Match 1: Ziggler vs Breeze Good opener. Despite Breeze and Summer Rae splitting on SmackDown, they came out together and called it a “One Night Only Farewell Tour”. Match was back and forth. Summer got ejected by the ref to a huge reaction from the crowd. As Breeze was distracted, Ziggler went for the Zig Zag, Breeze countered and went for the Uprettier. Ziggler countered and hit a Superkick for the win.
Match 2: Stardust vs Titus O’Neil Stardust cut a pre-match promo talking trash about Hidalgo and the crowd. Crowd booed. Okay match, nothing too special. Titus hit the Clash of the Titus for the win.
Match 3: Damien Sandow & Curtis Axel vs Heath Slater & Adam Rose. Adam Rose cut a pre-match promo in his typical ‘party pooper’ form. This was mainly a comedy type match. It didn’t do too well with the crowd because nobody was really reacting to the match.
Match 4: Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio (US Champion) Swagger came out to a good reaction but it was Del Rio that really lit the crowd up. He came out and patted fans hands. Crowd was cheering for Del Rio throughout the match. This was back and forth. The Patriot Lock and Cross Armbreaker kept getting countered. Del Rio picked up the win after he hit the double foot stomp off the turnbuckle while Swagger was in the Tree of Woe position.
Match 5: Kalisto vs Viktor (W/Konnor)
Kalisto got a huge ovation from the crowd. Lots of people doing the Lucha chant. This match wasn’t anything special. Viktor dominated for the most part then Kalisto made the comeback and hit the Salida Del Sol for the win.
Match 6: Becky Lynch vs Charlotte (Divas Championship) Both divas got loud cheers from the crowd. This was originally advertised as a Triple Threat match with Paige. Paige didn’t show up and there wasn’t any explanation. This was in my opinion the best match on the show. Good chain wrestling sequences that surprisingly got loud cheers. Charlotte got the win by roll up and a handful of tights.
Match 7: Sheamus vs Roman Reigns (WWE WHC Street Fight) This was a solid match. Reigns got the loudest ovation of the night. Sheamus got loud boos. This match was pretty much similar to the ones we’ve already seen. Sheamus put Reigns through a table with the Irish Curse. Later, Reigns speared Sheamus through a table for the win.
Ziggler vs Breeze – Good opener. Despite Breeze and Summer Rae splitting on SmackDown, they came out together and called it a “One Night Only Farewell Tour”. Match was back and forth. Summer got ejected by the ref to a huge reaction from the crowd. As Breeze was distracted, Ziggler went for the Zig Zag, Breeze countered and went for the Uprettier. Ziggler countered and hit a Superkick for the win.
Stardust vs Titus O’Neil – Stardust cut a pre-match promo talking trash about Hidalgo and the crowd. Crowd booed. Okay match, nothing too special. Titus hit the Clash of the Titus for the win.
Damien Sandow & Curtis Axel vs Heath Slater & Adam Rose – Adam Rose cut a pre-match promo in his typical ‘party pooper’ form. This was mainly a comedy type match. It didn’t do too well with the crowd because nobody was really reacting to the match.
Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio (US Championship) – Swagger came out to a good reaction but it was Del Rio that really lit the crowd up. He came out and patted fans hands. Crowd was cheering for Del Rio throughout the match. This was back and forth. The Patriot Lock and Cross Armbreaker kept getting countered. Del Rio picked up the win after he hit the double foot stomp off the turnbuckle while Swagger was in the Tree of Woe position.
Kalisto vs Viktor (W/Konnor) – Kalisto got a huge ovation from the crowd. Lots of people doing the Lucha chant. This match wasn’t anything special. Viktor dominated for the most part then Kalisto made the comeback and hit the Salida Del Sol for the win.
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte (Divas Championship) – Both divas got loud cheers from the crowd. This was originally advertised as a Triple Threat match with Paige. Paige didn’t show up and there wasn’t any explanation. This was in my opinion the best match on the show. Good chain wrestling sequences that surprisingly got loud cheers. Charlotte got the win by roll up and a handful of tights.
Sheamus vs Roman Reigns (WWE WHC Street Fight) – This was a solid match. Reigns got the loudest ovation of the night. Sheamus got loud boos. This match was pretty much similar to the ones we’ve already seen. Sheamus put Reigns through a table with the Irish Curse. Later, Reigns speared Sheamus through a table for the win.
