UFC 327 delivered in a big way. Not a perfect card, not the cleanest, but it had everything. Chaos, momentum swings, questionable IQ, and a couple performances that actually matter moving forward.
Radtke vs Prado
This went exactly as expected. Radtke used his wrestling to bank rounds, just couldn’t quite get the finish. Prado’s arms and reach were even shorter than I remembered, giving him little to no chance to get the win.
He did sting Radtke a couple times while the fight was on the feet, but his lack of reach and inability to string together combos will ultimately be his downfall and send him packing.
He had a nice sub attempt late in the 3rd round after a brutal eye poke on Radtke, but somehow he survived that guillotine. Not overly impressive, even from Radtke.
Kelvin Gastelum vs Vicente Luque
This was a head scratcher. Kelvin was piecing Luque up on the feet and looked like he was going to coast in this one, until Luque clipped Kelvin on the chin, knocking him down. From there, things stayed on the mat until Kelvin eventually gave up his neck and was forced to tap.
Really disappointing performance from Kelvin, obviously. Luque looked more durable than he has on the drop to 170, but I’m not ready to hop back on that wagon just yet.
Marquel Mederos vs Chris Padilla
Padilla was a lot more active than usual, and Mederos was a lot more on the defensive than usual. Mederos landed a nasty elbow early that split Padilla open and did a really good job sticking to throwing elbows in the clinch, just overall good work in that position.
Neither guy was overly impressive or had the look of a legitimate contender in the division. I did have it 29-28 Mederos, but the 1-point deduction in the 3rd round for the eye poke led to a draw.
Again, nothing exciting.
Loopy Godinez vs Tatiana Suarez
Well, Loopy did Loopy things. She looked like she was going to run through Suarez early in the first round. She landed a big shot to the chin of Suarez that dropped her, followed it up with some good ground and pound, then the fight got back to the feet soon after.
Loopy slammed Tatiana down again, and that’s where she made the mistake of following her to the ground. All Loopy had to do was let Suarez back up after the flashy slam and she would’ve easily won the round.
Suarez’s striking is terrible. She just used her size and physicality to control things on the ground and ultimately got to Loopy’s neck in Round 2 where the fight ended.
Disappointing display of lack of IQ from Loopy. She has the skills, maybe one day she’ll put it all together. Suarez did what she does and got the win.
Gamrot vs Ribovics
This was just a clinical wrestling performance from Gamrot. Ribovics kept trying to find his way using front kicks, which only led to takedowns. Gamrot was just a lot more than Ribovics has ever had to deal with on the ground.
Gamrot was able to find a nice finish, and it was definitely a shot in the arm for him. He looked like a guy who really needed a win to get back on track.
Kevin Holland vs Randy Brown
Kevin Holland actually did a pretty good job in this one. He found a home with the calf kicks early and often, and Randy Brown’s leg was beat up from the jump.
Good work by Kevin to keep attacking the compromised leg. Holland did eat a couple really big shots from Brown, but he was able to control things in the clinch and grapple his way to victory.
It looked like he was going to get that d’arce choke sub in the 2nd round that I had predicted in my write up, but Randy did enough to hang in there.
It was typical Kevin Holland. Everyone jumped ship on him and he showed up with 30-27s across all three judges scorecards.
The rematch between these two might actually take place on a basketball court, because Kevin was very adamant about linking up with Randy Brown to shoot some hoops.
Pico vs Pitbull
Pico came out tense and fighting with a lot of anxiety. He didn’t look comfortable at all in the octagon until he landed that first takedown. After that, it was smooth sailing.
He did excellent work on the feet and landed a bunch of takedowns. Not a good look from Pitbull, who really showed his age and looked slow.
We’ll see what’s next for both guys. I will say that Pico’s chin still looks like a concern. He got rocked pretty good on a couple of shots from Pitbull that didn’t even have that much behind them.
If he fights a pure striker in this division, he may have his work cut out for him. Would love to see him beat the brakes off Tommy McMillen next.
Cub Swanson vs Nate “The Train”
Nate didn’t look like much of a train in this one. And you have to wonder if the right fighter is the one retiring here.
Cub looked great, and I thought he would come out on fire. My only concern was whether Nate could survive Round 1. He couldn’t.
This was just an absolute beatdown. Tommy McMillen might even be able to give this version of Nate a run for his money.
Looking forward to seeing Cub in the corners of fighters for years to come. Nate, you might want to consider catching a train far away from an octagon.
Dominick Reyes vs Johnny Walker
Nothing to report here.
Nothing happened. Boring fight, and the wrong fighter had his hand raised despite putting up a stinker himself.
Really an awful fight. Both guys should be cut.
Curtis Blaydes vs Josh Hokit
This fight was electric from the opening bell. A definite fight of the year candidate that will be tough to beat, even with a lot of year left.
Like him, love him, or don’t, Josh Hokit backed up everything he said leading up to this fight. Nobody has ever butchered Curtis Blaydes’ face quite like Hokit did.
Blaydes landed his own share of big shots, but nothing really had Hokit in serious trouble. He was gassed, but he battled through it. Both guys did.
Hokit did an excellent job stuffing takedowns, which is where Hokit was really able to keep things in his favor.
He showed a lot in there, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for him.
Also, cash the over on o6.5 birds flipped by Hokit in the fight.
Azamat vs Paulo Costa
We saw two very flawed fighters.
Costa got things done in the first round, Azamat landed heavy in the second, and both guys looked completely dead on the stool heading into the third.
Costa landed a powerhouse shot that Azamat tried to check with his forearm, and it snapped his arm. That was a wrap.
We knew Azamat hadn’t fought anything of note coming in, and even a mediocre Costa proved to be too much.
Costa’s gas tank is definitely something to keep an eye on if he plans to contend in a weak LHW division.
Jiri Prochazka vs Carlos Ulberg
Jiri did what Jiri does. He brought the fire and pace while displaying no semblance of defense.
We’ve all heard it at this point. If he just pressures Ulberg on that blown out knee, Ulberg probably has to wave the white flag.
Instead, Ulberg did what he does. He stayed patient as long as possible, waited for the right moment, and took full advantage of it.
The two biggest moments of damage for Ulberg were the slip that caused him to blow out his knee and a kick he threw off that same leg once he realized it couldn’t support him anymore.
Ulberg left with a well deserved win and the belt. And for Jiri to say he took it easy because of the knee injury is a crock of shit.
He lost because he fought his fight the same way he always does. A sniper like Ulberg is the wrong guy to do that against.
All he had to do was survive to the end of Round 1, and I’m not sure Ulberg even makes it out for Round 2.
And just like that, as soon as we crown a champ, we might’ve lost him for a year.
Some names to watch for an interim fight are Khamzat Chimaev, Ankalaev, and depending on what happens, Alex Pereira.
