What mattered most at UFC 248 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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1. Israel Adesanya not to blame
One of the primary storylines coming out of the main event between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero is who is more to blame for the underwhelming headliner, which ultimately saw Adesanya retain his middleweight title by unanimous decision.
For me, it has to be Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), the challenger. Although I don’t agree with the whole “To be the champ, you have to beat the champ” cliche, there’s an aspect of truth to it. Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) came into the fight as the champion, and whether it’s a spectacular win, a boring win or a draw, he keeps the belt. Of course we wish every champion would put on scintillating performances, but as Adesanya said post fight, he’s the one with everything to lose in this scenario, from his title to sponsorships to the money that comes with holding down the throne.
Did Adesanya frustrate some fans? Sure. Did he lose some? Possibly. But it reminds me in a way of Georges St-Pierre in his prime. He had many title defenses in which fans left displeased with him, but he still remained one of the most popular figures in the sport, and for the most part people came back for the next one.
You can bet that will happen here for Adesanya’s next title defense against Paulo Costa later this year.
2. Don’t write off Romero just yet
Romero was just one winning round away from taking 48-47 scores on two judges’ cards and winning a split decision over Adesanya. Looking back at the fight, there’s no way he’s not going to be kicking himself for doing more.
Although Romero showed up to the post-fight press conference and put Adesanya on blast for being a “ghost” and running away from him the whole fight, it’s not all on the champion to find a workaround for a lackluster bout, as I mentioned on the previous page. Romero needed to find ways to do a little bit more, and instead of waking up this morning 0-2 in his title opportunity, he would have a belt on his night stand.
UFC president Dana White ripped Romero to shreds at the post-fight news conference, and basically said there will be no more title shots for him. We’ve thought that before, though, and he found his way back. The odds seem slimmer this time around given the fact he’s approaching his 43rd birthday, but Romero can still knock a man’s block off, and if he puts the lights out on a couple opponents, it’s not unrealistic.
3. Take a bow, ladies
Zhang Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) put on one of the most spectacular fights in UFC history and it was a privilege to be able to watch it from cageside. After the first couple rounds of fast-paced action, I thought there was no way the output could continue for 25 minutes, and boy was I wrong.
The amount of damage the two fighters dished out to each other was otherworldly, and for Weili, this is the type of fight she needed to answer a lot of questions about her talent.
It was a super close fight, but for Weili to go toe-to-toe with a more seasoned former champion like Jedrzejczyk for five rounds will be a huge validation and confidence booster for her going forward.
4. Jedrzejczyk’s heartbreaker
Despite having her face battered and swollen to the point at which she was barely recognizable, I thought Jedrzejczyk did enough to get the nod and regain the title against Zhang. She definitely took the brunt of the damage, but I thought she had the more consistent performance over the course of the fight and took three of the five rounds.
In the end, though, Jedrzejczyk came out on the wrong end of a UFC title fight for the fourth consecutive time. The loss to Weili followed a flyweight title loss to Valentina Shevchenko and a pair of defeats against Rose Namajunas. But unlike Romero, this doesn’t feel like a last-chance scenario for the Polish fighter.
Jedrzejczyk is going to be hurting physically, emotionally and ego-wise for a little bit considering her level of confidence coming into the bout. But she has proven to be one of the most mentally strong fighters in the game since joining the UFC. She’s able to move on from tough spots and rise up again, but perhaps this one will be different.
It’s been many years in the fight game for Jedrzejczyk and she took a lot of punishment against Weili. Only time will tell if this was the closest she’ll ever get to reclaiming a UFC belt.
5. An electric return for O’Malley
Sean O'Malley (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) did exactly what was needed to remind the world he’s one of the most exciting young fighters in the sport when he easily handled Jose Quinonez (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a little more than two minutes to stay undefeated.
The past two years have been nothing short of trying for O’Malley. From dealing with injuries to a bogus U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension for a tainted supplement, O’Malley has been kept away from the cage for longer than he should’ve been. It seems, though, it was for the best.
I spoke with O’Malley’s manager leading into the event and he explained the silver lining in O’Malley’s time off: Time to allow him to mature. Before he left O’Malley was getting the big-time push from the UFC, and it was probably too much, too soon for the then-23-year-old. But now? He’s very much ready for the spotlight.
O’Malley still hasn’t proven himself against superior competition. Quinonez was a layup of a matchup for him, so it’s yet to be revealed how good he can be. All the tools seem there, though, and if he can perform this way against some upper-tier bantamweights, the UFC has a star on its hands.
6. Beneil goes boom
Good lord, that knockout by Beneil Dariush (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) against Drakkar Klose (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was one of the most violent and impressive in recent memory.
It happened right in front of us on press row, and just feet from the fighter section cage, which was loaded with some of the biggest names in the game.
I’ll never forgot the look on Mike Perry’s face when Klose bounced off the cage and went down courtesy of Dariush’s fight-ending blow. What a moment, and what a knockout. That was an extra $50,000 well earned.
