UFC 245 was the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2019. While there was a lot to take away from UFC 244, this final event in Las Vegas carried three title fights on the main card which had the potential to change the tide of three divisions for 2020. There’s a lot to take away from UFC 245, here are seven that fans may have noticed.
Much ado about Aldo
Jose Aldo made his move to 135 pounds for UFC 245 against a very tough opponent in Marlon Moraes. While the matchup was concerning in itself at this point in Aldo’s career, fans were most concerned with the weight cut. He came in at 136 pounds on Friday, and showed up to fight hard on Saturday. He may not have looked good all week, but in his split decision loss to Moraes he looked better than fans thought.
The California Man
Uriah Faber came out of retirement and while he looked great against Ricky Simon, he looked the opposite against Petr Yan. He had retirement on his mind and announced it, something called him back. He’s 1-1 in his return and this last loss was bad. “The California Kid” needs to look out for the man that gave us so many great fights. Dana White has said in the past that if retirement is an option a fighter is thinking about, they should probably do it.
And Still!
Amanda Nunes went back to the well to grind out a victory over Germaine de Randamie. Nunes admitted during the post-fight press conference, her plan was to dominate all five rounds. Several submissions were there for her, and she did not capitalize on them. After the first round, Nunes said she told her corner, “I think I want to go more rounds.”
And New!
Alexander Volkanovski pressured his way to become the new featherweight champion. Max Holloway was not out of the fight, but he was being outlanded by Volkanovski. What lies ahead for the new champ could be another fight with Holloway, but one thing is for sure. At 28 years old, the former champ certainly let it be known he would be back, a sentiment he issued after the fight in the cage and at the post-fight press conference.
Gimmick was strong, but the chin proved weak
Colby Covington fought and talked his way to a title shot. But when push came to shove, Usman was able to take Covington into the championship rounds and deliver a finish, and poetically broke Covington’s jaw to boot. At least that was what UFC boss Dana White had initially claimed. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not he suffered a facial fracture. His gimmick was strong, but Usman was stronger.
Immortal
Matt Brown returned to the cage tonight in the fashion fans have come to expect from him with his second-round finish over Ben Saunders. Afterward, he said it is something he will be doing till the day he dies. While no one wants that for him, if anyone’s likely to do it, it’s him.
“For as big as his mouth is, the guy can fight”
While Covington walked away the loser, he and Usman also won “Fight of the Night” bonuses. When UFC President Dana White was asked about Covington, he said, “For as big as his mouth is, the guy can fight.” With UFC 245 done, Covington does deserve some respect for not only fighting what was a close fight but doing so with a mangled jaw, fractured or not.
UFC 245 was a long card with three title fights and the prelims featured more things to take away from how the night went down. With Brandon Moreno’s win over Kai Kara-France and Punahele Soriano’s first-round knockout of Oskar Piechota, the future of the UFC looks to feature a lot more in 2020. It’s been a great 2019 for the UFC, White said as much during the post-fight press conference and that he’s looking forward to 2020.
What did you take away from the event?
