For the better part of three rounds, history repeated itself at UFC 241. But fortunes flip on a dime in the fight game, and one championship adjustment was all it took for Stipe Miocic to retake his heavyweight throne.
In a rematch 13 months in the making, Miocic scored a dramatic come-from-behind win over Daniel Cormier in Saturday’s UFC 241 pay-per-view main event, knocking out Cormier with a thunderous flurry of punches at 4:09 of the fourth round.
Miocic was down on all three scorecards heading into the deciding frame at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., but in a magnificent stroke of fight IQ, he switched up strategies and started repeatedly hammering away with digging left hooks to the right side of Cormier’s body. Cormier took the punches unfazed for several minutes, but eventually the punishment accumulated and did its job, and one final left hook to the midsection caused Cormier to double over and wince in pain. Smelling blood in the water, Miocic charged forward while unloading punches, and he swiftly knocked out his rival with a vicious bombardment along the fence.
It was the definition of a championship performance.
“’D.C.’s’ a tough motherfucker,” an elated Miocic said afterward. “I just saw some weaknesses in that third round, and in that fourth round I caught him with that right hand. Thank God. That motherfucker’s tough. He kept coming, and you know what? It’s a fight. Anything can happen.”
In many ways, the first three rounds produced a completely different fight than the one in the pivotal fourth. After knocking out Miocic with a first-round shot 13 months ago at UFC 226, Cormier dominated the action throughout the first 15 minutes of Saturday’s rematch, and he drowned Miocic under a deluge of short punches. Even at 40, Cormier’s speed and accuracy were on point, as was his vaunted wrestling acumen; in a remarkable sequence in the opening round, he hoisted Miocic aloft with a single-leg and then held his 230-pound opponent in the air for a good five seconds before slamming him to the mat.
But alas, it was all for naught.
With his stunning fourth-round comeback, Miocic became the only man aside from Jon Jones to defeat Cormier in an MMA fight.
Miocic’s next move will likely be a rematch against the division’s No. 1 contender, Francis Ngannou. But it is Cormier’s immediate future that will be dominating the discussion in the coming weeks. The former two-division UFC champion is already one of the sport’s greats, and he spoke often in the lead-up to Saturday about how UFC 241 may very well be his final fight. Cormier declined to make a decision regarding his retirement inside the cage, but the writing may already be on the wall.
你不会基于情绪做决定，但这确实很难接受，”科尔米尔说。“而且我 40 岁了，还有那么多其他机会，我必须和我妻子谈谈，我们需要就我们将要做什么做出明智的决定。”
如果 UFC 241 真的是我们最后一次看到科尔米尔参赛，那么祝贺在所难免。两届奥运选手， Strikeforce 重量级大奖赛冠军，两级别 UFC 冠军。必将成为 UFC 名人堂成员。游戏史上永恒的传奇。感谢一切，“D.C。”祝贺新的重量级王者。
这是迪亚兹的世界；我们只是生活在其中
UFC 的反英雄回归——世界即将成为他的囊中之物。
自从三年前与康纳·麦格雷戈的对话让他成为家喻户晓的名字以来，这是内特·迪亚兹首次再次竞争，他直接从上次结束的地方开始，欺负并炮轰着通过了安东尼·佩蒂斯，在 UFC 241 备受期待的二番战中。然后，按照迪亚兹的风格，这位被遗忘的超级巨星几乎已经将一个名字放在舌尖上，只等着点燃 MMA 世界。
“有了这条腰带，我想捍卫它——乔治·马斯维达尔打了一场精彩的最后一场比赛，”迪亚兹宣布。“一场精彩的最后一场比赛。”
对所有这位先生表示敬意，但这个游戏中已经没有黑帮分子了。做得正确的人只有我和他。所以我知道我的朋友是个黑帮分子，但他不是西海岸的黑帮分子。
从一开始，这对迪亚兹（20 胜 11 负）来说就是一场压力诊所。加利福尼亚州斯托克顿的年轻儿子迫使佩蒂斯（22 胜 9 负）进入电话亭般的战斗，同时用无法容忍的压制式拳击和沉重的膝盖攻击他，偶尔还会进行一次摔跤。这种策略很有效，逐渐耗尽了佩蒂斯的体力，并剥夺了他最擅长的两项武器——他的腿法和膝盖。相反，这位前 UFC 轻量级冠军被迫进入一场拳击比赛，他显然输掉了比赛。迪亚兹在最后一回合几乎结束了比赛，他在缠斗中将佩蒂斯击倒，用一连串巨大的膝盖击打他的头部，但佩蒂斯最终还是幸存了下来，两人直到最后一声哨声在垫子上交换了降服尝试。
