UFC 280 PPV was a card to remember – so many decision bouts, but there were many upsets too. Methods of victories were so weird on Saturday.
Wrestling expert Islam Makhachev dropped Charles Oliveira in the second, then pulled out a nasty arm-triangle choke submission on a guy with the greatest number of submission victories in the history of UFC, which banked him an extra 50k for the Performance of the Night award.
The second Performance of the Night went into the hands of Belal Muhammad, a decision expert who miraculously destroyed wrestling phenom Sean Brady on the feet for a standing KO/TKO win.
Fight of the Night – Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley. A close fight where both fighters stood and bang for three rounds. Yet, despite 6 successful takedowns, judges gave a split decision nod to Sean O’Malley. Both fighters were awarded an extra 50k.
The co-main event of the evening lasted shortly, as TJ Dillashaw was grounded and pounded by Aljamain Sterling, who caught him into a body triangle and finished him off the mount in the second round.
UFC returns to Vegas, where it will host UFC Vegas 63 event this week. The event takes place on Saturday, October 29th, 2022, and it airs on UFC on Fight Pass/ ESPN+. It is headlined by a clash between one of the toughest featherweights in the game, Calvin Kattar, and promising prospect Arnold Allen.
Photo: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Kattar’s cardio rocks, plus he can take a beating. If he keeps the fight standing, he might pull out a victory. Arnold Allen is better on the ground, but this is a five-round fight. Anything could happen.
Prediction: the fight goes the distance or Kattar wins (-110)
The co-main event of the evening brings the battle of two 170-pound veterans, as Max “Pain” Griffin squares off against heavy-handed Tim Means. Max has already scored many high-level stoppages in his career, and Means is on a downfall right now, so anything aside from Max’s win would’ve been an upset.
Prediction: Griffin to win (-175)
Please take a look at the whole fight card below, but you can also take a look at this link due to last-minute changes. https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/91651-ufc-fight-night
Main Card (ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 7 PM ET, midnight UK time)
Featherweight (145 pounds): Calvin Kattar (23-6-0) vs. Arnold Allen (18-1-0)
Welterweight (170 pounds): Tim Means (32-13-1) vs. Max Griffin (18-9-0)
Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Dustin Jacoby (18-5-1) vs. Khalil Rountree (10-5-0)
Heavyweight (265 pounds): Waldo Cortes-Acosta (7-0-0) vs. Jared Vanderaa (12-9-0)
Middleweight (185 pounds): Tresean Gore (3-2-0) vs. Josh Fremd (9-3-0)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time)
Heavyweight (265 pounds): Andrei Arlovski (34-20-0) vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima (19-8-1)
Featherweight (145 pounds): Chase Hooper (11-2-1) vs. Steve Garcia (12-5-0)
Middleweight (185 pounds): Joseph Holmes (8-2-0) vs. Jun Yong Park (14-5-0)
Middleweight (185 pounds): Roman Dolidze (10-1-0) vs. Phil Hawes (12-3-0)
Here are my picks for the upcoming card. (optional)
Also, Bellator 287 takes place in Allianz Cloud Arena, Milan, Italy. The prelims air on YouTube, while you’ll need Showtime access for the main card.
Photo: @BellatorMMA Twitter
Adam Piccolotti meets Mansour Barnaoui. Piccolotti is a better all-around fighter, but interestingly, he’s an underdog. Yes, Barnaoui is the current Road FC champ and he’s got a lot of submission stoppages under his belt, but Goiti Yamauchi is the only guy to submit Adam. This one could be tricky.
Prediction: Adam to win (+100)
The Birmingham-based heavy-handed striker Fabian Edwards squares off against dangerous scrappy Irishman Charlie Ward in the co-main event of the evening. Ward’s ground game is fantastic, but Edwards’ game off the back is top-notch, plus his technical aspect of the game rocks.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
Here are my picks for the upcoming main card: (optional)
This looks like a promising weekend on the piece of paper. Please give both events a shot, you might enjoy all day!
