What really mattered at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday night? Here are a few things …
1. Oh no, not “Bobby Knuckles” …
One minute you’re Robert Whittaker, the UFC middleweight champ, getting ready to defend your title in front of your countrymen in a sold-out main-event bout. Next thing you know, you’re getting rushed into surgery with people throwing around terms like “collapsed bowel,” which, go ahead and raise your hand if you could have happily lived the rest of your life without knowing that was an actual possibility.
So now what happens? Kelvin Gastelum initially responded with a classy social media post, then showed up hours later with a phony belt, talking about how he’d gladly give Whittaker a shot at his title. It’s a textbook move for a pro wrestling heel – or maybe just a desperate ploy by a contender who’s worried that he’ll lose his spot in line.
Now we’ve got a real mess on our hands. And nothing about the phrase “emergency surgery” makes me think it’s going to get sorted out terribly quickly.
2. Good enough for the win, but was that good enough for Adesanya’s title hopes?
Turns out all our fears about Israel Adesanya destroying an aged Anderson Silva in a lopsided, depressing display were unfounded. Yes, Adesanya was the quicker, sharper fighter. And yeah, he definitely deserved the unanimous decision victory here.
But Adesanya seemed reluctant to put his foot on the gas and go charging after a finish, lest he mess around and make an appearance somewhere near the end of Silva’s already prodigious highlight reel.
After the fight, Adesanya sounded confident that he’d earned the top contender spot at middleweight. But did anybody come out of that fight feeling like they absolutely must see Adesanya fight for UFC gold next, with no detours along the way? I can’t say I did.
Though, if we end up with an interim title as we wait for Whittaker’s bowels to get sorted out, then you really can’t do the dance without inviting the “Stylebender.” Which might be the best, most realistic scenario for everyone after the events of this weekend.
3. Like it or not, Silva will go on
He’s 43, the proud new owner of a swollen eye, a former champion and forever great in the world of MMA. Sure seems like Anderson Silva has zero problems with that, no matter what the rest of us might think.
He acquitted himself well against young Adesanya. Silva landed some punches, arguably won a round, and most importantly avoided disaster. Plus, he really does seem to love this. He doesn’t want to stop. He won’t stop, not until they drag him from this sport kicking and screaming – or wheel him out on a stretcher (again).
We might as well make our peace with that, because it doesn’t seem like his mind is going to change. In the meantime, maybe the UFC could stop trying to use him as a stepping stone for future stars. There are other things you can do with Silva at this point in his career that don’t put him in quite so much peril, to say nothing of our collective conscience.
4. The difference between a bad stoppage and a horrible one
I understand why Sam Alvey is upset. When you watch the replay and see how few of those finishing punches from Jim Crute actually landed, it’s hard not to feel for the guy.
But consider everything that had happened to get us to that point. First, Crute dropped Alvey with a hard crack on the jaw. Then he backed off prematurely, only to see Alvey nearly collapse under his own weight as he got up. Then Alvey was easily swept onto his back and soon found himself turtled up on the mat, offering little more than a thumbs up as Crute swung away.
Referee Marc Goddard didn’t have the benefit of the replay. He had to make a decision right then. I can see why he might have decided that Alvey was done fighting back. I think he was probably wrong, but it was an honest mistake. And a reasonable one, considering the circumstances.
5. Vannata made the most of his opportunity – and his extra rest time
When he heard that his bout had been promoted from the prelims to the co-main event after Whittaker’s late withdrawal, Lando Vannata said, he went back to his room and went back to sleep. Then he walked out and dominated Marcos Mariano en route to a first-round submission, so all in all it was a solid night of work from the “Groovy” one.
Add to that a gentlemanly callout of Jim Miller in his post-fight interview, and you have yourself a guy who did a fine job of turning someone else’s misfortune into his gain. He also did it all while seeming like a pretty nice guy. Probably because he is.
For complete coverage of UFC 234, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
