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On Saturday night (or morning, for most), the MMA leader returned for its latest Fight Night offering, UFC Vegas 68.
The promotion made just one stop-off between its opening pay-per-view of 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and its upcoming return to Australia for its sophomore numbered event of the year. While that was initially set to see the UFC remain on the road with a South Korea-held night of fights, the February 4 card ended up back at Las Vegas’ Apex facility… Hooray.
But nevertheless, beyond the lackluster environment and start time that saw some Americans feeling the pain endured year-round by the likes of European MMA fans, there were, of course, some intriguing matchups on offer.
That included the return of the promotion’s all-time most prolific knockout artist, the long-awaited comeback of a forgotten player at 145 pounds, a number of athletes looking to impress in the Road to UFC finals, and one of the hottest flyweight prospects in the sport.
So, did all that come together to form an event compelling enough to keep our eyes open? Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68.
Positive – Sanko Soars!
Aside from the fights, UFC Vegas 68 brought with it one major — and historical— talking point. Laura Sanko was rewarded for her graft and hard work with a place on the commentary desk.
Sanko’s appearance on Saturday night saw her become only the second woman to provide color commentary for a UFC event. While the ‘first in the modern era’ tag is relevant, it’s worth a note for former kickboxing champion Kathy Long, who featured in the role at UFC 1 back in 1993.
Although MMA has advanced massively in the past 30 years, the female side of the sport has been largely playing catch-up, with the UFC not even permitting women to fight in the Octagon until 2013. And while the female roster has developed hugely, negative attitudes still exist, particularly towards those in analyst roles. A quick look at some responses to the announcement of Sanko’s commentary debut showed that parts of the MMA fanbase remain as questionable as ever.
While some cried foul about the UFC’s intentions, branding it ‘woke’ and accusing it of looking to ‘tick a box’, Sanko was calling Saturday’s action due to one thing and one thing only — merit.
Ultimately, whether she thrived or struggled (it was the first of those options), those who criticized the decision immediately would never have been happy. They made their minds up based on one irrelevant criterion.
But beyond that was an outpouring of support from her peers, be it fighters or fellow pundits and analysts. At the end of the day, that’s the true mark of success rather than the thoughts of ‘ChadTheUFCFan33’…
Positive – Three For Taira
As far as appetizers go, the card-opening submission victory for Tatsuro Taira went down very nicely. I can’t recall adding a fighter to this piece for three consecutive fights, but with his display on Saturday, Taira had to get the hat-trick.
After an impressive 2-0 start in the Octagon, Taira met debutant Jesus Aguilar at UFC Vegas 68. It’s fair to say that this wasn’t a matchup designed to shoot the young Japanese flyweight up the ladder, something the lopsided odds that had Taira at -1250 prior to the fight demonstrated.
But what it did provide was the chance for the 23-year-old to further showcase his skills and cement himself as one of the top prospects in the UFC. Suffice to say, he did just that and more.
While the start of his offense was delayed owing to a lengthy stay at hotel guillotine, when he checked out, it didn’t take him long to get to work in top position. The finish came shortly after, with Taira transitioning from mount into a triangle choke, from which he later locked in an armbar for the verbal tap.
For Japan’s most promising hope for a champion on MMA’s biggest stage, UFC Vegas 68 extended his unblemished record to 13-0 with a third triumph inside the Octagon. And with yet another impressive submission setup, the 23-year-old looks to be the next big thing at 125 pounds.
Time for a step up in competition. Charles Johnson or Cody Durden, perhaps?
Positive – Covering All Bases
It wasn’t a great night for Dennis Tiuliulin, to say the least.
While the Russian’s appearance was a short one, lasting just over four minutes, that didn’t mean he left the Octagon similarly short on physical blemishes.
After securing a takedown with the fight’s first clinch against the fence, Junyong Park found himself in mount and ready to put violent intentions into practice. That manifested itself in an elbow, and another elbow, then another elbow, oh, and an elbow.
Tiuliulin was left beaten and bloody, and didn’t appear far away from being stopped via ground-and-pound. But having come inches from a TKO, Park capitalized on the Russian’s decision to give his back by putting him unconscious with a rear-naked choke.
It was essentially a flawless display from “The Iron Turtle,” and having done immense damage from top position before flipping the script with a submission, the South Korean’s performance stood out as one of the night’s best.
Positive – Harder The Swing, Harder The Fall
While HyunSung Park, JeongYeong Lee, and Anshul Jubli all secured UFC contracts with Road to UFC final wins, it was Rinya Nakamura who shone the brightest with his triumph.
