5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus

#4. Alexa Grasso snatches a submission from the jaws of adversity

Alexa Grasso picked up an excellent victory over Joanne Wood with a slick submission

While it wasn’t billed as a battle between a striker and a grappler, early on, the fight between strawweight contenders Alexa Grasso and Joanne Wood appeared to be going that way. Grasso, usually a sharp boxer, seemed to be struggling on the feet with her Scottish opponent.

After an early takedown was escaped by ‘Jojo’, it looked like she definitely had the advantage over Grasso. When Wood connected with a beautiful spinning elbow, it looked like her Mexican counterpart might be in trouble. Somehow, in one of the slickest moves in recent memory, she managed to use the move against her opponent, catching her at the back of the spin to take her back.

From there, Grasso dragged her down and slapped both hooks in. Before Wood could react, she found herself trapped in a deep rear-naked choke and was forced to tap.

This was a huge win for Grasso, who is now 3-0 as a flyweight. Given the nature of this win, there’s every chance that the UFC might reward her with a shot at champion Valentina Shevchenko next.

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#3. Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena put on a UFC Fight of the Year candidate

Bryan Barberena and Matt Brown put on a war for the ages in front of Brown's hometown crowd

Okay, so the welterweight tilt between Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena didn’t feature an explosive finish, but the two brawlers somehow crammed more action into this 15-minute clash than we usually see in an entire UFC event.

After a first round that saw plenty of back-and-forth action, the fight really kicked into gear in the second. With the crowd already hugely into hometown hero Brown, the two men brawled with heavy shots, with ‘The Immortal’ suffering a bad cut to the cheek in the process.

From there, they exchanged huge shots, including some really nasty elbows from short range. When Brown was badly hurt by one, it looked like the fight was going to be over. Somehow, he survived. Not only did he keep swinging back, but the two fighters kept exchanging in crazy fashion pretty much until the final buzzer.

It’d be impossible to name a single explosive moment from this fight, although Brown’s huge counter right hand in the third round – after he’d been badly hurt by a pair of uppercuts – really stood out.

Really, the only complaint could be the decision. Brown appeared to take the first and third rounds, but Barberena won on two of the three judges’ scorecards. In a fight this good, it’s neither here nor there. Essentially, this fight alone was worth watching this event for.