UFC 232 brought plenty of excitement and surprise to The Forum in LA this past Saturday. We witnessed history on multiple occasions, and the future is bright for the company come 2019. With that said, let’s look back at the card, and analyze some of the biggest moments of the night. Here are my ten takeaways from UFC 232.
1. Curtis Millender is the real deal
Curtious Curtis Millender is the real deal. After dismantling Siyar Bahadurzada on Saturday, Millender is now 3-0 in the UFC. All three of his victories have been very impressive inside the octagon.
He first Knocked out Thiago Alves, a man with over twenty fights in the UFC. He then bested Max Griffin, in what was a clash of two up and coming prospects in the UFC, and then a beautiful display of striking against Bahadurzada.
It’s impressive that at 6’3, Millender can make it down to 170. It is time for Millender to get a true step up in competition, a top 15 opponent at least. Gunnar Nelson is coming off of an impressive performance over Cowboy Oliveira, and this would be an amazing matchup. Neil Magny, Leon Edwards, even Jorge Masvidal would all provide a great challenge to Millender, and we would be able to truly see where he stands among the top tier of the division.
2. Uriah Hall is no gatekeeper
Uriah “Primetime” Hall caught Bevon Lewis in the third round of their bout on Saturday. Lewis was most likely going to win the fight if the bout went to decision, but this is Uriah Hall we are talking about.
One short hook later and the fight was over. This is what Uriah does, he has produced some of the best knockouts of all time. this was a huge win for Hall, as it seemed he was on the downturn of his career. Hall had lost four of his last five bouts before catching Lewis, previously being taken to the cleaners by Paulo Costa.
Am I saying that Uriah can make another run at the title? Well, no. But I don’t think it’s fair to label Primetime a gatekeeper. He has vicious KO power and can catch anyone in the division. He doesn’t have to be the guy who shows the door to the newcomers and prospects looking to make a splash in the UFC, he’s capable of putting up better fights against other established veterans.
Also, much love to Hall for his post-fight speech dedicated to his sister battling depression. he also consoled Lewis and provided words of encouragement for the young fighter. A true stand up guy, makes you wish the UFC had more people like Uriah in their organization.
3. Petr Yan is a scary man
Petr Yan really made a splash last night. He put the work on Douglas Silva de Andrade, AKA Baby Vitor (seriously his resemblance is uncanny). Andrade is shredded, and it looked almost impossible that he could cut down to 135, yet Yan handled him in every facet of the fight. he pushed the pace, won the exchanges in the clinch, wore D Silva’s shots well, and really everything he throws looks brutal. “No Mercy” is an excellent name for the Russian.
Like Millender, I’d like to see Yan get a step up in opponent. He’s clearly game for the top of the 135 pound division, and at that weight, he is capable of sending even the champ TJ Dillashaw, to dream street.
4. Alex Volkanovski has what it takes
How impressive of a win is that from Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski? he finished one of the great featherweights. Mendes has only been beaten by the very best, and as he told Joe Rogan in the octagon interview, “he just got beat by another great.”
Volkanovski was able to take the best shots Mendes threw at him and also showed that he has a killer instinct. Once he saw Mendes breathing heavy, it was curtains.
Take everything I’ve said about Millender and Yan, turn it up to 11, then double that, then you’ve reached the ceiling for Alex Volkanovski. Dude is a stud and could seriously challenge Max Holloway for the featherweight strap in 2019.
5. It’s time to let go of what once was
It pains me to say this , it really does, but it is in fact time to leave the past in the past.
I’m referring to the unfortunate reality of fighters not being able to let go. This card featured quite a bit of that. We saw three legends of the sport go inside the octagon only to take unnecessary punishment and take another loss. BJ Penn, Andrei Arlovski, and Carlos Condit all fell victim to defeat at 232.
I Really hope that all three of these men decide to call it quits at some point in 2019. BJ Penn got rolled up by submission specialist Ryan Hall (Can we please have Ryan Hall vs. Kron Gracie in 2019 though), Arlovski lost a real boring fight against Walt Harris, and Carlos Condit got submitted by Michael Chiesa.
