UFC 234: 10 things we learned

E. Spencer Kyte

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UFC 234: 10 things we learned image

The excitement for Saturday’s pay-per-view took a hit midday when the news broke that middleweight champ Robert Whittaker would not be defending his title against Kelvin Gastelum as originally scheduled after being rushed to the hospital where he underwent hernia surgery.

It’s the second time in the last 13 months that “The Reaper” has been forced out of title defenses at home in Australia, as a staph infection and case of the chicken pox caused him to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Luke Rockhold last year at UFC 221, and an unfortunate situation for Gastelum, whose opportunity to challenge for UFC gold has to be put on hold.

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Despite the afternoon letdown, UFC 234 still featured a host of competitive matchups and an opportunity to get more familiar with a group of up-and-coming talents, who were otherwise overshadowed by the standout middleweight contests originally situated at the top of the card.

Even with the 11th hour main event change, there was still plenty to discuss from inside the Octagon on Sunday morning in Melbourne.

Here at 10 things we learned.

1. Still perfect

Israel Adesanya maintained his unbeaten record by sweeping the scorecards in the main event against former middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a three-round bout that was tense from start to finish even though there was far less offense than most likely envisioned.

 

 

While there were some good exchanges, a couple near misses and plenty of back-and-forth showmanship between the two talented, charismatic performers, there were also stretches where neither Adesanya nor Silva wanted to pull the trigger, both refusing to be the one who rushed in and paid for making a mistake. It was understandable, but it led to the kind of lulls that draw criticism whenever it isn’t two of everyone’s favorite fighters staring each other down in the cage.

It’s a good win for Adesanya in that it keeps him moving forward and gives him a victory over one of the greatest to ever grace the Octagon, but beating Silva in 2019 isn’t the same as beating him three, four or five years ago, yet alone when he was at the height of his powers, and although this is the biggest name “The Last Stylebender” has beaten, it’s also the least flashy of his five appearances in the Octagon.

Combined with the delay in sorting out the title picture, I can’t help but wonder if his momentum will be slowed a little and if the UFC will roll the dice by putting him in there with a middleweight contender like Yoel Romero or Jacare Souza in hopes of keeping him in line to challenge for the title later this year.

2. A modern marvel

Silva may not be the same guy who lorded over the middleweight division for 2,457 days, but the fact that he was competitive with a fighter 14 years his junior on Saturday night is astounding and something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“The Spider” made his professional debut a month before Adesanya’s eighth birthday and secured his 16th consecutive UFC win seven months after his opponent on Saturday night made his MMA debut.

This was supposed to be a changing of the guard — the veteran being served up to the leader of the new school — but instead, Silva made it a competitive fight and delivered more than a few moments where you thought, even if ever so briefly, that he might catch Adesanya with something and steal one more win in the Octagon.

 

 

In a sport where fighters rarely age well and the current generation can often embarrass those who came before them, Silva has managed to stay competitive well into his 40s. Even if he’s not posting victories, the fact that he’s making guys like Adesanya work hard for wins is a testament to just how skilled and talented the Brazilian legend is.

3. Social media doctors suck

When it was announced midday that Whittaker would not be competing on Saturday night due to a hernia, social media lit up with opinions from pretend doctors who questioned the severity of the injury, how he couldn’t have known about it beforehand and the usual assortment of conspiracy theories and diagnoses that usually accompany these types of situations.

Midway through the card, his team released a statement detailing the middleweight champion’s condition, informing the masses that Whittaker was suffering from a collapsed and twisted bowel and an internal hernia, both of which required immediate surgery to correct. If the situation wasn’t addressed immediately and Whittaker fought, a blow to the stomach could've been fatal, according to the statement.

I understand that no one likes when a fight card is altered the day of the event and losing the main event sucks even more, but haven’t we been through these situations enough over the last few years to know that a trained, professional cage fighter who spent multiple weeks and thousands of dollars preparing to engage in hand-to-hand combat isn’t going to withdraw from said fight unless they have absolutely no choice?

No one is scared. No one is faking their injuries.

Get well soon, Bobby Knuckles.

4. Gastelum’s heel turn 

You have to hand it to Kelvin Gastelum — he took the lemons that he was handed on Saturday afternoon (Sunday morning for him) and did his best to make a tasty batch of lemonade, using Whittaker’s medical emergency as a chance to turn heel and parade around the arena proclaiming himself the champion.

Gastelum, who did a backstage interview with Henry Cejudo’s belt on his shoulder, declared himself the rightful middleweight champion and suggesting he would give Whittaker a shot at “his belt” once the Australian standout got healthy. He tried to use the old “if you don’t show up, you forfeit” angle in explaining why he should now be champion and continued to carry the belt throughout the night, preening while holding onto it.

A well-executed move and the right thing for Gastelum to do, given that this bout with Whittaker has been a long time in the making and the UFC doesn’t have the best track record of letting guys, who lose title shots through no fault of their own, hold onto said title shots in the future.

Hopefully, Gastelum remains at the top of the list of contenders because while his case for a title shot wasn’t exactly overwhelming, he spent the last eight months attached to a fight with Whittaker and he shouldn’t miss out on that opportunity because the true middleweight champion fell ill on fight day.

5. A tough sell, but a missed opportunity

When it was announced that the middleweight title fight had been scrapped, plenty of people quickly soured on Saturday’s fight card, calling it one of the worst pay-per-view main cards in UFC history.

It was wholly understandable, as the new co-main event had initially been scheduled for the Fight Pass prelims and the remaining three fights each would have been fine on the main card on their own, but didn’t exactly knock anyone’s socks off as a collection of contests to kick off a pay-per-view.

