UFC 221 Recap

Last night was UFC 221, a first event held in Western Australia headlined by Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold. The bout was scheduled to be for the Interim Middleweight Title but due to Yoel Romero missing weight, Luke Rockhold was the only one eligible to win the belt.

The PPV portion of the card wasn't as "stacked" name wise but it had fighters on there that often deliver in their fights, therefore, making this card interesting, to say the least. In my opinion, this card delivered on some exciting fights, 3 out of 5 fights ended in a finish and Matthews - Jingliang fight that ended in a decision was a fight of the night. The only fight that was a little bit lackluster was the Mark Hunt vs Curtis Blaydes, but I predicted that already so I was expecting it.

Tyson Pedro def. Saparbek Safarov submission (kimura) in round 1

This one went exactly as I predicted. Safarov went forward trying to get an early finish, Pedro kept his composure, tagged Safarov a couple of times on the feet and then Safarov tried to clinch and take him down which turned out to be a really bad decision as Pedro applied a beautiful kimura that had Safarov in danger immediately. After Pedro put his leg over Safarov's head we all knew it was over and if he didn't tap that arm would've been broken. I was screaming at my TV for him to tap because it looked like it was not going to end well for Safarov. All in all very impressive fight by Pedro, he learned a lot from his last fight and grew as a fighter.

Jake Matthews def. Li Jingliang Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)

This was a brilliant display by young Jake Matthews, he fought completely different than last time where he mainly was using his wrestling, in this fight he was tagging Jingliang on the feet, hurting him a couple of times and almost stopping the fight with a submission. Now one of the most talked about things out of that fight is the blatant eye gouging by Jingliang that stopped a deep guillotine choke. It was absolutely brutal and needed to be addressed in a proper way by the referee, at least a point deduction was needed to be taken but the referee just let it go, bad decision and if Jingliang somehow won that fight it would've been pure chaos. Matthews impressed me in this fight and exceeded my expectations with his display of skills, well done.

Tai Tuivasa def. Cyril Asker TKO (punches and elbows) in round 1

This was the fight pick I was most confident in, I predicted Tai Tuivasa knocking Asker out in the first round because that is what Tai Tuivasa does and I didn't see Cyril Asker as that much of a threat and I was completely right. Tuivasa put on a beautifully violent performance that resulted in another first round finish. I have no idea how Asker endured all those shots but that fight was bound to be stopped sooner than later. Tai Tuivasa remains undefeated and perhaps the most promising heavyweight prospect in the UFC right now.

Curtis Blaydes def. Mark Hunt Decision (unanimous) (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)

I said it could go 2 ways, either Mark Hunt knocks him out, which he almost did, or Blaydes wins an underwhelming decision, which happened. I knew Blaydes doesn't have enough power to stop him but has amazing wrestling that he could and would definitely use in the fight, it was pretty obvious what his gameplan would be because that is the smartest gameplan that would get him the win. He probably enters top #5 now and gets himself a big fight next.

Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold KO (punches) in round 3

Now, this is the only fight that I've picked wrong on this card. I thought Luke Rockhold would win by a decision but boy was I wrong. Yoel Romero caught Luke Rockhold with a devastating left hand punch and then topped it with another even more terrifying one to finish the deal. It resembled the way Luke lost to Michael Bisping but worse because of the power Yoel used in that punch. Going into round 3 I had the fight tied 1-1 and then Yoel took the matter in his own hands and finished the fight with that brutal knockout.

Even though Yoel Romero missed weight and is not the Interim Middleweight Champion, I have no doubt in my mind that he gets the next title shot after this. This performance definitely deserves another crack at the current champion Robert Whittaker for the undisputed title.

The PPV portion of this card was filled with great fights and if you missed it due to it not having enough name power you chose wrong because this was a very enjoyable fight card that truly delivered.

#UFC #MMA #UFC221 #LukeRockhold #MarkHunt #CurtisBlaydes #YoelRomero