Normally after such a ridiculous 24 hours of organised violence, a good opening gambit would be 'Where do I begin?', but how could I start anywhere other than Leon Edwards' sensational title win over pound-for-pound great Kamaru Usman? In a weekend that saw the UK hosting the biggest bare-knuckle event in our history, Anthony Joshua challenging for the unified heavyweight boxing championship of the world and Brendan Loughnane turning in a career-best performance, Rocky's phenomenal finish somehow stood head and shoulders above anything else on the combat calendar.
The Nightmare is Over
I wrote last week about how the last few years have been something of a nightmare for Leon Edwards; from cancelled fights to missed opportunities and general fan apathy even among the usually rabid UK faithful, it's been a (a-hem) rocky road. Still, you'd have been forgiven for any hubris as the bell rang to end round 1 of his title fight with the defending champ Kamaru Usman, which went about as perfectly as anyone could have wished, let alone predicted.
No only did Edwards win the round, he became the first man to take 'The Nigerian Nightmare' down in the UFC and in doing so, made him look decidedly human. Little did we anticipate the rollercoaster ride to come.
For the next three rounds the fight couldn't have been further removed from the first. Kamaru Usman did Kamaru Usman things; dominating positions, landing significant strikes and generally crushing his opponent's spirit.
If it was looking dicey in the Edwards corner after round three, by the end of round four it seemed like a lost cause. Edward appeared a spent force, both physically and mentally, as brother Fabian and head coach Dave Lovelle attempted to spur him back into action.
It seemed like wasted breath; Edwards barely made eye contact with his team, let alone acknowledging or interacting with them. He came out equally despondent in the fifth, and with just over a minute left in the round, I was already looking down at my phone for something else to watch...
Boom.
...and that's why we love MMA. In the last minute of the last round, down on the scorecards and looking distinctly lost, Leon Edwards pulled out a picture perfect, Hail Mary head kick that sent the Nightmare to dreamland and tipped the welterweight division on his head.
For once the post-finish hyperbole wasn't hyperbolic; this really was the most dramatic and meaningful finish to a UFC title fight in years, maybe ever. Usman was a fight away from equalling Anderson Silva's record for the longest win-streak in UFC history. Possibly too, just a win or two removed from stealing George St Pierre's mantle as the best welterweight of all time.
All of it, gone in a flash.
Edwards story - from a dirt-poor immigrant, son of a murdered gang leader, who used MMA to avoid perpetuating the cycle of crime and violence that had once engulfed his family - is a true fairy tale. As the UK's second British champion, people will say he's following in the footsteps of Michael Bisping but in truth, he's carving-out his own path and writing his own story.
The UFC isn't ready for Wembley, but if Rocky doesn't get his first title defence in the UK early next year, it'll be criminal.
Platinum Knuckles > A Lack of Venom
Michael Venom Page made his Bare Knuckle FC debut on Saturday night and the bookmakers were left as shocked as the audience as underdog Mike Perry' hand was raised after five six rounds of action.
Outside of a brief moment as he was dropped while clattering towards Perry in the first, Page didn't look outclasses for a minute of the main event, in fact, had he not been robbed of a perfectly legitimate knockdown of his own in the second, he'd have won after the scheduled five rounds.
The problem the Bellator star had was that without a one-shot KO, his slick, sniping style isn't as conducive to bare-knuckle fighting as Perry's penchant for crashing forward and dogfighting on the inside. Take away the kicks, knees and elbows and allow the shorter man the advantage of dirty boxing, and Page wasn't given many opportunities to look his best.
Still, things weren't entirely clear cut. With the judges returning a rare majority draw after 5 rounds, many viewers seemed confused to learn that the bout would be decided by a single round of overtime. It's a rule that's only been invoked once previously in BKFC's 27 event history, and Page seemed as bemused as anybody as the pair knuckled up for a 6th time.
I've no doubt that MVP is the better martial artist on any given Sunday, but bare-knuckle is dog-fighting and while Page may be a greyhound, Perry is a Pit Bull.
