5. Jose Aldo forgets the insult, pays the price
Any hopes of seeing Jose Aldo land another title fight or own the gold at this stage of his career were likely dashed in a lackluster loss to Merab Dvalishvili. The defense against Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) remains flawless and prevented the ferocious grappler Dvalishvili from putting him on his back once in a span of 15 minutes. That’s an impressive feat in itself, but unfortunately Aldo landed little to no significant offense throughout the contest. As a result, the decision went the other way and the legendary former UFC featherweight champion is back at a crossroads. Aldo’s drop to bantamweight was certainly the right call to inject his career with new life, but with this division becoming more competitive by the day, you have to wonder if he’s missed his window to become champion. But that doesn’t mean Aldo should fold up the tent and go home. There are plenty of exciting matches still out there for “The King of Rio,” but this felt like an indictment on his ceiling, and it’s not just another belt.
4. Luke Rockhold’s unforgettable curtain call
If this is the last time we see Luke Rockhold in the cage, then what a way for him to go out. Without a win, Rockhold wouldn’t be able to squeeze any more juice out of his final fight week, from rocking the boat with his talk about fighter pay, health care and bonus structure to what he actually did inside octagon in a unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa. It is not easy to return to the competition after a three-year absence and face an elite, highly rated opponent. Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) rose to that challenge, and even though he lost every round on all three scorecards, he fought his heart out until the bitter end and did everything possible to lift the his hand. Rockhold had plenty of opportunities to take out against Costa. He was bloodied, hurt and painfully fouled, but he kept pushing. He landed some huge shots and had some good ground positions throughout, but you could tell he was a much diminished version of the man who once held UFC and Strikeforce gold. That’s the tough nature of this sport, though. From what I saw during my pre-fight interactions and gym visits with Rockhold, he did everything right to maximize this moment and give himself the best chance to win. No matter how hard one works, however, sometimes it’s just impossible to fully recapture that magic. As Rockhold said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he’s just “old”. In the end, you have to admire Rockhold’s courage. From speaking his mind before the fight to giving it his all when fighting Costa, what appears to be Rockhold’s final performance turned on a lot of people who might have been put off by some of her antics or traits his personality earlier. his career. Let’s hope he walks away with closure and that the next chapter of his life, whatever it may be, brings him peace and happiness.
3. The UFC should absolutely keep Paulo Costa
According to Paulo Costa, his win over Rockhold was the final fight in his current UFC contract and in my opinion it would be a mistake not to keep him around. However, allowing Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) to defeat his deal may not give the promotion an option. We recently saw what happened with Shane Burgos, who left for the PFL. Costa is higher ranked and a more important part of the roster than Burgos in my opinion (with all due respect), but if he is truly free, he has the opportunity to make offers. There are promotions out there willing to throw big money at fighters like “Borrachinha” because he would bring a lot to their brand with his name value, phallic personality and fighting style. Maybe this Jake Paul thing comes true, or something that doesn’t fit comes along. If I were UFC bronze, though, I’d do everything in my power to make sure Costa stays put, especially now that he’s proven he can make the middleweight limit when he’s properly focused. The 185kg weight class is thin on contenders, and if Costa can put together a lot of wins, it’s not unreasonable to think he’ll be back in the conversation for a rematch with Israel Adesanya (assuming he’s still the champion). The first fight with Izzy went horribly for him, but there’s the whole story of drinking wine before the fight combined with a horrible performance that could at least create a selling point for a second meeting.
2. Kamaru Usman falls short of Anderson Silva’s record
One of the longest major records in history is Anderson Silva’s UFC streak, which Kamaru Usman was just 54 seconds away from tying before falling asleep, ending his title reign. With the seemingly infinite ways a fighter can win or lose inside that cage, racking up that many wins is more than difficult, and Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) learned that the hard way. way. Silva’s record is safe for now, with Alexander Volkanovski looking like the next likely candidate to threaten his current 12-fight streak. The UFC featherweight champion has a long way to go, however, and should use Usman as a case study to see that it only takes one slip to see it all over. It’s ultimately just another reminder that this is the hardest sport out there to have consistent success. What Usman did was special in its own right, and you could argue that the quality of his 15 wins is better than Silva’s 16-fight streak given the level of competition. In the end, though, he falls short in the record books and all the talk of him being the GOAT or moving to light heavyweight
1. Give Leon Edwards his cursed flowers
From the moment Leon Edwards laid Usman on the canvas, I already saw people trying to discredit his win by calling it “lucky” or “lucky.” Just stop with this nonsense, already. Edwards (19-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) said after the fight that the left cross to high kick combination that dropped Usman and gave him the welterweight title was something he did repeatedly during training camp, as his team identified a flaw in Usman’s defensive game that paved the way. Was Edwards game planning to land that kick in the final minute of a losing fight when all hope seemed lost? Of course not. If he had his druthers, he obviously would have preferred to connect with him in the first round and not give him a headache, but landing him just made the moment that much more shocking. The most shocking in fact. MMA is a game of inches, and as Michael Chandler would put it: Usman zigged when he should have zagged and had his lights out. Edwards didn’t just throw a blind shot that was lucky enough to lead to a knockout. It was a technique he had scouted beforehand, and he couldn’t have timed it better. Edwards deserves all his credit for doing what he did inside the octagon and it will go down as one of the most impressive finishes in the history of the sport. Even if he can’t do it again in the inevitable trilogy fight with Usman, it doesn’t take anything away from this moment. It just goes to show that anything can happen when two fighters are locked in that cage, and that’s what happened in this case. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
