Short Fights End the Marathon (UFC Fight Night 28 Review)
The UFC would finish off one of their busiest times in the year as they would hold their third fight in 6 days. The UFC has been going quickly in the last month as they have pumped out fights keeping the UFC running and changing things rapidly. Whether it was the defeat of Anderson Silva, or the beginning of a new network, or even the crowing of a new lightweight champion the UFC has been busy. It has been a busy summer for the UFC as they continue to build their sport and move it closer and closer to being mainstream. The UFC has been fighting this fight for years as they continue to look to be a part of the North American sports scene. They started in basements and only on pay per view as they were a sort of back alley sport that not many watched. Under the watchful eye of Dana White and the Fertitta brothers they have grown to unseen levels. Running towards regulation the members of Zuffa would begin to get MMA legalized in states and countries it had never been before. They would secure deals with different networks including Spike TV and Fox in order to bring the MMA world to everyone. They would even enter the Reality show game creating The Ultimate Fighter that would bring the UFC world into the homes of people week after week. The crew at Zuffa have changed the UFC from a basement fight club to a serious sport that remains on the fringes. Still people are unsure of the sport though as they continue to call it Human Cockfighting. This is the battle that the UFC continues to fight and as they continue to grow they are slowly winning the war. The 3 fights in the last 8 days would show just how big the UFC has become with fights in Milwaukee, Indiana, and Brazil. All fights would have great attendance and great fans showing that the UFC is spreading and they there may be no stopping them. It was a busy time for the UFC that showed a lot about how far they have come and where they are ready to go. The long stretch of fights would be capped off at UFC Fight Night 28 when two light heavyweight fighters faced off for the chance to enter the title conversation. Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader would be the final fight of the stretch and they would both be looking to end the fight in spectacular fashion. Each had their own reasons to do it although the end goal was all the same. For Teixeira a big win against Bader could have sent him to the title shot he was waiting for. Only a great win would do this though as the UFC was looking for something special out of the Brazilian. Bader was looking to beat one of the top ranked fighters in the division and begin a climb to the title shot. Bader would likely not get a title shot no matter what happened but a big win against a top contender would put him in the conversation for fighters in line for a title shot. Both fighters had different skills but very similar skills. Teixeira is a Jiu Jistu Black belt with very heavy hands while Bader is a NCAA Division-I wrestler with heavy hands. It would be a matchup of two fighters similar in skills but different in mentality. While Bader looks to ground and pound Teixeira looks for submissions while both go for the KO on the feet. Both faced off in Teixeira’s hometown of Belo Horizonte Brazil with plenty on the line for both fighters. The fight would see both fighters stand and trade for the first round. Depending on when you watched the first round this was a bad decision for either fighter. Ryan Bader would get Glover Teixeira with a short right hand and would begin to unload looking for the finish. Pressed up against the cage Teixeira would cover up and take shots look to stay up in what seemed to be the beginning of the end. Then Teixeira would find his spot launching a short right hook followed by a short left hook that landed perfectly on the chin of Bader. The fight was over and Teixeira had shown why he is considered one of the best Light Heavyweights in the world. Bader took the loss and although he almost finished the fight will likely fall to undercard fights as he looks to get back to the top of the rankings. Teixeira on the other hand is looking at a title shot with a great finish that may just be the statement the UFC was looking for.
The rest of the card would be filled with great young Brazilian fighters including two in particular that were looking to make an impact on their divisions. First would be Jussier Formiga who came into the fight ranked #5 in the Flyweight division. He would take on the top ranked Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 28 for his chance to move up the rankings and earn a title shot. Formiga had the opportunity to unseat the man most likely to fight for the Flyweight Title next and if he could pull off the win he would immediately enter the conversation. In the end it wasn’t to be though as Benavidez would get by Formiga with a first round KO winning his third straight fight and second straight with a KO. Now Benavidez seems to be destined to fight Demetrious Johnson for the second time and try to earn the title. The next fight would feature another great fighter from Brazil as Ronaldo Souza would take on Yushin Okami in a middleweight matchup that could go a long way to determining the next challenger to the title. The fight would not last very long though as Souza would come out strong immediately and surprise everyone including Okami. He would land a big right hand to end the fight with a KO after everyone believed he would want the fight on the ground. Souza took the win and will move up from his #5 ranking in the middleweight division. He may not get the title shot but with the win he could be one away from the title shot. The UFC would once again travel to Brazil and feature some young rising talent and although there was mixed results for Brazilian fighters it was still a great night of fights once again.
Fight Bonuses
Submission of the Night
Piotr Hallmann seemed to be out of it early on as he would take some major kicks to the body that send him to the mat but he wouldn’t give up and in the second round would get Francisco Trinaldo down and earn the Kimura for the bonus
Knockout of the Night
The main event was an important fight for both fighters but Glover Teixeira had a bigger reason to win with the home crowd behind him and he would make sure the home crowd went hom happy earning the KO of the Night knocking out Ryan Bader in the second round
Fight of the Night
Rafael Natal went into his fight looking to finish and make an impression in front of the Brazilian fans but then he met Tor Troeng who would not give up and would help him to win the $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night
Fight Results
Main Event:
Glover Teixeira def. Ryan “Darth” Bader
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Main Card:
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Yushin “Thunder” Okami
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Piotr Hallmann def. Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo
(Submission; Kimura, Rd. 2)
Rafael “Sapo” Natal def. Tor “The Hammer” Troeng
(Unanimous Decision)
Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov def. Marcos “Vina” Vinicius
(TKO; Rd. 3)
Undercard:
Kevin Souza def. Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes
(Split Decision)
Lucas “Mineiro” Martins def. Junior “Hot Handed” Hernandez
(Submission; Rear Naked Choke, Rd. 1)
Elias Silverio def. Joao “The Brazilian Samurai” Zeferino
(Unanimous Decision)
Ivan Jorge def. Keith Wisnewski
(Unanimous Decision)
Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort
(Split Decision)
Upcoming Events
UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson (Saturday September 21st; 10:00 pm ET)
Toronto, Ontario (Air Canada Centre)
Main Event: Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson [Light Heavyweight Title]
Notable: Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland [Bantamweight Title]
Notable: Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs. Matt Mitrione
UFC Fight Night 29: Maia vs. Shields (Wednesday October 9th; 7:00 pm ET)
Barueri, Brazil (Ginásio José Corrêa)
Main Event: Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields
Notable: Erick Silva vs. Dong “Stun Gun” Hyun Kim
Notable: Rony Jason vs. Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens
UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos (Saturday October 19th; 10:00 pm ET)
Houston, Texas (Toyota Center)
Main Event: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos
Notable: Daniel “DC” Cormier vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson
Notable: Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez vs. Diego “The Dream” Sanchez
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