But the flipside to that argument is that this was a chance to get a closer look at a bunch of competitors who otherwise would have been overshadowed and while few people want to pay $65 to see relative newcomers competing on pay-per-view, each of those first three main card bouts were entertaining and raised the profile of the winners in their respective division.

This is the constant Catch-22 for the UFC and its fans, as every card that doesn’t feature an overwhelming collection of marquee fights is dismissed as not good enough and the up-and-coming names fighting on those cards wind up getting overlooked, which ends in perpetuating the cycle.

Pay-per-view isn’t the place to build up a bunch of new names all at once, but that wasn’t the original plan for this weekend’s fight card.

There is no easy way to resolve the issue, but the only way fans are going to become familiar with some of these fighters they currently don’t know or are quick to dismiss is to pay them a little more attention. Unfortunately, doing so Saturday came at a steep price and it’s understandable if many opted against paying it, even if it did end up being their loss.

6. Ricky Simon keeps rolling

The bantamweight division is flush with talent and the most intriguing weight class in the UFC right now. Saturday evening, Ricky Simon made a case for a place in the Top 15 and cemented his standing as one to pay closer attention to in the 135-pound weight class going forward.

Simon pitched a shutout against Rani Yahya, showcasing outstanding takedown defense, timing, quick hands and a strong chin en route to sweeping the scorecards against the Brazilian veteran. It was the Pacific Northwest native’s third straight triumph inside the Octagon, extending his winning streak to eight, while elevating his record to 15-1 overall.

 

 

The 26-year-old, who trains out of Gracie Barra Portland under Fabio Scherner, has been considered a top prospect in the division for a number of years and continues to make good on his advanced billing now that he’s in the UFC. His wrestling has always been on point and he continues to develop his hands and show tremendous awareness inside the cage. Plus, Simon has arguably the best mullet in the game right now, which has to count for something.

Dominating Yahya should elevate him into the Top 15 and earn him another step up in competition next time out, which effectively puts Simon in the thick of the chase in the bantamweight division.

7. De La Rosa, Crute continue to shine

Montana De La Rosa picked up her third submission win in as many starts on Saturday, while Jimmy Crute scored his second consecutive stoppage win in the Octagon to kick off the main card, putting both very much on the radar in the respective divisions.

A member of the cast on Season 26 of "The Ultimate Fighter," De La Rosa is 3-for-3 since coming off the show, delivering her most impressive effort yet this weekend. From the outset, the Texas-based flyweight dominated Nadia Kassem, showing improved striking and her signature brand of long, attacking grappling en route to securing a second-round armbar finish.

Just 23, De La Rosa is the type of young fighter with obvious upside who could blossom into a perennial contender and perhaps more over the next couple years as she gains more experience and continues to round out her skill set.

The same can be said of Crute, who picked up a first-round finish against Sam Alvey to get things underway on the main card.

After a brief feeling out process, the Australian light heavyweight cracked Alvey and sat him down in the center of the cage, prompting him to celebrate prematurely as Alvey wasn’t quite out. The follow-up blows landed hard and although the affable veteran objected to the stoppage, the end result seemed academic as Crute was all over Alvey and clearly looked to be the better man.

Now 10-0, the 22-year-old has established himself as one of Dana White’s favorite young prospects and he wisely lobbied for the opportunity to keep taking part on fight cards in the Oceanic region going forward.

Crute has the potential to become a regional star while racking up wins and gaining some seasoning and could get a quicker-than-normal push in the light heavyweight division with a couple more impressive showings. 

8. City Kickboxing, Factory X Muay Thai not slowing down

Auckland’s City Kickboxing and Denver’s Factory X Muay Thai both enjoyed outstanding years in the UFC in 2018 and on Saturday night, they showed they have no intention of slowing down in 2019.

Three members of the City Kickboxing team secured victories, as Adesanya, Shane Young and Kai Kara-France all had their hands raised, while Devonte Smith and Jonathan Martinez produced a 2-0 night for the Marc Montoya-led outfit.

While there are traditional powerhouse gyms that everyone knows and holds in high regard, these two squads are part of a group of up-and-coming teams that have been turning out top prospects, tough fighters and potential title contenders at an alarming rate over the last couple years and they deserve recognition for their efforts.

9. Action fighters are always valuable

Very few people likely tuned into the prelims specifically to watch Kyung Ho Kang and Teruto Ishihara throw down in the bantamweight division, but the all-action fighters delivered four minutes of non-stop action in a fight that sent a bolt of electricity through the arena and the audience watching at home.

Both got caught with big shots, but it was Kang who recovered quickest and went back on the attack, dropping Ishihara with a knee from the Thai clinch before ultimately finishing with a rear-naked choke.

This was one of those fights that illustrates why fighters like this are always valuable and how bouts that get a limited amount of coverage can still deliver. This was a wildly-entertaining four-minute tussle and a great way to kick off the television broadcast.

10. The real Jalin Turner stands up

Jalin Turner made his UFC debut last October, moving up to welterweight to fight Vicente Luque at UFC 229 and collecting a first-round stoppage loss for his troubles. Saturday night, “The Tarantula” moved back down to lightweight and made his second start in the Octagon and this time, the outcome was reversed.

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Turner avoided an early tie-up from Callan Potter, moved to the center of the cage and put it on the Australian fan favorite, earning the stoppage in 53 seconds after rocking “The Rockstar” with twin hooks, a heavy kick to the body and a couple of coffin nails on the canvas.

This was the kind of effort anyone familiar with Turner’s work on the regional circuit was expecting, as the Californian has been a buzzy prospect for a couple years and now has the opportunity to justify that hype. Blessed with tremendous size, length and power for the 155-pound weight class, the 23-year-old Turner is someone to keep an eye on going forward.

E. Spencer Kyte