Thumbs way up. Some upsets, burst bubbles, and stylistic surprises, and as expected an off the chart main event. Some questionable decisions but what else is new.
Best fight: Lawler-Condit
Worst fight: wasn’t one
Best performance: Condit even losing
KO: Stipe
Sub: Ortega
Sheldon Westcott eats a couple of Edgar Garcia right hands and very quickly takes it down, ties him in knots, and gets the rather late TKO off about a zillion unanswered punches. Michonori Tanaka aggressive early but Joe Soto threatens off his back throughout and comes on very strong in the 3rd. Entertaining and competitive. 29-28 split Tanaka. Soto would have won by whole fight but by the rounds/points system you can see how it went that way. Dustin Poirer looks outstanding back at LW busting the Joe Duffy bubble, taking a wide but also entertaining and competitive UD with one 30-26.
Striker Drew Dober surprisingly widely dominates the TD game and takes the 29-28 upset UD over wrestler Scott Holtzman. Similarly, Nina Ansaroff outstrikes Justine Kish, who seems overanxious, and Kish comes on late to dominate the ground game. Could go either way. Kish takes the the UD with two 30-27s, which seems weird, as Ansaroff certainly looked to win the 1st. Alex Morono takes a dubious 29-28 x 2, 27-30 SD over Kyle Noke in a very close one. Michael McDonald looking very rusty after two years off gets used as a mat rag by Masanori Kanehara but somehow reverses a sunk-looking arm tri into RNC for the tap in the 2nd.
Tony Sims looks good early at long range and stuffing Abel Trujillo’s TD, but Trujillo counters a power double with a Guillotine for the tap. He’s so strong he didn’t even need proper position, getting pressure using his neck, shoulder and chest. Facially Trujillo and Roman Reigns could be twins.
Diego Brandao outboxes and outwrestles Brian Ortega for 2 1/2 rounds but misses a punch badly in the 3rd allowing Ortega to get position to chain subs till he locks up a triangle for the tap.
Very interesting fight that might have been too subtle for the audience. Basically Lorenz Larkin’s low kicks vs. Albert Tumenov’s body punches. Very close. Like the earlier fight whole fight scoring would be Larkin who finished strong but points go 29-28 split Tumenov. Not popular decision. Both looked very good.
A bigger bubble bursts as Stipe Miocic catches Andrei Arlovski’s always questionable chin with a short right that rocks him and does not let him off the hook and it’s over in 54s. Stipe screams at Dana for a title shot, which seems unarguable. Stipe was just ranting (not in a bad way) and I think on his promo he said at one point ‘I’m CM Punk, bro.’
Carlos Condit turns in a career-best performance in his WW title challenge to Robbie Lawler. Most fluid and instinctive he’s ever looked. Pattern is set in the 1st with Condit constantly moving and leading and Robbie looking to counter after Carlos scores a flash KD. He then dictates the rest of the round, 10-9. Pattern holds in the 2nd but Robbie finds the range and drops Carlos, a lot harder and has him in brief trouble and evens it up. The 3rd is the swing round as it turns out with Carlos again just much much busier and Robbie throwing very little but landing most of it clean and hard. I thought the sheer volume made it Condit’s round. The 4th was similar until late when Carlos rocked Robbie late and had him in some trouble and I thought was enough for a 10-8. The corner told Robbie he needed a KO and he went out and tried to get it, hitting Carlos with everything but the kitchen sink, but he couldn’t drop him and Carlos fought back every time. Early round of the year candidate and fight of the year also. Robbie took the 5th, borderline but IMO not quite 10-8. Both collapsed against the fence at the bell. I had Condit 49-46 but the judges went 48-47 split for Robbie. No losers here. A rematch could be called for but Carlos said he may retire.
Crimson Mask
Good morning Dave, I ordered the show on UFC.tv with a fight pass discount. I definitely got my money’s worth. A solid thumbs up show, with very good prelims, and a great main event. I think a rematch at UFC 200 or that weekend HAS TO happen (sorry Tyrone). And have a #1 contender fight on standby that weekend. I scored the main event 47-47, with the champ winning rounds 2, 3, 5 @ 10-9. I scored Condit winning 1 @ 10-9 and 4 @ 10-8. Lawler did nothing in 4 and CC’s striking stats showed I was justified having a 10-8 score.
