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Just one week before the biggest event of the year, the UFC was back in the Las Vegas APEX last night for another Fight Night.
UFC Fight Night: Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis 2 was hardly a star-studded event, and with only a handful of finishes, it was largely forgettable. Still, as with any event, a handful of talking points were thrown up last night.
Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis 2.
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#5. Norma Dumont might be a dark horse in the women's bantamweight division
Last night's card was short on ranked fighters, which made the decision to put the bantamweight tilt between Norma Dumont and Germaine de Randamie on the preliminary portion curious.
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Coming into the bout, Dumont was ranked at No.11 at 135 pounds, and while de Randamie was unranked having not fought since 2020, she still holds some name value for being the UFC's inaugural featherweight champ.
In the end, the promotion's choice not to showcase the fight was probably justified because the bout was not all that entertaining. However, in winning a clear-cut decision, Dumont moved her octagon record to an impressive 7-2, and she is now on a four-fight win streak.
Therefore, it's easy to suggest that she might be the dark horse in the relatively thin bantamweight division. Judging by last night's showing she isn't likely to break out as a popular star any time soon, but she could find herself in unlikely title contention regardless.
#4. Alexander Hernandez's UFC career could be over
In 2018, when he burst onto the scene with a huge knockout of Beneil Dariush, it looked like Alexander Hernandez had a chance to break out as a genuine star.
Unfortunately, since then, it's been largely up and down for 'The Great Ape' in the UFC.
Hernandez has not been able to put together two straight wins since suffering his first octagon loss at the hands of Donald Cerrone in 2019. His record in the promotion now stands at 6-7, and he's won just once in his last five bouts.
Last night, though, might've been the nadir for him. Hernandez missed weight for his featherweight clash with Damon Jackson, coming in 2.5 pounds over the 145-pound limit.
He then failed to get much going against 'The Leech' outside of a third-round knockdown and ended up losing a split decision.
It seems highly likely now that Hernandez's octagon career is over, and if that's the case, it's sad. 'The Great Ape' really did have elite-level potential and athleticism, but he's living proof that at the very top level, you need even more.
#3. Ignacio Bahamondes scored one of the best knockouts of 2024 thus far
The best moment of last night's event undoubtedly came in the lightweight fight between Ignacio Bahamondes and Christos Giagos.
Chile's Bahamondes had built some hype up on the back of three wins between 2021 and 2023, but a loss to the unheralded Ludovit Klein last summer took the shine off a little.
However, that shine may now be back on him after last night's showing. Bahamondes sniped Giagos inside a round, using his huge length and reach to take the fight to 'The Spartan' from the off.
After hurting him with a spinning hook kick in the first round, he landed a clean head kick to knock Giagos out in one, claiming a $50k bonus in the process.
At just 26 years old, 'La Jaula' could yet develop into something special. Even if he doesn't, though, based on this showing, he could light up these smaller Fight Night events for the foreseeable. Put simply, this was one of the best knockouts of 2024 thus far.
#2. Brendan Allen needs to be taken seriously as a middleweight contender
Last night's headline fight saw Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis put on a five-round war that turned out to be one of the year's best fights thus far. The big takeaway from this fight is that Allen should probably be considered a genuine middleweight title contender.
Curtis, despite taking the fight on late notice, held a TKO win over 'All In' from 2021 and seemed like a bad stylistic match for him on paper.
However, even though he found himself in trouble at points, Allen was able to hold his own in the stand-up, took Curtis' back for several submission attempts, and ended the fight on offense, hammering his foe with knees.
'All In' took a split decision win, putting him on a seven-fight win streak, and based on this, he has to be seen as a genuine title contender at 185 pounds.
How many more wins will it take him to claim a title shot? In today's UFC, it's honestly hard to say. If the fight that was initially planned here between Allen and Marvin Vettori could be put back together, though, it'd be an excellent next step for him.
#1. Was this event made into a low-key one on purpose by the UFC?
Even by the standards of the UFC's regular Fight Night events at the Las Vegas APEX, last night's card was a low-key one.
The event lacked name value and ranked fighters, with only the middleweight headliner between Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis having any meaningful impact on the bigger picture.
In the end, the event largely failed to deliver in terms of great action, outside of a couple of high points that included the headliner and a head-kick finish for Ignacio Bahamondes.
It's worth asking, then, whether this was a low-key card simply because of the nature of the promotion's wild schedule, or whether it was left this weak on purpose.
If the former was the case, then fans ought to be a little concerned. Events like this could be argued to be watering down the product with volume when the UFC ought to be home to the world's best fighters for the most part.
If it was the latter, though, then the situation may have been a little more understandable. After all, not only is 2024's biggest event - UFC 300 - set to go down next weekend, but last night's card also clashed with the first night of WrestleMania XL.
Given that the UFC and WWE now share a common owner - TKO Holdings - it might have made sense for the former promotion to put together a low-key event that would not take away from the latter's 'big show'.
We'll probably never know the truth, but one thing is certain: it's not likely that anyone will be talking about this event for much longer.