The bantamweight victor had established himself as a major player in the bracket, recording first-round wins over Gugun Gusman and Shohei Nose to secure a ticket to Las Vegas for Saturday’s event.
While his quarter and semifinal wins came after 3:24 and 2:21, respectively, the undefeated Japanese prospect didn’t wait that long to deliver the fight-ending blow this time around. From the very first second of his bout against Toshiomi Kazama, Nakamura swung for the fences. Quickly into the firefight, Kazama was down. While he was fast back to his feet, that wasn’t the case second time around…
After just 33 seconds, Nakamura connected with a counter left, separating his compatriot from consciousness before adding a follow-up shot for good measure.
If a fighter is to make an immediate impact in front of the wider UFC fanbase, they can never go wrong with a brutal knockout, especially one that marks the second-fastest debut finish in bantamweight history.
With that, more eyes will certainly be on the undefeated 27-year-old next time out.
Positive – Fugitt’s First
If there’s one thing that Adam Fugitt takes no notice of, it’s odds.
At UFC 277 last July, Fugitt made a short-notice debut against highly touted Ecuadorian Michael Morales. While he was ultimately finished in the third round, the 34-year-old American brought the fight to his undefeated opponent in a fashion not expected given the lopsided odds.
Having impressed in defeat, Fugitt had the chance to have his hand raised at the second time of trying on Saturday night. Although he once again found himself with underdog status, the gritty welterweight quickly showed he wasn’t about to get run over.
And when the fight hit the mat in the first round, Fugitt displayed his advantage in that realm, controlling opponent Yusaku Kinoshita before unloading with ground-and-pound for the finish.
Post-fight, Fugitt asked the commentary team whether he’d been violent enough. Having dropped his man with a hard left and used some crushing elbows to finish the Japanese fighter, I think the answer is yes.
Negative – Robbed!
‘Robbery’ is an overused word that many MMA fans place on a decision they simply don’t like, often ignoring the fact that it’s completely justifiable per the scoring criteria. Yes, there are questionable results, but I’m in the group who rarely brands any decision a robbery.
At UFC Vegas 68, a fighter was robbed — but not by the judges.
In one of the most intriguing bouts on offer, UFC Hall-of-Famer Dooho Choi returned to action after three years away from the Octagon. The always entertaining South Korean met Kyle Nelson on the main card, and while not a flawless performance, the five-time UFC bonus winner did enough to pull ahead of the Canadian on the scorecards.
But enter Chris Tognoni.
I often preach about the lax attitude referees have towards fouls in this piece, largely regarding fence grabs and the frequent instances of the third man in the cage allowing fighters to use the illegal move to avoid compromising positions without punishment. With that, I’m always calling for a quicker trigger with point deductions. But the one handed down to the “Korean Superboy” at UFC Vegas 68 wasn’t what I had in mind.
With just over a minute before a certain victory, a clash of heads on the ground resulted in Tognoni docking a point from Choi, clutching a majority draw from the jaws of defeat for Nelson. It seemed pretty clear that there was no intent behind the “headbutt,” and the connection wasn’t exactly heavy.
For that to take a well-earned comeback win from Choi seems ridiculous. Meanwhile, the same referee will most likely let numerous eye pokes, low blows, and fence grabs be met with repeated warnings in the coming weeks.
Negative – “The Black Beast” Doesn’t Show
I feel like the world is a better place when Derrick Lewis is knocking heavyweights out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened since 2021.
Last year, “The Black Beast” suffered knockout losses to fellow heavy hitter Tai Tuivasa and rising contender Sergei Pavlovich. While he gave as good as he got for much of his bout against “Bam Bam,” many attached an asterisk to the defeat against the Russian owing to what they branded an early stoppage — although I’m not sure what anybody expected to see from Lewis with a few more seconds.
At UFC Vegas 68, there was to be no competitive period of back and forth, no asterisk, and shockingly, no strikes. Against Serghei Spivac, Lewis was emphatically beaten. After being taken down early, the former title challenger was hit with some heavy ground-and-pound, dragged around the cage as he attempted to wriggle free, and ultimately submitted in one round.
While Lewis’ stock hadn’t massively dropped in his two defeats since knocking out Chris Daukaus, the UFC Vegas 68 headliner had a different air to it post-fight. Although “The Black Beast” has fallen short against the elite in the division, matchups against the likes of Spivac have often been where he’s rebounded and added more victims to his KO tally.
On Saturday, that wasn’t to be.
And while Spivac delivered a career performance to continue his rise, which is certainly due praise, the overriding story here was another disappointing display from “The Black Beast.”
