Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal has deservedly earned a reputation for being an exciting fighter but taking a fight on short notice against Kamaru Usman was never going to give him any advantages.

Masvidal opened up well in the first round, but Usman’s grappling and patience helped him shut out the next four rounds. The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ clearly had superior cardio, wrestling, and strength, which in the end was simply too much for ‘Gamebred’. He manhandled Masvidal against the fence, on the ground, and never gave the challenger a chance to string together any worthwhile combos on the feet.

Usman had 10:06 minutes in clinch control time, and landed 263 strikes to Masvidal’s 88.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway

The co-main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway was far different. I certainly felt that Holloway did enough to earn his belt back, showing sharp striking and timing to do damage to the champion’s face.

While the champ turned it on in the championship rounds, it was a razor-thin margin. For fans of Holloway, it was a disappointing end. I certainly think that Holloway is only a win or two from getting another shot, but he shouldn’t have let up in the fourth and fifth rounds.

For someone who didn’t do any sparring, Holloway really looked crisp.

Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo

Ever since the Conor McGregor fight, it feels like Jose Aldo has always come just short of greatness. It’s been a rough ride for the second greatest featherweight of all time (behind Holloway) but you can’t doubt his heart.

Aldo put in great work in the first couple of rounds, which I feel he won handily. His striking looked crisp, and he was even throwing his patented leg kicks. The third round was much closer, but following the trend, Aldo eventually ran out of gas in the fourth round.

Petr Yan is one tough cookie, and he took advantage of his better cardio, along with his amazing striking, to eventually put Aldo away.

There was some controversy toward the end of the fight, as Aldo was barely defending himself for a long time before the fight was stopped. I think the fight could have been stopped anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds earlier, and the old lion was allowed to take too much damage when he was clearly not going to get a chance to win the fight.

Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade

Man, watching the female fighters in the UFC can be real fun. Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade put on an insane war that showcased physical toughness and mental fortitude.

Rose looked like she got the worst of it, having a clearly visible welt under her eye, but she fought a great fight. It was a razor-thin margin that really could have gone either way.

Amanda Ribas vs. Paige Van Zant

The walk-ins were far longer than the actual fight in the first bout of the main card. Paige Van Zant didn’t get a chance to put up much of a fight, as she was only able to throw six strikes.

Amanda Ribas didn’t have to throw many either, putting up a total of 15, because she secured her only takedown attempt and then finished the fight with a submission a little over two minutes into the fight.

It’s increasingly becoming apparent that Van Zant is more hype than substance.