5 important things we learned from UFC Vegas 30

UFC Vegas 30: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
UFC Vegas 30: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov

#4 The eye poke problem needs to be addressed

UFC Fight Night: Fili v Pineda
UFC Fight Night: Fili v Pineda

Andre Fili’s no-contest with Daniel Pineda at UFC Vegas 30 was the latest example of why addressing the eye-poke problem should be deemed a high-priority concern.

Fili seemed to be on his way to a statement win after displaying what looked like his best performance so far. But, unfortunately, 'Touchy' committed a costly error when he inadvertently raked Pineda's eyes, forcing referee Herb Dean to waive the fight off. And just like that, Fili's efforts were all for naught.

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During the UFC Vegas 30 post-fight interview, the Team Alpha Male featherweight was evidently devastated by the result. Fili told Daniel Cormier:

“It’s super disappointing. I put everything I had into this. I thought I did everything right except for one stupid slip, I put my hand into his chest and it went into his eye. It was an accident, I would never do that on purpose."

This UFC Vegas 30 incident, of course, is just one incident in a long list of fights getting unceremoniously ended by eye-pokes. For example, a fairly recent showdown between welterweights Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad ended in a no-contest after 'Rocky' accidentally poked Muhammad's eye.

Conor McGregor's FAST Gloves and coach Trevor Wittman's X-Factor Gloves seem to offer a solution to the UFC's persistent eye-poke issue. It doesn't matter what the UFC brass goes with, but they need to come up with a solution.

#3 Never count Kennedy Nzechukwu out

"It isn't over until it's over," the popular sports saying goes. No fighter in the UFC takes that classic motto to heart more than Kennedy Nzechukwu.

At UFC Vegas 30, Nzechukwu was considerably behind on the scorecards after two rounds. However, he was able to weather the early storm and score a timely finish to complete a comeback.

Nzechukwu took matters into his own hands when he unleashed a barrage of punches that put Danilo Marques away in the final frame of their UFC Vegas 30 preliminary card bout.

In Nzechukwu's previous appearance before UFC Vegas 30, he found himself in a similar position when he was picked apart by Carlos Ulberg early on. However, 'The African Savage' rallied back in round two, connecting with a powerful right hand to finish his opponent off.

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Edited by Avinash Tewari
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