Happy WK Eve, James Brown
Thumbs up
Best fight Robbie Lawler vs Carlos Condit
Worst fight Drew Dober vs Scott Holtzman
Best KO Stipe Miocic
Best Sub Michael MacDonald
Best Performance Robbie Lawler & Carlos Condit
Robbie and Carlos was a war, scored it for Condit but 3rd round was so close that i cant be upset about it, way more upset over the Kyle Noke decision. Poirier vs Duffy was also a great fight that is gonna go unnoticed because it aired on Fight Pass and due to the main event euphoria
Wade Haugen
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Lawler vs. Condit
What a terrible decision. I could see a draw if you gave Lawler a 10-8 2nd round and a 10-9 5th but I can’t see how you give him the fight. Rest of the show was fun if not inconsequential outside of the Miocic KO win.
Mike Hiscoe
Thumbs up show fight of the night lawler vs condit. Worst fight was Justine kish vs Nina Anasaroff. Just an awesome main event. I think the reason I had lawler winning 48-47 was in that third round even though condit threw more, a lot of the punches didn’t land while when they were exchanging lawler got the better of him. Three was the only close round. Every other one was solid by condit in 1 and 4 while lawler in 2 and 5. Again great show.
Corey Lieb
Thumbs up. Best fight lawler vs condit. Think fight is great but being overhyped. Maybe best round 5 I’ve seen, but lot of fight was lawler failing to get off. I scored 3 to 2 for condit. Lawler would have won pride rules. Enjoyed lawler macdonald and lawler Hendricks both times better. Wish Hendricks hadn’t missed weight as I still think he and lawler is best fight to make. Love condit but don’t think he’s top 3 in division at moment. Other than lawler , think Hendricks, woodley, and macdonald all beat him. Don’t think this decision was any more controversial than Hendricks lawler 2 which I thought was more clearly for Hendricks than this was for lawler.
All that said, loved the fight.
Mark Libell
Thumbs way up. Best match was obviously Lawler/Condit. One of the best fights ever, I think. Hope they run it back, I’d pay double to watch it. Worst match I’d say Kish/Ansaroff for lacking anything that looked like pro-level technique. With that main event, easy thumbs up, but the co-main was a great performance and Brian Ortega and Michael McDonald had 2 outstanding submissions. Fun show on the whole.
Miz did the old Rick Rude “What I’d like to have right now is for all you, fat, something, out of shape Toronto sweat hogs… keep the noise down…yadda yadda… while I take off my glasses”. Neville won with the red arrow. Actually a pretty fun match.
The Ascension and Stardust vs the Hype Bros and Titus O’Neil
Titus pinned Viktor with the Clash of the Titus. A few scattered NXT chants.
Big Show vs Mark Henry
Big Show won with a KO punch and Henry had to be helped to the back. Show stalled a lot at the start of the match.
WWE I-C Champion Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens
Kids all cheered Ambrose but a lot of cheers from the adults for Owens. Owens got some cheap heat for saying Quebec is better than Ontario. Ambrose won with the Dirty Deeds.
Intermission
Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch
Charlotte played it up like she was doing a “Divas Open Challenge” then she couldn’t understand why Becky came out. They had a match, and Charlotte won clean with the Natural Selection.
The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper, Braun Strowman, Erick Rowan) vs the Usos and Goldust
Crowd chanted “Take a shower” at Harper, and he played that up pretty nice. This was a very PG show, which was fun to take little kids to. One of the Usos pinned Harper.
John Cena beat U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio by DQ
Del Rio wore long silvery pants. Lots of near-falls, a ref bump, Del Rio using a chair, etc. ADR got DQ’d for a low blod. Cena got the last laugh, the kids all cheered, I spent $60 on Cena t-shirts and for the first time in over a decade actually cheered for the guy. Kids really LOVE Cena.
It was actually pretty fun. I hadn’t gone to a house show since I was a teenager, but it was fun to go with kids.
From Emerson & Brian Witner and Guy Ironstone (of WrestlingOutsiders.com)
Attendance was between 2,000 and 3,000
Dolph Ziggler pinned Tyler Breeze. After the match Dolph left the ringside area and superkicked an inflatable reindeer.
Curtis Axel & Damien Sandow (who are still a team, believe it or not) defeated Los Matadores. The Colons played heel in this match.
Fandango pinned Bo Dallas with a sit out suplex.
Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Braun Strohman defeated Tommy Dreamer & Dudley Boyz when Harper pinned Dreamer with a discus lariat.
