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UFC Fight Night 177 was yet another UFC show pretty badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The show lost its original main event of Glover Teixeira vs. Thiago Santos, and a number of other fights ended up scratched late on.
In the end, the show was an up-and-down affair with some really exciting fights and some more forgettable ones along the way.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 177: Waterson vs. Hill.
#1 Best: Waterson and Hill put on a show in the main event
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The Strawweight fight between Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill might’ve been thrown into the main event slot by the UFC when Santos vs. Teixeira was scratched, but there will be few fans complaining about the promotion’s decision this morning.
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The two women put on an absolutely tremendous show, going to war over five rounds with ‘The Karate Hottie’ just about edging things on the judges’ scorecards. This wasn’t an easy win for her by any means, though.
Hill came storming out of the gates in the first two rounds and really took the fight to Waterson, but couldn’t do enough to put ‘The Karate Hottie’ away. The third round was where the tide began to turn, when Waterson was able to secure a takedown and work ‘Overkill’ over on the ground.
By the fourth round, Hill appeared to be tired and was outstruck by Waterson, but still came back hard in the fifth round. The final stanza could’ve gone either way, but the judges went with ‘The Karate Hottie’, giving her the 6th win of her UFC career.
Thankfully though this was a fight with no true loser. Hill gave everything she had and while she didn’t win, she’s definitely proven that she belongs in the upper echelon of the UFC. Bravo to both women for a tremendous performance.
#1 Worst: Tognoni’s botch costs Rodriguez a UFC win
The Light-Heavyweight clash between UFC veteran Ed Herman and Mike Rodriguez unfortunately featured one of the biggest botches in recent memory from referee Chris Tognoni, and it cost Rodriguez what would’ve been a great win.
‘Slow Mike’ appeared to have the advantage in the first round, outworking Herman on the feet and hurting the veteran a couple of times in the clinch, too.
The second round appeared to be following the same pattern. And when Rodriguez landed a knee to the midsection that had Herman basically TKO’d, it looked like he’d picked up his second UFC win in less than a month.
However, Tognoni erroneously decided that the knee had connected with Herman’s groin – despite it not even being near – and decided to call time, allowing ‘Short Fuse’ to recover. The replay confirmed that there was no low blow, but of course, the UFC’s current rules don’t allow for the use of replays, and the fight continued.
Naturally, Herman somehow pulled out a miracle comeback in the third round, catching Rodriguez with a beautiful kimura for the tapout.
Was this a great comeback from Herman? Absolutely, but there’s also no way it should’ve happened. The right thing for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to do now would be to overturn the result and declare a No Contest.
You can’t really blame Tognoni because everyone makes mistakes. However, it’s time for the UFC – or the various Athletic Commissions the promotion works with – to change the rules around the use of replays to avoid incidents like this happening again.
#2 Best: Croom makes the most of his opportunity
Sometimes, success in the UFC is all about making the most of an opportunity no matter how it comes. That was the case for UFC newcomer Kevin Croom last night.
‘The Hart-Hitting Hillbilly’ took a fight with hot prospect Roosevelt Roberts on just two days’ notice following Matt Frevola’s withdrawal, and it was hard to imagine him having a lot of success. Croom’s 21-12 record suggested he was a journeyman, and probably not capable of beating a fighter as good as ‘The Predator’.
That wasn’t the case, though. Croom stunned Roberts with a knockdown in the opening seconds and then locked up a beautifully modified guillotine choke using one of Roberts’ trademark moves against him to force the tap out.
The whole fight went just 31 seconds, and the win for Croom has to go down as one of the UFC’s biggest recent upsets. He made the most of an unlikely opportunity and may be able to gain a pretty good UFC career out of it. What else can you ask for on two days’ notice?
#2 Worst: Martinez fails to impress in his UFC debut
It’s always largely unfair to rag on a fighter’s performance in their UFC debut. The pressure of the big stage can get to anyone, even massively experienced veterans, and for the most part, when a fighter steps into the UFC they’re facing top-level opposition that they may not have come across before.
However, it was hard not to be disappointed with the debut of Heavyweight Roque Martinez. The Guam-based fighter was brought into the UFC on relatively late notice to face fellow newcomer Alexander Romanov, and it looked like it, too.
Martinez appeared to be in terrible shape for the fight, weighing in at 258lbs but looking like he could easily make 205lbs – if not 185lbs – with a better diet.
It came as no surprise then when Romanov – hardly svelte himself – threw him around like a ragdoll en route to a second-round submission win.
It’s a well-known fact that you don’t need to be a bodybuilder to succeed in the UFC – just ask Daniel Cormier. But Martinez simply didn’t look prepared to be involved in a professional athletic competition last night, and it’d be a surprise to see the UFC bring him back again.
#3 Best: Azaitar’s blitz does for Worthy’s unbeaten run
It would’ve been easy to discuss the performances of Billy Quarantillo, Roxanne Modafferi, or Jalin Turner here, as all three fighters put on an excellent showing last night. But for me, Ottman Azaitar’s knockout of Khama Worthy stood out.
‘The Bulldozer’ came into the bout with a reputation for aggression, and as Worthy had picked up two UFC wins thus far into his career, most fans expected fireworks. But this wasn’t a back-and-forth fight in the end as Azaitar simply blitzed ‘The Deathstar’, taking him out in just over 90 seconds by TKO.
Azaitar has a lot of talent to go with his aggression – his hands looked ridiculously fast last night – and he’s now 13-0 with 10 KO’s or TKO’s to his name. Is he ready for the UFC’s upper echelon at 155lbs? Perhaps not given the depth of that division, but it’s certainly time to move him up the ladder.
At any rate, Azaitar’s showing last night was brilliant and was enough to earn him a $50k bonus. Hopefully, the UFC can get him back into the Octagon sooner rather than later – and don’t make him wait another year for his next appearance!
