It was on an overall great weekend for fights, seeing Derrick Lewis win his third fight in a row, witnessing Beneil Dariush kill a man, y'know, all the fun stuff. There was plenty that got the world talking, but despite the many fights that took place, there's a number of big talking points coming out of the weekend that stand above the rest. Here are the biggest talking points from the MMA world this weekend.
Michael Chandler's Free Agency
Former Bellator champion Michael Chandler, fought the final fight in his contract on Friday, knocking out Benson Henderson very first round with an overall impressive display. However, it still remains unclear as to what the 34-year-old intends to do going into 2021. After making quick work of the former UFC lightweight, you would think "Iron" would be eager for a quick turn around. This being said, it seems as though he is going to explore free agency for a while longer.
Although no interest has been officially stated by the UFC, one must think that the idea of having a fresh, new contender being added to an already STACKED division is appealing. The pot has already been stirred during an interview post-fight at Bellator 243.
“The thing about Conor McGregor is I’ve always loved what he has done with the sport,” he said to reporters, backstage. “I’ve never once hated on him. In the very beginning, I did say he’s not as good as he thinks he is, but he’s better than we think he is, and he continued to prove that. I still don’t think he’s as good as he thinks he is, but that’s a testament to his self-belief. If all of us had a little bit more self-belief, like Conor McGregor, life would be a little bit different and we’d look at life through a different lens.”
“As far as that fight goes, I finish Conor in under two, in my opinion,” he stated. “It’d be similar to, shades of (Nate) Diaz I. Wear him down, hit him with hard shots – hard, hard shots. Take every single one of his shots. He’s got that sneaky and strong and thick and hard left hand that he throws, and it’s straight. You avoid that, wear him down a little bit, make him see Jesus. Just put him out.”
A fight against the notorious Irishman is appealing to any fighter, however, I don't see a fight between the two men happening any time soon. Bellator will also be looking to retain the services of Michael Chandler, no-doubt offering the Missouri native a lucrative contract. Where will he go? My thoughts are that we are most than likely going to be seeing the Bellator star in the UFC Octagon next year.
Chris Weidman Gathers Momentum
Chris Weidman had lost 5 of his last 6 fights heading into his co-main event bout with Omari Akhmedov, with all five losses coming by KO/TKO. I will admit heading into this one, I was nervous for "The All American". The win was desperately needed, and even though it was not a dominant and convincing performance, being back in the win column in vital at this stage in his career.
In the end, it was a hard-fought decision which can hopefully push Weidman on and re-discover his past form. Let's not forget, the former UFC Middleweight champion defeated Anderson Silva (twice), Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida consecutively. Regardless of the points in their careers, it is impressive still.
If the 36-year-old can pick up another win in his next fight, we may very well see Chris get his confidence back, and possibly start challenging with the division's best.
Beneil Dariush is a Problem
Kings MMA product Beneil Dariush, put the world on notice when he devastatingly knocked-out Scott Holtzman with a brutal spinning back-fist (forearm, whatever). This extended his current winning streak to five, the last four being finishes.
Dariush has registered wins over UFC veteran Frank Camacho and the promising Drakkar Klose. He currently holds a record of 19-4, with three of them losses coming from top-level fighters like Edson Barboza and Michael Chiesa. The Iran-born fighter is now starting to turn some heads and gather notoriety amongst the more casual fans. This can only mean good things for the 31-year-old.
Obviously, Beneil was ineligible for a post-fight bonus, as he missed the lightweight 156lb limit. Although this has not been a recurring issue for him, it may need to be addressed to prevent any complications in the future.
After such an emphatic win, a top ten opponent could be on the horizon for Dariush. I can say this with confidence, he is going to cause some problems and movement in the 155lb top ten moving into 2021.
Derrick Lewis Breaks Heavyweight KO Record
Derrick Lewis became the most devastating knock-out artist in UFC heavyweight history this weekend, after he KO'd Aleksei Oleinik 21 seconds into the sound round. This brought "The Black Beast's" tally to 11, over taking former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santon who both hold 10.
The fight was a classic grappler vs striker scenario, with the grappler taking control of the first round, and nearly catching the Texas native in a bull-dog choke and an armbar consecutively. However Lewis was able to rally back early in the second, landing an amazing flying knee and following up on the floor with vicious ground and pound.
This, on paper, makes the 35-year-old the most prolific and devastating stand-up finishing UFC heavyweight history, weird right? Well it's even weirder when you see that he's finished the likes of Alexander Volkov, Gabriel Gonzaga and and Travis Browne along the way. With Derrick only being 35, which is not old in heavyweight years at all, you can definitely see him extending this record as he looks to put himself back into the title picture.
This was Lewis' third win in a row, and he currently sits on number four in the official UFC Heavyweight rankings.
Comments