What were your positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68?
On Saturday night (or morning, for most), the MMA leader returned for its latest Fight Night offering, UFC Vegas 68.
The promotion made just one stop-off between its opening pay-per-view of 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and its upcoming return to Australia for its sophomore numbered event of the year. While that was initially set to see the UFC remain on the road with a South Korea-held night of fights, the February 4 card ended up back at Las Vegas’ Apex facility… Hooray.
But nevertheless, beyond the lackluster environment and start time that saw some Americans feeling the pain endured year-round by the likes of European MMA fans, there were, of course, some intriguing matchups on offer.
That included the return of the promotion’s all-time most prolific knockout artist, the long-awaited comeback of a forgotten player at 145 pounds, a number of athletes looking to impress in the Road to UFC finals, and one of the hottest flyweight prospects in the sport.
So, did all that come together to form an event compelling enough to keep our eyes open? Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68.
Positive – Sanko Soars!
Aside from the fights, UFC Vegas 68 brought with it one major — and historical— talking point. Laura Sanko was rewarded for her graft and hard work with a place on the commentary desk.
Sanko’s appearance on Saturday night saw her become only the second woman to provide color commentary for a UFC event. While the ‘first in the modern era’ tag is relevant, it’s worth a note for former kickboxing champion Kathy Long, who featured in the role at UFC 1 back in 1993.
Although MMA has advanced massively in the past 30 years, the female side of the sport has been largely playing catch-up, with the UFC not even permitting women to fight in the Octagon until 2013. And while the female roster has developed hugely, negative attitudes still exist, particularly towards those in analyst roles. A quick look at some responses to the announcement of Sanko’s commentary debut showed that parts of the MMA fanbase remain as questionable as ever.
While some cried foul about the UFC’s intentions, branding it ‘woke’ and accusing it of looking to ‘tick a box’, Sanko was calling Saturday’s action due to one thing and one thing only — merit.
Ultimately, whether she thrived or struggled (it was the first of those options), those who criticized the decision immediately would never have been happy. They made their minds up based on one irrelevant criterion.
But beyond that was an outpouring of support from her peers, be it fighters or fellow pundits and analysts. At the end of the day, that’s the true mark of success rather than the thoughts of ‘ChadTheUFCFan33’…
Positive – Three For Taira
As far as appetizers go, the card-opening submission victory for Tatsuro Taira went down very nicely. I can’t recall adding a fighter to this piece for three consecutive fights, but with his display on Saturday, Taira had to get the hat-trick.
After an impressive 2-0 start in the Octagon, Taira met debutant Jesus Aguilar at UFC Vegas 68. It’s fair to say that this wasn’t a matchup designed to shoot the young Japanese flyweight up the ladder, something the lopsided odds that had Taira at -1250 prior to the fight demonstrated.
But what it did provide was the chance for the 23-year-old to further showcase his skills and cement himself as one of the top prospects in the UFC. Suffice to say, he did just that and more.
While the start of his offense was delayed owing to a lengthy stay at hotel guillotine, when he checked out, it didn’t take him long to get to work in top position. The finish came shortly after, with Taira transitioning from mount into a triangle choke, from which he later locked in an armbar for the verbal tap.
For Japan’s most promising hope for a champion on MMA’s biggest stage, UFC Vegas 68 extended his unblemished record to 13-0 with a third triumph inside the Octagon. And with yet another impressive submission setup, the 23-year-old looks to be the next big thing at 125 pounds.
Time for a step up in competition. Charles Johnson or Cody Durden, perhaps?
Positive – Covering All Bases
It wasn’t a great night for Dennis Tiuliulin, to say the least.
While the Russian’s appearance was a short one, lasting just over four minutes, that didn’t mean he left the Octagon similarly short on physical blemishes.
After securing a takedown with the fight’s first clinch against the fence, Junyong Park found himself in mount and ready to put violent intentions into practice. That manifested itself in an elbow, and another elbow, then another elbow, oh, and an elbow.
Tiuliulin was left beaten and bloody, and didn’t appear far away from being stopped via ground-and-pound. But having come inches from a TKO, Park capitalized on the Russian’s decision to give his back by putting him unconscious with a rear-naked choke.
It was essentially a flawless display from “The Iron Turtle,” and having done immense damage from top position before flipping the script with a submission, the South Korean’s performance stood out as one of the night’s best.
Positive – Harder The Swing, Harder The Fall
While HyunSung Park, JeongYeong Lee, and Anshul Jubli all secured UFC contracts with Road to UFC final wins, it was Rinya Nakamura who shone the brightest with his triumph.
