Fight Of The Night: Dustin Poirier vs Benoît Saint Denis
Fans had this fight circled on their calendar from the moment it was announced and for good reason. Benoît Saint Denis entered the fight on a five-fight winning streak and started the first frame of strong, pressuring Poirier and utilizing his wrestling and power throughout.
Poirier almost got to show his jiu-jitsu skills once again as he went for multiple guillotine attempts.But heading into the second round, “The Diamond” started to find success on the feet, as he dropped Saint Denis and followed up with a few punches on the canvas, forcing the referee to come in and stop the fight.
It was a high risk, high reward for Poirier who currently sits No. 3 in the lightweight division, compared to Saint Denis’ No. 12, but the “The Diamond” got back in the win column in a massive way inside the Kaseya Center .
Performance Of The Night Bonuses
Performance Of The Night: Sean O’Malley
It truly was the “Suga” show in the 305.
Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defended his title in style, besting Marlon “Chito” Vera over the course of five rounds. O’Malley landed strikes from all angles for 25-minutes, with a second-round knee up the middle standing out as the hardest strike of the fight. Vera never gave up, pressing through the damage and through O’Malley wide variety of attacks.
This was the type of performance that fight fans needed to see from O’Malley who was in control from start to finish, but also showed how the champion would deal with someone as tough and resilient as Vera. The “Suga” era is just getting started.
Performance Of The Night: Jack Della Maddalena
Jack Della Maddalena with another finish for the highlight reel.
It was a back and forth battle between Della Maddalena and Gilbert Burns, with the Brazilian up on the scorecards heading into the second round. In the third round, the Australian escaped from a grappling exchange and as the two stood up he threw a knee that severely hurt Burns, sending him back toward the canvas. He followed up with several elbows with just over a minute left in the fight to get the job done.
This is a big win for Della Maddalena who looks to continue her rise in the welterweight division.
Performance Of The Night: Curtis Blaydes
The heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida was the ultimate test to see which top 10 heavyweight had the better grappling – and in the first round it was all Almeida.
And when Almeida went back to the well at the beginning of the first round Blaydes made him pay for it. Blaydes landed a short uppercut on Almeida’s entry and then followed up with a series of furious hammerfists which planted Almeida to the canvas and put a sudden end to the bout.
It was an important bounce-back win for Blaydes, who proved once again that he’s one of the best heavyweights in the world for a reason.
Performance Of The Night: Michel Pereira
Michel Pereira continues to shine at middleweight, as he extended his winning streak to seven in a row with his performance at UFC 299.
Before we talk about Pereira’s win, we have to discuss the walk out. It was a coordinated effort that saw Pereira bust a move before he delivered one of his best performances to date. Pereira hit the body of Michal Oleksiejczuk, forcing him to retreat, and that’s when Pereira put his foot on the gas and went after Oleksiejczuk’s neck. Pereira wrapped up the rear naked choke submission in 61 seconds.
Big things are on the horizon for Pereira, but “Demolidor” wants to fight in Brazil his next time out – maybe at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.
Performance Of The Night: Robelis Despaigne
What a debut for Robelis Despaigne.
The heavyweight newcomer had a reputation for finishing his fights quickly and he lived up to that reputation against Josh Parisian. Wildly swinging and retreating after a slip, “The Big Boy” caught Parisian with a strike that put him to the floor. He added a follow up strike before the ref stepped in to stop the fight. 19 seconds.
The performance instantly makes Robelis must see TV in the heavyweight division.
Attendance: 19,165 (Sold Out)
Gross Total Revenue: $14,142,904 (Announced Live Gate)
*Highest grossing event at Kaseya Center of all-time
**4th highest grossing UFC event of all-time
