MMA
UFC 297: A great main event, the crowning of two new champions and 5 finishes before the limit. A look at the highlights
A week ago the first ever tournament in 2024, now finally the first numbered gala under the UFC 297 banner. The world’s best MMA organization delivered a very interesting card and fans in Toronto or in front of their TV screens were certainly not bored. In addition, two new champions were crowned.
A week ago the first gala in 2024, now finally the first numbered gala under the UFC 297 banner. The world’s best MMA organization delivered a very interesting card and fans in Toronto or in front of their TV screens were certainly not bored. In addition, two new champions were crowned.
One submission after another
Malcolm Gordon and Jimmy Flick provided the first duel at the first numbered gala of 2024. The Canadian and the American did not stay in the cage for long and by 1:17 of the second round it was all over.
Gordon was the favourite, and he also landed many more significant punches during the fight (37 to 3), but lost. Flick came up with a hilarious arm triangle and the Canadian had to tap.
That’s when a string of three straight submissions began at the UFC 297 event. The second one was taken care of this time by home fighter Jasmine Jasudavicius, who was challenged by Priscila Cachoeira.
The duel was a completely one-sided affair. While Jasudavicius landed over 300 punches for the fight, Cachoeira didn’t even manage 30.
The Canadian had the upper hand on the feet and on the ground, was better in all aspects and went for the finish. It looked like her opponent could take anything.
But finally, with 39 seconds left in the third round, she managed to land a dō’arce choke and the Brazilian gave up the fight.
At the time, however, the fastest finish of the tournament was delivered by Sam Patterson, who also notched his first UFC win after his first loss when he delivered a rear-naked choke at 2:03.
Thus, Yohan Laneinesse, as the home fighter, did not handle the fight as he would have liked and is now 1-3 in the organization.
UFC 297 Prelims
The second period of the full gala offered the first TKO right out of the gate. The Canadian fans were pleased to see veteran Gillian Robertson undo her defeat to Tabatha Ricci.
Robertson was on her game from the start. She scored two takedowns, was active on the ground and finished the fight on the ground as well. In the second round at 3:12, she went on to get the win.
The second loss in a row was scored by the popular Polyana Viana, whose record in the UFC is now 4-6.
The remaining fights on the prelims card were drawn out, however, as they ended in a draw on points. Interestingly, all three were dominated by men who were perceived as slight underdogs.
Ramon Taveras defeated Serhiy Sidey on a split decision to score a successful UFC debut at age 30, taking the fight on short notice. It’s worth noting that it was in a fight for a contract in Dana White’s Contender Series while Sidey defeated Taveras, and now they’ve switched roles.
Sean Woodson also managed to win his fight on a split decision, notching his fourth straight UFC win. This time he earned the scalp of Charles Jourdain, who has won three of his last five fights.
The prelims card concluded with a duel between Brad Katona and Garrett Armfield. This time the judges agreed on the outcome and declared Armfield the winner.
Katona became the fifth of the seven Canadians to date to notch a defeat at the UFC 297 event in Toronto. The Canadian women registered the only two wins, while the Canadian men lost for a change.
UFC 297 main card
As the gala opened with a series of submissions, a sporadic TKO by Gillian Robertson was followed by a series where the point judges were decidedly not bored as the most watched phase of the tournament continued.
The main card kicked off with Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev, a featherweight four and nine respectively. Allen had a lot to lose, Evloev had a lot to gain. Despite the rankings difference, the Russian was the favorite.
But the Englishman had the motivation taken care of. He wanted to inflict the first loss of his career on his opponent and avenge his defeat to the legendary Max Holloway, but he couldn’t.
Evlowev’s gameplan was quite clear. He looked for takedowns and used his quality wrestling. Allen resisted, even managed to floored his opponent, but lost a unanimous points decision. The Russian makes a solid move up the rankings and earns a valuable scalp. Moreover, he improved his record to 18-0.
The Canadians disappointed, the biggest favourite fell
Marc-Andre Barriault could have broken Canada’s misery in Toronto, but it wasn’t easy. His opponent was the experienced Chris Curtis, who was also the favourite. It was expected to be an interesting stand-up battle, but the first two rounds were not very entertaining.
In both the first and second rounds, the crowd in the arena even booed. Curtis and Barriault delivered rather stance chess, there was nothing particularly significant to see. The third round was the most action-packed and interesting, with both fighters coming out firing at the end.
The scoring judges didn’t have it easy. The fight was evenly matched, which was confirmed by the fact that the duel ended on a split decision. The winner was Curtis.
The last Canadian iron in the fire was Mike Malott, who, among others, was the biggest favourite of the whole card. The Canadian prospect faced the biggest challenge of his career so far, veteran and imaginary gatekeeper Neil Magny.
Too big a bite? In the first two rounds, it didn’t look like it. The Canadian tactically managed the match decently, Magny had a leg cut open, limited movement, and was not in an ideal situation. But Malott paid the price for his inexperience and the fact that only two of his fights went to at least the second round.
In fact, Magny delivered a sensational reversal in the third round when his opponent’s fitness completely dropped off. He stopped the fight 15 seconds before the time limit expired. It is worth noting that the Canadian was given more time than was appropriate by the referee.
The American is back on a winning streak after his loss to Ian Machado Garry and notched his 22nd win in the UFC. This was Malott’s first ever loss in the organization.
The UFC has a new women’s champion
The women’s bantamweight division had only the second fight in front of it historically that didn’t feature either Ronda Rousey or Amanda Nunes. Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva battled for the vacant title.
The Brazilian fighter was the slight favorite, but the experience of her American opponent was a major factor in the bout. Pennington has the most fights and the most minutes spent in the cage among bantamweight fighters.
In the first round Bueno Silva was still quite dangerous, however from the second round onwards it became a one-sided ride from Pennington, even though the fight was not very attractive. Lots of pulling on the canvas, tight clinches, tying up. History won’t ask about that though.
Pennington won on points and is the new bantamweight champion.
A great title fight was dominated by du Plessis
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis battled it out for the middleweight title. The former was making his first defence after defeating Israel Adesanya. He was a slight favourite against the South African fighter, but a heated battle was expected in which the head could play a major role.
However, both Strickland and du Plessis squared their heads superbly, even though the battle was preceded by heated exchanges. Moreover, both fighters promised themselves a stand-up battle and with a few exceptions from the South African, they delivered on their promise.
The fight was very evenly contested. The scoring judges didn’t have an easy job. A lot of punches were landing. Du Plessis was both more creative and harder, but the frequency of punches played to the American’s advantage. The third round seemed to be crucial. The South African certainly won it and, moreover, caused his opponent a cut that affected the rest of the match.
Strickland had blood in his eye, which of course did not suit his tactics and style. It was obvious that from that moment on the champion was taking more hits. The fifth round was then a who’s who, with both fighters going all out and trading hard punches. But we didn’t see the finish.
Two judges then saw du Plessis win 48-47, one judge saw Strickland win anyway. The middleweight division has a new champion.
Source: UFC, Twitter, Tapology