The bantamweight victor had established himself as a major player in the bracket, recording first-round wins over Gugun Gusman and Shohei Nose to secure a ticket to Las Vegas for Saturday’s event.
While his quarter and semifinal wins came after 3:24 and 2:21, respectively, the undefeated Japanese prospect didn’t wait that long to deliver the fight-ending blow this time around. From the very first second of his bout against Toshiomi Kazama, Nakamura swung for the fences. Quickly into the firefight, Kazama was down. While he was fast back to his feet, that wasn’t the case second time around…
After just 33 seconds, Nakamura connected with a counter left, separating his compatriot from consciousness before adding a follow-up shot for good measure.
If a fighter is to make an immediate impact in front of the wider UFC fanbase, they can never go wrong with a brutal knockout, especially one that marks the second-fastest debut finish in bantamweight history.
With that, more eyes will certainly be on the undefeated 27-year-old next time out.
Positive – Fugitt’s First
If there’s one thing that Adam Fugitt takes no notice of, it’s odds.
At UFC 277 last July, Fugitt made a short-notice debut against highly touted Ecuadorian Michael Morales. While he was ultimately finished in the third round, the 34-year-old American brought the fight to his undefeated opponent in a fashion not expected given the lopsided odds.
Having impressed in defeat, Fugitt had the chance to have his hand raised at the second time of trying on Saturday night. Although he once again found himself with underdog status, the gritty welterweight quickly showed he wasn’t about to get run over.
And when the fight hit the mat in the first round, Fugitt displayed his advantage in that realm, controlling opponent Yusaku Kinoshita before unloading with ground-and-pound for the finish.
Post-fight, Fugitt asked the commentary team whether he’d been violent enough. Having dropped his man with a hard left and used some crushing elbows to finish the Japanese fighter, I think the answer is yes.
Negative – Robbed!
‘Robbery’ is an overused word that many MMA fans place on a decision they simply don’t like, often ignoring the fact that it’s completely justifiable per the scoring criteria. Yes, there are questionable results, but I’m in the group who rarely brands any decision a robbery.
At UFC Vegas 68, a fighter was robbed — but not by the judges.
In one of the most intriguing bouts on offer, UFC Hall-of-Famer Dooho Choi returned to action after three years away from the Octagon. The always entertaining South Korean met Kyle Nelson on the main card, and while not a flawless performance, the five-time UFC bonus winner did enough to pull ahead of the Canadian on the scorecards.
But enter Chris Tognoni.
I often preach about the lax attitude referees have towards fouls in this piece, largely regarding fence grabs and the frequent instances of the third man in the cage allowing fighters to use the illegal move to avoid compromising positions without punishment. With that, I’m always calling for a quicker trigger with point deductions. But the one handed down to the “Korean Superboy” at UFC Vegas 68 wasn’t what I had in mind.
With just over a minute before a certain victory, a clash of heads on the ground resulted in Tognoni docking a point from Choi, clutching a majority draw from the jaws of defeat for Nelson. It seemed pretty clear that there was no intent behind the “headbutt,” and the connection wasn’t exactly heavy.
For that to take a well-earned comeback win from Choi seems ridiculous. Meanwhile, the same referee will most likely let numerous eye pokes, low blows, and fence grabs be met with repeated warnings in the coming weeks.
Negative – “The Black Beast” Doesn’t Show
I feel like the world is a better place when Derrick Lewis is knocking heavyweights out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened since 2021.
Last year, “The Black Beast” suffered knockout losses to fellow heavy hitter Tai Tuivasa and rising contender Sergei Pavlovich. While he gave as good as he got for much of his bout against “Bam Bam,” many attached an asterisk to the defeat against the Russian owing to what they branded an early stoppage — although I’m not sure what anybody expected to see from Lewis with a few more seconds.
At UFC Vegas 68, there was to be no competitive period of back and forth, no asterisk, and shockingly, no strikes. Against Serghei Spivac, Lewis was emphatically beaten. After being taken down early, the former title challenger was hit with some heavy ground-and-pound, dragged around the cage as he attempted to wriggle free, and ultimately submitted in one round.
While Lewis’ stock hadn’t massively dropped in his two defeats since knocking out Chris Daukaus, the UFC Vegas 68 headliner had a different air to it post-fight. Although “The Black Beast” has fallen short against the elite in the division, matchups against the likes of Spivac have often been where he’s rebounded and added more victims to his KO tally.
On Saturday, that wasn’t to be.
