Ngannou's first defense, Figeredo's triumph and Nurmagomedov's choke victory in 47 seconds: what UFC 270 will remember

Initially, the first numbered UFC tournament in 2022 promised to please fans of mixed martial arts not only with two principle fights for the title, but also with a balanced card filled with both famous veterans and promising fighters. However, subsequently many fights were either canceled or rescheduled to a later date. Russian fans also suffered because of this, having lost the opportunity to watch the performance of MMA veteran Alexei Oleinik and rising star of the featherweight division Movsar Evloev. The first was injured in an accident, and the second became infected with a coronavirus.

As a result, the card of the tournament turned out to be not the most impressive, and in addition to two fights for the belt, only the battles with the participation of Said Nurmagomedov and Michel Pereira could be of interest. The former was to have one of the most important bouts of his career and be tested by former top 10 bantamweight Cody Stamenn. The second is rightfully considered one of the most spectacular UFC fighters at the moment, so it is not recommended to miss his appearance in the octagon. Especially when he is confronted by an opponent who won by knockout four times in a row.

For Nurmagomedov, the battle with Stamenn was of particular importance for another reason. Until now, the Russian has never played on the main card of the UFC tournament and probably wanted to make a vivid impression on the public. And he more than succeeded. In the opening itself, he sent a backfist to the target and a “turntable” to the body, which revived the stands. And already 47 seconds later he was celebrating success. The American wrestler, out of habit, decided to throw himself at his feet and miscalculated, landing straight into the guillotine. Said closed the lock on his opponent's neck and left him no choice but to knock.

Nurmagomedov took his second UFC win in a row and did his best to secure a place in the top 15 in the 61.2kg category. In December 2019, Said lost by unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos, but finished the next two fights in the first round, spending 1 minute 38 seconds in the cage in total. As for Stamenn, he not only was beaten in the third fight in a row, but also capitulated ahead of schedule for the first time since September 2018. The last time he had to give up was in a duel with the reigning champion Algemain Sterling.

Pereira did not disappoint either, once again putting on a spectacular show in the octagon.

The first round of the fight with Andre Fialho turned out to be difficult.

He managed to find his opponent's jaw several times, but it was the Portuguese who took the initiative: he pressed for all five minutes and worked great with a jab, keeping a dangerous striker at a comfortable distance.

And in one of the episodes he broke his nose.

But in the second five-minute Pereira came out in a completely different mood.

Fast and incredibly inventive in the stand, the Brazilian began to beat the enemy, working on the floors.

He performed sweeping combinations with his hands, hit with a knee in a jump, and at one point even tried to send Fialho to the floor with an acrobatic kick called a "peal of thunder".

But one of the heaviest was a front kick to the body, after which Andre stumbled back a few meters.

During the round, the Brazilian landed almost three times as many significant blows (47:16), and in the end he consolidated his success with a pass to the legs. In the final segment, he looked a little less impressive and worked more as the second number, but even this did not prevent him from more than confidently bringing the matter to victory. The bloody Portuguese tried to drive the opponent to the net, but only ran into oncoming attacks. The last seconds of the battle were overshadowed by a devastating front kick to the groin of Fialho, which almost provoked a stoppage. Andre managed to continue the fight, but in the last seconds he again missed several heavy hits. Pereira won by unanimous decision (all - 29:28) and extended his unbeaten streak to four fights.

It was the turn of the first of the two title fights of the evening. Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueredo appeared in the octagon, whose confrontation became one of the fiercest in the history of the flyweight division. In December 2020, they were unable to determine the winner, and six months later, the Brazilian suffered a crushing defeat by choke and allowed his opponent to become the first ever UFC champion from Mexico. Another failure could permanently cross him out of the number of contenders for the belt, or maybe even draw a line under being in the elite, because with age it is becoming more and more difficult to remain competitive in the category up to 56.7 kilograms. And in December, the former owner of the trophy will turn 35 years old.

