Although the largest UFC tournament in December had a fairly complete card, the main attention of fans was focused on two fights.
Daveson Figueiredo was set to set a promotion record and have two flyweight title defenses three weeks apart.
And Tony Ferguson hoped to defeat Charles Oliveira and prove that the fiasco in the battle with Justin Gaji was just an accident.
Despite the recent defeat, experts and bookmakers believed in Ferguson.
His vast experience, non-standard technique in the standing position, as well as his ability to surprise opponents on the ground spoke for him.
Surely many expected that Tony would have an advantage in the standing position, at least not yield in "physics", and if necessary, he would be able to surprise Oliveira on the ground.
But in reality, everything turned out differently.
From the first minutes Charles went forward and seemed not only faster, but also more powerful and inventive than Tony.
He was ahead of El Cucuy, worked great both with his hands and feet, and feeling a little resistance, he immediately made a takedown.
The throw turned out to be unexpected and effective, but most importantly, it helped the Brazilian to be in his element.
On the ground, it immediately became apparent that Oliveira was significantly superior to Ferguson in grappling.
The holder of a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dominated on the ground, with ease as he controlled the enemy and moved from one position to another.
In total, in the first round, he spent 3 minutes 35 seconds on top, and towards the end of the segment, he not only ended up in full mount, but also reached the elbow lever.
The grip turned out to be extremely tough and at a certain moment it began to seem that Charles could break Tony's arm, but the fearless American endured.
In many ways, the plot of the second and third rounds repeated the first.
Yes, there was no longer such an overwhelming superiority of Oliveira, but he easily interrupted Ferguson in the standing position, and once on the ground, he practically did not feel the competition.
In each of the remaining five minutes, he spent on a successful transfer to the ground and outright surpassed his opponent in the number of significant strikes - 41:19.
Tony was not helped even by the attempt of the forbidden up-kick (kick from the canvas) on Charles who was on the ground.
The Brazilian had extensive bleeding on his forehead, but he did not seem to notice it.
Until the middle of the third round, Oliveira did not give up trying to add another UFC record to his track record.
Even before the fight, he ranked first in the history of the promotion in terms of the number of victories by submission (14) and shared the lead with Donald Cerrone in terms of the number of fights won ahead of schedule (both - 16).
In the last seven battles, his rivals never managed to endure the final bell, and another knockout or painful put him on a par with Anderson Silva.
However, Ferguson managed to establish a defense on the ground and prevent Oliveira from issuing the longest streak of early victories in UFC history.
In many ways, this was facilitated by Charles himself, who decided to act in a less adventurous manner.
He focused on control and confidently brought the matter to victory.
As a result, all the judges gave preference to the Brazilian (30 - 26).
Tony suffered the second consecutive defeat in his career and said goodbye to the chances of fighting for the title.
Your new contender at 155!
🇧🇷 @CharlesDoBronxs belongs in the conversation with the elite.
# UFC256pic.twitter.com / Iyu1UXDWDi
- UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020
The main fight of the evening turned out to be much more competitive and took place in the best MMA traditions.
Despite only a three-week break between fights, Figueredo and Moreno approached the tournament in stunning shape and presented the audience with the brightest five-round confrontation.
A similar opinion was shared by White, who called this battle the greatest in the history of the division up to 56.7 kilograms.
The first two rounds were played completely in a standing position.
Figueredo acted as the first number and actively moved forward, but Moreno responded with sharp counterattacks and, in general, practically did not concede in boxing.
In the first round, the fighters delivered 28 significant blows, but in the second the champion was a little more accurate (34:31).
However, the challenger responded with two successful transfers to the ground, and if he did not come out ahead on the judges' cards, then at least restored parity.
Until a certain moment Figueredo looked more confident in the third round, but gradually fatigue became more noticeable in his actions.
Perhaps it was she who caused the fact that instead of a biting front kick to the body, he struck exactly in the groin of the opponent.
The blow was extremely painful, and Moreno took about three minutes to recover.
However, the judge Jason Herzog concluded that the Brazilian deliberately violated the rules and removed one point from the champion.
In the remaining time, Daveson managed to equalize the position a little due to a successful translation, but no more.
In the fourth round, Figueiredo slowed down even more and not only allowed Moreno to execute two takedowns, but was almost knocked down.
Brandon succeeded in a sweeping combination of five to six punches, almost all of which hit the opponent's head.
Daveson almost lost his balance, but still stood on his feet and continued to fight.
The final five minutes turned out to be less intense.
The fighters practically did not try to arrange dangerous exchanges of blows, but preferred to work at a distance.
Figueiredo turned out to be a little more successful, in the end he also knocked Moreno onto the canvas.
Daveson unleashed a barrage of blows on his opponent, but was unable to complete the duel ahead of schedule.
Thus, the fate of the fight was in the hands of the judges.
One of them gave preference to the champion, while the other two determined a draw.
The Brazilian did not concede in one of the most spectacular battles in the history of the division and retained his belt.
WHAT A FIGHT!
WE ARE NOT WORTHY 🏆 # UFC256pic.twitter.com / 2HRN9eBhtz
- UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020
Also UFC 256 is remembered for a number of striking fights.
One of these took place in the preliminary lightweight card.
Already in the first round, Rafael Fiziev knocked out former featherweight Renato Moikano and extended the unbeaten streak to three fights.
For four minutes, the fighter from Kyrgyzstan surpassed the Brazilian in the standing position, and at the last one he completed the job.
He caught the opponent in the opposite direction and carried out a powerful combination of three punches - left side to the body, right and left hooks to the head.
And a few minutes later, UFC veteran Cub Swanson won his 27th career victory, having dealt with Daniel Pineda in less than seven minutes.
The participants of the main card supported the initiative of their colleagues and mostly did not delay the clarification of the attitude in the octagon.
All three rounds in the cage had to be spent only by Mackenzie Durn and Yarna Yandiroba.
The American turned out to be stronger and won the tenth fight of her career.
And Junior Dos Santos again disappointed his fans, unable to cope with Cyril Gan.
The ex-heavyweight champion started the battle well and at the end of the first round he could have knocked down his opponent, but in the middle of the second he found himself on the floor.
Fatal was the most powerful elbow blow performed by the undefeated Frenchman, who helped him win the seventh duel of his career.
Kevin Holland won another striking victory.
The American was supposed to speak a week ago, but a false-positive test for COVID-19 made it impossible for him to fight Jack Hermansson.
The Swede was replaced by middleweight veteran Ronaldo Sousa, nicknamed Jacare, but he could not compete.
The 41-year-old Brazilian immediately began looking for happiness in the stalls, but faced fierce resistance from the American.
At first, Holland almost caught Souza in a triangle, simultaneously driving in several hard punches with his elbows, and then effectively knocked out the opponent from a prone position.
Jacare had not yet had time to let go of Kevin's leg, as he missed a powerful right blow, which was followed by finishing.