-Intermission
Titus O’Neil pinned Stardust. I had to ask if they could go back to intermission instead.
Divas Champion Charlotte submitted Paige with the Figure Four.
In a No Disqualification Match, Kane pinned Bray Wyatt after a chokeslam through a table. The Wyatt’s tried to interfere, but Dreamer and the Dudleys ran in for the save.
The show went 2 hours, 10 minutes including a 20 minute intermission.
Paige vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte (w/ Ric Flair.) Really more of a 1-on-1 with occasionally the other wrestler coming in. Charlotte wins over Paige at 10:46 with roll up pin after assist from Dad.
Ryback def Rusev w/ Lana 11:41 via finisher.
Dean Ambrose def Kevin Owens at 9:30 via finisher to retain IC title. Lackluster
Intermission.
R. Truth came out. Hyped up crowd. Adam Rose came out to fight. R truth won at 3:34 via pin. Felt longer and not in a good way.
Big Show def Mark Henry at 6:30 via KO punch.
The Wyatts def Dudley Boys and Tommy Dreamer at 9:06 via Luke Harper clothesline on Dreamer.
Main Event: US Title Alberto Del Rio vs Cena. Del Rio got DQ via low blow at 16:54. Best match of night but that’s not saying much.
Huge lines around the building just to get in. Security took forever. Lots of kids as always.
Swagger over Bo Dallas with the Vader bomb. Not a bad match. We the people is over.
Bo cut a promo saying his loss doesn’t count, people are chanting you suck at him. Open challenge… Goldust comes out to a good pop. Goldust won in ten seconds.
Wyatt cuts a video promo. Something about how monsters and demons are afraid of him or something. Says he’s fighting Kane.
Ten man tag. Ascension, Los Matadores, Heath Slater (who is over) vs. Zach Ryder, Axel, Fandango, Darren Young, Damien Sandow (most over of all ten). I legit forgot most of these guys were still employed. Crowd only cared about Slater, Sandow and Ryder. Fun match. Fandango beat the smaller Ascension guy with the top rope legdrop.
Connor the Crusher video. Cancer blows.
Bray vs. Kane. People swaying in the stands for Bray’s entrance. Kane got a big pop for his entrance. Crowd was into this match and it was good, if slow. Kane won with the chokeslam.
Intermission.
Team Bad (with Naomi’s music) vs. Brie Bella and Alicia. Sasha far and away the most over here. Sloppy match but the ladies worked hard. Brie won over Naomi with an X Factor.
New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Usos for the belts. Kids loved the Usos. Adults loved the new day. Comedy early. Good match that new day won after interference but the faces cleaned house after to stand tall.
Sheamus vs. Reigns in a street fight. Both over, Reigns super over, especially with all the kids. Biggest reaction of the night was for his entrance.
These two are stiff as hell, just laying into each other. Very good match, lots of weapon spots, including Sheamus power bombing reigns through a table. Reigns won with a spear through another table. Fun match.
Good show considering how thin the roster is and the two tours. Thanks for reading!
*Triple H promo airs on the screen hyping tonight’s show
Dolph Ziggler pinned Tyler Breeze w/Summer Rae – 13:17 *Summer Rae was ejected from ringside midway through the match
Goldust pinned Bo Dallas – 2:20 *Bo Dallas cut a promo before the match claiming that his winning streak would begin tonight. After his loss to Goldust, he challenged someone else to come to the ring and attempt to defeat him.
Jack Swagger made Bo Dallas submit – 0:50
*Bray Wyatt promo airs on the screen hyping his match with Kane tonight
Darren Young, Damien Sandow, Curtis Axel, Fandango & Zack Ryder defeated Diego, Fernando, Heath Slater, Konnor & Viktor when Fandango pinned Heath Slater – 11:11 *Before Damien Sandow was tagged into the match, “We Want Sandow” chants prominently filled the arena. The face team Fandango’d in the ring and up the ramp to celebrate.
Kane pinned Bray Wyatt – 9:30
*Intermission
Alicia Fox & Brie Bella defeated Naomi & Sasha Banks w/Tamina when Brie Bella pinned Naomi – 7:10 *Before Sasha Banks was tagged into the match, “We Want Sasha” chants prominently filled the arena
*WWE Tag Team Championship Match Big E & Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods (c) defeated The Lucha Dragons & The Uso’s when Kofi Kingston pinned Sin Cara – 10:48 *The Lucha Dragons & The Uso’s beat down Xavier Woods after the match. This match included a lot of playing to the crowd by The New Day before the match started and after the bell rang. Before the show started and during the match, “New Day Sucks” chants prominently filled the arena.
