A Night of Stars
UFC 225 was always going to be a stacked card along with some strange twists on the card but in the end, it was all about two title fights at the end of the night.
Although a lot of attention was paid to the fights on the prelims and who they were replaced by in the main card, the night was always going to end with two big fights for UFC gold.
The first was taking a lot of the attention simply for the fact that it involved a fighter making his best attempt at being the most hated fighter in the UFC.
Colby Covington has talked his way to being one of the most recognized fighters in the UFC but it hasn’t been in a fun-loving way.
He has insulted all of Brazil calling Brazilians “Filthy Animals” after beating Demian Maia in Sao Paulo.
It was his first shot but it certainly wasn’t his last shot as he has consistently attacked fans and has called anyone criticizing him a nerd.
That has all been the plan for Covington as he has admitted that it is all an act to get that attention that only seems to come when you speak loudly.
The strategy has worked as he is surely one of the most hated fighters in the UFC but he was also fighting for a title.
At UFC 225 he had a chance to complete what seemed to be a quick rise through the rankings with a UFC belt.
Although he had been fighting for a while before that it was his strategy to be a bad guy that got him his shot against Rafael Dos Anjos.
It wasn’t going to be easy though as Dos Anjos had already taken a belt in the lightweight division and without the worry of a weight cut had done some big things in the welterweight division.
After three straight wins in the welterweight division, Dos Anjos was continuing his way up the rankings and looked to earn his second UFC title.
The Brazilian may have had some extra motivation to beat the guy who talked bad about his own country.
The plan for Covington was clear from the start as he came out trying to put the pressure on Dos Anjos right from the start.
Throughout the fight, Dos Anjos had no room to breathe with Covington staying on him and never letting the former lightweight champ to get comfortable.
He pressed him against the cage and kept control throughout the fight leaving the judges with no decision but to give him the win.
With the win, Covington earned the interim championship and showed that he can compete with the best which will be tested against Tyron Woodley for the unified belt.
The second title fight took a bad turn only a day before the fight as the common problem of weight cutting came up once again.
This time it took the middleweight title fight that was headlining the entire card off the table, although the fight remained.
Yoel Romero has always been a big middleweight but the former wrestler has made a living out of cutting weight.
This time he just couldn’t get there as the Illinois commission stopped him from cutting any more weight leaving him .2 lbs over the title fight limit.
It is a common issue and has taken a lot of attention in the last few months as big fights have been affected, to some on purpose.
Romero likely wasn’t giving up the cut and tried to get in there but the fact is he missed weight and left current champion, Robert Whittaker, with a choice.
Eventually, the UFC kept the fight with Whittaker not wanting to waste the trip to the USA without fighting.
The title was taken away though and so these two fighters were set to face off in a rematch for pride more than anything.
The last time they faced off, Romero worked on the leg of Whittaker and caused a serious injury early in the fight.
Still, Whittaker was able to get the win and this time around was hoping to show what he could do when completely healthy.
The fight started out slow with Whittaker taking charge and Romero seemingly conserving energy to go longer in the fight.
Then the third round came and both fighters turned things up in a major way launching big strikes and taking each other right to the end.
Whittaker seemed to lose steam around that time while also limiting himself to using his left hand after breaking his right and the final two rounds saw Romero almost finish the fight twice.
It was a close fight that could have gone either way with Romero getting the bigger shots but Whittaker controlling the fight more.
The judges gave the fight to Whittaker with a Split Decision but the fight was so close that this may not be over.
There are those who believe that Romero should have been given the win and it seems like they are closely matched.
Expect to see another one of these fights as soon as Whittaker heals up and hopefully it will be for a title this time.
The Sport Addiction 