The best and worst from UFC on Fox 28

UFC on Fox 28 was considered by many – on paper at least – to be the weakest card the promotion had put on ‘big’ Fox since the TV deal began back in 2012. I actually felt it was stronger than January’s effort (Jacare vs. Brunson) but it certainly wasn’t a deep card.

Thankfully the fights delivered hugely, as we got a wild night of action capped off with one of the best women’s fights in recent memory and then a vicious knockout in the main event. Much like last week’s Cowboy vs. Medeiros Fight Night, it was a show low on name value but high on in-cage action. Here are the best and worst moments from UFC on Fox 28.

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#1 Best: Is Jeremy Stephens a legit title contender?

Jeremy Stephens has spent over a decade in the UFC – rare for most fighters – and for good reason, as he’s one of the most reliable action fighters on the roster. Win or lose, ‘Lil Heathen’ usually guarantees an entertaining fight. Thankfully for him, recently he’s been winning far more than he’s been losing, and last night saw him violently knock out up-and-comer Josh Emmett despite being dropped in the first round himself.

His knockout victory last night came just under six weeks after his previous one – over the vaunted prospect, Doo Ho Choi in January – and those two wins follow a victory over former Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez last December. While Stephens did lose two in a row before that – to Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano – he seems much improved now, using a far more nuanced striking game to replace his wilder, more unpolished previous form.

Will the win last night be enough to net him a title shot? I personally don’t think so as the winner of the upcoming Edgar/Ortega fight should probably face champ Max Holloway next. But it’s certainly enough to make Stephens into a legitimate title contender, and he should be given a big fight next in order to confirm that status. Stephens vs. Jose Aldo, anyone?

#1 Worst: Refereeing issues raise their head again

Referee Dan Miragliotta missed some apparently illegal blows from Jeremy Stephens

It seems like we can’t get through a UFC card these days without some kind of officiating issue. Firstly we saw Jorge Alonso miss a tapout from Ovince St. Preux that resulted in OSP passing out from a choke applied by Ilir Latifi, and then there was the mess that ended the main event. Jeremy Stephens dropped Josh Emmett with a left hook, and from there things got crazy.

Stephens pounced and finished Emmett off, but some of the blows he used – most notably a series of elbows to the back of the head, and then a knee to the head of the grounded Emmett – appeared to be illegal, but referee Dan Miragliotta allowed the fight to go on until stopping it in favour of Stephens seconds later.

You can’t fault Stephens – in that situation a fighter’s instinct takes over – but even if you agree with the idea that the elbows were legal as Emmett was a moving target, the knee is hard to excuse. Even Stephens doesn’t seem sure, as he stated post-fight that he was confused by Miragliotta’s pre-fight interpretation of the “new” unified rules. And if Miragliotta was confused then can you really blame him for this?

Emmett now plans to appeal the loss – even if realistically he would’ve been stopped anyway – and the whole situation feels messy. Basically the suits behind the Unified Rules need to sit down with all referees and ensure that they all know exactly how to interpret the foggy rules about knees to the head and strikes to the back of the head to ensure no controversy like this can happen again.

#2 Best: Torres and Andrade go to war

Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres went to war last night

While Ben Saunders and Alan Jouban were granted $50k bonuses for ‘Fight of the Night’ I actually felt that the semi-main event between Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres was the best scrap on offer last night. There were high stakes involved – a likely Women’s Strawweight title shot – and both girls gave their absolute all, exchanging strikes at a ridiculously fast pace before Andrade won a decision.

The difference appeared to be in sheer physicality – Torres didn’t possess the striking power to truly hurt Andrade despite landing plenty of clean shots, and the Brazilian was able to overpower her in the clinch and deliver some bone-shaking slam takedowns – but the fight was so good that I could easily see Torres challenging for the title somewhere down the line too.

Andrade obviously lost in a previous title challenge in 2017, but having beaten Claudia Gadelha before this fight she’s clearly the top contender for whoever wins the rematch between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk next month. Judging on her sheer aggression in this fight, it should be fireworks whoever she challenges.