*No Disqualification Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Roman Reigns (c) pinned Sheamus to retain the championship – 21:30 *Multiple chairs, kendo sticks and two tables were used during the match. Sheamus cut a promo after the bell rang, trash-talkin’ Reigns, and then Reigns started punching him. After the match, Reigns thanked everyone for coming.
A few promos for the Slammy’s tomorrow night with Lillian and Byron mentioning it in the ring.
The Miz vs Ryback (W)
Great opener with Ryback getting the crowd hot
Young crowd so Ryback was very over.
Miz was pretty outstanding in this match and really played up the heel card.
Skull Crushing Finale for a 2 count which led to the go home for Ryback to hit Shell Shock.
Wyatt Family vs Dudley Boys, Tommy Dreamer & Kane (W)
Wyatt’s and Bray in particular were very over with the older parts of the crowd. Bray seemed extra vocal on the apron during the entire match.
Kane was a surprise guest and received a huge pop when coming out.
Did the big Kane vs Strowman spot which led to a spot fest, everything landing finishers.
Ended with Kane getting the pin and the 4 raised hands in the middle of the ring.
Kevin Owens vs Dean Ambrose (W) (IC Title Match)
Owens was definitely over being in Canada.
Attacked Dean as he was getting into the ring and cut a promo while Ambrose recovered.
Brawl on the outside which led to Owens grabbing an Ambrose fan sign and ripping it up, and eventually eating it in the ring. Super heel crowd reaction to this.
Ambrose lands the DDT and gets the win. Celebrated taking photos with the barrier etc.
Team B.A.D vs Charlotte, Becky, and Brie Bella (W) (Elimination Style Match)
Sasha was over getting chants right from the walk. Quick promo in the ring about how it will be 3 vs 2 because Paige isn’t around anymore.
Becky comes out to a HUGE reaction, was definitely the most over of all the girls tonight. Charlotte follows after with Brie being the surprise 3rd.
Order of elimination was… Tamina, Becky, Naomi , Brie. We Want Becky chants started after she was eliminated.
Great final match with Charlotte and Sasha, definitely felt like NXT calibre. Felt like this is the next feud coming.
BAD rushes the ring followed by Becky and Brie for the brawl, Charlotte hits the spear into the figure 8 and gets the tap.
Match of the night for sure.
Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio (W)(US Title Match)
Crowd definitely seemed a little quite for this.
Highlight was Swagger throwing Del Rio’s shirt into the crowd, followed by Del Rio hopping the barricade and snatching it back from the fan. Swagger grabbed ADR and brawl ensued at the barricade.
ADR hit the top rope stomp for the win.
Sheamus vs Roman Reigns (W)(WWE WHC Match)
Sheamus rolled out of the ring to start, Reigns grabbed him and brawled on the outside for a while
Crowd was super into Roman. Almost no boo’s. Older guys in the audience tried to get a little Roman Sucks chant going.
5:15 chant from small part of the audience seemed to get some attention.
Great free UFC show. I ordered the PPV last weekend since I only pay for Weidman cards at home these days. The free show card overall was much better, but the top two fights last weekend were worth the purchase. It’s interesting to see that the next PPV is followed by a Fight Night and Fox show that both have way more depth and appeal. They should rethink how they book these shows.
Anyway, thumbs up for the show. Best fight: I would probably go Diaz vs Johnson followed by McCroy vs Samman. Worst Fight: Jury vs Olivera.
Thanks, Matt Wright
Gave the show a thumbs up. Especially since it was free.
Best Fight: Nate Diaz vs Michael Johnson
Worst Fight: Alistair Overeem vs Junior Dos Santos on main card, Sarah Kaufman vs Valentina Shevchenko on undercard
Best Performances; Rafael Dos Anjos, Nate Diaz, Charles Oliveira
Really loved the first round of Nick Lentz vs Danny Castillo. Some great mat work by both.
Thought Nate Marquardt KO’ing CB Dollaway was a huge upset. Nothing against Marquardt but I can’t see him hanging with the top middleweights at this point of his career.
I really loved Karolina Kowalkiewicz in her fight vs Randa Markos. She had some great movement the whole fight and never tired. She could be someone to watch out for in the future if she keeps progressing. Markos was not a pushover opponent for her but I question her strategy of trying to stand with her and not trying to get her to the ground earlier.
