In pursuit of champions: how Ian by Sandhagen's decision, and Makhachev forced Hooker to surrender

Despite the fact that Jan Blakhovich and Glover Teixera faced off in the main event of UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, the attention of most Russian fans was focused on the two fights that preceded it. Domestic fighters took part in them, but they were also united by the fact that in both cases champion titles were looming on the horizon. Islam Makhachev could, for the first time in his career, break into the top 3 of the lightweight division and declare himself as a contender for the belt, and Peter Yan could win a temporary trophy, taking into account the state of Aljemein Sterling, which over time had every chance of transforming into a full-fledged one.

However, the coincidence did not end there. Both Makhachev and Yang were originally supposed to fight with other rivals in Abu Dhabi, but a few weeks before the show, they were forced to withdraw. Rafael Dos Anjos was injured during prep camp, and Sterling cited the same neck problems that forced him to undergo surgery in April. True, later Aljemein himself admitted that he was beaten by Merab Dvalishvili during training, as a result of which he considered his own form unsatisfactory and refused to take revenge with Peter.

One way or another, both Russians changed opponents, but this circumstance could be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, Makhachev and Yan needed to adjust their training and prepare for fighters of a different type and anthropometry. On the other hand, Dan Hooker and Corey Sandhagen actually went to the fight on short notice, and this very rarely does not have a negative effect on the athlete's performance. At least in terms of functional readiness. And in this regard, it was much harder for the New Zealander. If his colleague last entered the cage at the end of July, then he himself only spent three intense rounds with Nasrat Hakparast on September 25.

In Jan's case, the circumstances were clearly unfortunate. He had to fight for the title of absolute champion, and in the end he was content with only a battle for the interim. But it was impossible to say the same about the situation with Makhachev. He not only got a more status fighter in his opponents at the moment (the sixth rating instead of the eighth), but also the opportunity to put an end to a long confrontation. Previously, Islam and Deng repeatedly clashed on social networks and were not on the best terms, which only increased the excitement around the face-to-face duel.

Makhachev and Hooker were the first to enter the cage. And it was logical to assume that the Russian would bet on a proprietary struggle. And not only because he is one of the strongest lightweights in this aspect. And for the reason that much more energy is consumed in the stalls and clinches than in the stance. For Dan, who passed the incomplete camp, this could be a serious test, because in a month he hardly had time not to reach the peak of his form, but at least to fully recover.

And so it happened.

Already at the 37th second, Makhachev performed a lightning-fast pass to the legs and took a position on the ground, and at once in half a guard.

For about a minute, Hooker put up a semblance of resistance: he held the Russian's leg, attacked the body, but this did not last long.

The difference in skill was too great.

Islam switched to side control and imprisoned the opponent in a kimura.

The New Zealander did not give up until the last, but he could not endure the pain in his hand forever.

It took Makhachev just 145 seconds to force Hooker to surrender and win his ninth straight UFC victory.

At the end of the bout, the Russian expressed the opinion that in terms of wrestling, none of the representatives of the UFC light division could compete with him.

And also once again announced his readiness to fight for the belt in the category up to 70.3 kilograms.

As for the duel between Jan and Sandhagen, two bright drummers met in it. And there was no reason to doubt that this time they would not cheat on themselves and would decide to compete in a standing position. The only question was how comfortable the former bantamweight champion would feel. Previously, he had never fought opponents so superior to him in anthropometry, and this circumstance could well become a problem.

And in the first round, Ian really didn't manage to find the keys to Sandhagen. For a long time he could not find the distance and missed an unusually many blows. Yes, middle kicks took place on a regular basis, and, as expected, he looked better in exchanges at close range, but he was inferior at long range. Corey cut corners great, moved phenomenally, unexpectedly "changed floors", attacking first in the head, then in the body, and even threatened with transfers to the ground. It was not possible to complete any of them, but the very designation of the struggle went to his advantage. Peter had to pay attention to too many things, which complicated the task.

During the second round, it seemed that Ian was beginning to adapt to Sandhagen's uncomfortable style. He more and more often broke through to the distance he needed, and in one of the episodes he hit with a sweeping back-fist from a turn. In addition, kicks to the body continued to cause inconvenience to the American, as a result of which he developed extensive redness on his stomach. But Corey remained very dangerous and at times even outplayed Peter in boxing, which was extremely unexpected.

In the course of the third round, one of Sandhagen's features, which previously prevented him from achieving success, emerged. The loss of concentration already led to the fact that he lost to Sterling and TJ Dillashaw, and now almost allowed Ian to take over. The fighters spent more than half of the five-minute period on equal terms, exchanging powerful combinations. But in one of the episodes, the American stagnated and missed the same backfist, after which he fell to the canvas. The Russian rushed to finish off and almost succeeded, but Corey managed to get away from the attacks and avoid a knockout. Nevertheless, the segment remained with Peter and probably allowed him to get ahead on the judges' cards.

In the course of the fourth round, Ian's superiority only increased.

Sandhagen clearly did not have time to recover after the knockdown and began to fail to keep up with the ex-champion.

Now he could not keep his opponent at a distance, and retreating back in a straight line led to the fact that Peter drove him to the net and thrust one powerful combination after another.

Corey didn't do much: the punches were blocked, and the takedown attempts hurt rather than helped.

Thus, Sandhagen practically lost his chances of winning by decision and had to gain the upper hand in order to win.

However, there was no chance of doing this.

On the contrary, Ian had several excellent chances of winning by knockout, but his counterpart showed incredible resilience.

At first he survived after a powerful high-kick, and then after a turntable.

As a result, all three referees gave Jan four rounds out of five and awarded him the victory.

The Russian won the interim UFC title and guaranteed himself a second meeting with Aljamein Sterling.

In the event that the American recovers from injury and continues his career.