What To Take Home From Ultimate Fight Night 30
Ultimate Fight Night 30 went down last night, providing fans in Machester, England a thoroughly exciting night of action to behold. The card, headlined by Lyoto Machida’s MW debut against Mark Munoz, lacked superstar power but delivered with some highlight reel finishes.
The prelims provided some very action filled fights, as well as its share of controversy, as did the main card section. So while we are on the subject, my first point:
MMA referees are bad for your health
At one point during the second round of Rosi Sexton vs. Jessica Andrade, I actually thought I was going to see my first televised MMA death; and it was not a nice feeling. The ref Neil Hall should have called the fight off at that point, and it wouldn’t have been a bad stoppage. As we saw in the Junior Dos Santos fight at 166, he needn’t have taken half as much abuse.
Sexton was badly swollen, swaying while moving, and although she was fighting back, seemed to groan uncontrollably between rounds while having the haematomas on her head compressed. She was outmatched, getting tagged by Andrade’s relentles assaults, and the referee should have known that; the same could be said for her corner men who seemed to have forgotten the towel that they needed to throw in.
John Liniker needs Mike Dolce
Liniker is an absolute powerhouse in the Flyweight division, only problem is he can barely make weight. The performance he put on last night against Phil Harris was pure domination; he used speed and power to smash the Brit at 2:51 of round one.
With the weight issue comes a constant threat of being cut following a loss, ask Anthony Johnson. If he can get his weight issues sorted, we could see Liniker fighting for a title very soon.
Lyoto Machida is back
Although he may not have kick started the legendary ‘Machida era’, The Dragon proved that he still has the ability to dispatch guys and also that his power is still there at 185lbs. Machida was clinical in his disposal of Mark Munoz and show killer instinct with his accuracy and speed.
I expect Machida to get a high level opponent for his next bout, seeing as he just knocked out the number five in the division. Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort are two names that spring to mind, any suggestions?
Honorable mention goes to Ross Pearson and Melvin Guillard/Ryan Jimmo vs. Jimi Minuwa for almost killing the card, and to Machida for saving it. Jimmi Hettes fully deserved his submission win after a year off, Norman Parke put on a clinical striking class and Nico Musoke vs. Alessio Sakara was an exciting brawl that had me on the edge of my lawn chair.