Nate Diaz vs Michael Johnson was a great fight. Nothing like those Diaz bad boys to keep your interest in a fight. Diaz looked great and his posturing during the fight was fun to watch. Too bad they bleeped out his whole promo. I would love to see the build up for a Diaz vs McGregor fight! Could you imagine the shenanigans that would ensure with that one! Make that fight happen!
Dos Santos vs Overeem was a huge let down and didn’t really make either look great or want to make you see either in title contention. They were both fighting not to lose. Winning a boring fight doesn’t make you want to put money into a PPV buy to see you in a title fight. The heavyweight division is in trouble. After Velasquez vs Werdum who do you want to see fight?
Disappointing that Cowboy couldn’t get out of the gates against Dos Anjos. Big fan of Cowboy. Dos Anjos looked great though.
Everyone up and down the card wants the big payday against McGregor.
Grant Zwarych
Thumbs up. Good card to end the year. Some changing of the guard evident.
Best fight: McCrory vs. Samman
Worst fight: Miller vs. Alers (for a ‘contest’, Overeem vs. JDS until the KO)
Best performance: RDA, Oliveira
Worst performance: Johnson
KO: Marquardt
Sub: Oliveira
Scary debut for 6’4″, 254, 83″ reach, action figure looking HW Francis Ngannou, outcardioing 23-y-o skilled wrestler Luiz Henrique and knocking him silly with a left shovel hook in the 2nd. Vincente Luque avenges a debatable SD loss from TUF, rocking Haydar Hassan and putting him out with a Rolling Anaconda that has him doing the chicken on the mat and with no clue what happened when he wakes up. Kamaru Usman survives some early headsup work from Leon Edwards and wears him out for a UD.
Cole Miller vs. Jim Alers off to a decent start when Alers sinks a finger deep into Miller’s eye in the 2nd and it’s a NC. Nik Lentz coming up in weight takes a SD over Danny Castillo (3rd straight SD loss) in a fight that starts out great but both gas quickly. Lentz sounds seriously physically ill on his promo. Tamdan McCrory and Josh Samman stage a rare entertaining 99%-grappling match that’s back and forth for a round and a half then McCrory gets on top and stays there until Samman reverses him late in the 3rd which just allows McCrory to snag and constrict a triangle till Samman is forced to tap. McCrory then leaps the fence to high five Rogan. Muay Thai fighter Valentina Shevchenko comes in as a 1 week sub and completely dominates a much more MMA-experienced Sarah Kaufman at all ranges for 2 rounds until fading in the 3rd (with a 1 week camp this is not puzzling) and takes a ridiculously split decision. ‘Punchcount’, apparently based on Bizarro World planet along with the one judge, comes up with a 162-65 strike advantage for Kaufman. After a shaky 1st, Nate Marquardt saves his career catching CB Dollaway coming with a 1 punch right hand KO at the beginning of the 2nd. Note to Rogan and whoever else, it’s not a ‘counter’ unless the other guy punches first. Miles Jury drops a division (and looks emaciated) and changes camps but Charles Oliveira despite missing weight by 5lb manhandles him down, takes his back when Jury misses an arm bar, and sinks jumping standing Guillotine the instant Jury regains his feet, and it’s over.
UFC-debuting Karolina Kowalkiewicz is either better than she looks technically or Randa Markos has gone way backward training with Farah Salami. Close first, Markos edges the 2nd, and KK wins the 3rd way big, maybe 10-8. 29-28 either way, 28-28, or 29-27 Kowalkiewicz all possible decisions. But Markos’ worst performance IMO. 29-28 x 2, 30-27 Kowalkiewicz. We’re starting to see the level rise in the women’s divisions.
Nate Diaz shows up in actually suspiciously muscular good shape and feeling like fighting for a change and paintjobs Michael Johnson, who fights an increasingly stupid fight, for a 29-28 UD. MJ was effective with low kicks in the 1st then abandoned them, and left his footwork in the dressing room.
Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem stage an almost action-free display until Overeem, looking by far the smaller of the two, catches him with an awkward left hook in the 2nd that sends him crashing to mat and finishes with 3 hammerfists. Reem trained with some cold weather guru for his S&C. Junior went to ATT but apparently too late. He’s done. Really both looked awful till the KO but Reem is suddenly in pole position for first shot at the Werdum-Cain 2 winner.