And while Spivac delivered a career performance to continue his rise, which is certainly due praise, the overriding story here was another disappointing display from “The Black Beast.”
What were your positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68?
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The promotion made just one stop-off between its opening pay-per-view of 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and its upcoming return to Australia for its sophomore numbered event of the year. While that was initially set to see the UFC remain on the road with a South Korea-held night of fights, the February 4 card ended up back at Las Vegas’ Apex facility… Hooray.
But nevertheless, beyond the lackluster environment and start time that saw some Americans feeling the pain endured year-round by the likes of European MMA fans, there were, of course, some intriguing matchups on offer.
That included the return of the promotion’s all-time most prolific knockout artist, the long-awaited comeback of a forgotten player at 145 pounds, a number of athletes looking to impress in the Road to UFC finals, and one of the hottest flyweight prospects in the sport.
So, did all that come together to form an event compelling enough to keep our eyes open? Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68.
Positive – Sanko Soars!
Aside from the fights, UFC Vegas 68 brought with it one major — and historical— talking point. Laura Sanko was rewarded for her graft and hard work with a place on the commentary desk.
Sanko’s appearance on Saturday night saw her become only the second woman to provide color commentary for a UFC event. While the ‘first in the modern era’ tag is relevant, it’s worth a note for former kickboxing champion Kathy Long, who featured in the role at UFC 1 back in 1993.
Although MMA has advanced massively in the past 30 years, the female side of the sport has been largely playing catch-up, with the UFC not even permitting women to fight in the Octagon until 2013. And while the female roster has developed hugely, negative attitudes still exist, particularly towards those in analyst roles. A quick look at some responses to the announcement of Sanko’s commentary debut showed that parts of the MMA fanbase remain as questionable as ever.
While some cried foul about the UFC’s intentions, branding it ‘woke’ and accusing it of looking to ‘tick a box’, Sanko was calling Saturday’s action due to one thing and one thing only — merit.
Ultimately, whether she thrived or struggled (it was the first of those options), those who criticized the decision immediately would never have been happy. They made their minds up based on one irrelevant criterion.
But beyond that was an outpouring of support from her peers, be it fighters or fellow pundits and analysts. At the end of the day, that’s the true mark of success rather than the thoughts of ‘ChadTheUFCFan33’…
Positive – Three For Taira
As far as appetizers go, the card-opening submission victory for Tatsuro Taira went down very nicely. I can’t recall adding a fighter to this piece for three consecutive fights, but with his display on Saturday, Taira had to get the hat-trick.
After an impressive 2-0 start in the Octagon, Taira met debutant Jesus Aguilar at UFC Vegas 68. It’s fair to say that this wasn’t a matchup designed to shoot the young Japanese flyweight up the ladder, something the lopsided odds that had Taira at -1250 prior to the fight demonstrated.
But what it did provide was the chance for the 23-year-old to further showcase his skills and cement himself as one of the top prospects in the UFC. Suffice to say, he did just that and more.
While the start of his offense was delayed owing to a lengthy stay at hotel guillotine, when he checked out, it didn’t take him long to get to work in top position. The finish came shortly after, with Taira transitioning from mount into a triangle choke, from which he later locked in an armbar for the verbal tap.
For Japan’s most promising hope for a champion on MMA’s biggest stage, UFC Vegas 68 extended his unblemished record to 13-0 with a third triumph inside the Octagon. And with yet another impressive submission setup, the 23-year-old looks to be the next big thing at 125 pounds.
Time for a step up in competition. Charles Johnson or Cody Durden, perhaps?
Positive – Covering All Bases
It wasn’t a great night for Dennis Tiuliulin, to say the least.
While the Russian’s appearance was a short one, lasting just over four minutes, that didn’t mean he left the Octagon similarly short on physical blemishes.
After securing a takedown with the fight’s first clinch against the fence, Junyong Park found himself in mount and ready to put violent intentions into practice. That manifested itself in an elbow, and another elbow, then another elbow, oh, and an elbow.
Tiuliulin was left beaten and bloody, and didn’t appear far away from being stopped via ground-and-pound. But having come inches from a TKO, Park capitalized on the Russian’s decision to give his back by putting him unconscious with a rear-naked choke.
It was essentially a flawless display from “The Iron Turtle,” and having done immense damage from top position before flipping the script with a submission, the South Korean’s performance stood out as one of the night’s best.
Positive – Harder The Swing, Harder The Fall
While HyunSung Park, JeongYeong Lee, and Anshul Jubli all secured UFC contracts with Road to UFC final wins, it was Rinya Nakamura who shone the brightest with his triumph.
