What mattered most at UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami? Here are a few post-fight musings.
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[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] put himself back in the heavyweight contender title mix when he hammerfisted Jailton Almeida’s head into next week for a second-round TKO after get stifled by the Brazilian’s grappling in the first frame.
Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) called for a rematch with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall after his triumph, and it was pretty well received. Why? Because it makes sense given the messy state of the weight class at the moment.
We know the deal. We’re all waiting for Jon Jones to return from injury to fight Stipe Miocic. Aspinall has been annoyed by the situation, but has seemingly opened up to the idea of defending the interim belt while Jones and Miocic handle their business.
The problem with that, however, is there wasn’t a completely sensible opponent for him to face. Until now. Blaydes hold a 15-second TKO win over Aspinall from July 2022, but it came as the result of an injury when Aspinall blew out his knee just seconds into the UFC Fight Night 208 main event in London.
It’s always seemed logical to run that fight back, and now with Blaydes getting the emphatic win, it’s a good idea. And Aspinall agrees, as he stated on social media after the event (via X):
[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] got the most crucial win of his career when he outworked Song Yadong for a unanimous decision to snap his three-fight losing streak.
The former UFC bantamweight champion Yan (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) needed this one in the worst of ways. Many people, myself included, thought Yan was going to be a long-reigning champion when he won the belt. But it just got weird afterward, starting with becoming the first fighter in UFC history to lose a title by disqualification when he landed an illegal knee on Aljamain Sterling in March 2021.
There’s an argument to be made that Yan should have beaten Sean O’Malley in October 2022. He got thwarted by Merab Dvalishvili – like everyone does – but in this fight against Song he showed he’s still very relevant at 135 pounds.
Yan needs another top-ranked contender next. If he can win that and get some momentum, then look out.
Former Bellator title challenger [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] delivered in his debut with a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland, proving many naysayers wrong that his unique style wouldn’t translate to the UFC level.
Holland largely was a willing participant in letting Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) style on him. That won’t be the case for many other welterweights in the promotion, but at minimum, “MVP” earned the chance to fight them.
At 37, it’s hard to think Page can make a legitimate title run. However, he does have an advantage if Leon Edwards continues to reign in that a fight between them would be huge in the U.K. He’s going to need a couple more wins, though, or some extreme luck to break his way.
[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] showed he’s still an elite lightweight contender when he stifled the rise of Benoit Saint Denis with a classic fight and second-round knockout finish in the co-main event.
Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) took a huge risk in accepting the matchup with Saint Denis, which is the type of fight many accused him of never being willing to take. It looked like a bad idea to start, but Poirier’s boxing once again came through for him as he survived the storm and put the lights out on Saint Denis.
The result adds to Poirier’s many records, and keeps him in the mix for a 155-pound title shot. At this point, he’s not more deserving than Justin Gaethje if he beats Max Holloway, or the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan – both of which take place at UFC 300 on April 13. But if some reason things don’t line up right for other contenders, or the timeline somehow shifts in his favor, it’s not impossible he could find himself in another championship opportunity sooner rather than later.
[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] got what he wanted for his first title defense in avenging his lone career loss against Marlon Vera by unanimous decision.
All due to respect to “Chito,” but he wasn’t the most deserving title challenger. It’s totally understandable why the fight happened from O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), Vera and the UFC’s angle. The storyline of this rematch was juicer than anything else that could be done in the bantamweight division given the result of the first meeting, and it’s impossible to know when it would be at least logical to put it together any other time.
The outcome was a completely uncompetitive fight, though, and now it’s time to get serious.
We should all be happy O’Malley’s callout of featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for UFC’s debut in Spain seemingly fell on deaf ears with UFC CEO Dana White. That means it’s time to give a rightful challenger a shot at the belt, and that would be [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].
With 10 straight wins and a style that’s seemingly a huge nightmare for O’Malley, a showdown with Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC is the most intriguing championship bout that can be made at 135 pounds. There shouldn’t be a slight consideration given to anything else, and if the UFC goes any other direction for O’Malley’s next fight, it would be a massive injustice.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.