Here’s EVERYTHING That Happened At UFC 245

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its presence known to T-Mobile Arena in Washington, D.C., last night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2019) for UFC 245. In one of the biggest events of the year, three titles topped the bill on an incredibly talent-rich card overall. Top-to-bottom, UFC 245 was filled with interesting and exciting contests, so let’s take a closer look at the best performances and bouts of the night below:

War of Attrition

A lot of people were surprised that Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington turned out to be the best brawl of the night, but that’s really the natural outcome of locking a pair of competitive, well-conditioned wrestlers in the cage.True, I was slightly disappointed and surprised that there was ZERO wrestling, but the level of blood-and-guts attrition?

Not in the least.

Prior to the fight, it seemed clear that the bout was between Covington’s volume and looseness vs. Usman’s raw power. For much of the fight, the former was greater than the latter. Usman may throw straighter shots, but Covington’s superior comfort in the pocket consistently allowed him to evade more shots and land some pretty punishing blows on the counter.

Power counts big though. Per “Chaos” himself, Usman broke Covington’s jaw at the end of the third round with a cross. Despite this, Covington stormed back strong in the fourth, leading to a fifth round in which the fight likely hung in the balance.

Once again, that piston-like cross connected hard when Covington hung out in the pocket for too long, pushing his luck. Covington hit the mat twice, and the referee called the bout quickly when Covington clung to a desperation takedown attempt. Full disclosure: I hated the stoppage, but it’s really unimportant, as Usman’s last minute rally would have won him the decision anyway.

Taking a step back from it all, I do hope this fight helps people realize just the incredible talent of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Ignore the noise; they’re special fighters.

The Volume King Falls

Max Holloway climbed to the title by throwing and landing way more strikes than all of his opponents, but Alexander Volkanovski consistently out-landed his foe en route to winning the title.

How?

Mainly, he convinced the taller man to chase. Volkanovski is constantly the subject of bull-and-matador comparisons, but he really didn’t spend that much time charging Holloway down and trying to rush him with power. Instead, he moved around the outside and pecked at the legs.

Holloway is the volume king — he’s not going to be content trying to land a few shots on the volume. Holloway took the bait, advancing behind his jab and trying to track the shorter man down. Perhaps the best way to eliminate a range advantage is to trick the longer fighter into giving up that gift.

Over and over, Volkanovski drew out the jab and punished the leg. Whenever Holloway reached, a shin dug into his thigh. The kicks were not particularly brutal, otherwise Holloway could never have absorbed that massive volume, but they still took an effect on Holloway’s movement. More importantly, it pushed Volkanovski well ahead number-wise.

Holloway made some smart adjustments late, namely punching to the body more and more often. There’s likely to be a rematch someday in the future, but for now, admire the well-executed game plan of “The Great.”

Almost Intriguing

The entire title match up of Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie was sold on one big “If,” as in, “IF de Randamie can stop some takedowns, she has a real shot at upsetting “The Lioness.”

The second round proved that the case. For a fair portion of those five minutes, de Randamie went on the offensive, Nunes seemed surprised, and “Iron Lady” honestly kicked some ass. She landed heavy right hands and a looping head kick. The knees to the jaw in the clinch likely would have stopped a lot of fighters.

Unfortunately, de Randamie just is not a good wrestler — I don’t think she stuffed a single takedown in five rounds. Over and over, Nunes finished the same outside trip from the double leg, and de Randamie simply did not have any answer. In all the wrestling and grappling exchanges, “Iron Lady” looked like a beginner grappler.

That’s not going to fly against Amanda Nunes, even if “Lioness” looked human for the first time in a while.

Bantamweight Aldo Is No Joke

Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes proved to a pretty incredible kickboxing match. In the opening 15 seconds, Aldo was almost Dillashaw’d, as Moraes’ lightning quick head kick glanced off his temple. However, Aldo recovered well and went on the offensive, stalking his opponent for the majority of 15 minutes.

Both strikers pulled off some pretty great tactics, which was a blast to see. Aldo ripped body shots that looked incredibly painful, and he parlayed that success into some very hard uppercuts. Moraes did well with intercepting shots, catching Aldo moving forward as he angled off. Both men stabbed each other with hard jabs.

At the end of the bout, Moraes was awarded the split-decision win, a fair result with which I don’t necessarily agree. Regardless of the judges’ call, however, the most important insight gained was that Aldo looked dangerous and rejuvenated at 135 lbs.

