2023 has been a pretty wild year for Dana White and the UFC. O’Malley beating Sterling, Justin Gaethje knocking out Dustin Pourier, Volk getting head kicked by Islam… just to name a few. With that written, UFC 296 was the most eventful night of the year in my humble opinion. My thoughts:
I took my son to BW3s in Janesville for the full main event card. We had a great time.
Donald Trump came into the arena with Kid Rock and Dana White to booming applause. Funny (and this has happened so many times) for a kid like my son who hears nothing but negative about Trump in school and such…. then he sees an arena and BW3s light up for Trump. I love the questions it raises as he processes this….
Josh Emmet’s single punch to Bryce Mitchell was brutal. I have been following his career and love the camo shourts. He is quite a character. Mitchell came out afterwards and gave an update. Love the guy:
Paddy Pimblett is a force with which to be reckoned. Tony Ferguson is a legend. I honestly don’t know how Ferguson survived the first round. I don’t know how he survived the second round. Ferguson probably fought his last main card fight after losing the unanimous decision.
Shavkat Rakhmonov is also a force. Thompson isn’t much of a jiu jitsu guy, and once on the ground, Rakhomonov rather quickly took him out. Sounds like Rakhmonov is next in line for Leon Edwards.
The flyweight title bout was the best fight of the night. In the press conference, the day before, the two opponents (Champion Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Brandon Royval) were cordial with each other; but when the fight began they really went at it. Pantoja, being the BJJ Black Belt was dominant on the ground. Royval was a helluva fighter. The win by decision of Pantoja was earned the hard way.
Colby Covington… what to say about this guy. He had not fought since March 2022. He jumped the shark. He got into his own head imho.
Leon Edwards is a class act. Covington insulted his murdered father in the presser. Covington also tried to jump on the Trump train with MAGA stuff, being dressed as George Washington, and sucking up to Trump before the fight.
Sean Strickland had a great response to Covington.
And when the fight began, Maybe he was waiting for Leon to make a mistake… or maybe Colby just got timid. It took three rounds before really getting going. Colby’s right leg was destroyed from leg kicks.
The only round Colby won (all three judges) was the final round. Before the final round, I told my son that this is Covington’s last chance ever for a title. He blew it. If Covington had fought the whole fight like R5, he probably would have won.
I thought it was very interesting that when Leon Edwards had his hand raised in victory, BW3s went crazy for him. While Covington tried to suck up Trump, no one bought it. I feel like there is a bit of hope in that response….
Colby needs to repent. He needs to heartfully apologize to Leon Edwards. He then needs get back to the basics and fight a couple warm up fights. He is 35 years old; we won’t hear much frim him in the future is my guess….
And the bonus… the Sean Strickland – Du Plessis fight in the audience…
So Strickland and Du Plessis are fighting for Strickland’s title in January. Strickland is a character. Du Plessis is the ultimate heel. Early in the fight, when they showed the two sitting near each other, I couldn’t believe it…. OMG what the heck… and, guess what…
And Dana White’s reaction to the fight as the best…. imho…
Anyways …. hard not to love UFC. And to think that Conor may actually come back in ’24.
Peace out,
-mike
Discerning Whitewater 