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Another UFC Fight Night car has passed us by and with it came some memorable talking points. Jon Anik, Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping called the action from the commentary tables and Bruce Buffer provided enthusiastic introductions that never fail to get us hyped for the action inside the octagon.
Signaling a return to the UFC Apex following last week's UFC 263 pay-per-view in Glendale, Arizona, fans were treated to 12 matchups. The card featured exciting debutants, prospects looking to make a name for themselves and contenders looking to edge closer to a title shot. Alongside a blockbuster main event between Dan Ige and 'The Korean Zombie', the likes of Aleksei Oleinik, Marlon Vera and Matt Brown were also in action.
With that said, here are the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 29.
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Positive - A hot flyweight prospect continues to impress
The UFC has a host of hot prospects right now, but not many of them come as promising as Casey O'Neill. The Scottish-Australian opened the UFC Vegas 29 card against Brazil's Lara Procopio. In an entertaining first fight, O'Neill made a statement to the women's flyweight division.
At just 23 years of age, O'Neill's potential was clear heading into the card. 'King' was unbeaten in six professional fights and had already recorded a UFC victory over Shana Dobson in February. Last night, she followed up her debut TKO win with an impressive third-round submission victory over a talented grappler in Procopio. The fight was a great way to begin the night and the unconscious body of Procopio signaled a brutal ending to the opening bout.
After handing the Brazilian her second loss in the sport, it stands to reason O'Neill is only one or two wins away from securing a ranking next to her name. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone when she rises to the top of the division in the coming years.
Positive - A gladiator makes up for lost time
After only two fights, a submission and a knockout were ticked off our Fight Night bingo cards. It took Rick Glenn just 37 seconds to dispose of Brazil's Joaquim Silva at UFC Vegas 29.
As Silva looked to push forward from the start, Glenn caught 'Netto BJJ' with a clean counter-left that sent him to the ground. Some hard follow-up shots looked to have slept Silva momentarily, but the 32-year-old managed to return to his feet. It was shortlived. A flurry of shots sent him back to the canvas and referee Mike Beltran had seen enough.
After three years out, it was fantastic to see 'The Gladiator' look back to his best on his return to the lightweight division. After a decision defeat against Kevin Aguilar in 2018, Glenn had a torrid time with injuries that required hip surgery. His relief at returning to the cage with a big win was clear and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn't happy for him after the victory.
Positive - Khaos as advertised
The welterweight battle between Khaos Williams and Matthew Semelsberger spoke volumes about the deep nature of the 170-pound division. I'd highlighted Williams and this matchup as one to watch heading into UFC Vegas 29, as did many, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
After knocking out Alex Morono in just 27 seconds, Williams had secured back-to-back 30-second KO's when he slept the knockout machine himself, Abdul Razak Alhassan. Meanwhile, 'Semi The Jedi' had a similarly impressive beginning to his UFC career. After going 3-2 as a professional, a strong run in 2020 and two UFC victories saw the 28-year-old build a five-fight winning streak and move to a record of 8-2.
It was always going to be an entertaining matchup and, despite not bringing the finish that many had predicted, the pair fought out a three-round war. A higher level of urgency and volume proved to be crucial for Williams as he secured a unanimous decision victory. But thanks to Semelsberger bringing his own hard shots throughout the fight, 'Khaos' ensued right until the final horn.
Positive - "How's that for 40?"
Pretty incredible, I'd say, is the answer to that question, Matt Brown. Wow.
'The Immortal' tied Derrick Lewis and Vitor Belfort for the most knockouts in UFC history at UFC Vegas 29. It's certainly not a bad company to be in when it comes to devastating power.
In a welterweight matchup with Dhiego Lima, Brown delivered one of the most memorable knockouts in recent memory. After catching Lima with a right hook to the body, Brown moved as if he was going to do the same again. After Lima lowered his hands to defend, Brown dropped his head and sent Lima's unconscious body to the canvas with a brutal shot up top.
The win meant Brown has now defeated both Lima brothers - Dhiego and Douglas.
Positive - A brutal debut
Just as Matt Brown had all but secured the night's most brutal knockout, Bruno Silva threw his name into the mix with a vicious dose of ground and pound against his compatriot Wellington Turman on debut.
With just 15 seconds of the opening round of their middleweight bout remaining, Silva lifted his hands to the Apex clouds and rained down some absolute bombs. A far-reaching left strike did the initial damage, and the four brutal shots that followed slept Turman.
The finish was similar to that of Grant Dawson's last-second stoppage against Leonardo Santos at UFC Vegas 22, perhaps just even more brutal. Welcome to the UFC Bruno Silva.