Petr Yan: Ready For A Title Shot

Yan is one of the scariest offensive strikers in the sport.

At every range, Yan can release powerful strikes without over-exposing himself. Faber fought well from the outside, digging into his bag of tricks in an attempt to walk Yan into a power shot. Some of them landed decently, but Yan firmly took control of momentum in the second when a 1-2 shift Southpaw left cross dropped Faber to the mat.

You won’t find a cleaner example of that combination anywhere.

Many — myself included — expected and hoped Faber would pursue the clinch, an area where he’s skilled with both takedowns and breaking with strikes. “The California Kid” tried, but it turns out that Yan is even more deadly from that range. Each time the two broke apart, both men were firing, and ultimately Yan landed the harder blows — including the fight-finishing high kick.

Yan is an elite talent, a scary offensive force ready for the absolute best.

Please Give Mike Perry Easier Fights

Mike Perry would be a great prospect if UFC actually gave him time to develop, but he continues to be thrown to the wolves. It’s super lame.

That said, Geoff Neal is a rather scary wolf. He steamrolled Perry like no one else ever has, slamming a high kick into Perry’s jaw and stopping him with some piston-like straight shots in the immediate aftermath. The Southpaw double threat of the cross and kick is legitimately among the best in the sport, and it’s time for him to receive an opponent in the top 10.

It’s time to fast-track Neal up the ladder, while Perry needs at least a couple unranked opponents next.

Death Via Left Hook

Irene Aldana absolutely flattened Ketlen Vieira with a stunning left hook last night.

Early on, Vieira found a lot of success in bullying her opponent. Aldana circled the outside and tried to keep things technical, but Vieira was landing hard shots simply by covering up and firing back with clubbing hooks. The Brazilian showed no fear of her opponent’s punches, stalking with little regard for defense.

That proved to be a poor strategic choice, as few women can crack quite like Aldana. Even while getting the worse of the exchanges, Aldana stuck to her strategy, flicking jabs and looking to dig her left hand to the mid-section. None of those body hooks landed perfectly, but it helped allow Aldana to load up a serious left hook that detonated directly on the jaw of Vieira.

All of a sudden, Aldana is in the title mix.

Additional Thoughts

• Matt Brown defeats Ben Saunders via second-round knockout: Matt Brown spent the majority of the first round inside a triangle choke, but he smartly jammed Saunders head into the fence, which prevented the lanky grappler from finishing the hold. As a result of trying to squeeze the submission for so long, Saunders looked a touch fatigued. Brown was able to open up offensively, and he seemed more than ready to counter Saunders usual strategies. In particular, Brown did an excellent job of defending the left body kick, passing it by and slamming home massive power punches. In the final seconds of the second, Brown secured the stoppage by throwing Saunders to his back and pounding away at his wounded foe.
• Chase Hooper defeats Daniel Teymur via first-round TKO: I greatly respect a fighter who understands how he wins fights. Against a decorated kickboxing veteran, Hooper wasted no time in diving towards the legs and forcing a grappling match. He certainly ate some punches in the process, but eventually, Hooper was able to pop out the back door in the clinch and take the back standing. Once on top, Hooper showed his grappling edge, coming very close to a rear naked choke before securing a mounted triangle. Teymur was trapped and eating blows, so the referee called the contest before the tap became necessary. At just 20 years of age, Hooper is definitely at an interesting Featherweight prospect.
• Brandon Moreno defeats Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision: Man, this was an absolute scrap, a technical kickboxing showcase from both fighters for three full rounds. Moreno’s boxing looked sharper than ever, as he adopted a different stance, leaning his weight forward and keeping his head over his lead leg. In the first round, Kara-France did well to set up overhand rights with the jab and punish this head position. However, in the second and third, Moreno had a better grasp of his opponent’s timing and distance, which allowed him to pull, make the punch miss, and follow up with combinations. As a final note, Moreno’s left high kick is damn quick.
• Punahele Soriano defeats Oskar Piechota via first-round knockout: Soriano picked up an impressive win in his UFC debut, walking Piechota down and swinging hard shots. Piechota wasn’t keep his hands very tight, and he pretty quickly paid the price. Soriano is still quite early in his professional career, but the talented wrestler is showing plenty of potential as he puts the rest of his skills together.

For complete UFC 245: “Usman vs. Covington” results and play-by-play, click HERE!