The bantamweight victor had established himself as a major player in the bracket, recording first-round wins over Gugun Gusman and Shohei Nose to secure a ticket to Las Vegas for Saturday’s event.
While his quarter and semifinal wins came after 3:24 and 2:21, respectively, the undefeated Japanese prospect didn’t wait that long to deliver the fight-ending blow this time around. From the very first second of his bout against Toshiomi Kazama, Nakamura swung for the fences. Quickly into the firefight, Kazama was down. While he was fast back to his feet, that wasn’t the case second time around…
After just 33 seconds, Nakamura connected with a counter left, separating his compatriot from consciousness before adding a follow-up shot for good measure.
If a fighter is to make an immediate impact in front of the wider UFC fanbase, they can never go wrong with a brutal knockout, especially one that marks the second-fastest debut finish in bantamweight history.
With that, more eyes will certainly be on the undefeated 27-year-old next time out.
Positive – Fugitt’s First
If there’s one thing that Adam Fugitt takes no notice of, it’s odds.
At UFC 277 last July, Fugitt made a short-notice debut against highly touted Ecuadorian Michael Morales. While he was ultimately finished in the third round, the 34-year-old American brought the fight to his undefeated opponent in a fashion not expected given the lopsided odds.
Having impressed in defeat, Fugitt had the chance to have his hand raised at the second time of trying on Saturday night. Although he once again found himself with underdog status, the gritty welterweight quickly showed he wasn’t about to get run over.
And when the fight hit the mat in the first round, Fugitt displayed his advantage in that realm, controlling opponent Yusaku Kinoshita before unloading with ground-and-pound for the finish.
Post-fight, Fugitt asked the commentary team whether he’d been violent enough. Having dropped his man with a hard left and used some crushing elbows to finish the Japanese fighter, I think the answer is yes.
Negative – Robbed!
‘Robbery’ is an overused word that many MMA fans place on a decision they simply don’t like, often ignoring the fact that it’s completely justifiable per the scoring criteria. Yes, there are questionable results, but I’m in the group who rarely brands any decision a robbery.
At UFC Vegas 68, a fighter was robbed — but not by the judges.
In one of the most intriguing bouts on offer, UFC Hall-of-Famer Dooho Choi returned to action after three years away from the Octagon. The always entertaining South Korean met Kyle Nelson on the main card, and while not a flawless performance, the five-time UFC bonus winner did enough to pull ahead of the Canadian on the scorecards.
But enter Chris Tognoni.
I often preach about the lax attitude referees have towards fouls in this piece, largely regarding fence grabs and the frequent instances of the third man in the cage allowing fighters to use the illegal move to avoid compromising positions without punishment. With that, I’m always calling for a quicker trigger with point deductions. But the one handed down to the “Korean Superboy” at UFC Vegas 68 wasn’t what I had in mind.
With just over a minute before a certain victory, a clash of heads on the ground resulted in Tognoni docking a point from Choi, clutching a majority draw from the jaws of defeat for Nelson. It seemed pretty clear that there was no intent behind the “headbutt,” and the connection wasn’t exactly heavy.
For that to take a well-earned comeback win from Choi seems ridiculous. Meanwhile, the same referee will most likely let numerous eye pokes, low blows, and fence grabs be met with repeated warnings in the coming weeks.
Negative – “The Black Beast” Doesn’t Show
I feel like the world is a better place when Derrick Lewis is knocking heavyweights out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened since 2021.
Last year, “The Black Beast” suffered knockout losses to fellow heavy hitter Tai Tuivasa and rising contender Sergei Pavlovich. While he gave as good as he got for much of his bout against “Bam Bam,” many attached an asterisk to the defeat against the Russian owing to what they branded an early stoppage — although I’m not sure what anybody expected to see from Lewis with a few more seconds.
At UFC Vegas 68, there was to be no competitive period of back and forth, no asterisk, and shockingly, no strikes. Against Serghei Spivac, Lewis was emphatically beaten. After being taken down early, the former title challenger was hit with some heavy ground-and-pound, dragged around the cage as he attempted to wriggle free, and ultimately submitted in one round.
While Lewis’ stock hadn’t massively dropped in his two defeats since knocking out Chris Daukaus, the UFC Vegas 68 headliner had a different air to it post-fight. Although “The Black Beast” has fallen short against the elite in the division, matchups against the likes of Spivac have often been where he’s rebounded and added more victims to his KO tally.
On Saturday, that wasn’t to be.
And while Spivac delivered a career performance to continue his rise, which is certainly due praise, the overriding story here was another disappointing display from “The Black Beast.”
