The Good, Bad and Strange From UFC Fight Night 106
The Good, Bad and Strange From UFC Fight Night 106
The good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 106.
Torches are meant to be passed in the sports world. In mixed martial arts, when a changing of the guard occurs it often happens in brutal fashion.
Flashes of Rashad Evans stealing the soul of Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones crumbling Mauricio "Shogun" Rua immediately come to mind, but a similar caliber pairing came into focus on Saturday night as Vitor Belfort squared off with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
While "The Phenom" has spent the past two decades fighting the best the world had to offer, his recent run inside the Octagon has been lackluster. The Brazilian legend came into Saturday night hoping to turn things around, but in order to do so the former multi-divisional title challenger would have to stop the newly minted middleweight contender in Gastelum.
After weight cutting troubles forced The Ultimate Fighter season 17 winner up into middleweight waters, the California native drubbed Tim Kennedy to stamp his official arrival in the weight class. Following his victory in Toronto, Gastelum asked for and received the bout with Belfort, which set up a classic generational battle at UFC Fight Night 106.
It was old guard versus the new, and it was the new school bringing a hard education in the form of a Gastelum TKO.
Midway through the opening round Gastelum hit the legend with a left/right combination that melted Belfort to the canvas. Nevertheless, the elder fighter held on and battled back to his feet, but it wasn't enough.
Gastelum would crumple him once more a few moments later to pick up the biggest win of his career.
It was a crazy night of knockouts and badass scraps. Let's take a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 106.
How good does Kelvin Gastelum look at middleweight? Great....that's the answer you are looking for.
The Kings MMA rep has won back-to-back showings in the 185-pound division and beat the ever loving brakes off the two men he's faced in the division. The 25-year-old started this run by merking Tim Kennedy at UFC 206 in Toronto, then added a huge name to his resume by folding up Vitor Belfort on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 106 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840803754639216640" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Despite Belfort's age, "The Phenom" is always dangerous in the opening frame, and Gastelum handled the challenge with ease. He beat the Brazilian powerhouse to the punch over and over again with lightning quick combinations that had stinging power in both hands. Gastelum was simply lights out and in turn put Belfort's lights on dim as well.
And while his performance on Saturday night was perfection, Gastelum further impressed by doing the first half of his post-fight interview in Portuguese. This kid is going places.
They said the old Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had left us. They said the best of what he had to offer was left in Japan. They were wrong.
On Saturday night the living legend put together a solid performance before morphing into the killer of old and destroying Gian Villante in the co-main event of Fight Night 106. While elements of his explosiveness and quickness have obviously deteriorated, the savagery is still very much apparent as a short right wobbled the New York native, and a crazy combination put the Serra-Longo product away against the cage in the final round.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840797945020657664" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while the finish may have been a satisfying moment for Rua, it will also fulfill in other areas as he the former PRIDE champion puts together his first three-fight winning streak in more than a decade.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Edson Barboza (red gloves) fights Beneil Dariush (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
It has never been confirmed, but it's widely rumored Edson Barboza translated from Portuguese to English is VIOLENCE.
The Brazilian striker is flat out nasty inside the cage and has built one of the most impressive highlight reels in UFC lightweight history. And Jr. added a game Beneil Dariush to that list of victims.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UFCInsiders/status/840789612712906752" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
After fighting a damn near perfect contest, the Kings MMA representative closed the distance a bit too wild on a takedown attempt and the Team Iron Army master of ruckus brought the violent sleeps with a perfectly timed flying knee. It was brutal. It was crisp. It was a spectacular knockout.
With his knockout win on Saturday night in Brazil, Barboza has now won three consecutive contests and will become a major player in the tangled title picture at 155 pounds.
Ray Borg picked up the biggest win of his career by defeating Jussier Formiga at Fight Night 106.
The New Mexico native and recent Jackson/Wink transplant made his first positive step by defeating the scale that had given him issues in past fights, then used his improved striking game and signature scrambles to remain one step ahead of the scrappy Brazilian. While Formiga had his moments here and there, it was Borg who controlled the majority of the action in Fortaleza.
Immediately following his second straight victory in the flyweight ranks, Borg took aim at the 125-pound king Demetrious Johnson. And while Borg still has a few wins to garner before he will be allowed to step in with "Mighty Mouse," just announcing his intentions are a bold move. Well done and great fight all around.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Alex Oliveira (red gloves) defeats Tim Means (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
If there was a legitimate grudge match on the ticket for UFC Fight Night 106, it arrived in the rematch between Tim Means and Alex Oliveira. After a swarm of illegal knees ended their first meeting at UFC 207 back in December, the two welterweights spared no chance to share their feelings on one another. And since it's the fight game and tailor-fit to iron out rivalries, Means and Oliveira met again, but this time in Brazil.