Rafael Dos Anjos wastes no time repeating his previous win over Donald (maybe his nickname should be ‘Chokeboy’ instesd of ‘Cowboy’) Cerrone, this time ripping into him with knees and kicks to the body from the bell, a barrage of punches, stuffing a desperation TD and pounding him out. Cerrone once again chokes in the big fight but it may not have mattered, as RDA has somewhat obscurely developed into a top 5 P4P fighter and him vs. Conor suddenly looks like a superfight.
Crimson Mask
Thumbs up show
Best Fight: Rafael dos Anjos vs Donald Cerrone
Worst Fight: Alistair Overeem vs Junior dos Santos
Even though everyone said dos Anjos looked smaller because he could be off the PEDs I think he probably came in lighter for camp due to the IV ban.
I guess they could pair up Overeem vs Rothwell and maybe dos Santos vs Travis Browne. If they did dos Santos vs Gonzaga, then Dave is right, no one is doing him any favours.
Thanks,
Eric Poon
Thumbs in the middle due to overall fight quality,
The only moments that stand out are the Diaz promo, Overeem’s KO after a dull fight vs. JDS, and RDA thrashing Cerrone in record time for a 155 title fight. The prelims were dull with no stakes making them completely forgettable.
Best fight: RDA over Cerrone as it created another very clear next potential opponent for McGregor who looked very strong while beating Cerrone.
Worst fight: Markos/Kowalkiewicz, bad selection to open the FOX card after almost an hour break between fights. Not a fan of strawweight fights as openers as finish rates are low and an opener needs to be more action oriented.
Thanks,
Urooj Islam
Good evening (early morning here in Ireland).
Tonight’s UFC on Fox was an excellent end to an excellent year of fights, particularly the second half of the year which provided some incredible matchups including Lawler V McDonald 2, McGregor V Mendes, McGregor V Aldo and Weidman V Rockhold. From the fights tonight, it was amazing to see a motivated and prepared Nate Diaz. He was a 4/1 underdog due to one fight in two years (not to mention a stinking attitude at times) but he displayed everything that makes fans love the Diaz brothers. I, myself, am not a fan of his persona but his fighting abilities cannot be denied and he entertains like very few fighters.
The co main event started out in the fashion of the Gonzaga fight from last weekend but once JDS and Overeem woke up, it improved immeasurably. JDS needs to retire. The damage he has taken from the fights with Cain and Stipe have left him very vulnerable and considering he is a very affable man, it would be really disappointing to see him continue and for his mental well being (as well as his physical) to diminish.
It is very interesting to see how the UFC proceed with Overeem, however, given his big win and his contract being expired. For the first time, the UFC could potentially be on the back foot with some of their fighters. McGregor is negotiating ludicrous contracts and fighters like Overeem and Benson Henderson are surely too good and important to their respective divisions to allow them to fight elsewhere.
The main event was a massive disappointment simply because, like most fans of MMA, I love Cowboy. To see him completely dominated and pummelled viciously was difficult to watch, although it is testament to the ever improving talents of RDA. His finish tonight could have potentially set up a monster fight with Conor with the angle available of RDA seeking vengeance for his fellow countryman. Whereas for Conor, it is an opportunity to solidify his belief that he is the greatest MMA fighter on the planet.
Hopefully some of these musings help.
Kind Regards,
David.Walker
UFC on FOX Thumbs up Best: Diaz vs Thompson Worst: Overeem vs Dos Santos
NXT Takeover London Thumbs up Best: Emma vs Asuka Worst: Corbin vs Crews
I think Asuka could have a match of the year level match with Seth Rollins. She’s unbelievable. Tough to not give Balor/Joe the nod for match of the night, but I was more entertained by the opener so that was the tiebreaker for me. Plus the main event is always expected to reach a certain level, so when an unexpected match delivers so well, I feel it gets the benefit of the doubt. Corbin has become a better worker, but I’m just not into his matches. Same problem now with Crews. He needs to take the next step before he can be in the main event picture. I was surprised Dawson and Wilder retained the tag belts, but it may just be so they can drop it to the white hot Jordan/Gable combo. It still boggles my mind that WWE needed 3 hours of gimmicks on Sunday to have great matches, while NXT continues to do it in a normal, one on one match all the time. And when there are stips in NXT, it means something — in WWE, it’s just December so that’s what they do.
