The UFC 245 tournament was supposed to be a grandiose conclusion not only in 2019, but also for the entire decade in the history of the Absolute Fighting Championship. Dana White and the company have always understood how important it is to complete such temporary stages on a beautiful note, so I made every effort to make the last major show of the year memorable. For this, three title fights were organized at once, the key among which was the battle with the participation of one of the most discussed and hated athletes of recent years.
However, for Russian fans, the main event was the performance of Peter Ian. The fighter took fourth place in the bantamweight rating and raced at full speed to the status of the first challenger. The legendary Yuraya Feiber tried to stop him. The 40-year-old athlete is a symbol of this weight category and one of its most prominent representatives in history.
At the same time, Jan tried not to pay attention to regalia and the title of counterpart, which was noticeable long before the battle, and was especially pronounced during the weighing procedure. The Russian followed the example of Conor McGregor and immediately tried to "get into the head" of his opponent. During a duel of looks, he first nearly butted the American, and then scared White himself. Peter made a sharp movement of the body towards Yurai, which forced the president of the UFC to wedge between the athletes.
In anticipation of the battle, Ian had five victories in a row under the auspices of the championship, and the sixth would have made him the leader among the representatives of the top 10 division for this indicator. In addition, success in the battle with the living legend of MMA was always valued much higher and could very clearly indicate his claim to the belt.
Over the past few years, several fighters have shown how important it is not only to get the better of the enemy, but also to do it extremely beautifully and confidently. At one time, this was what helped Conor McGregor to get to the status of the first applicant in the shortest possible time, the same can be said about Cody Garbrandt, Israel Adesanya and Dominique Reyes - who have already won the title or are just preparing to compete for the championship. In this regard, in the interests of Jan was to present the audience with a real sight and in the most vivid manner to deal with a 40-year-old veteran of mixed martial arts.
As it became noticeable already in the first round, Peter thought in a similar vein and immediately began to arrange an uncompromising cutting with Yuraia. The advantage in speed and accuracy quickly made him the master of the situation and put the American in a difficult position. He was never famous for his skills in the rack and was known exclusively as a specialist in wrestling technique. But the Russian did not even give him a shadow of hope for a passage to his feet, confidently controlling attempts not only to takedowns, but also to enter the tight clinch.
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Already during the first round, Ian was remembered by a number of powerful hits, and the most dangerous of them was a knee hit in the end. At the same time, the Russian was great in pressure, constantly remained active and threw out not only heavy punches, but also hi-kicks. In addition, he not only did not allow Faber to transfer the match to the floor, but he also worked great at the exit of the clinch, regularly marking it with a series of side, or with an uppercut.
In the course of the second five-minute, Jan's superiority became huge. Faber lacked both sharpness and length of arms to compete on an equal footing in the stance, and his desperate attempt to “tie up” his opponent cost him too much strength. Peter not only got out, but a minute later he sent Yuraya to the floor. A series of two powerful right-handed straight lines took him by surprise and almost became the reason for the fight to stop. The American was kneeling under a hail of punches, but referee Keith Peterson did not intervene.
In many ways, Jan contributed to this. He did not rush headlong forward, but focused on accuracy. Faber rose to his feet, but only to go back to canvas. At the exit from the clinch, Peter carried out a powerful elbow strike and inflicted serious damage on the opponent. Urajya started bleeding under the right eye, and a hematoma appeared under the left eye, which caused the referee to call the doctor in the octagon. However, the brave American decided to continue the battle.
Faber even endured to the third stretch and again went into battle, but he already had no chance of success. He unnecessarily slowed down and fell under another series of strikes by Jan. Its completion was a lightning left hi-kick, which sent the American to a knockout. The judge realized that it was pointless to continue the match, and announced his completion.
At the end of the bout, Jan expressed the hope that a large army of Faber fans would now take his side, congratulate his mother on his birthday, and also challenged UFC lightweight champion Henry Sehudo.
“I want to fight for the title. Sehudo, where are you? ”He shouted into the microphone.
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In addition to the triumph of Jan, the tournament was remembered for the next victory of Omari Akhmedov. In December 2017, he returned to middleweight and since then has not lost a single fight. So, he triumphed three times, and once again brought the fight to a draw. This time he was opposed by the 10th number of the rating by Ian Heinish, but even he could not interrupt the series of Akhmedov. Athletes needed all three rounds, following which the judges gave preference to the Russian.
