#ufc320

And just like that, Pereira is the champion again.

Poatan came out hot out the gate. I think his foot was hurt. But put Ankalaev on the fence and immediately got to work. Landed a huge right hand that basically destroyed Ankalaev instantly. He tried to grab the waste for a td but ends up on his back and eats a million elbows.

Great, great fight. Another certified Jiri banger and another fight where Rountree looked like an elite fighter until he basically lost the fight.

Rountree looked great thru the first two rounds. Did a great job of scaring Prochazka from staying in range too long and using counters to dissuade Jiri from throwing long combos. Instead, Khalil was able to show off his range boxing and kicking. Landing really nice body kicks that welted up Jiri's right side. I don't know if Jiri was hurt/injured, but he looked really awkward off his right side. I think one of those kicks from Rountree did some really damage. It looked like Rountree had done enough to really persuade Jiri to not come forward.

But the samurai spirit fully overtook Prochazka in the 3rd. Man did not care. He found some success with his jab in the 2nd and just started charging forward behind it. Just kept extending and extending pocket exchanges until Rountree's defense completely broke down and he was forced to try to clinch to stop the onslaught. But Jiri kept coming forward and landed a strong right hand along the cage that ended the fight.

Rountree's game is based off his ability to get respect from the opposition. If he can slow the fight down, make it exchange for exchange - his game shines. There was always going to be a point in this fight where Jiri just stopped respecting him b/c that how he is. Rountree might be a strictly more technically skilled fighter than Jiri but he needs everything to break his way to get the win. Jiri is an opportunist who knows how/when to commit. He understands his win condition and more often than not he'll find it.

Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira 2: see their first fight. Probably like that. Based off the little I’ve seen, I don’t think Pereira actually learned anything from the first fight. And the issues Ankalaev presents - speed, southpaw, wrestling chops, and cage wrestling - are things that have always been issues for him (and most fighters). Maybe we get some more forced exchanges as Pereira tries to get anything to happen and we end up with one or both guys getting hurt at one point, but Ankalaev has a shut off valve for volume with his wrestling and fence game.

Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen - I love Sandhagen’s game. I think he’s one of the most considered fighters in the sport. He’s flexible, he’s intelligent, and he’s able to put together stuff extremely well in there. But the thing that has always held him back at 135 is that he is not a dynamic, 1st class athlete while the guys who hold the title are. And they tend to be guys who beat Sandhagen - Aljo, Yan, Umar, and Dillashaw (tho I thought CS won that). And Merab might be the most freakishly gifted athlete 135lbs has ever had with a game that plays right into the gaps in Sandhagen’s armor. While Sandhagen has evolved from getting bum-rushed by Sterling into one of MMA’s premier defenders of the takedown from the rear (elite handfighting), the fact is we know this because he keeps getting to that position. And Merab is going to put him there 30x over 25 minutes until he breaks. Not to mention Merab seems to be evolving. There is a version of this fight where Merab gets stranded at range with Sandhagen’s reach trying to box and loses rounds trying to find a path forward but I have to think Serra-Longo will get him on the right track.

Jiri Prochazka vs Khalil Rountree - I think this is the fight that Im most struggling with. Khalil has all the tools to actually beat the shit out of Jiri, especially as possibly the 2nd hardest leg kicker in the division. But jiri gets beat up all the time. The question is can Rountree keep the fight at a simmer for long enough that he takes rounds. Because if he’s forced into a firefight, esp on tired legs - I don’t think he can win that. Think I’m going with Jiri late stoppage despite my hesitations.

Youssef Zalal vs Josh Emmett - my takeaway from Zalal’s fight with Kattar was that he is not as evolved as I thought as a striker. Lacks a lot of subtlety that makes great out-fighters. Benefitted from a shot Kattar. Problem is Emmett is 40 and 1-3 in his last 4. Topuria, Murphy, and Rodriguez aren’t really analogous to Zalal and are tough match ups but Emmett had like 0 success with all of them. Hard to imagine getting a much younger guy who will be happy circling constantly is gonna be easy for him. So Zalal by UD. Wouldn’t surprise me if he gets KOed along the fence tho.

Abus Magomedov vs Joe Pyfer - Joe Pyfer might be a shit dude, but at least he’s got two rounds of gas in the tank. More than I can say for Abus who’s got like 4 minutes of kicks in him before things fall apart. Have to take Pyfer. 2nd round stoppage. Hope I’m wrong.