Figueredo entered the octagon extremely focused. In the first round, he was not only sharper, but also more accurate, sending five more hits to the target (15:10). Moreover, most often he attacked the legs of the champion, trying to deprive him of mobility and thereby ensure himself an advantage in subsequent segments. However, already in the second, Moreno found his distance and began not only to hit the jab over and over again, but also to punish the enemy with smashing counterattacks. And they caused serious damage to the applicant, even though he tried to show that this was not so.

In many ways, the third five-minute period was a turning point. Moreno continued to interrupt Figueredo, but managed to hit the floor twice. In the second minute, he missed a left hook, but quickly recovered, and in the very end he did not follow the right direct. The Mexican collapsed on the canvas, and the Brazilian rushed forward and tried to throw a guillotine, but he did not have enough time. Apparently, during the break, the champion did not have time to fully recover, so during the fourth segment he looked shocked. This was taken advantage of by Figueredo, who was not only sharper in the stance, but also controlled the opponent in the clinch for a long time.

Thus, on the eve of the fifth round, Moreno could well be inferior on the cards of the judges with a difference of two points, which did not leave him a chance to take the upper hand by decision. He decided to try his luck in the fight and even managed to knock down his opponent, but he could not keep him on the floor. In the stand, he didn’t do much, except for the same jab. This was confirmed by the third knockdown. Brandon opened up again and got a right straight straight to the jaw. The Mexican managed to recover and even took the ending, but this was clearly not enough. The judges sided with the Brazilian and allowed him to win the UFC title for the second time in his career.

The tournament was crowned by a fight for the heavyweight belt, in which two former friends and teammates met among themselves. Francis Ngannou and Cyril Gun trained at the MMA Factory camp in Paris until the Predator fell out with former mentor Fernand Lopez and moved to Xtreme Couture. Since then, the Cameroonian has won five consecutive knockout victories to become the champion, while the Frenchman has solidified his status as one of the most inventive and unconventional strikers in the heavyweight division, and subsequently won an interim belt. Thus, the clash of former teammates became inevitable.

The contender's plan for the fight was clear. His main goal was to contain Ngannou in the opening, when he was especially dangerous. Starting in 2018, only Stipe Miocic managed to hold out with him in the cage for more than 71 seconds, but still got knocked out in the debut of the second round. The Cameroonian has never been known for endurance, so over time it should have become much easier for the Frenchman to fire at the enemy and score points.

Everything went according to Gan's plan until the third segment. In the first two, he moved perfectly around the cage and worked calmly at a distance, constantly finding gaps in Ngannou's defense. In accurate hits, he was noticeably superior to the champion (34:22) and had already managed to make him noticeably tired. At times, Francis looked like himself from the first fight with Miocic, who made him fizzle out in the first round, and then beat him for the remaining four.

Ngannou has never been famous for his wrestling skills, and in the previous 13 fights under the auspices of the UFC, he only transferred his opponent to the floor once. It is all the more surprising that at a difficult moment he decided to turn to this particular aspect of martial arts and thanks to this he seized the initiative. In the third round, he spent two amplitude takedowns and controlled Gun for almost two minutes, and in the fourth he spent a little less than three from above. And this is all the more surprising, because until this fight the Frenchman could boast of perfect protection against transfers to the ground.

The fifth round promised to be decisive in the duel for the belt.

And at first everything was in favor of Gan.

He was again more convincing in the stance, and then he also knocked down Ngannou.

To win, it was enough for him to hold out on top until the end of the segment, but for some reason he decided to perform a knee lever.

A bungled attempt resulted in Francis being on top.

Subsequently, Cyril again tried to hold the submission on the leg, but twisting the heel also did not lead to the desired result.

Ngannou spent the rest of the round on top, delivered several blows to Gan's head and bowed the judges to his side.

Two of them gave him one round more, and the third was even more generous - 49:46.

Although the Cameroonian failed to win by knockout for the sixth time in a row, he retained the UFC heavyweight title.