Try to watch the final moments of the fight without grimacing...
Positive - Another one...
Knockout, knockout, knockout...
The UFC Vegas 29 main card couldn't have started in a more impactful way. The first three bouts didn't even total 10 minutes of action. Seung Woo Choi certainly didn't waste time in his featherweight bout against Julian Erosa.
In recent times, it's been 'Juicy J' delivering the highlight-reel KO's. Against Choi, he was on the receiving end of one. The South Korean fighter extended his UFC winning streak to three with a fast and brutal combination. After throwing a right hand, Choi stepped through with a loaded left hook that sent Erosa to the canvas.
After being given the chance to recover, Erosa went out again after a flurry of hammerfists from Choi. You'd be hard-pressed to find three consecutive knockouts on a main card as impressive as those we witnessed at UFC Vegas 29.
Positive - A UFC rematch to remember
This rematch was always going to be a war. If anyone thought otherwise, they simply don't know Davey Grant or Marlon Vera. As advertised, the Englishman and the Ecuadorian swung hard, wrestled hard and fought hard right until the final horn.
'Chito' consistently delivered vicious elbows to 'Dangerous' Davey and busted him open early. In true Grant fashion, the 35-year-old continued to throw bombs while his face was bloody and bruised. Despite the damage he sustained, Grant was even able to rock Vera in the final round. Add in the tight rear-naked choke the Englishman escaped from and we had an entertaining and classic rematch.
Trilogy fight anyone?
Positive - Zombie back to his best
On the feet, on the ground, and wherever the UFC Vegas 29 main event went, Chan Sung Jung was completely dominant. Against an undoubtedly tough and talented Dan Ige, 'The Korean Zombie' looked back to his best. If anyone doubted if Zombie was still capable of beating the best in the featherweight division after his defeat to Brian Ortega last year, they certainly weren't at the culmination of Saturday night's headliner.
South Korea's UFC mainstay combined his usual vicious striking with the experienced and talented grappling his coach Eddie Cha had promised during fight week. Ige's time will certainly come, but for now, Zombie's time isn't up.
Negative - A rough ending for Murata
It's always a shame when a fight is called off in-between rounds, especially in a competitive and entertaining bout. At UFC Vegas 29, promising Japanese strawweight Kanako Murata suffered her first loss in the UFC after a doctor's stoppage ahead of the final round.
With what looked to be a dislocated or broken arm, the 27-year-old fought a full-round against Virna Jandiroba with one arm. Murata is clearly a warrior and her toughness is without doubt. Although at her age she has plenty of time to recover and begin her rise again, the way in which the fight ended had to have been disappointing for the 115-pound prospect.
Negative - Don't grab the fence or you'll...get told off!?
A sigh could be felt around the MMA fanbase as Mike Beltran shouted at Nicolae Negumereanu for his sixth, seventh or eighth fence grab - I lost count of how many there were.
The concept of positive punishment seems to be lost on many MMA referees. If you punish a foul decisively and convincingly, the chances of it happening again are limited. If you allow the foul to happen over and over again, its frequency will continue to rise. It really is that simple.
Mike Beltran might have a rather scary and booming shout, but it clearly isn't an effective deterrent for stopping blatant fence-grabbing. After a shout and a slap, how about we try taking a point away? On multiple occasions, Negumereanu grabbed the fence in order to help him maintain his dominant position. When it looked like Beltran was set to deduct a point with 20 seconds remaining in the fight, he simply yelled some more, as if that was going to miraculously prevent a fence grab in the final seconds.
Some prominent names expressed their disappointment at the lack of action after so many instances of the foul. Brett Okamoto suggested the length Beltran would go to avoid taking a point away...
Aaron Bronsteter also took to Twitter to express his dismay at the lack of punishment or positional reset given the fact that Negumereanu had grabbed the fence to help maintain his dominant position on more than one occasion.
Negative - Adalaide Byrd doing Adalaide Byrd things
Sometimes judges are given a hard time and fight fans struggle to differentiate between a tight, competitive fight, and a 'robbery'. With Adalaide Byrd, there's often no defending some of the decisions we see. Her scoring of the opening round in the fight between Virna Jandiroba and Kanako Murata can be added to that list.
In a round where the Brazilian Jandiroba looked sharp and dominant on the feet and spent much of it with a tight armbar locked in, which led to a suspected broken or dislocated arm for the Japanese strawweight, Byrd somehow gave Murata the 10-9 nod. It makes us wonder what fight she was watching, because it certainly couldn't have been Virna Jandiroba vs. Kanako Murata.
I'm sure she's a lovely person, but as Joe Rogan said, "so is my grandmother but I wouldn't want her judging fights."