What were your positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68?
The promotion made just one stop-off between its opening pay-per-view of 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and its upcoming return to Australia for its sophomore numbered event of the year. While that was initially set to see the UFC remain on the road with a South Korea-held night of fights, the February 4 card ended up back at Las Vegas’ Apex facility… Hooray.
But nevertheless, beyond the lackluster environment and start time that saw some Americans feeling the pain endured year-round by the likes of European MMA fans, there were, of course, some intriguing matchups on offer.
That included the return of the promotion’s all-time most prolific knockout artist, the long-awaited comeback of a forgotten player at 145 pounds, a number of athletes looking to impress in the Road to UFC finals, and one of the hottest flyweight prospects in the sport.
So, did all that come together to form an event compelling enough to keep our eyes open? Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68.
Positive – Sanko Soars!
Aside from the fights, UFC Vegas 68 brought with it one major — and historical— talking point. Laura Sanko was rewarded for her graft and hard work with a place on the commentary desk.
Sanko’s appearance on Saturday night saw her become only the second woman to provide color commentary for a UFC event. While the ‘first in the modern era’ tag is relevant, it’s worth a note for former kickboxing champion Kathy Long, who featured in the role at UFC 1 back in 1993.
Although MMA has advanced massively in the past 30 years, the female side of the sport has been largely playing catch-up, with the UFC not even permitting women to fight in the Octagon until 2013. And while the female roster has developed hugely, negative attitudes still exist, particularly towards those in analyst roles. A quick look at some responses to the announcement of Sanko’s commentary debut showed that parts of the MMA fanbase remain as questionable as ever.
While some cried foul about the UFC’s intentions, branding it ‘woke’ and accusing it of looking to ‘tick a box’, Sanko was calling Saturday’s action due to one thing and one thing only — merit.
Ultimately, whether she thrived or struggled (it was the first of those options), those who criticized the decision immediately would never have been happy. They made their minds up based on one irrelevant criterion.
But beyond that was an outpouring of support from her peers, be it fighters or fellow pundits and analysts. At the end of the day, that’s the true mark of success rather than the thoughts of ‘ChadTheUFCFan33’…
Positive – Three For Taira
As far as appetizers go, the card-opening submission victory for Tatsuro Taira went down very nicely. I can’t recall adding a fighter to this piece for three consecutive fights, but with his display on Saturday, Taira had to get the hat-trick.
After an impressive 2-0 start in the Octagon, Taira met debutant Jesus Aguilar at UFC Vegas 68. It’s fair to say that this wasn’t a matchup designed to shoot the young Japanese flyweight up the ladder, something the lopsided odds that had Taira at -1250 prior to the fight demonstrated.
But what it did provide was the chance for the 23-year-old to further showcase his skills and cement himself as one of the top prospects in the UFC. Suffice to say, he did just that and more.
While the start of his offense was delayed owing to a lengthy stay at hotel guillotine, when he checked out, it didn’t take him long to get to work in top position. The finish came shortly after, with Taira transitioning from mount into a triangle choke, from which he later locked in an armbar for the verbal tap.
For Japan’s most promising hope for a champion on MMA’s biggest stage, UFC Vegas 68 extended his unblemished record to 13-0 with a third triumph inside the Octagon. And with yet another impressive submission setup, the 23-year-old looks to be the next big thing at 125 pounds.
Time for a step up in competition. Charles Johnson or Cody Durden, perhaps?
Positive – Covering All Bases
It wasn’t a great night for Dennis Tiuliulin, to say the least.
While the Russian’s appearance was a short one, lasting just over four minutes, that didn’t mean he left the Octagon similarly short on physical blemishes.
After securing a takedown with the fight’s first clinch against the fence, Junyong Park found himself in mount and ready to put violent intentions into practice. That manifested itself in an elbow, and another elbow, then another elbow, oh, and an elbow.
Tiuliulin was left beaten and bloody, and didn’t appear far away from being stopped via ground-and-pound. But having come inches from a TKO, Park capitalized on the Russian’s decision to give his back by putting him unconscious with a rear-naked choke.
It was essentially a flawless display from “The Iron Turtle,” and having done immense damage from top position before flipping the script with a submission, the South Korean’s performance stood out as one of the night’s best.
Positive – Harder The Swing, Harder The Fall
While HyunSung Park, JeongYeong Lee, and Anshul Jubli all secured UFC contracts with Road to UFC final wins, it was Rinya Nakamura who shone the brightest with his triumph.
