Saturday was another one of those wild and woolly MMA nights. The UFC and Bellator went head to head for the first time in 2020, with UFC on ESPN+ 24 and Bellator 238 going down on opposite coasts.
Plenty of stars shined on both shows, but who shined brightest? MMA Junkie’s Dave Doyle, Danny Segura, and Simon Samano sound off on who they think was the weekend’s biggest winner in the latest edition of Triple Take.
Without further ado …
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Dave Doyle: Cris Cyborg’s history-making performance the obvious choice
Full disclosure: As of this writing, I’ve yet to watch UFC Raleigh. I covered Bellator 238 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., late in the night, and Sunday was my off day.
But that said? Working cageside meant I got to see Cris Cyborg’s handiwork up close and personal, and I’m quite confident nothing I’ll see when I catch up with the UFC show could convince me that anyone other than Cyborg was the weekend’s biggest winner.
We’re on the back end of MMA’s third decade, and as the sport becomes more established and entrenched, history-making moments become fewer and further between.
Saturday night was one of those nights, and Cyborg lived up to the moment. By finishing Julia Budd, she became the first fighter, regardless of gender, to win championships in four separate major promotions, all in the same weight class, 10-plus years apart.
But it’s not just the fact she got the job accomplished: It was how she did it. Budd’s a legit talent who has ruled over a Bellator women’s featherweight division that is deeper than the UFC’s version. Cyborg never let Budd get untracked. Cyborg has evolved as a fighter over the years, one capable of going into deep waters. The combination of ferocity and pinpoint accuracy Cyborg displayed in finishing Budd in the fourth round was the type of display she used to put on in the opening minutes of fights during her early days.
An all-time great adding to her legacy and creating history in the process? Yeah, I’ll take that over anything else either card could possibly serve up.
Next page – Danny Segura: Michael Chiesa is quickly becoming a threat welterweight
Danny Segura: Michael Chiesa is quickly becoming a threat at welterweight
There were plenty of winners this weekend with two solid events in Bellator 238 and UFC Raleigh. And among the top victors, I have to include UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa.
The Season 15 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” picked up the highest profile victory of his career – a unanimous decision win over former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. But just the win alone doesn’t make Chiesa the biggest victor this weekend, as other fighters found success against notable names.
Chiesa’s win was far more than just a big name added to his win record. The triumph over the Brazilian is the validation of a major career decision and the proof that there could very well be title implications in the latest chapter of his career.
Since leaving the lightweight division to pursue his championship dreams at 170 pounds, Chiesa has progressively looked better. The win over dos Anjos was a continuation of that, as he found success against increasingly tougher opposition.
For some time now, Chiesa has proved to be a skilled fighter but has failed to level up when faced with the top dogs, coming up short against fighters such as Jorge Masvidal, Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis. The win over dos Anjos signals he can defeat elite opposition and that he can be much more than a top-10, top-15 fighter.
On top of a visible growth in skill and ability to defeat top-notch combatants, Chiesa’s move up to welterweight seems to be much more than a way to forget the hiccups experienced in another division – something many fighters take advantage of when bouncing around weight classes.
It’s clear Chiesa intends to make welterweight his home. He wasn’t a lightweight not cutting weight and trying his luck elsewhere. Chiesa looked massive and physically prepared to deal with the stronger challengers that could come his way now at 170 pounds.
And lastly, if the past teaches us anything about the future, only the very best are able to get their hand raised against dos Anjos. The few that have been able to get past dos Anjos in the last eight years include Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Tony Ferguson, Eddie Alvarez, and Khabib Numagomedov (five former or current UFC champions and a current top contender).
Only time will tell whether or not Chiesa will challenge for gold. But what’s certain is that “Maverick” is on the right path and should be kept an eye on as a potential threat to the title.
Next page – Simon Samano: Back on the Aaron Pico hype train
Simon Samano: Back on the Aaron Pico hype train
It’s been a roller coaster ride for Aaron Pico’s MMA career so far, hasn’t it?
Consider:
- He signs with Bellator way back in 2014 while he was still a teenager and was already being labeled a “super prospect” for his accolades in both amateur wrestling and boxing.
- He gets submitted in just 24 seconds of his highly anticipated debut at Bellator NYC in June 2017.
- But he rebounds with four consecutive knockout victories, which include some truly vicious finishes.
- Just when you think the kid back on track, wham! He’s knocked out in back-to-back fights as the level of competition starts to ramp up.
It’s hard to call one fight so early in a 23-year-old’s career “must-win,” but Pico was facing just about that over the weekend at Bellator 238 against the self-proclaimed “prospect killer” Daniel Carey. Just like that, he came through in enormous fashion. Fifteen seconds into Round 2, Pico knocked out Carey with a devastating left hook. Once again, all is right in the world of Pico.
And that’s a big win, because he simply could not afford to lose a third straight fight, especially after undergoing a major career change in switching gyms from Team Bodyshop in Southern California to famed Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M. A loss would’ve seriously had him questioning himself.
As it turned out, though, Pico showed growth and progress in his development by practicing patience, something he wasn’t doing before. This is the kind of performance you can build on.
The future is back to being bright for Pico.