迪亚兹在赛后采访中提到的腰带，当然是他自己创造的。但在 UFC 241 比赛周中，他轻松主导了讨论，并证明他的吸引力与三年前一样巨大，那条腰带可能真的存在。而且它选择挑战者也很明智。
没有任何方式可以低估 Diaz 通过挑战 Masvidal 对 UFC 所做的大恩——这一挑战也展示了 Diaz 在与 McGregor 系列赛中一跃成为超级明星的商业智慧。目前没有哪位拳手比“古巴耶稣”更火。直言不讳地说（嘿嘿），UFC 应该明天就安排这场比赛。这是一条罕见的例外——一场非冠军头衔的战斗，它本可以轻松成为付费观看的头条，并在过程中带来巨大的商业利益。将 Diaz vs. Masvidal 加入已经包含冠军 Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie 的年度盛事——UFC 245——它将轻松成为 2019 年销量最高的付费观看赛事。
内特·迪亚兹以一致裁决战胜安东尼·佩蒂斯，这是他自 2016 年 3 月以来的首次胜利。（加里·A·瓦斯克兹/《今日美国》）
兽斗
中量级有了新的头号挑战者。
保罗·科斯塔（13 胜 0 负）和约埃尔·罗梅罗（13 胜 4 负）要满足 MMA 世界对 UFC 241 上两位体育界顶级基因怪才对决的期望将非常困难。但不知为何，他们竟然做到了——而且在 Honda Center 留下了自己的一小部分。
在一场绝对令人震惊的比赛中，一场值得赞誉的消耗战，科斯塔以 29-28、29-28、29-28 的全票一致判定击败了罗梅罗，巩固了自己在 UFC 中量级无人质疑的顶尖竞争者地位。
两人开局就火力全开，挥舞着肌肉发达的拳头，毫无顾忌地展开了一场激烈的较量，短短几分钟内，科斯塔和罗梅罗就互相击倒。此后，科斯塔逐渐稳定下来，持续施加重压，并抓住机会在围栏边对罗梅罗发起猛攻。但罗梅罗以疯狂者的从容应对风暴，并在比赛后期掌控了局面，最终在终场哨声响起时任意击倒了他的巴西对手。因此，科斯塔赢得了第一轮，罗梅罗显然赢得了第三轮，最终决定权落在了第二轮。在权衡充满动作的回合时，裁判们更倾向于科斯塔早期的进攻，而不是罗梅罗后期的冲刺和最后一秒的击倒。
With the win, Costa became only the second man to defeat Romero under the UFC umbrella, joining UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in an exclusive and — to be quite honest — thoroughly impressive club. And afterward, he let his future intentions be known.
“I just came here to make one thing (clear) and take my belt. I will be waiting for (Israel) Adesanya … against Whittaker. And after this fight, I want my chance to prove I am the champion,” Costa declared before walking off.
Let’s be perfectly clear: If Costa’s next fight isn’t against the winner of UFC 243’s Whittaker-Adesanya main event, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Slip ’n’ slide
This is a serious question: Does any fighter lose his footing inside the octagon more than Romero? I’m not kidding.
It seems like every fight is at a waterpark for him. And why does all this falling and failing around somehow make him even scarier than he already is? So weird.
Nigeria’s new nightmare
UFC 241’s pay-per-view portion of the event was set up to highlight the two fast-rising prospects who opened the main card. Ian Heinisch apparently didn’t get the memo (more on that below), but Sodiq Yusuff certainly did. Hell, he read it cover to cover and committed it to memory.
Yusuff (10-1), another young captain in the African takeover that is currently running roughshod over the UFC, scored one of the night’s most outrageous knockouts, flooring a tough out in Gabriel Benitez (21-7) with a gorgeous counter right hand at 4:14 of Round 1.
Yusuff is now 3-0 in the UFC and appears to have all of the tools needed to make a serious run in this featherweight division, with power, speed, and fight IQ all lining his tool chest. Given a premier spot on the biggest pay-per-view of the summer, the 26-year-old was tasked with a high-pressure test on Saturday — but safe to say, he passed with flying colors.
Too much, too soon
For about five seconds, it looked as if Ian Heinisch was going to relegate Derek Brunson to stepping-stone status, just as he promised. But Brunson, the nine-year veteran, had other plans.
After nearly being downed by a monstrous head kick in the opening exchange of the fight, Brunson (20-7) regained his composure and put together one of the most mature performances of his professional career, edging Heinisch (13-2) in virtually every phase of the game to win a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) and slow the momentum of the former Rikers Island inmate.
