UFC Utica: Stand-Out Performers

UFC Utica: Stand-Out Performers

By Jon Prentice

The UFC made its debut appearance in Utica, New York on Friday evening with a bantamweight showdown between Jimmie Rivera (21-2) and Marlon Moraes (21-5-1) headlining the show. The card offered both flashes of brilliance but also several fights that unfortunately failed to deliver, however there was enough entertainment to make it a worthwhile watch for MMA fans. There were some extremely good finishes over the course of the night, so following the action, here is my take on the top performances from the night:

First up is one half of the main event, Marlon Moraes. Both he and Rivera had been back and forth at one another over social media for the past few months and when it came down to it in the octagon, Moraes came out on top.

After a very short feeling out period in round 1, Moraes flicked out a jab and hit a switch kick that thudded into the skull of Rivera, taking away his equilibrium and sending him crashing to the canvas. Several shots on the ground later and the fight was waived off after just 33 seconds, ending Rivera’s run of 20 straight wins. Moraes picked up his 3rd straight win in the UFC and will leapfrog his counterpart when the UFC rankings are released, putting himself right in title fight contention. Moraes’ finish was brutal and he should start to think about carrying a health and safety warning for that left leg of his!

The second of my top performers for the evening was the debuting UK representative Nathaniel “The Prospect” Wood (14-3) who dispatched of veteran Johnny Eduardo (28-12) via a slick D’arce choke in round 2.

In typical Wood fashion, he had to face some adversity early on in the fight to kickstart the fire inside him and pull off the come from behind win. Eduardo landed some big shots on Wood in the first round whilst he was backed up against the fence, appearing to break his nose and stun him momentarily. Wood managed to see the round through and regather his thoughts in the corner with coach Brad Pickett.

As the second round commenced Wood looked more assertive on the feet causing Eduardo to shoot in for a takedown. Wood stuffed with ease, controlled the posture of his opponent and locked in the choke forcing Eduardo to tap. Wood recorded his 6th straight win and with his entertaining style I’m sure many MMA fans will be eager to see him back in action sooner rather than later. Wood looks a fantastic addition to the Bantamweight roster and as his nickname suggests he is most definitely a “prospect”.

The final mention goes to the ever dominant Gregor Gillespie (12-0) as he picked up another impressive stoppage win in the nights co-main event over Vinc Pinchel (11-2). As per his previous 5 wins in the UFC, Gillespie took his opponent down with ease time and time again, giving Pinchel little to no opportunity to implement his game plan throughout.

Pinchel managed to see the first round out, however the second played out much as the first did with Gillespie taking Pinchel down on multiple occassions. Deep into the second round Gillespie advanced position and locked on an arm triangle, forcing his opponent to tap with less than a minute remaining in the 2nd round. In the post fight interview, Jon Anik reiterated that Gillespie is a top level lightweight capable of competing at the top of the division. When asked if he had any future names in mind, the ever calm Gillespie simply stated that he wanted to go fishing and leave the matchmaking to his management. In my opinion, with his fantastic wrestling Gillespie definitely has the ability to challenge the top 5 in the division over the coming years.

Honorable mentions go to Walt Harris, Ben Saunders, Julio Arce and Jose Torres who also all picked up stoppage wins on the night.