UFC Figh179 was live from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this past Saturday night (October 25, 2014)) with an uneventful night of fights, though wrapping up the show was a headliner for the ages. After the event concluded, the promotion awarded $50,000 to two fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’. The lines to wager on these props were available at Several Bookmakerss. Fabio Maldonado earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) After being controlled by Hans Stringer’s superior grappling for a round and a half, Maldonado turned the table later in the second frame when he found himself on top of Stringer during a scramble. He started his ground and pound attack, aiming for the head and body of the Dutchman, ultimately forcing him to quit and the referee to step in and call the action. In my opinion, it was not an impressive TKO in the least, and was one of the worst TKO’s I have ever seen, as the Brazilian’s ground and pound looked weak and Stringer just gave up. Noteworthy T/KOs: – Neil Magny defeated Rio de Janeiro’s own William Macario via TKO in the third round of action, after getting the better of the Brazilian in the first two frames. It was yet another very impressive outing for Magny, who is now on a five-fight winning streak, with all five victories coming in 2014. Aside from Maldonado’s stoppage of Stringer on the main card, this was the only other T/KO on the entire UFC 179 fight card, and in my opinion should have taken home the evening’s honors. I think Magny deserved it more than Maldonado did, but I suppose being a main card fight and a Brazilian made a difference. Part of me thinks they let Maldonado have the $50,000 so he will be tempted to finish more fights in the future, as he has been content with taking decisions in the past, even in fights he could have clearly earned a T/KO like the Gian Villante bout. Gilbert Burns earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) – The Brazilian was very impressive in his UFC lightweight debut, securing an armbar submission over former RFA lightweight champion Cristos Giagos with only three seconds left in the very first round of action. Burns is now 2-0 in the Octagon, including a unanimous decision victory over Andreas Stahl at 170-pounds in what was his promotional debut. The 28-year old remains undefeated at 9-0 and is looking to make a run in the UFC’s 155 pound division. Other noteworthy Submissions: – Tony Martin defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Fabricio Camoes via Kimura in the first frame of action, picking up his first victory inside the Octagon, following back-to-back defeats with the promotion. It was an impressive outing for Martin, and a huge feather in his cap to own a submission over Camoes, especially a Kimura. – Wilson Reis submitted Scott Jorgensen with an arm triangle choke in the first round of their flyweight scrap, after hurting “Young Guns” with a shin to the gut and following up with vicious ground and pound. It was Reis’ most impressive Octagon outing yet, and with the Brazilian now being 2-0 at 125-pounds, he has his eyes set on the gold. Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes earn Fight of the Night for their incredible and intense five round battle in the main event of the evening. Aldo came out on top in the rematch, defeating Mendes via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. There were close rounds Aldo seemed to edge; he got the better of Mendes, but by no means did he dominate the Team Alpha Male fighter. Mendes proved to be the biggest challenge of Aldo’s career, giving the Brazilian the most trouble and damage he seen. It was a very entertaining fight from start to finish and what many would consider an instant classic. While Aldo is now 2-0 against Mendes, I think this fight leaves open a window for a trilogy, and if Mendes could successfully work his way towards that, that would be one trilogy no fight fan would say no to. Other noteworthy fights: – Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili took on New Jersey-based Brazilian Felipe Arantes in a very close, very exciting back-and-forth brawl that saw both fighters have their moments. It seemed as if a decision could have gone either way, but all three judges’ scored two out of three rounds for the Californian, sending the Sao Paolo native back to the drawing board. Next to the main event, I think this was the most entertaining bout on the entire UFC 179 fight card. – The aforementioned Reis vs Jorgensen, as Jorgensen had Reis dropped and hurt early on, but the Brazilian recovered and came back to hurt Jorgensen in return, and then submit him with his famed arm triangle choke.
