What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 3 in Minneapolis? Here’s a few post-fight musings …
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1. Francis Ngannou is truly title-ready this time
You won’t convince me that Francis Ngannou was rushed into his first UFC title fight, but there’s definitely a different vibe around the heavyweight terror as he likely firmed up a second crack at the belt with a 71-second destruction of Junior Dos Santos.
Ngannou’s initial title shot came after that unforgettable knockout of Alistair Overeem in Detroit. “The Predator” felt untouchable at that time, but then he stepped in the octagon with then-champ Stipe Miocic and had many elements of his game exposed in the biggest moment of his career.
Although Ngannou has just over two minutes of total cage time in his three contests since, it’s clear he has a much better awareness of what needs to be done to win these fights. Will that be enough to dethrone Daniel Cormier or beat Miocic in a rematch? Maybe not, but Ngannou is as ready as he’ll ever be. it seems. If he wants that UFC title, he’ll have to go through one of the greatest heavyweights ever to get it.
2. ‘Joey Two Times’ does it again, but will third time be the charm?
If not for a split-decision nod that didn’t go his way against Sergio Pettis, we’d be talking about Joseph Benavidez riding a 10-fight UFC winning streak right now after he defeated Jussier Formiga for a second time with a scintillating TKO finish.
Benavidez lived up to his “Joey Two Times” moniker with a second win over Formiga, and now he’s in position to try to get another victory over champ Henry Cejudo in a matchup that would finally bring him UFC gold.
Two failed attempts to win a title against Demetrious Johnson raised questions about whether Benavidez was forever destined to be the bridesmaid and not the bride. The scene at 125 pounds has changed, though, and with a December 2016 win over Cejudo already in his pocket, Benavidez’s chances appear better now than ever before.
Benavidez is absolutely right in saying he intends to wait for Cejudo to get healthy so they can do their rematch. It’s the move to make, and that’s only further underlined by the fact bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling is willing to step aside and let Benavidez face the dual UFC champ first.
Demian Maia deserves appreciation, not hate
It’s going to be very interesting to see how Demian Maia is remembered when he ultimately decides to retire from MMA. The Brazilian grappling specialist earned his 21st UFC victory, putting on a classic performance to take a unanimous decision over Anthony Rocco Martin.
Maia landed just three significant strikes over 15 minutes of cage time in the welterweight bout. Martin couldn’t stop Maia from implementing his strategy, and Maia is going to happily take whatever an opponent will give him in that situation.
The fact Maia has the second most wins in UFC history behind only Donald Cerrone is remarkable, but many of those wins have drawn the ire of fans. There’s a segment of viewers who appreciates what Maia is doing in the octagon, but there’s just as many – if not more – who disapprove and find it “boring.”
At 41 and with his career winding down, Maia is past the point of turning people who don’t like watching his style. What he’s done over the course of his career may never be duplicated, though, and hopefully he gets the proper respect for that when all is said and done. He is a special fighter.
4. Fortis MMA continues to rise
Another Fortis MMA fighter emerged victorious when light heavyweight prospect Alonzo Menifield dismantled Paul Craig for a first-round knockout on the main card to stay undefeated in his career.
The Dallas-based gym doesn’t house many of the biggest names in the sport, but the team continues to win in the octagon at an astounding rate. It’s time for head coach and owner Sayif Saud to get more credit for that, in addition to his entertaining and straightforward style of coaching.
Fortis MMA doesn’t have any UFC champions yet, but with names such as Menifield, Macy Chiasson, Geoff Neal and more on the rise, it might not be long before that changes.
5. We’ve been missing this Amanda Ribas?
Amanda Ribas entire situation of having a two-year suspension cut short by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) because of a development in her case is upsetting in and of itself. Now that we’ve seen what we’ve been missing with Ribas in the octagon, it’s an even more frustrating scenario.
After a long and agonizing road to her UFC debut, Ribas completely worked Emily Whitmire before finishing the job with a second-round submission. It was solid work that was only made better by an energetic post-fight interview that the Brazilian absolutely nailed.
Nothing will get back the time Ribas lost in her career while being sidelined with an unjust suspension, but she definitely turned some heads in her comeback. Hopefully she can be kept busy going forward, because while downing Whitmire doesn’t necessarily prove Ribas as a world-beater, it seems all the potential to make noise at strawweight is there.
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 3, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
