7 Observations From UFC 219

Happy New Year, everyone!

Hope you guys had a great New Year's Eve celebration!

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2017 was a great year for MMA. A year where we saw new champions crowned, the defending and stripping of belts, the arrival of new contenders, rivalries squashed(for now), new rivalries ignited, the return of an all time great(although short-lived), and the retirement of MMA legends.

With all that had happened, I admit, it was a little challenging to see what UFC 219 really had to offer. Don't get me wrong, on paper it was a decent card with some solid names. And like many out there, as a big Condit fan, I was looking forward to his return to the octagon(we'll get into that later). But in a sport as exciting as MMA where anyone could win at any given moment, UFC 219 just felt like it lacked that sense of unpredictability. The uncertainty of who would emerge the victor.

With the exception of the Condit/Magny fight, the rest of the card looked.......well, a little predictable.

And I suppose that's where I have yet to learn as an MMA fan.

The sport, is for the most part, very unpredictable.

So here's what UFC 219 had to offer.

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1.Tim Elliott is One of the Most Entertaining Grapplers in the UFC

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^{Very much a squirrelly fella isn't he?}
Tim Elliott does what Tim Elliott does and got the submission finish.
The man just keeps moving. He's constantly going for takedowns, looking for submissions, peppering his opponents with ground and pound, while trying to wear them out. And he does it in such a reckless abandon way that has this element of excitement to it. Sure, it might also be the reason why he got caught by Ben Nguyen but I guess it's a style that has been working for him. After all, he did manage to go the distance with the champ and even threatened with his own submission. The question is - How far in the division can he go with this style?

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^{Can't touch this. No, you literally can't touch Demetrious Johnson}

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2.Louis Smolka is SUPER Tough!

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^{Down but not out}
It feels unfair to commend the guy that lost especially since Matheus Nicolau put on an amazing performance against a top 15 fighter but the heart and toughness of Smolka was incredible. He got hit by more than a few big shots and still managed to recover and press forward. It's hard to tell where he goes from here now that he's lost 4 of his last fights. They might pull a Dan Hardy and keep him for just one more fight in time for a potential UFC Hawaii.

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^{We might even get to witness one more Sweet Chin Music}

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3.Magny Looked Good Against a Rusty Killer

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^{Natural Born Killer couldn't seem to find that killer instinct}
What can I say about this fight? As a Condit fan, I was incredibly frustrated to watch on as Magny managed to shut Condit down in every aspect and implement his own gameplan with long rangy jabs, superior clinch work, and effective takedowns against the fence.

The worst part of it all was how Condit looked. This was nothing like the Johny Hendricks fight where he was taken down almost at will(12 out 15) but still managed to stay active, land a few good shots, and lose a split decision. Like what Rogan mentioned, Condit appeared uncomfortable. Seemed as if he couldn't find his range and rhythm and therefore never got his shots off. And to Magny's credit, he managed to capitalized on almost every single bit of offense from Condit and made him pay for it.

Many think Condit's best days are over but I think he was just outclassed by a good fighter that night and deserves another shot at a top 15 opponent.

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4.Carla Esparza Might Have a Chance at Reclaiming Gold

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^{Cookie Monster FTW!}
I pretty much counted Esparza out of this fight. I thought the aggression and size of Calvillo was going to play a big factor in her getting the win. Shows what little I know. It was quite impressive considering that Calvillo was on a tear and had huge momentum going into the fight.

With two straight wins in the division and also a history of having defeated Rose Namajunas for the Women's Strawweight belt, she could make a case for her next fight to be for the belt. It would be interesting to see just how far Rose has improved in her grappling and if she could avenge the loss.

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5.Dan Hooker Might be the Real Deal

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^{Right as Pearson was ducking his head}
I only started noticing Diakiese after his spectacular one punch knockout of Teemu Packalen and similarly enough, Dan Hooker always seemed under the radar until he had his own big win against the tough UFC veteran, Ross Pearson. It was here in this fight though that Hooker's skills and capabilities really shined. He was more than able to match Diakiese on the feet and he easily controlled him when it came to the grappling exchanges. As if all that wasn't impressive enough, he solidified his victory with a reactive guillotine off of Diakiese's takedown attempt.
Hooker is looking well rounded and probably deserves a top ten guy at this point.

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6.Khabib Might be the God of Grappling

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^{Great sign of respect between the assaulter and victim}

Nothing much to say here, guys.

Khabib is terrifying.

Bad weight cut or long lay-off, it doesn't matter. He'll grab you, take you down, and claim your soul.

Barboza gets points in the effort department and for the early start but was essentially ineffective.

A fight with Ferguson HAS to happen now. Might we see a new champion at lightweight soon?

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^{RDA Flying Air Khabib}

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7. Cyborg is the True G.O.A.T of WMMA

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^{It might be one of WMMA's best fights}
A match that I was dead sure to be a one sided beating ended up being one of the best fights of the year. I like Holly. Every time she fights, I watch. I even watched her fight live in Singapore. But I just couldn't see her handling Cyborg's pressure and insane power. No doubt that Holly has great footwork but at the same time Cyborg is NOT Ronda. You can see she has much better stand up and has not been taken down. In my mind, it was only a matter of time before Cyborg would either bully Holly against the fence and unloaded an ungodly barrage of punches or take her down and beat her up there.

Boy was I wrong.

Holly not only took all of Cyborg's punches but also returned fire and got in a few good shots of her own which caused Cyborg's nose to bleed. And the strength of Holly to push Cyborg against the fence and hold her there! It was the last thing one would imagine happening.

But then Cyborg made adjustments and and started finding her range and landing shots with her counters as well her jab. But above all that, what was most impressive was Cyborg's endurance to go the full five rounds and not tire as well as her patience to stick to a gameplan.

Holly put up a great effort but in the end it was Cyborg who got the decision, and rightfully so. If there was one criticism about Cyborg(besides the steroids) was that she never really fought anyone of Holm's caliber. Guess we can take that out of the equation now and give her the respect she deserves.

In the end, it was a win/win situation. We as fans got what we wanted. Cyborg proved she's the best WMMA fighter ever. Holly showed the heart of a real warrior by putting up a great fight against the woman nobody wanted to face.

The only problem here is this- with Holm defeated and de Randamie refusing to fight Cyborg, who does she defend her belt against next? Amanda Nunes? Megan Anderson?

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