UFC Fight Night Denver: [Recap]
The UFC celebrated its 25th year anniversary by returning to where it all began, and the Denver crowd were treated to a memorable night of action.
In the main event, Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung put on a show worthy of the setting. In a fluctuating battle of high quality where the result was seemingly in doubt until the very last second of the 5 round contest, until an elbow from hell ended the fight in Rodriguez’s favour at 4:59 of the final round.
Sung Jung landed the more eye-catching shots throughout and had the higher output which was edging him the fight, although you couldn’t be certain at the time how the judges would score it.
Rodriguez seemed wary of the 5 rounds and the altitude and was clearly pacing himself, but the savage elbow removed any doubt. You have to feel much sympathy for the Korean Zombie, surely the best nickname in the sport and perhaps the most fitting also, the sport can be so cruel at times. Rodriguez after a brief hiatus from the UFC marked his return in the most spectacular fashion and should find himself in the top 10 of the featherweight rankings when they are released later in the week.
The demise of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone looks to have been greatly exaggerated as he broke the record for the most wins and finishes with his win over Mike Perry in the co-main event. Perry made the mistake of taking the fight to the ground and lost in the opening round by way of arm bar, and when the tap came Cerrone got his 21st win in the UFC and overtaking Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre who both have 20 wins.
Cerrone post fight said he wants a title run again and warned Khabib he was coming, both sound rather optimistic but Cerrone looks as though he will be around for a while longer at the very least.
Sometimes when you see a fighter for the first time you get the impression you have seen a new star emerge and that looks a distinct possibility with Maycee Barber. Her opponent Hannah Cifers was incredibly tough, but the highly effective elbows from the highly touted Barber sliced her open and when the fight hit the ground in the 2nd round, Cifers had no answer to the vicious ground and pound and the fight was called off at the 2:01 mark.
Barber moved to 6-0 and at just 20 she has time on her hands and worryingly for her strawweight rivals, she will only get better. Barber wants to be the youngest champion in UFC history, don’t rule it out.