In a nutshell both women made me want to see them fight again, and surely that’s what prize-fighting is all about.

#2 Worst: Has the UFC backed a losing horse in Mike Perry?

Does Mike Perry deserve such a big push from the UFC?

Mike Perry reminds me of a late 2010’s version of Phil Baroni, a UFC favorite from the early 2000’s. A brash, confident trash talker with brutal knockout power, Baroni never quite made it to the top due to some limitations. Perry, it seems, may be heading the same way. Baroni’s issues were a shoddy gas tank and limited grappling skill, but Perry appears to simply have issues with any striker who can move well inside the cage.

Last night appeared to be a softball for him after his December loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio – Max Griffin was 1-2 in the UFC and hadn’t looked great – and yet Perry was again largely picked apart by a striker with better movement, even being dropped and badly hurt in the second round. Perry didn’t even stick around to hear Griffin’s name announced as the winner once the fight was over.

The UFC is often criticised for not being willing to push new stars, but I’m not sure that this is the case – they have clearly pushed Perry, after all – it could be more that they’re simply pushing the wrong fighters. Perry is exciting but limited, but he’s still become a star to a lot of the fans. Could the same have been said for someone like Kamaru Usman – a genuine contender – if he’d been given the opportunities Perry has been given?

Remember this was Perry’s 6th televised UFC fight, and I’d argue that in at least four of those the UFC gave him favourable matches. Someone like Usman might be criticised for a boring style, but given good style matches, would that be the case? It’s food for thought.

#3 Best: Cult hero Latifi picks up a signature win

Powerhouse Ilir Latifi picked up a big win last night

Swedish powerhouse Ilir Latifi has long been a cult favourite with UFC fans, and it’s largely because of his out-of-cage persona – a powerlifter’s physique mixed with fascinating videos of him deadlifting insane weights and riding horseback while shirtless. However, he’d also slowly been climbing the ranks at 205lbs as well. Going into last night’s fight with Ovince St. Preux he was 4-1 since the start of 2015, and had recently beaten prospect Tyson Pedro.

Last night’s win over OSP was his biggest one to date, particularly as St. Preux was ranked #5 coming in. Latifi rocked and dropped him with punches before leaving him unconscious following a guillotine choke. It was the kind of signature win that the Swedish powerhouse had been missing, but following it nobody can deny he’s a true title contender in the UFC’s thinnest division.

While he’s unlikely to receive the title shot he craves in 2018 – champ Daniel Cormier has his hands full with Heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic – it could put him in line for a shot against a true top contender like Glover Teixeira. And with Cormier unlikely to return to the division (he claims he’s likely retiring after the Miocic fight) it could mean that another big win might put him in line for a shot in 2019.

#3 Worst: Don’t build it, and they won’t come

Despite some great fights, Dana White probably won't be happy with the likely rating from last night's show

While last night’s show was absolutely full of action, it was hugely lacking in name value. And unfortunately, name value is what pulls fans in – after all, they don’t know which fights are going to guarantee action. It’s been a problem for the UFC’s shows on ‘big’ Fox for a while now and 2018’s shows seem to be suffering even more than they did in 2017.

Exactly what’s to blame for the UFC’s current lack of bankable stars is debatable – some would blame the Reebok deal for promoting homogenous fighters while others would say it’s down to the promotion allowing free agents to jump to Bellator. But I think it’s more simple – the UFC just doesn’t pay enough attention to their card placement a lot of the time.

The UFC’s matchmakers do a tremendous job, but in order for fighters to get over as stars, they have to be given the correct platform. The promotion simply can’t afford to put potential contenders – who usually end up in main events or co-main events – on prelim cards anymore in order to bolster things like Fight Pass subscriptions. They need to be showcased at the top end of cards.

Last night’s show was fantastic, but it’s likely to receive a low TV rating in terms of overall viewership, and that’s just sad. It’s also a major issue the UFC needs to look at fixing, and soon.