Well... what an eventful event we had fight fans! Now a solid day has passed, I'm feeling a little calmer and can comfortably type without getting too emotional. Yesterday the whole event was ruined for me due to the aftermath, but now I can look back with less judgement/emotion and just comment on the amazing fights!
Lewis vs Volkov
Let me start with The Black Beast taking out Alex Volkov with 11 SECONDS TO GO!
I thought that Volkov could have finished this fight a few times in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! But he was cautious about something.... that something being a ticking time bomb that exploded on his jaw with about 20 seconds left, giving the waves of aftershock until the fight was stopped with 11 seconds left! Lewis was clearly behind, but Volkov was a bit too tentative and I do feel could have finished Lewis! Lewis cardio wasn't great, as we and he knows, but what a fight. You gotta love Lewis! Funny dude!
OSP vs Reyes
Wow did Reyes look impressive! What output, what accuracy! Dude, he will be a bad match-up for anyone! What a fight... respect to OSP for showing crazy heart and fighting right up until the final bell, where he literally got knocked out as the bell rung! Crazy stuff!
Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis
WHAT A FIGHT!!! This was amazing, I am a huge Tony fan (and a big Pettis fan) and wow what a performance by both warriors.
Tony is so sharp and well rounded. Pettis landed some great shots and rocked Tony, but I feel Tony really controlled the relentless pace he set. Boy he kept those blades sharp and sliced open Pettis!
Pettis retired due to a broken hand, but Tony really had the upper hand in this fight, and looked incredible. What a comeback after a huge injury. Smart and calculated fighter! Respect!
Khabib vs Conor
Well, it was a typical Khabib fight! Once he grabbed Conor there was no getting out. We've all seen it I'm sure, but what can we take away from this? Khabib is a monster, and no one can prepare for what level of grappling he brings. He looked very impressive!
However, as @brandonk mentioned and very clearly reviewed (check out his post), I just didn't see a fresh Conor McGregor in the cage. He looked kind of sloppy... walking out flat footed toward Khabib, and his shots just didn't look like they had that pop. His legendary timing, precision, accuracy wasn't quite what it had been... and he got caught with a bomb!
Think about all of the top level strikers Conor has fought, and did you think Khabib would be the one to knock him down with a right hand?
Either way, Conor did come back and I think he won the 3rd round, or it was close. He utilized his teep to the body much more and started landing some good punches. Didn't look to phase Khabib too much. As soon as it went to the ground it was Khabib's world.
Respect to Conor, his wrestling defense was good, and he did all he can.
Whats next?
Well....
Will Khabib get stripped of his title due to his terrible post fight antics?
Will Khabib get a suspension, holding up the LW divisions belt for some time?
Here is my take on things:
After the post fight mele, many fans/promoters/reporters feel its built up the rematch already. But most of these are all missing one key element - TONY FERGUSON! Tony is THEE CHAMP! He just defended his title that he has before being stripped due to injury. So, I would finally love to see TONY VS KHABIB
If Khabib gets suspended. How about Conor vs Tony? Who else could Conor fight?
Nate Diaz vs Dustin Poirier winner to fight winner of Tony vs Conor, or Tony vs Khabib? Conor will have a Nate Diaz trilogy fight, no doubt.
With Conor being the biggest draw, he will probably get a rematch against Khabib, but Tony has to fight for the belt next... Lets see how things play out. It's still early days.
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