Condit has lost 5 in a row now, Arlovski has lost his third in a row, and that made 7 L’s in a row for Penn. There is no point for these guys to keep on putting their bodies on the line. Who am I to say that these men should retire though, it is solely up to them. But I seem to think that I’d be speaking for everyone when I say that it is time to let go.
6. Michael Chiesa can make moves at welterweight
Piggybacking off of Carlos Condit, his opponent, Michael “The Maverick” Chiesa made a statement during his welterweight debut on Saturday. He executed his game plan against NBK perfectly and pulled off a one-armed submission, which in itself is super impressive.
After two sad submission losses to Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis, it was clear that lightweight wouldn’t work for Chiesa, it was also clear that the weight cut was taking a toll. This move to welterweight was possibly a last ditch effort towards gaining respect among the MMA community, but it seems that it is going to work out.
There are a lot of matchups that are intriguing for Chiesa at welterweight, perhaps even he could be the one to face Millender in 2019.
7. The light heavyweight division is still in limbo
Saturday night we saw Jon Jones reclaim gold in the light heavyweight division. Whether it was Bones or Alex Gustafsson, one thing would stay the same, and that thing is that the light heavyweight division is still in limbo.
Putting it this way, the division is relying on Daniel Cormier being suckered in to coming back down to 205 to face Jon Jones a third time. Anthony Smith has made his case, Corey Anderson got a big win this past weekend over Ilir Latifi, and the up and coming Dominick Reyes seems poised to have a big 2019. These are the only people who even have a shot at facing the champ for the belt in the near future.
The division is so slim. We are seeing the top 15 beat up on each other, but no one is separating themselves from the rest of the pack. If miraculously Jon Jones stays clean for the rest of his career you can pretty much kiss a new champ at 205 goodbye unless he is lured into finishing his career solely at heavyweight.
8. Amanda Nunes is the greatest female fighter of all time
Now this is an easy take to make, given she just knocked out the scariest woman on the face of the earth, Cris Cyborg. Amanda has solidified her status as the female GOAT because she has taken everyone out just about, and she has done it in style.
Go back and watch the fight against Cyborg, it won’t take long. She lured her into a war, and just picked her apart. Cyborg couldn’t take her punches, Ronda Rousey couldn’t take her punches, she’s bested Valentina Shevchenko two times. There is no woman in the world she can’t beat.
That’s really all I’ve got to say about this, there is no debate in my mind.
9. Jon Jones is the greatest male fighter of all time
And again, this is another easy take to make given Jon has now beaten both of his biggest rivals twice. How could you not agree with this. Whether you think he purposely cheated or not, what Jon has been able to accomplish at his age is remarkable.
Throughout all of the ups and downs in his life, Jon has been able to maintain one of the biggest fan bases in sports. People love and admire greatness. From beating Shogun Rua to first claim gold, to the vicious beatings he handed out to the like of Lyoto Machida and Chael Sonnen, to both of his victories against DC and Gus, Jon has beaten everyone.
However, there is one more thing he can do to truly solidify himself as the GOAT. Which leads me into my last takeaway…..
10. We need Jones vs. DC 3 at heavyweight
I NEED this to happen. It seems that both DC and Jon are content if they never cross paths again, which is fine, but come on.
Jon would have the chance to become a double champ, which would definitely solidify him as the GOAT, and DC would have one more crack at beating his rival before retirement, and truly leaving a legacy. I for one think DC already has a great legacy but some wouldn’t allow it if his resume didn’t include a win over Jon Jones.
Jones at heavyweight sounds so scary, but we know what DC is capable of, and he has the game plan to beat Bones. DC was possibly winning their second fight before being caught with a head kick that spelled the end. Think about how big this fight would be, who needs Brock Lesnar?
I honestly don’t think the fight is going to happen. Part of me is fine with accepting that, but the other part of me would die a little if they didn’t run it back one last time for the heavyweight strap. We can only hope from here!
Those are my ten takeaways! Let me know what you think and be sure to follow @BellyUpSports as well as myself @HunterWS11 on Twitter!
