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UFC 274 was always going to be a major event. With a strong card on paper, the fights themselves didn’t fail to deliver with some excellent action.
UFC 274’s co-headline bout was completely lacking in any explosive moments. Thankfully, there were plenty of memorable finishes and near-finishes up and down the card to make up for it.
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With a number of fighters advancing their cause last night, this event will be one that is likely to be remembered for some time.
Here are the five most explosive moments from UFC 274: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje.
#5. Francisco Trinaldo’s explosive second round nets him his second win as a UFC welterweight
The welterweight bout between veterans Francisco Trinaldo and Danny Roberts was one of the fights largely flying under the radar at UFC 274. In the end, they produced one of the night’s better duels.
The clash went the distance, but it certainly didn’t lack in explosive moments. Most notable was a pivotal second round for Trinaldo that probably won the Brazilian the nod from the judges. How he didn’t finish ‘Hot Chocolate’ is a mystery.
The stanza began with the two welterweights trading punches. After a clean right landed for ‘Massaranduba’, Roberts’ equilibrium appeared to be completely destroyed. He stumbled around like a drunk being electrocuted. It was only Trinaldo’s insistence on attempting to follow with a takedown that saved him.
However, moments later, Trinaldo continued his onslaught, hitting Roberts with a hard left hand before dropping him with a brutal shot to the body. From there, after failing on a guillotine, he punished the Brit with some savage ground-and-pound, but still couldn’t quite finish the bout. Incredibly, Roberts actually came back towards the end of the round.
Overall, it was always going to take something special from ‘Hot Chocolate’ to claim the win in the third round. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t do it – giving Trinaldo his second octagon win as a welterweight.
While he couldn’t finish his opponent, this was an excellent showing from him. He once again proved that he’s an explosive fighter despite being on the wrong side of 40.
#4. Brandon Royval and Matt Schell put on an explosive fight in general
UFC 274’s Fight of the Night award unsurprisingly went to flyweights Brandon Royval and Matt Schnell, who put on one of the most explosive fights in recent memory. They both ended up $50k richer for it.
This was a wild, back-and-forth encounter. While Royval ended up coming away with his hand raised, Schnell should certainly not feel ashamed of his performance. On many nights, ‘Danger’ probably would’ve claimed victory instead.
The fight began with a wild exchange of strikes. Despite ‘Raw Dawg’ looking more comfortable, it was Schnell who landed the best shots, dropping Royval with a combination that appeared to turn off his lights for a second.
Royval snapped back into consciousness when he hit the ground. He instantly went into attack mode with his submissions instead. Schnell seemed happy to fight fire with fire but, while he did come close with a choke, it proved to be a mistake.
After a scramble, ‘Raw Dawg’ caught Schnell’s neck in a tight guillotine. Before the hold appeared to be fully tightened up, ‘Danger’ was forced to tap out desperately, even using both hands to do so.
This was an excellent win for Royval and, given his previous victories in the UFC, it could propel him towards a future title shot. Even if that’s not the case, he should definitely get a main card showcase next time out thanks to this explosive showing.
#3. Andre Fialho picks up his second UFC win in a month with a violent left hook
When Andre Fialho took a late-notice fight with newcomer Cameron VanCamp at last night’s event just three weeks after knocking out Miguel Baeza, it seemed like a largely needless risk for the Portuguese welterweight to take.
After all, it wasn’t like he was doing the UFC a favor by stepping in. VanCamp wasn’t initially booked to fight, meaning Fialho wasn’t stepping in as an injury replacement – something that usually puts a fighter in the promotion’s good books.
In the end, though, his gamble paid off, big time. Not only did he defeat VanCamp, he did so in truly explosive fashion, netting himself a cool $50k performance bonus in the process.
VanCamp didn’t look comfortable on the feet from the off in the bout. It always seemed like only a matter of time before Fialho landed something nasty. Sure enough, midway through the first round, he landed a brutal left hook, waylaying the newcomer. A follow-up right hand made sure the fight was over.
This was, in many ways, a better finish than his knockout of Baeza and, on many other events, it would’ve stolen the show entirely. Overall, it looks like his future is very bright indeed.
#2. Charles Oliveira proves he’s the UFC’s best lightweight, title or no title
After a hugely controversial weigh-in snafu cost him his UFC lightweight title, it felt like this weekend could turn out to be a pretty bad one for Charles Oliveira. After all, he must’ve been psychologically affected by the incident, and he was up against a remarkably dangerous foe in Justin Gaethje.
However, if ‘Do Bronx’ was at all damaged by his weight miss, he certainly didn’t show it in the octagon. Not only did he demonstrate his insane toughness once again, he also proved that title or no title, he’s the best 155lber on the planet right now.
The fight was an explosive one from the start. It was actually ‘The Highlight’ who landed first, dropping Oliveira with a pair of big punches and hurting him badly. Remarkably, though, particularly considering there were once questions around his chin, ‘Do Bronx’ got up immediately.
From there, he turned the tables on Gaethje, dropping ‘The Highlight’ with a huge right hand of his own. From there, the fight was largely over. Oliveira pounced on his fallen foe, took his back and snared him up in a rear-naked choke for the tapout.
Sure, Oliveira’s win means that the UFC lightweight title remains vacant, but nobody is likely to see it that way. Realistically, ‘Do Bronx’ remains the division’s de facto champion. Judging by this showing, he’s likely to stay in that spot for the foreseeable future.
#1. Michael Chandler destroys Tony Ferguson with a brutal front kick
While Charles Oliveira largely stole the show with his incredible victory over Justin Gaethje in the main event, there’s no doubt that UFC 274’s most explosive moment was produced by Michael Chandler in his bout with Tony Ferguson.
Hopes were high for a classic brawl between these two exciting lightweights. True to their word, they delivered the goods in spades. Incredibly, in the first round, it looked like it would be ‘El Cucuy’ and not Chandler who’d get his hand raised.
Ferguson took the fight to the former Bellator titleholder, hurting him with a series of clean punches that clearly wobbled his legs. It was only a takedown from ‘Iron Mike’ that slowed Ferguson down, although he couldn’t do much from the top due to 'El Cucuy's constant submission attempts.
In the second round, though, Chandler decided to switch things up. Just seconds into the stanza, he came forward and unleashed a front kick from hell that completely destroyed Ferguson, turning his lights out in an instant.
2022 has produced a number of memorable knockouts in the UFC. Given the high-profile nature of this fight as well as the fact that Ferguson had never been cleanly knocked unconscious before, this one may well go down as the best.
If nothing else, it was easily the most memorable moment from last night’s highly memorable show.