Where Means had success in their first meeting, the rematch at Fight Night 106 was all Oliveira. "Cowboy" took Means down at will before forcing the Albuquerque native to tap out to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
With the victory, Oliveira has now found success in three of his past four showings, and will pick up some solid momentum with his finish over Means on Saturday night.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Kevin Lee (blue gloves) defeats Francisco Tinaldo (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Ahead of his bout with Francisco Trinaldo, Xtreme Couture product Kevin Lee told FloCombat he was going to "Do the damn thing" in Brazil. And that's exactly what he did in Fortaleza.
"The Motown Phenom" weathered a touchy first round where Trinaldo rocked him with a big left hand, and finished the opening frame fighting back. Coming out in the second, Lee started to find his range and blasted the Brazilian with a right head kick that buckled Trinaldo's knees. Lee closed the distance, took the fight to the ground and secured the victory with a rear-naked choke.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840755976353411072" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
With the win, Lee has now notched a four-fight winning streak, and will find himself breaking through into the lightweight top 15 in the official UFC rankings.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840731357684748288" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Michel Prazeres came into UFC Fight Night 106 riding a four-fight winning streak, and looking to extend his victorious ways. That's precisely what he did and damn was it a drubbing.
The Brazilian powerhouse beat the brakes off veteran Josh Burkman then submitted "The People's Warrior" with a North/South choke shortly after the action hit the canvas. Prazeres came into the tilt with some strong performances, but was yet to notch that ever-important impressive finish. Mission accomplished on Saturday night on his native soil in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Michel Prazeres (red gloves) fights Joshua Burkman (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Making an incredible first impression is crucial on the sport's biggest stage and that's exactly what Paulo Henrique Costa accomplished at Fight Night 106.
The highly touted Brazilian prospect shredded Garreth Mclellan with a barrage of strikes to pick up an impressive victory in his official UFC debut. "Borrachinha" came out guns blazing and the fight was a wrap two minutes later. With the win, Costa remains undefeated and will surely pick up a bigger name in his next outing.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840717828005146624" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The former champion and multi-time title challenger doesn't have the power and speed he once possessed and those factors have been apparent in his past three showings inside the Octagon. And nowhere was the difference of what was and now is more clear than the steamrolling he took at the hands of Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106.
The young bull put the old lion through the wires in quick fashion and earned the first round TKO in stunning fashion. Belfort showed heart by hanging in under heavy pressure, but Gastelum was simply too much.
In regard to walking away from the sport after 20 years, Belfort shared there is one fight remaining on his contract and he'd like to have that fight in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. I say give the man what he deserves.
Josh Burkman's time in the UFC is a tale of two different fighters. The Utah native found mixed results going 5-5 during his first run under the promotional banner, but at least there he found some success. That has not been the case since his return in January of 2015.
His loss to Hector Lombard at UFC 182 was overturned to a no contest after the Cuban failed his post-fight drug test, Burkman would go on to lose four of his next five showings inside the Octagon. The most recent of which came at the hands of Michel Prazeres on Saturday night in Brazil, and it was a drubbing of the highest caliber.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Michel Prazeres (red gloves) defeats Joshua Burkman (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
The Brazilian came firing out the gates with a storm of punches, and while Burkman managed to weather that storm, he had no defense for a North/South choke from Prazeres.
Burkman tapped then marked his retirement by leaving his gloves in the cage.
While Burkman's time in the UFC will be largely forgettable, his overall time competing in mixed martial arts definitely had some special runs. The 36-year-old marked a solid career and it's always good to see a fighter walk away with his health intact.
The referee is the third man or woman inside the cage. They need to be a strong presence when that leather gets to flying. Camilla Albuquerque failed to do so on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 106.
In the second round of the bout between Joe Soto and Rani Yahya, the two fighters clashed heads that opened up a huge gash on the American's forehead. Albuquerque saw the collision and attempted to step in to call time, but wasn't forceful enough and the two fighters continued to get after it.
Soto moved in for a submission attempt and just as Yahya broke the hold and started to sweep, the referee stepped in to definitely call time.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/spencerkyte/status/840739068606476289" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The doctor looked at Soto, cleared him to fight, and the action continued.
While both men appeared a bit dazed after the collision, it was Yahya who had the best position when the bout was stopped. Both men would survive the second round, but Yahya needed to be carried to his stool by his coaches as exhaustion got the best of him. The third round would turn into a back-and-forth affair, with a crimson-faced Soto pouring it on to close out the action en route to stamping the upset victory.
Marion Reneau and Bethe Correia also fought to a majority draw. While the scorecards were certainly deserved, still a strange outcome.
