Last Updated on March 27, 2022 8:07 pm by Erwin Noguera
This weekend we had an explosive meeting in the main event, and had a few upsets and a change in the schedule during the main card, keeping things interesting for everybody.
Curtis Blaydes showed that he wants a title shot and he’ll do anything it takes to get there, and we are going to explain what went on tonight.
You can check all the UFC/MMA bets, the analysis of each fighter, and the final bet you can make in future fights.
UFC Fight Night Round-Up – Blaydes vs. Daukaus – Review and Fight Analysis
Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus
Our Pick: Curtis Blaydes
Outcome: Curtis surprises everyone with a display of striking and a 2nd round KO over Daukaus.
In the first round, Blaydes surprised everyone in attendance by failing to attempt a single takedown.
He is a former collegiate wrestler; everyone knows he has elite grappling skills.
However, he seemed content to stand in the middle of the octagon and exchange punches with Daukaus.
At the end of round one, Daukaus had a cut under his left eye but was not badly hurt.
However, at the beginning of round two, Blaydes landed a vicious overhand right that sent his opponent crashing to the mat.
He then pounced on him and hit him with a barrage of punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.
UFC Fight Night: Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso
Our Pick: Alexa Grasso
Outcome: Women’s flyweight challenger Alexa Grasso executed her game plan to perfection against Woods.
She scored an early takedown and appeared to be in control of the fight, but realized she was not inflicting much damage on her opponent, so she decided to let Woods back up to her feet. After exchanging a few striking blows, Grasso then scored a second takedown of the round.
This time she secured a rear-naked chokehold and forced Wood to tap out.
It was a short night of work for Grasso, but she looked very impressive.
UFC Fight Night: Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena
Our Pick: Matt Brown
Outcome: Welterweight warriors Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena let it all hang out tonight, the judges saw Barbarena as the better fighter.
The 41-year-old Brown came out swinging in round one and landed more significant strikes than his opponent.
However, in round two the momentum began to swing in favor of Barberena.
He began to land with more regularity and he had better cardiovascular conditioning than his opponent.
With the fight even at one round apiece, it was obvious that round three was going to be the determining factor.
Barberena and Brown engaged in a seesaw battle all round long, however, Barberena ended the round with a flurry of punches that hurt Brown.
The 41-year-old was lucky to survive without being knocked out.
For his efforts, Barberena was given the benefit of the doubt via a split decision.
UFC Fight Night: Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara France
Our Pick: Askar Askarov
Outcome: Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France traded the momentum back and forth throughout three rounds, Kara-France landed the unanimous decision.
In round one, Askarov scored a big takedown and immediately attempted an anaconda chokehold.
Although Kara-France was able to fight back to his feet, round one went to Askarov; his ground control time was too much to ignore.
In round two, Kara-France quickly showed that he was not discouraged by the one-sided nature of the first round.
He peppered Askarov with light shots and outpointed him for the first three minutes.
However, in the last two minutes of the round, Kara-France began to inflict serious damage and left Askarov hurt.
Round three was difficult to score; both men knew the fight was even after the first two.
They put on a show for the fans that brought the crowd to their feet with a standing ovation, the judges gave the unanimous win to Kai Kara-France.
UFC Fight Night: Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi
UFC Columbus lost a fight on the day of the event.
Ilir Latifi has been removed from his main-card heavyweight bout against Aleksei Oleinik due to an illness unrelated to COVID-19, the UFC announced early on Saturday.
As a result, the welterweight tilt between Neil Magny and Max Griffin moved up to the main card.
UFC Fight Night: Mark Diakiese vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Our Pick: Viacheslav Borshchev
Outcome: Diakiese surprised everyone in the UFC tonight by dominating with his wrestling.
Lightweight prospect Marc Diakiese is known as a striker, but this night, he decided to domine with wrestling.
For his part, Slava Borshchev will have to go back to the drawing board and work on his takedown defense.
Diakiese executed the same strategy for three consecutive rounds and Borshchev never adjusted.
He won the fight with ground control but never brought any excitement.
His unanimous decision victory was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd.
The Aftermath:
We could have gone even tonight with 3 correct picks and 3 incorrect picks, but Ilir Latifi had to be pulled out of the fight, landing us on 2 corrects and 3 incorrect.
We are not mad, as 2 of those 3 incorrect picks were exciting matches; and we prefer a good show overall.
Tonight, against Chris Daukaus, Blaydes made a deliberate attempt to send a message to the rest of the heavyweight division.
By standing on his feet and forcing himself to become a striker, Blaydes sent a subliminal message to UFC CEO, Dana White, that he knows how to entertain a crowd and is ready for “the big time.”
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