What mattered most at UFC 245 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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1. Kamaru Usman’s championship potential
Kamaru Usman got his welterweight championship reign off to a memorable start with his first title defense being a fifth-round TKO of Colby Covington. It was a huge fight, and for Usman to win it with those style points had to feel pretty sweet.
What also must be sweet is knowing he got through arguably his toughest test in the division his first time putting up the belt. There are a lot of great welterweights out there, but Covington wasn’t an easy stylistic matchup, as we saw in the fight.
The likes of Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, Leon Edwards, Stephen Thompson, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and more all have more glaring flaws Usman can take advantage of, and that must have “The Nigerian Nightmare” pretty excited about what he can make of this run as champion.
2. Colby Covington’s character
Covington made a good account of himself against Usman. He pushed the champion to his limit and had some really good moments before succumbing to a TKO in the final minute, fighting nearly half of the contest with a fractured jaw.
Unfortunately, any good will Covington may have built up with his performance and toughness, he washed away with a confrontational post-fight statement that accused referee Marc Goddard of robbing him with the stoppage.
If anyone thought Covington’s loss – and serious jaw injury – was going to cause him to show an ounce of humility, they were kidding themselves. This gimmick will likely only get more polarizing going forward, because he is sure to use everything – from the injury to the stoppage – to justify why it wasn’t a legitimate loss.
3. ‘Blessed’ is best at handling defeat
It’s not exactly a distinction any fighter wants to be known for, but Max Holloway once again showed he handles defeat as well or better than anyone in the sport after dropping the UFC featherweight title to Alexander Volkanovski.
Holloway’s title reign came to an abrupt end in a unanimous decision loss. The Hawaiian took what should’ve been a heartbreaking moment in stride, declaring that if he wanted the win, he could have finished the fight or done more to convince the judges he deserved the nod.
With his son, Rush, by his side, Holloway took complete ownership of the result. There were no tears and no excuses. Just a man who continues to be one of the great ambassadors of the sport both in and out of the octagon.
4. Amanda Nunes now a victim of own success
No, that was absolutely not Amanda Nunes’ finest work. She got tired, allowed Germaine de Randamie to get herself in the fight, and did have a few worrisome moments. Still, though, Nunes came out with the win and a fifth defense of her women’s bantamweight title.
Now what?
Not only has Nunes defeated every female UFC champion within a reasonable weight range, but in the case of de Randamie, she’s beat them twice. Nunes rules two weight classes with an iron fist, and you would be hard pressed to come up with an argument for any contender out there who deserves a shot, much less one who could be a real threat to the Brazilian’s reign.
Of course, there’s Valentina Shevchenko, who gave Nunes a run for her money both times they fought, lingering. However, Shevchenko seems content to do her own thing at flyweight for the time being, and that’s fair. Outside of her, though, there’s no standout challenger for Nunes.
The promotion is going to have to start getting creative with “The Lioness,” and conveniently enough, boxing champ Claressa Shields was cageside for Nunes’ win over de Randamie.
5. Geoff Neal caps off Fortis MMA’s breakout year
As if Fortis MMA didn’t have a good enough year in 2019, Geoff Neal put the cherry on top with arguably the team’s most high profile win in a dominant finish of Mike Perry.
The matchup between Neal and Perry was highly anticipated coming in, and for good reason. Neal showed that it should’ve never been seen as competitive, though, as he needed just 90 seconds to become the first to stop Perry with strikes.
Neal’s performance elevates the Dallas-based Fortis MMA team, led by coach Sayif Saud, to 19-4 under the UFC banner in 2019. That’s impressive, and the team has the chance to keep raising its profile with some big fights in early 2020.
