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Shuffle of cards in light heavyweight division and 7 finishes before the limit. UFC offered the first gala of the year, check out the highlights

Finally! Fans of the best MMA on the planet had to endure almost a month without a UFC gala. But on Saturday night, they did. It may have been an unnumbered event, but we were not bored.

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Zdroj: Mark Richardson, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Finally! Fans of the best MMA on the planet had to endure almost a month without a UFC gala. But on Saturday night, they did. It may have been an unnumbered event, but we were not bored.

Despite the names, those who are not die-hard UFC fans may not have found the first gala of the year all that interesting, but even the lesser-known faces can often be very pleasant surprises. And that’s what happened now in Las Vegas, where most of the public was looking forward to the main event.

There was one big rematch between the two aces of the light heavyweight division, with Jiri Prochazka in it. Specifically, Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker met in the cage. Their first fight ended without result after an illegal kick by the Russian and a controversial decision by the referee.

Ankalaev challenged for the UFC title

Then and now, Ankalaev was the favorite. However, Walker looked good in the first fight and wanted that to be the case this time as well. But alas. The likeable Brazilian had to bite a bitter defeat when the Russian puncher knocked him out in the second round.

It’s worth noting that the light heavyweight division is still pretty muddled. Champion Alex Pereira is awaiting Jamahal Hill’s recovery and there’s no word yet on when he’ll go into action, though he hinted that an announcement is due soon. He turned down a quick rematch with Jiri Prochazka, and there was speculation about the possibility of grabbing an interim heavyweight title.

However, Ankalaev has long been in contention for a title in the under 93kg division and after his win over Walker, it is no different. He wants to make an appearance at the UFC 300 gala, and it’s against Pereira. Will he get it? We’ll have to wait and see. Either way, Walker has a fight lined up with Aleksandar Rakic right now at UFC 300 and if he wins, he’s promised a title shot by the organization.

The overlooked UFC legend celebrates

The name Jim Miller doesn’t ring a bell? “Where have you been up until now?” one might want to answer in case you don’t really know him. Because last night, the 40-year-old had his 42nd fight in the UFC. Not many people get to do that in an entire career in all organizations, let alone the biggest brand in the world.

The American has a 26-16 record in the UFC. He’s won five of his last six fights. Back in 2018 he fought Charles Oliveira or Dan Hooker, a year earlier he fought Dustin Poirier or Anthony Pettis, and in 2022 he beat veteran Donald Cerrone.

In short, hats off to him. He also scored another scalp last night when he finished Gabriel Benítez on a submission. According to several of the organization’s stars, Miller has clearly made his case for a spot at UFC 300.

Three knockouts in the first round? Why not!

The whole gala went by rather quickly and beautifully. After all, it was mentioned that we saw seven stoppages before the limit. There were three knockdowns in the first round, which of course contributed to the good pace.

In the second bout of the evening, Nikolas Motta needed only one minute and three seconds to win. The 30-year-old Brazilian improved his record in the organization to 2-2. It’s worth noting that he was no match for the above-praised Jim Miller in 2022.

This time, however, Motta himself took on the only 23-year-old Tom Nolan. The Australian lost for the first time in his career, it was his UFC debut, where he got there via Dana White’s Contender Series.

The Brazilian fighter was also responsible for another first round finish. This time it was 27-year-old debutant Jean Silva, who dismantled the more experienced Westin Wilson in spectacular fashion.

While Silva had his work cut out for him to finish in the first round, his opponent will not remember the fight fondly at all. The kind of demolition he faced… He won’t want to see that again.

To make matters worse, the Brazilian got his third first round stoppage. But this time on the main card. Silva was taken care of by Brunno Ferreira, who had his third fight in the organization. He improved his record to 2-1 and his knockout was exemplary.

He first hit Phil Hawes with a knee, then just a couple of hard punches were enough for the 35-year-old American to go down and score his third loss in a row (4-4 record in the organization).

Two first-round finishes

Not too long ago, Farid Basharat fought in the Oktagon MMA. He was filling in for his brother Javid. Both had the potential for the UFC, both are actually in the organization.

Farid is now shining in the UFC. Still undefeated, he holds a 12-0 record and now notched his third win in the world championship division, defeating the experienced Taylor Lapilus on points.

Outside of that though, it’s worth mentioning the last two knockouts at the event. In the very first bout of the gala, there was some serious savagery brought to the cage by Joshua Van, a 22-year-old prospect from Myanmar. He dismantled Felipe Bunes beautifully to earn his third UFC win, his first before the limit.

The last stoppage before the limit was the work of 33-year-old Marcus McGhee, who scored his third fight in the UFC, thus bypassing the scoring judges for the third time. Attractive style, creativity… This was very, very good to watch.

His toughness was felt by Gaston Bolaños, a former Bellator fighter who’s now 1-1 in the organization. He lost for the first time in his career by KO/TKO.

Source: UFC, Twitter

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