The best and worst from UFC 221

#2 Worst: Formiga buried on the prelims

A big win for Jussier Formiga was bizarrely buried on the prelims

One of the more impressive performances last night came from Brazilian Flyweight Jussier Formiga. After controlling two rounds, he knocked Ben Nguyen down with a spinning backfist before finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was probably the most highlight-worthy finish of his six-year UFC career and probably should’ve been enough to net him a title shot.

Except there was one caveat – it happened on the prelim card. There is an argument to suggest that more people would actually see the free-TV prelims than a likely low buyrate PPV like this one, but Formiga/Nguyen didn’t even headline the FS1 portion – that honour went to unranked Lightweights Dong Hyun Kim and Damien Brown.

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If the UFC is wondering why the Flyweight division doesn’t draw then they should look no further than decisions like this. On a lesser PPV, this was the perfect opportunity to showcase two of the best and highest ranked 125lbers in the promotion and instead they were buried on a prelim card and Formiga’s great finish was likely forgotten. It just doesn’t make sense.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by anirudh.b