Akhmedov coolly kept Heinish at a distance and famously acted on counterattacks, and one of the most beautiful moments was Omari's amplitude takedown in the first round. Ian could not find the keys to the counterpart and lost. For the Russian, this victory was the 20th in his career and the eighth under the auspices of the UFC.
The key events of the evening were three title bouts. In the first of them, the champion in two divisions Amanda Nunez defended the title in bantamweight. Her rival was the ex-owner of the featherweight belt Germaine de Randamy. Previously, they had already met each other and then the Brazilian easily figured out the athlete from the Netherlands, winning by TKO in the first round.
This time the battle lasted all five rounds, but the outcome remained the same. The kickboxing representative could not do anything with the aisles in her legs and spent about 18 of 25 minutes on her back. Of course, de Randamy had some bright moments, but they can be counted on the fingers of one hand: high-kick in the second segment, up-kick (kick from a lying position on a standing opponent) in the third and strangulation of the “triangle” in the fourth. For the rest, Nunez reigned supreme, held eight takedowns and held the fifth title defense. According to this indicator, she caught up with the ex-owner of the minimum weight belt Joanna Enjeychik and is second only to the legendary Ronda Rausi (six defenses).
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In the second most important match of the evening, the future rival Zabit Magomedsharipov could be determined. Recognized lightweight king Max Holloway defended his fourth title defense against Alexander Volkanovsky. The Australian stormed the UFC and scored seven victories in a row, two of them over former champions and ex-challenger Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes.
Unexpectedly for many not only spectators, but also experts, the first half was left for Volkanovsky. He acted great in the rack, completely interrupting the eminent counterpart, and also managed to achieve what Aldo could not. He was always famous for his low-kicks, but it was the Australian who managed to beat the Hawaiian off so much that he had to change his stance. Max, however, could not find a distance and practically did not attack. The trademark combination of jab - direct did not work, and hi-kicks did not find the target.
By the middle of the third round, Holloway was twice as inferior to the opponent in the number of exact hits, and this taking into account the fact that he is the UFC champion in the number of punches being accented. Over the years of his career, he taught that he always adds in the second half, but this time it didn’t. He was unusually timid, did not force the fight a bit and lost in almost all exchanges. In this regard, the unanimous decision in favor of Volkanovsky did not come as a surprise to anyone. The Australian interrupted the record series of the opponent of 14 consecutive victories in the featherweight title of promotion and can soon fight with Magomedsharipov. True, if the matchmakers consider the Russian a worthy contender, given his not the most dominant performances in duels with Jeremy Stevens and Calvin Kattar.
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In the main battle of the evening, relations were sorted out by Kamara Usman and Colby Covington. Athletes were united by a long and very tense history of the confrontation, accompanied by shocking antics and insulting insults from the American side, as well as repeated skirmishes. In the light of this, the battle acquired additional piquancy and appeal to the audience.
Contrary to expectations, the base fighters threw aside their strongest qualities and began to exchange blows in the rack. The first two rounds were held in equal fight, and each of the athletes managed to mark a series of dangerous hits. Covington looked a little more active, skillfully connecting his legs, which often made Usman by surprise.
The third segment was already dictated by the Nigerian. The champion interrupted the applicant, and even the dirty reception performed by Colby could not stop him. In the middle of five minutes, he poked a finger in the eye of an opponent, as a result of which the doctor again had to enter the cell. However, Kamaru was able to continue the battle and was marked by a powerful right straight to the jaw. Judging by the words of Covington during the break, it was this blow that broke his jaw.
The fourth round was held in a similar manner, as a result of which numerous hematomas appeared on Covington's face. At the same time, he ceased to act as the first number and began to miss more and more. That is what played a key role. In the final five-minute period, Usman acted as the first number, carried out a couple of powerful blows and sent the opponent to the floor. The American was able to rise, but soon again appeared on the floor. The Nigerian rushed to finish, and the referee Mark Goddard stopped the beating a few seconds later. Kamaru triumphantly ended the feud with Colby and held his first UFC welterweight title defense.