Brunson, 35, was effectively his own head coach throughout much of his MMA career, but that changed earlier this year when he hooked up with Henry Hooft and the team over at Hard Knocks 365. And already, it seems, the move is paying dividends. Where he was once erratic and over-eager with his offense, Brunson instead fought intelligently and patiently at UFC 241, where he slowed himself down by using his veteran savvy to pick apart a hard-charging prospect.
It was a much-needed moment of validation for Brunson, who not only moved to 2-0 with his new team, but also maintained his spot as the No. 8-ranked middleweight in the UFC’s pecking order. Now with back-to-back wins over lower-ranked foes nestled in his front pocket, Brunson may soon find himself getting a chance to climb back into middleweight contention — something that would’ve seemed massively unlikely just nine months ago, when Brunson suffered back-to-back first-round knockout losses at the hands of Adesanya and Ronaldo Souza. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
Massive upset for short-notice debutant
After seven straight decisions opened Saturday’s preliminary card, UFC newcomer Khama Worthy (15-6) decided to be the hero the MMA world needed. Fighting on just four days’ notice, Worthy pulled off the upset of the night, starching his good friend and training partner Devonte Smith with a laser of a counter left hand at 4:15 of Round 1.
It was a shocking sight. Smith, at least a -1000 favorite at many sportsbooks, has been rightfully hailed as a blue-chip lightweight prospect, but it was 33-year-old Worthy who made his presence felt at UFC 241. He even owned his post-fight mic time, cutting a promo and demanding a $50,000 bonus for ending the run of undercard decisions.
Well done, Mr. Worthy. Well done.
Sandblasting into contention
For the past eight years, Raphael Assuncao has been somewhat of a sentient measuring stick at 135 pounds. Beat him, and you belong among the best of the best. But falter, and you still have plenty of work to do. Over that time, the latter scenario has played out far more often than the former; in Assuncao’s 13 UFC appearances prior to Saturday night, the list of bantamweights who out-shined him was only two names long: T.J. Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes, and it took them each two tries.
Now go ahead and add Cory Sandhagen to that list.
The 27-year-old Sandhagen (12-1) has been a hidden gem for hardcore fans since he debuted in UFC octagon five fights ago with a violent finish against Austin Arnett. No longer. At UFC 241, Sandhagen officially arrived, thoroughly outclassing Assuncao to win a unanimous decision over the UFC’s No. 3-ranked bantamweight contender. Matched against the kind of foe who makes most fighters look terrible, Sandhagen looked sharp, creative and unpredictable with an offensive assault that never took a second off. With a 5-0 record in the UFC, he’s proven himself ready for the elite of the 135-pound division. And don’t be surprised if he draws a big name such as Moraes or Petr Yan next; after all, there’s not much further up the ranks for him to climb from here.
“I know how good I am,” Sandhagen said. “And I know it’s going to take everyone out there to learn how good I am, but I’m a very confident guy. I’ve trained very, very hard in this sport and given a lot of my heart and my love to this game, and it’s paying off now. And I’m where I should be.”
All about the scale
“He was a big, strong guy coming up a weight class, and I’m pretty sure he’s pretty much a 145er. That’s why we were at a catchweight. I was only 145 pounds tonight.”
Those were Casey Kenney’s first words in his post-fight interview at UFC 241, and he certainly wasn’t wrong. Kenney (13-1-1) grappled his way to a decision win despite being massively outsized, but it was the situation that unfolded before his fight against Manny Bermudez (14-1) that was most eye-catching. Bermudez is, for lack of a better way to phrase this, a featherweight masquerading as a bantamweight. He missed weight by an alarming amount for his bantamweight outing in February, tipping the scales at 140 pounds.
But this time around, the UFC stopped Bermudez’s madness before he even reached the scale, deciding late Thursday night to shift Kenney vs. Bermudez to a 140-pound catchweight bout because of the unsafe cut Bermudez was putting himself through. You know who was thrilled? California State Athletic Commission Executive Director Andy Foster, who has led the charge against extreme weight-cutting in MMA.
The UFC may make plenty of mistakes, but applaud them for getting this one right. Officials recognized a dangerous situation and took steps to amend it before it got too out of hand. Here’s hoping this type of thing continues in the future.
In the meantime, give all the credit in the world to Kenney for going out there and grinding out a win over his previously undefeated foe in a difficult circumstance. Remember, Kenney’s UFC debut was another unexpected victory — over former title challenger Ray Borg — so go ahead and earmark the 28-year-old as a name to watch in this bantamweight division moving forward.
(Top photo: Josh Hedges / Zuffa)
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