The main card at UFC 271 this last Saturday in Houston, Texas was packed with some pretty good fights. Here’s how things went down.
Israel Adesanya d. Robert Whittaker
For the headline fight, we saw a second match up between belt holder (Izzy) Adesanya and belt contender, Whittaker. The last time these two met was in 2019. Whittaker stated to the press he knew he had his work cut out for him in order to regain the title.
In the first round, Izzy came out hot, throwing lots of strikes and knocking Whittaker down. But Whittaker was able to get it together for the second round and stand his ground, getting a takedown. In the next few rounds, Whittaker would attempt more takedowns since he’s a better wrestler, but to no avail.
Izzy was able to keep him at a pretty good distance thanks to his long reach, while still mixing in quick kicks and straight punches. Clearly it was enough to let the judges vote in favor for a unanimous decision win for the title.
I’m sure we’ll see another match up here within the next year or so.
Tai Tuivasa d. Derrick Lewis
This heavyweight bout I expected to go either way, to be honest. Lewis is one scary dude but Tuivasa really solidified himself not only with a four streak win, but also by winning via KO.
We saw the two clinch for most of the fight. And in the third round during a clinch against the fence, Tuivasa threw an elbow upstairs that knocked Lewis out.
Other Results
Jared Cannonier d. Derek Brunson
Renato Moicano d. Alexander Hernandez
Bobby Green d. Nasrat Haqparast
Honorable Mention: Casey O’Neill d. Roxanne Modafferi
The young gun 24-year-old King Casey took out the 39-year-old veteran, Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision, with one judge voting 29-28 in favor of Modafferi. This was one of the more exciting matches of the night with over strikes being thrown total.
O’Neill alone broke the record for most significant strikes thrown in a women’s flyweight fight. With Modafferi being an expert in jiu jitsu, it’s surprising that she didn’t attempt more take downs. O’Neill looked on point, slipping and countering most of Modafferi’s straight punches.
The crowd was largely in favor of Modafferi, who retired after the match. To the point of booing O’Neill during her post-fight interview.