Flashes of Rashad Evans stealing the soul of Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones crumbling Mauricio "Shogun" Rua immediately come to mind, but a similar caliber pairing came into focus on Saturday night as Vitor Belfort squared off with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
While "The Phenom" has spent the past two decades fighting the best the world had to offer, his recent run inside the Octagon has been lackluster. The Brazilian legend came into Saturday night hoping to turn things around, but in order to do so the former multi-divisional title challenger would have to stop the newly minted middleweight contender in Gastelum.
After weight cutting troubles forced The Ultimate Fighter season 17 winner up into middleweight waters, the California native drubbed Tim Kennedy to stamp his official arrival in the weight class. Following his victory in Toronto, Gastelum asked for and received the bout with Belfort, which set up a classic generational battle at UFC Fight Night 106.
It was old guard versus the new, and it was the new school bringing a hard education in the form of a Gastelum TKO.
Midway through the opening round Gastelum hit the legend with a left/right combination that melted Belfort to the canvas. Nevertheless, the elder fighter held on and battled back to his feet, but it wasn't enough.
Gastelum would crumple him once more a few moments later to pick up the biggest win of his career.
It was a crazy night of knockouts and badass scraps. Let's take a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 106.
The Good
How good does Kelvin Gastelum look at middleweight? Great....that's the answer you are looking for.
The Kings MMA rep has won back-to-back showings in the 185-pound division and beat the ever loving brakes off the two men he's faced in the division. The 25-year-old started this run by merking Tim Kennedy at UFC 206 in Toronto, then added a huge name to his resume by folding up Vitor Belfort on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 106 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840803754639216640" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Despite Belfort's age, "The Phenom" is always dangerous in the opening frame, and Gastelum handled the challenge with ease. He beat the Brazilian powerhouse to the punch over and over again with lightning quick combinations that had stinging power in both hands. Gastelum was simply lights out and in turn put Belfort's lights on dim as well.
And while his performance on Saturday night was perfection, Gastelum further impressed by doing the first half of his post-fight interview in Portuguese. This kid is going places.
They said the old Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had left us. They said the best of what he had to offer was left in Japan. They were wrong.
On Saturday night the living legend put together a solid performance before morphing into the killer of old and destroying Gian Villante in the co-main event of Fight Night 106. While elements of his explosiveness and quickness have obviously deteriorated, the savagery is still very much apparent as a short right wobbled the New York native, and a crazy combination put the Serra-Longo product away against the cage in the final round.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840797945020657664" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
And while the finish may have been a satisfying moment for Rua, it will also fulfill in other areas as he the former PRIDE champion puts together his first three-fight winning streak in more than a decade.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Edson Barboza (red gloves) fights Beneil Dariush (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
It has never been confirmed, but it's widely rumored Edson Barboza translated from Portuguese to English is VIOLENCE.
The Brazilian striker is flat out nasty inside the cage and has built one of the most impressive highlight reels in UFC lightweight history. And Jr. added a game Beneil Dariush to that list of victims.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UFCInsiders/status/840789612712906752" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
After fighting a damn near perfect contest, the Kings MMA representative closed the distance a bit too wild on a takedown attempt and the Team Iron Army master of ruckus brought the violent sleeps with a perfectly timed flying knee. It was brutal. It was crisp. It was a spectacular knockout.
With his knockout win on Saturday night in Brazil, Barboza has now won three consecutive contests and will become a major player in the tangled title picture at 155 pounds.
Ray Borg picked up the biggest win of his career by defeating Jussier Formiga at Fight Night 106.
The New Mexico native and recent Jackson/Wink transplant made his first positive step by defeating the scale that had given him issues in past fights, then used his improved striking game and signature scrambles to remain one step ahead of the scrappy Brazilian. While Formiga had his moments here and there, it was Borg who controlled the majority of the action in Fortaleza.
Immediately following his second straight victory in the flyweight ranks, Borg took aim at the 125-pound king Demetrious Johnson. And while Borg still has a few wins to garner before he will be allowed to step in with "Mighty Mouse," just announcing his intentions are a bold move. Well done and great fight all around.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Alex Oliveira (red gloves) defeats Tim Means (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
If there was a legitimate grudge match on the ticket for UFC Fight Night 106, it arrived in the rematch between Tim Means and Alex Oliveira. After a swarm of illegal knees ended their first meeting at UFC 207 back in December, the two welterweights spared no chance to share their feelings on one another. And since it's the fight game and tailor-fit to iron out rivalries, Means and Oliveira met again, but this time in Brazil.
