#correia

Lucie Pudilova UD Ji Yeon Kim

A very interesting fight kicks off the FP card. The striking of Kim took a while to get going but after about a round and a half of eating jabs and uppercuts, Lucie Pudilova wanted nothing to do with it. That led to Lucie Pudilova pushing forward to try and get her in the clinch against the fence. In the second round there was absolutely nothing doing in that regard but in the third she was able to take advantage of Kim's shaky work against the fence with some guillotine attempts. Neither were all THAT tight but in a round of no offense, those two submission attempts probably meant the difference. I've got it 29-28 Pudilova and so did the judges unanimously. Kim sort of gave the third round away and hopefully she'll learn from it. Not sure if Pudilova looked worse than her fight vs Lansberg or if Kim was just surprisingly good. Didn't show any jitters or cardio issues, just a touch of inexperience in a really tough round.

Naoki Inoue UD Carlos John de Tomas

There are certain things a fighter can do that simply can't be trained or developed in a gym setting. Naoki Inoue has a lot of that. We're talking about a guy who's lanky, swift and frenetic on the ground and on the feet. Against an opponent who missed weight, Naoki Inoue set a quick pace and cooked CJ de Tomas who had a good start to the first round. Be it inexperience or nerves, CJ de Tomas went away from his striking and pushed for a takedown that once he got, he couldn't do anything with and he was then utterly gassed out. It didn't help that Inoue's smooth no effort offense and grappling just wore him down and left him completely gassed. Good fight for both guys but Inoue is clearly the one to watch going forward. You can refine the tool set but the physical gifts and genuine talent are readily apparent. No idea what weight class de Tomas is going to have to fight at but there were plenty of moments where it looked like he had SOMETHING there.

Russell Doane TKO1 Kwan Ho Kwak

Hawaii is on a fuckin' STREAK fellas! Russell Doane is normally at the very least a really exciting fighter but he came out REALLY slow. He was just getting chewed up with leg kicks and combinations at range and then it was like a light switched on for him. He FIRED in a big left hand down the middle, Kwak was in the "I'm stung but not hurt" defense and Doane just poured it on him! Pressured Kwak, hit him with a knee down the pipe, got him against the fence the way Brett Johns did and then UNLEASHED hooks and straights until Kwak broke. Folded him up on the landing and then just poured it on until Steve Pearceval jumped in there. Doane is SUCH a good fighter that his problems have been so perplexing. Some of it is down to just poor fight IQ but man when he's committed, he's SO good. This is not a fighter who should be on the prelims, this is a fighter who should be somewhere in the top 15 of the division.

Li Jingliang UD Frank Camacho

Li Jingliang is a hero of the masses. End of discussion. What else can I say? Dude got bounced around like a human pinball in the first round then settled down and won the next two rounds by way of his versatility and cardio. Camacho was timing him up with overhand rights so Li Jingliang decided to go to leg kicks over and over and over until Camacho had no burst and snap in his punches. That plus the short notice aspect of the fight meant that Camacho had nothing in the third round. Watching Li Jingliang mix it up with all kinds of shots and just push forward and give a super tough dude all kinds of problems on the feet was really fun. Li Jingliang has won three in a row although a lot of those have come vs so-so competition. Still he's improving and I can absolutely see him and Wang Guan getting big pushes if they try to break into China again. Dan Hardy nailed it; Frank Camacho would probably be a serious type of fighter at 165 lbs if that weight class ever takes a step forward.

Ulka Sasaki 2nd round RNC sub Justin Scoggins

Mother of God what an epic fail from Justin Scoggins. Scoggins drops Sasaki twice, slammed him on his head at one point, was getting swamped on the ground and then Scoggins slips up once. All it takes is one as Scoggins gives up his back, gives up back mount and gets submitted with a RNC in the second round. Sasaki is a really good fighter so credit to him for pulling it off but Scoggins was dominating the fight and then just slipped up WHICH is sort of a pattern developing with Scoggins. Did the same vs Moraga and Pedro Munhoz. Ooof goodness. I'm curious to see how Ulka progresses at 125 lbs (or 135 lbs if 125 goes by the wayside).

Alex Caceres 2nd round TKO Rolando Dy

Kind of a bummer I suppose how it ended. Alex Caceres lands a perfect left hand which bonks Dy right on the eye and once that happened, Dy simply couldn't see out of the eye. The doctor thought he was fine but the ref said (rightfully) that Dy was fighting with one eye closed. I really love Caceres' offense when he feels like he can just march forward unmolested. He threw all kinds of steam and stank on Rolando Dy but Dy was starting to rally in the second round. Not much else you can say about the fight. Was a fine prelim filler fight with Caceres being a total wild man. Would like to see Dy back and I figure he'll get a shot in their Japan or the rumored November/December Korea card.

Walt Harris 1st round KO Cyril Asker

I mean easy peasy enough. Harris landed a few body shots, was buckled once on a counter club shot and then dropped Asker with two quickies. Ground and pound followed and game over! Harris should realistically be on a four fight winning streak because I think most people thought he beat Shamil Abdurahimov. Walt Harris feels like the sort of dude people have been trumpeting as a potential top 15 HW for forever now. Dude is improving and with his size, power and athletic ability, I can see him at least earning the opportunity to get some bigger fights. Harris is a fight finisher at the very least. I'd love to see Harris get a "big" name like whatever remains of Gabriel Gonzaga.

John Tuck 1st round sub over Takanori Gomi

The immediate winner is John Tuck but the LONG TERM winner is Rizin because Gomi's done and dusted on an elite level.  Tuck blasted him to the body and hurt him badly, opening the door for Tuck to just beat the shit out of him. Tuck then just pounded on Gomi until the RNC opened up and game over! Tuck gets a big name and a win that sorta kinda doesn't do anything for him beyond that. Tuck's a fun enough fighter though and valuable as a mid card type act on these Asia cards so I'm fine with this.

Rafael Dos Anjos decisions Tarec Saffiedine

Good fight that after a string of finishes probably felt 30 minutes long for most people. RDA at 170 doesn't seem overly small for the weight class. Dos Anjos has come such a long way in such a short period of time and watching him pummel dudes with body shots and stinging knees is always refreshing. Saffiedine was the right matchup for him in his 170 lb debut because he's not the sort of guy who would really push a pace and despite being "bigger" than RDA, he's not going to try to outwrestle him. RDA fought a calm, composed and confident fight and I enjoyed watching him do work. Tarec Saffiedine was in trouble after the first round when his corner was seemingly chewing him out for zoning out. Saffiedine should be so, so much better than he is.

RDA might be a dude who would benefit from a 175 lbs because apparently he still cuts from like 200 lbs so dude's gotta change SOMETHING up.

Colby Covinvton decisions Dong Hyun Kim

Man....I admittedly fell asleep and had to re-watch this one. Covington is just one of those guys I can't get behind and it's frustrating because he's a very good striker when he wants to be. Instead he's just sort of one of those old school lay and pray position before submission guys. Just not for me and wrestling doesn't HAVE to be boring. Watch Kamaru Usman destroy guys on the ground with ground and pound and sub attempts. Cripes.

Marcin Tybura decisions Andrei Arlovski

Back to back stinkers. Not the sort of fight you want to have if you're Tybura. Marcin Tybura did what he had to do but you just want more.

Holly Holm TKO3 Bethe Correia