UFC 256 Round Up

Well, where to even begin with UFC 256. As I sat on my sofa at home at 12:30am before the early prelims, bleary eyed with my coffee, I had high expectations of the card, but I would have never imagined just how spectacular the fights would be. Upsets, wars, brutal knockouts, this card HAD IT ALL. The moment of the night for me was Kevin Holland scoring a wild first round knockout of veteran Jacare Souza from his back, which cemented his status as Fighter of the Year for me. 5-0 in 2020 with four finishes, his streak is incredible and he is such a versatile fighter, a real threat to the Middleweight division. Oh, and let's not forget he called out the UFC's golden boy of 2020, Khamzat Chimaev, to fight him on a week's notice. The man has a big mouth but he is backing up his trash talk with incredible performances. 

So let's summarise the night.

The early prelim saw Chase Hooper secure a Hail Mary submission over Peter Barrett. Barrett was seeing the most success throughout the fight, hammering Hooper's legs only to get snatched up in a couple of Imanari Rolls, one of which led to the ankle lock. In the post fight press conference, Dana White praised Hooper's spirit but insisted that this was not a sustainable way to win if Hooper wants a long career in the sport. Hooper was signed on a developmental deal from The Contender Series and it would perhaps seem a smart idea to get him some more experience outside of the UFC. Hooper has talent but he has a lot to learn. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic show of heart to get the submission!

The prelims featured some absolute bangers. The opening fight featured a one round blitz from Tecia Torres against Sam Hughes that saw a doctor stoppage before the second round started as Hughes was unable to see out of her left eye. Torres looked incredibly impressive and we now hope we can see her rematch with Angela Hill, who was meant to be her original opponent. Next up we saw Gavin Tucker take on Billy Quarantillo in what was the first of several fight of the night contenders. Tucker looked superb in a very technically sound display against a very tough and game Billy Quarantillo. A strong blend of striking and wrestling offensive paved the way to a resounding 30-27 Unanimous Decision on all three judges scorecards, and we are excited to see where Tucker will go next.

The next fight saw Tiger Muay Thai fighter Rafael 'Ataman' Fiziev score a devastating KO over Brazilian Renato Moicano. A brutal three punch combo floored Moicano and Fiziev showed once again how dangerous he is on the feet. In a division of killers, Fiziev cannot be ignored and the future certainly looks bright after two standout victories in 2020. The final fight on the prelims saw two hardy veterans take centre stage. Cub Swanson and Daniel Pineda put on a show for us before the main card. Pineda swaggered towards Cub attacking his lead leg with savage kicks, compromising Swanson early, but you cannot rule Killer Cub out. Swanson rocked Pineda multiple times and got the finish in the second round in brutal fashion, dropping him with a hard right hand and landing bombs on the ground, forcing the referee to step in. Cub Swanson showed us that he is not done in the UFC and that he is always game and ready for war!

The main card opened with a heavyweight clash between undefeated Frenchman Ciryl Gane and former champion Junior dos Santos. Gane earned the second round stoppage, rocking JDS with a jab before a heavy elbow behind the ear dropped the Brazilian. JDS was not happy with the stoppage but replays confirmed that the elbow had connected behind the ear, which was validated as a legal strike by the commentary team and coach Trevor Wittman. Unfortunately this could be the end of 'Cigano' who is now 1-4 in his last 5 fights, and with Dana White confirming that the UFC would be cutting near 60-80 fighters, one has to wonder if we have seen the last of Junior dos Santos. Gane claims an impressive name and extends his unbeaten record, moving into the top 10 of the division. Certainly an exciting prospect for the future!

Obviously next was Kevin Holland who I cannot praise highly enough. 5 fights in 7 months, 5 victories, 4 stoppages, it speaks for itself. Fighting Jacare Souza on short notice is no easy task and he came in with all the confidence in the world and delivered. There isn't much more to say apart from wow. 

Next Mackenzie Dern took on Virna Jandiroba. Both women are BJJ world champions, so naturally we were all excited to see how this would play out. As they say, styles make fights, and what do you get when two Jiu Jitsu aces face off? A kickboxing match. Dern's camp with Jason Parillo paid enormous dividends as she showed a maturity on the feet that we hadn't seen before as she fought through the adversity of a broken nose to earn the unanimous decision. 

The Co Main event saw Charles Oliveira deliver a statement performance against Tony Ferguson, dominating him over three rounds to earn 30-26 scorecards all round. Ferguson showed his warrior spirit to survive a late armbar at the end of the first round. Oliveira locked in the submission deep, completely hyperextending the elbow of Ferguson but somehow he didn't tap. The rest of the fight was a striking and wrestling clinic from the Brazilian who looks the complete package at 155, and his callout of the winner of McGregor and Poirier 2 cannot be ignored. Oliveira may well be the best Lightweight on the planet right now after that performance, we have never seen any dominate Ferguson everywhere in the fight like that, and I cannot wait to see him back in the cage. For Ferguson, a fight with Dan Hooker appears to make sense, as both men are coming off high profile losses. A win for either men would be huge and the fight would deliver without question!

The main event gave us the greatest men's Flyweight title fight in history and has given Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk a run for fight of the year! Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno delivered on the big stage and gave us a five-round war that ended in a majority draw. Both men showcased granite chins and incredible heart throughout, and the rematch will set the world on fire again! It will be some time before we see it though as the champion was transported to hospital after the fight and both men fought on 3 weeks notice so will need the break. It will be interesting to see how both men perform with a full training camp and we can expect another barn burner.

An incredible card to end 2020, and we still have one more to look forward too!

~ James Eakin

Image credits: [Centre] "UFC 256 Fight Card: Figueiredo vs Moreno", Fight Book. Available at: https://www.fightbookmma.com/ufc-256-fight-card-figueiredo-vs-moreno/ [Accessed Dec '20].