Everyone raised an eyebrow when this fight was announced, with many - myself included - concluding that Bellator had colluded with BKFC to counter-programme PFL (I mean, who would do a thing like that...?), but apparently not so. The rumour doing the rounds (if you're inclined to believe it) is that Page had asked for a quick turn around in Bellator after his failed title bid against Logan Storley (presumably the September card in Paris), but was told he'd have to wait until later in the year. He then exercised a contract clause that allows him to compete in boxing matches, which was unspecific enough to exclude the MMA-leaning BKFC.
MVP will likely need some additional image rehabilitation before he can be put back in the Bellator title mix, a task Bellator probably weren't anticipating.
Professional Fighter's (not quite) League
I'll give PFL credit where it's due; their broadcast/commentary team is absolutely top notch and adding Dan Hardy to the mix as an on-air analyst is only going to make any show sound better. Also, as a long-time fan of Brendan Loughnane and someone who's called many of his fights dating back some years, seeing him carve out a well-paid and successful career outside of the UFC is both mould-breaking and extremely satisfying.
Thanks also to the bookies who had him as high as a 3/1 dog and have paid for my next pair of ludicrous trainers. You da real MVPs!
Dakota Ditcheva continues to look like an absolute monster as well, can't wait to see more from her.
That's kind of where it ends with me for the PFL though. Their format, which tries to present MMA like other American sports by use of a 'smart' cage and a plethora of on-screen statistics might be great for broadcast synergy on ESPN, but it's a shit, pointless gimmick.
Nobody cares the how fast a leg kick is.
On top of that it's not really a league, is it? They don't don't all fight each other and just like any tournament, the nature of MMA mean pull-outs (which can't be helped) inevitably throw a spanner in the works. The repair job is much easier with a single elimination bracket than a convoluted points system, which only makes sense in regular sports because the seasons are so long and the matches so plentiful.
Then there's the withdrawals that can be helped. PFL's other gimmick (the good one) is that their tournament winners (sort of) get a million dollars. Two Russian fighters had to be pulled from their UK shows, losing their shot at the milly in the process, because the PFL either didn't know or care that they wouldn't be able to get visas to enter the UK.
Add in a Cardiff show with no Welsh fighters on the main card (and only two on the entire bill) and if it wasn't for Brendan stealing the show last, the whole thing would have been...meh.
If you want to put my criticism down to my working for a 'rival' promotion then be my guest, but tell me where I'm lying and I'll tell you that you're wrong. I've never wanted PFL, Bellator or BAMMA (alright, maybe BAMMA a bit lololololol) to fail in the UK/EU, because competition in any form is ultimately better for fighters, and they're who matter the most in all this.
It just amazes me, in the year of our Lord 2022, to see so-called big shows making the same silly missteps. PFL made a song and dance about being on Channel 4 and the media lapped it up as a 'game changer', but they're not on Channel 4, they're not even on the C4 app; they're tucked away on a subsidiary YouTube channel and they couldn't even get that going in time for the first fight.
Anyway, rant over and here's to Brendan winning a million dollars; he's never looked better than he did on Saturday night and if the bookies have him as they underdog in the finals, then daddy needs a(nother) new pair of shoes.
Boxing Clever
I'll be honest, I don't really follow boxing much at all anymore, but who can resist the lure of a heavyweight title fight, especially one for all the marbles. Usyk is just incredible to watch, a true great in my (limited) experience. Even when Joshua had him hurt, he was able to dig deep and let loose some of his most effective work of the fight. I had the Ukrainian winning by a slightly wider margin than the judges,but as they say, "Most people don't know shit about boxing..." and I'm one of them.
It was a huge feel-good story too, given the sad circumstances in Ukraine at the moment, which makes AJ's second consecutive loss a little easier to stomach. He's still relatively young for a heavyweight too, so there's time for another run. What I will say though is that (again, as a non-purist) I'm still more interested in AJ vs Tyson Fury for the spectacle than I am in Usyk vs Fury for the sport.
Until next time,
Stay uncivil.
BW
No comments:
Post a Comment