Calvillo capitalizes on the spotlight
In what was a steadied pace main event of the night Cynthia Calvillo defeated Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47). This was a big challenge for both women being that it was Calvillo’s first fight at flyweight, her previous 7 fights have been at strawweight even though 3 of those have been catchweight for various reasons this one was no different because of Eye missing weight by 0.2 pounds. And as for Eye she was looking to make it two in a row after her previous win back in December. Calvillo’s performance was remarkable taking on the #1 ranked flyweight she looked more comfortable at her new weight class landing the most takedowns so far in her UFC career. Her grappling was on showcase as she had an considerable amount of control time, her striking was accurate as always and she puts in her stamp as one of the contenders to watch in 2020.
THE PRELIMS DELIVER
Along with a great night of fights from the main card the prelims also came through with excitement with the first 3 fights of the prelims all being finished in the first round. Starting off the night was bout between two newcomers to the UFC. Christian Aguilera who capped off with a 59 second KO of Anthony Ivy. He looked very impressive in his debut and will definitely look to make a splash in a stacked welterweight division. Tyson Nam looked very impressive with his 32 second KO, coming off of back to back losses this was the best performance you could imagine from him with all the pressure he still rose to the occasion. Next up was Julia Avila, if your a hardcore fan of MMA you already know her name as she has picked victories in and out of the UFC of over recognizable names such as Marion Reneau and Nicco Montano the later being the inaugural women’s flyweight champion. She picked up a 22 second KO which is the 4 fastest in bantamweight history, the finish now has her on a 3 fight win streak which will have her primed for a top ranked opponent and will likely have her move into the top 15 in the division.
SERRA-Longo fight team on a hot streak
Merab Dvalishvili had an amazing performance last night in Apex recording 13 takedowns which is now the most in a UFC/WEC bantamweight bout. If you wondering who held the record.….look no further than Dvalishvili with 12 in his last performance. He’s been rag-dolling the competition literally and with his win last night he now is on a 4 fight win streak which should have him primed for a top 15 matchup. The bantamweight division is probably the one of the most exciting divisions as of right now and the most active his teammate Aljamain Sterling had a first round sub victory over Cory Sandhagen in a title eliminator bout just a few weeks ago who was also in his corner Saturday. It seems as though there training together is paying off. \
Andre fili delivers
In what was my fight of the night was Andre Fili with an impressive performance and win over the always exciting Charles Jourdain with a split decision victory. It was a questionable decision with even Jourdain expressing confusion at the end of the fight when the scorecard was read out that he won a round, it was all action from bell to bell with both men having there moments over the course of the fight. Jourdain has one of the prettiest left high kick in the UFC to date and one hell of a chin. He will be primed for big things as he gets more comfortable being in the UFC. Fili who in my opinion is a top 15 145er even though he’s unranked should’ve been on a 5 fight win streak but lost a razor thin split decision to Michael Johnson back in Aug. 2018 and lost another decision to Sodiq Yusuff last year who is “who would’ve thought” ranked 15th right now in the division. Fili is a sleeper who can evolve into a top contender soon to come as he said in the post fight interview he is only getting better and is one of the best in the world.
There’s a new contender in the middleweight division
Marvin Vettori ladies and gentleman ! as Joe Rogan would say but for now he should be taken seriously. With a dominant win over the always game Karl “Baby K” Roberson there was a lot of bad blood going into this one and it showed with the vicious finish Vettori is now on a 3 fight win streak with his last lost being to the champion Adesanya in a split decision defeat. His game looks refined and accurate with dangerous power in his hands and showed last night his finishing capability. Look out for this dominant contender as he’ll be knocking on the door very soon. Marvin should be taking on a top 15 opponent in his next fight and should he win he’ll be on a fast track with a rematch with the current champ.