What Happened At UFC Norfolk Last Night?!?!?!?!?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its presence known to Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, last night (Sat., Feb. 29, 2020) for UFC Fight Night 169. It featured a strong main event that was an excellent match up, a pivotal Flyweight title bout between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo. The rest of the card … well … there were fights, and they happened.

Luckily, there doesn’t have to be a major divisional impact for a fight to be exciting or a performance strong, so let’s take a closer look at the night’s highlights:

Too Big, Too Powerful

Deiveson Figueiredo is a dangerous man.

Early in the bout, it became apparent that “Daico” was too strong to be wrestled and controlled easily, as his first scramble opposite Benavidez saw him nearly secure an armbar. From that point forward, Benavidez focused on emptying the gas tank of his foe, pushing a brutal pace and throwing punches in bunches.

Unfortunately, there is a major risk to throwing so many strikes and forcing the issues against such a brutally powerful puncher. A clash of heads saw Benavidez slightly wobbled and backed into the fence, where Figueiredo advanced immediately. A ripping body shot lined up another nasty right hand, and this one put Benavidez down hard.

Were it not for his scale fail, Figueiredo would be champion of the world. As it stands, the future of the division is uncertain.

The ‘Death Via Lioness’ Sweepstakes

With four of the women Featherweight division’s five full-time athletes competing last night, the stakes were high. Amanda Nunes has expressed an interest in defending her Featherweight crown next — because weight cuts are not fun — which meant that she required a dance partner.

Megan Anderson was given the first chance to impress, and she did just that! The Australian striker spent a few minutes stuck inside an uneventful clinch, sure, but once able to gain some distance, it didn’t take long for her long right hand to crash into the jaw of Norma Dumont. Her French foe collapsed in a heap, and Anderson earned her second consecutive stoppage win.

Unfortunately for the Aussie, Felicia Spencer impressed too. Opposite Zarah Fairn, Spencer was able to throw her foe to the mat and really drop some brutal ground strikes to secure a fairly painless victory. Between the two wins themselves, Anderson’s was probably the better finish, but Spencer also happens to hold a recent victory over Anderson.

It could still be the decided by the whims of Dana White, but Spencer has to be assumed the front runner to face “Lioness” next.

Let Em Fight!

Ion Cutelaba was stunned by the strikes of Magomed Ankalaev early, but he was very much awake and throwing back, more than meeting the “intelligently defense” criteria. It’s a bad call from the referee, and the correct move is to run it back ASAP!

Bantamweight Overabundance

Kyler Phillips really impressed in his debut last night.

The MMA Lab-trained athlete really looks to have it all at 24 years old. He threw great combinations, slick counter punches, and damaging spinning strikes. Better yet, Phillips is a decorated high school wrestler with a jiu-jitsu brown belt. EVEN BETTER YET, Phillips fought at an absurd pace for the entire 15 minute fight.

He’s absolutely one to keep an eye on at Bantamweight. The problem? There are a lot of Bantamweights worthy of praise recently! Within the last week or two, I had a little section titled “Another Bantamweight Contender,” and I don’t even remember who I wrote it about!

The 135 lbs. division simply has an incredible amount of young talent climbing up the ranks — it’s a fun time to be a fan.

Additional Thoughts

• Grant Dawson defeats Darrick Minner via second-round rear naked choke: Minner attempted a couple tight guillotine chokes, but that was really the extent of his offense. Once able to solidify his top control, Dawson — aided by a few additional pounds after missing weight — was able to advance position and dominate without much issue.
• Brendan Allen defeats Tom Breese via first-round knockout: Allen is a serious fighter to watch at 185 lbs. after picking up his second quality win in two trips to the Octagon. Against a skilled, well-rounded fighter in Breese, Allen was able to plant his foe on the mat and completely dominate. He smartly used a kimura attempt to pass the guard, abandoning the shoulder lock once in side control. From there, he defended submissions and kept a ton of top pressure on Breese, which eventually allowed him to release a major flurry of ground strikes and end the bout near the end of the first.
• Jordan Griffin defeats T.J. Brown via second-round guillotine choke: This fight featured extreme amounts of both fun and sloppy grappling. The two brawled from the first bell, but Brown had a great deal of success by spamming takedowns along the fence. Griffin failed to control his opponent’s wrist, allowing Brown to switch off to the double leg and finish the takedown over and over and over. However, he also hunted for the neck constantly, something Brown did little to defend against. Twice, Griffin put himself on his back attempting chokes, but the third time proved the charm, as Griffin managed to put his foe to sleep while Brown had passed to the side control! If the choke is deep enough, side control alone is not a sufficient defense.
• Spike Carlyle defeats Aalon Cruz via first-round knockout: The “Alpha Ginger” is perhaps my new favorite fighter of 2020, and he should be yours as well. Despite facing a significant height and reach disadvantage, Carlyle’s footwork and distance management actually allowed him to out-kick Cruz! He blasted the calf to make Cruz do a full 360° spin, and then snuck a head kick right into the jaw. Cruz panic-wrestled, which allowed Carlyle to frame his opponent’s face and land a gigantic angled elbow right to the ear. It robbed Cruz of his balance, allowing Carlyle to take top position and finish the fight with frantic ground strikes (including double hammerfists!).

For complete UFC Fight Night 169: “Benavidez vs. Figueiredo” results and play-by-play, click HERE!