This is the start of a new series recapping some of the biggest moments and sharing my post-fight thoughts on UFC cards moving forward. Here are a few things that stood out last night at UFC Vegas 80, including an absolute stunner in the main event:
Thoughts on Bobby Green: Green wasted no time in this one, pulling a massive betting upset with a 32 second KO/TKO victory over Grant Dawson and picking up one of the biggest wins of his career in the process. Green will enter the lightweight rankings this week and has now put himself into prime position to make a late resurgence in his career. He called for a fight with Dan Hooker during his post-fight press conference, and I’d love to see that one in the near future. The win puts Green in a great spot to have some big money fights before he calls it a career.
Thoughts on Grant Dawson: Dawson never got the chance to get going last night, getting dropped by Green’s second strike of the fight and put away very shortly afterward via ground and pound. It was Dawson’s first loss in the UFC and also the first time he tasted defeat in over seven years. It’s unlikely he will fall out of the rankings altogether, but he’ll likely fall right near the cut line. He’ll likely once again face someone right outside of the rankings in his next one whenever he is ready to return.
Thoughts on Joe Pyfer: Pyfer is as good as advertised and he could be a problem for a lot of fighters in the middleweight division. Pyfer picked up an emphatic second round submission win, putting Abdul Razak Alhassan to sleep with a nasty triangle choke. Pyfer absorbed some heavy leg kicks prior to the finishing sequence, but other than that, this was a pretty one-sided fight for the highly-touted prospect. It will be interesting to see who he’ll face next, with a ranked opponent potentially on the horizon.
Thoughts on Joaquin Buckley: Buckley moves to 2-0 since dropping down to welterweight and continues to look like he could be a problem in the division after picking up a pretty dominant decision win over Alex Morono. In all likelihood, he’ll see a ranked opponent across the octagon in his next one, and there are several fun potential options in the 10-15 range that would make sense, including Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena.
Thoughts on the rest: Drew Dober became the “KO King” in the lightweight division last night with his tenth KO/TKO finish in the division to break a tie with Dustin Poirier for the record. Great bounce back victory for Dober in this one. Like most fans, I was disappointed to learn during the broadcast that Phillipe Lins vs Ion Cutelaba was being scratched as the featured prelim. This is the second fight for Lins that has fallen apart due to “illness” on fight day, definitely something to watch moving forward with him. The next event is UFC Vegas 81 this upcoming weekend.