Where Means had success in their first meeting, the rematch at Fight Night 106 was all Oliveira. "Cowboy" took Means down at will before forcing the Albuquerque native to tap out to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
With the victory, Oliveira has now found success in three of his past four showings, and will pick up some solid momentum with his finish over Means on Saturday night.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Kevin Lee (blue gloves) defeats Francisco Tinaldo (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Ahead of his bout with Francisco Trinaldo, Xtreme Couture product Kevin Lee told FloCombat he was going to "Do the damn thing" in Brazil. And that's exactly what he did in Fortaleza.
"The Motown Phenom" weathered a touchy first round where Trinaldo rocked him with a big left hand, and finished the opening frame fighting back. Coming out in the second, Lee started to find his range and blasted the Brazilian with a right head kick that buckled Trinaldo's knees. Lee closed the distance, took the fight to the ground and secured the victory with a rear-naked choke.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840755976353411072" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
With the win, Lee has now notched a four-fight winning streak, and will find himself breaking through into the lightweight top 15 in the official UFC rankings.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840731357684748288" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Michel Prazeres came into UFC Fight Night 106 riding a four-fight winning streak, and looking to extend his victorious ways. That's precisely what he did and damn was it a drubbing.
The Brazilian powerhouse beat the brakes off veteran Josh Burkman then submitted "The People's Warrior" with a North/South choke shortly after the action hit the canvas. Prazeres came into the tilt with some strong performances, but was yet to notch that ever-important impressive finish. Mission accomplished on Saturday night on his native soil in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Michel Prazeres (red gloves) fights Joshua Burkman (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Making an incredible first impression is crucial on the sport's biggest stage and that's exactly what Paulo Henrique Costa accomplished at Fight Night 106.
The highly touted Brazilian prospect shredded Garreth Mclellan with a barrage of strikes to pick up an impressive victory in his official UFC debut. "Borrachinha" came out guns blazing and the fight was a wrap two minutes later. With the win, Costa remains undefeated and will surely pick up a bigger name in his next outing.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ufc/status/840717828005146624" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The Bad
Vitor Belfort's best days are behind him and rightfully so.The former champion and multi-time title challenger doesn't have the power and speed he once possessed and those factors have been apparent in his past three showings inside the Octagon. And nowhere was the difference of what was and now is more clear than the steamrolling he took at the hands of Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106.
The young bull put the old lion through the wires in quick fashion and earned the first round TKO in stunning fashion. Belfort showed heart by hanging in under heavy pressure, but Gastelum was simply too much.
In regard to walking away from the sport after 20 years, Belfort shared there is one fight remaining on his contract and he'd like to have that fight in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. I say give the man what he deserves.
Josh Burkman's time in the UFC is a tale of two different fighters. The Utah native found mixed results going 5-5 during his first run under the promotional banner, but at least there he found some success. That has not been the case since his return in January of 2015.
His loss to Hector Lombard at UFC 182 was overturned to a no contest after the Cuban failed his post-fight drug test, Burkman would go on to lose four of his next five showings inside the Octagon. The most recent of which came at the hands of Michel Prazeres on Saturday night in Brazil, and it was a drubbing of the highest caliber.
Mar 11, 2017; Fortazela, Brazil, USA; Michel Prazeres (red gloves) defeats Joshua Burkman (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Centro de Formacao Olimpica de Fortaleza. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
The Brazilian came firing out the gates with a storm of punches, and while Burkman managed to weather that storm, he had no defense for a North/South choke from Prazeres.
Burkman tapped then marked his retirement by leaving his gloves in the cage.
While Burkman's time in the UFC will be largely forgettable, his overall time competing in mixed martial arts definitely had some special runs. The 36-year-old marked a solid career and it's always good to see a fighter walk away with his health intact.
The Strange
The referee is the third man or woman inside the cage. They need to be a strong presence when that leather gets to flying. Camilla Albuquerque failed to do so on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 106.
In the second round of the bout between Joe Soto and Rani Yahya, the two fighters clashed heads that opened up a huge gash on the American's forehead. Albuquerque saw the collision and attempted to step in to call time, but wasn't forceful enough and the two fighters continued to get after it.
Soto moved in for a submission attempt and just as Yahya broke the hold and started to sweep, the referee stepped in to definitely call time.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/spencerkyte/status/840739068606476289" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The doctor looked at Soto, cleared him to fight, and the action continued.
While both men appeared a bit dazed after the collision, it was Yahya who had the best position when the bout was stopped. Both men would survive the second round, but Yahya needed to be carried to his stool by his coaches as exhaustion got the best of him. The third round would turn into a back-and-forth affair, with a crimson-faced Soto pouring it on to close out the action en route to stamping the upset victory.
Marion Reneau and Bethe Correia also fought to a majority draw. While the scorecards were certainly deserved, still a strange outcome.