The bantamweight victor had established himself as a major player in the bracket, recording first-round wins over Gugun Gusman and Shohei Nose to secure a ticket to Las Vegas for Saturday’s event.
While his quarter and semifinal wins came after 3:24 and 2:21, respectively, the undefeated Japanese prospect didn’t wait that long to deliver the fight-ending blow this time around. From the very first second of his bout against Toshiomi Kazama, Nakamura swung for the fences. Quickly into the firefight, Kazama was down. While he was fast back to his feet, that wasn’t the case second time around…
After just 33 seconds, Nakamura connected with a counter left, separating his compatriot from consciousness before adding a follow-up shot for good measure.
If a fighter is to make an immediate impact in front of the wider UFC fanbase, they can never go wrong with a brutal knockout, especially one that marks the second-fastest debut finish in bantamweight history.
With that, more eyes will certainly be on the undefeated 27-year-old next time out.
Positive – Fugitt’s First
If there’s one thing that Adam Fugitt takes no notice of, it’s odds.
At UFC 277 last July, Fugitt made a short-notice debut against highly touted Ecuadorian Michael Morales. While he was ultimately finished in the third round, the 34-year-old American brought the fight to his undefeated opponent in a fashion not expected given the lopsided odds.
Having impressed in defeat, Fugitt had the chance to have his hand raised at the second time of trying on Saturday night. Although he once again found himself with underdog status, the gritty welterweight quickly showed he wasn’t about to get run over.
And when the fight hit the mat in the first round, Fugitt displayed his advantage in that realm, controlling opponent Yusaku Kinoshita before unloading with ground-and-pound for the finish.
Post-fight, Fugitt asked the commentary team whether he’d been violent enough. Having dropped his man with a hard left and used some crushing elbows to finish the Japanese fighter, I think the answer is yes.
Negative – Robbed!
‘Robbery’ is an overused word that many MMA fans place on a decision they simply don’t like, often ignoring the fact that it’s completely justifiable per the scoring criteria. Yes, there are questionable results, but I’m in the group who rarely brands any decision a robbery.
At UFC Vegas 68, a fighter was robbed — but not by the judges.
In one of the most intriguing bouts on offer, UFC Hall-of-Famer Dooho Choi returned to action after three years away from the Octagon. The always entertaining South Korean met Kyle Nelson on the main card, and while not a flawless performance, the five-time UFC bonus winner did enough to pull ahead of the Canadian on the scorecards.
But enter Chris Tognoni.
I often preach about the lax attitude referees have towards fouls in this piece, largely regarding fence grabs and the frequent instances of the third man in the cage allowing fighters to use the illegal move to avoid compromising positions without punishment. With that, I’m always calling for a quicker trigger with point deductions. But the one handed down to the “Korean Superboy” at UFC Vegas 68 wasn’t what I had in mind.
With just over a minute before a certain victory, a clash of heads on the ground resulted in Tognoni docking a point from Choi, clutching a majority draw from the jaws of defeat for Nelson. It seemed pretty clear that there was no intent behind the “headbutt,” and the connection wasn’t exactly heavy.
For that to take a well-earned comeback win from Choi seems ridiculous. Meanwhile, the same referee will most likely let numerous eye pokes, low blows, and fence grabs be met with repeated warnings in the coming weeks.
Negative – “The Black Beast” Doesn’t Show
I feel like the world is a better place when Derrick Lewis is knocking heavyweights out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened since 2021.
Last year, “The Black Beast” suffered knockout losses to fellow heavy hitter Tai Tuivasa and rising contender Sergei Pavlovich. While he gave as good as he got for much of his bout against “Bam Bam,” many attached an asterisk to the defeat against the Russian owing to what they branded an early stoppage — although I’m not sure what anybody expected to see from Lewis with a few more seconds.
At UFC Vegas 68, there was to be no competitive period of back and forth, no asterisk, and shockingly, no strikes. Against Serghei Spivac, Lewis was emphatically beaten. After being taken down early, the former title challenger was hit with some heavy ground-and-pound, dragged around the cage as he attempted to wriggle free, and ultimately submitted in one round.
While Lewis’ stock hadn’t massively dropped in his two defeats since knocking out Chris Daukaus, the UFC Vegas 68 headliner had a different air to it post-fight. Although “The Black Beast” has fallen short against the elite in the division, matchups against the likes of Spivac have often been where he’s rebounded and added more victims to his KO tally.
On Saturday, that wasn’t to be.
And while Spivac delivered a career performance to continue his rise, which is certainly due praise, the overriding story here was another disappointing display from “The Black Beast.”
What were your positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 68?
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