UFC).
Slick, creative striking? Check. Competent grappling (even if maybe the defensive wrestling can still use a little more refinement)? Check. Just enough showboating to keep it fun? I mean, two thumbs up and staring straight into the camera while you’re stuck in a rear-naked choke to end the first round? Come on, man. That’s ballsy.
Holland then came out quickly in the second, delivered a quick right hand that dropped “Cowboy,” and then finished the fight with a barrage of punches on the floor. Afterward, Holland continued to entertain – or disgust, maybe – with a nod to Derrick Lewis by taking out his cup and tossing it into the stands.
And Joe Rogan thought the mouthpiece was dirty.
Holland is a talented fighter, and he’s a natural entertainer. It was fantastic to see him get back to winning ways, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in a stacked welterweight division full of potentially entertaining matchups.
Maybe Greg Hardy would be better outside of the UFC
Greg Hardy knows you don’t like him. Ahead of his matchup with Serghei Spivac, he acknowledged as much.
“Pretty much everybody wants me to lose,” Hardy told me ahead of the fight. “They want me out of here.”
He’s not wrong. With his well-documented history of domestic violence charges, illegal drug use and other erratic behavior, Hardy has been public enemy No. 1 since the moment it was first revealed that he would compete on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.
Saturday’s UFC 272 loss to Spivac (14-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was the last one on Hardy’s deal with the promotion, leading to speculation that his current three-fight losing streak might lead to his release from the UFC. I’m not among the crowd calling for Hardy (7-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) to lose his spot on the roster, but I will say this: Perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for the “Prince of War.”
Hardy is trying to learn the sport of MMA while competing at the absolute highest level, something that would be akin to learning football for the first time by signing an NFL deal. It’s an incredibly difficult assignment, even for someone who is clearly an elite athlete.
As a massive heavyweight, who admittedly walks around at more than 300 pounds, Hardy is always going to be marketable in a cage fight, but perhaps there are more suitable places to do it.
Could Hardy earn a nice wage by traveling to Asia for a ONE Championship showdown with Brandon Vera, Alan Ngalani or even Arjan Bhullar? What about a quick jaunt out to a packed stadium in Poland for a KSW showdown with Mariusz Pudzianowski?
Hardy may not find any of these ideas especially appealing, and the UFC may still tender him a new offer. But if that fresh contract isn’t forthcoming, it doesn’t have to mean the end of the line.
I need to see Marina Rodriguez vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
I know there’s a lot of things going on right now at strawweight. First of all, Marina Rodriguez (16-1-2 MMA, 6-1-2 UFC) is really hoping to take on the winner of an upcoming title fight between reigning champion Rose Namajunas and former titleholder Carla Esparza. Truthfully, after an impressive and entertaining win over Yan Xiaonan (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), she deserves that.
Meanwhile, Joanna Jedrzejczyk hasn’t actually signed on for her return following a two-year hiatus, but it seems a rematch with Zhang Weili is on deck first. Honestly, I love that matchup, too, so let’s keep that together.
But before Rodriguez and Jedrzejczk are done, I’m begging you, Mick Maynard, find a way to put this fight together. The styles match too perfectly not to watch these two throw down.
I thought Nicolae Negmereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu should have been a draw – or maybe even a win for ‘African Savage’
I’ll let others who have so dutifully dedicated time to the application and education of judging criteria break down this fight second by second, but I personally gave Nicolae Negmereanu the first round – barely – and Kennedy Nzechukwu rounds 2 and 3.
it’s unfortunate that Nzechukwu had a point deducted in the third round for his second eyepoke of the fight, but it was a completely justified penalty. Even his own corner was yelling repeatedly for Nzechukwu to close his fist rather than reach forward with outstretched hands. But truthfully, it didn’t impact the result of the fight. Judges Tony Weeks and Doug Crosby had already given Negmereanu (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) the first two rounds, so winning the third – even without a point deduction – would have left Nzechukwu (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) short on two cards.
For the record, Sal D’Amato actually gave Nzechukwu all three rounds.
Listen, this was a tough fight to score, so I won’t go scorched earth on judges or the system or criteria. But on my card, this was a draw, and even though none of the judges saw it that way, I honestly agree more with D’Amato’s card than Weeks or Crosby – and based on the scores tracked at MMADecisions.com, I’m not alone in that thought.
For Nzechukwu moving forward, I do believe pulling the trigger a little more frequently on the feet could provide him with some assistance in makings the judges’ scores a little more certain to fall in his favor.
