Eddie Alvarez is the new UFC lightweight champion.
At UFC Fight Night 90 in Las Vegas on Thursday, the Underground King swarmed Rafael dos Anjos and took his title after landing a crushing right hand that wobbled the champion.
MMAFighting.com talked up the new 155-pound kingpin:
To dos Anjos' credit, he showed the heart of a warrior. He took a myriad of shots before referee Herb Dean stepped in to call for a halt to the bout.
Once Alvarez dazed him, he charged dos Anjos with a flying knee that didn't connect. The momentum from the attempt forced both men to the ground, with dos Anjos landing on top.
Unfortunately for him, he was too rocked to take advantage.
Alvarez regained control and pummeled dos Anjos until the end. Will dos Anjos get an immediate rematch? That's unclear.
His run as the champion wasn't long enough to warrant an automatic shot at regaining his title. Time will tell, but for now, Alvarez has earned the right to celebrate.
Results
- Vicente Luque def. Alvaro Herrera via second-round submission (D'Arce choke).
- Marco Beltran def. Reginaldo Vieira via second-round submission (rear-naked choke).
- Gilbert Burns def. Lukasz Sajewski via first-round submission (armbar).
- Felipe Arantes def. Jerrod Sanders via second-round submission (armbar).
- Pedro Munhoz def. Russell Doane via first-round submission (guillotine).
- Anthony Birchak def. Dileno Lopes via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30).
- John Makdessi def. Mehdi Baghdad via split decision (29-28, 29-28 28-29).
- Alberto Mina def. Mike Pyle via second-round knockout (flying knee and punches).
- Joe Duffy def. Mitch Clarke via first-round submission (rear-naked choke).
- Alan Jouban def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (28-27, 29-27, 29-28).
- Derrick Lewis def. Roy Nelson via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
- Eddie Alvarez def. Rafael dos Anjos via first-round technical knockout.
Highlights and Analysis
Tapping Early
The preliminary bouts were stacked with submission finishes. The first five fights on the card ended via tapout.
Gilbert Burns had the most impressive finish of those early victories. He showed improved striking against Lukasz Sajewski, but his superior Brazilian jiu-jitsu led to the victory.
With just three seconds remaining in the first round, Burns transitioned from a rear-naked choke attempt to an armbar. Aside from Ronda Rousey, Burns is probably the best in the UFC at that technique.
Sajewski had to tap, and Burns earned a last-second submission victory. Burns soaked up the spotlight after his victory by taking a selfie seconds before he was officially announced as the winner.
The 29-year-old came to the UFC with a good amount of hype back in 2014. He won his first three fights before losing a unanimous decision to Rashid Magomedov in November 2015.
Back on the winning track, Burns is one to watch at 155 pounds—especially if he continues to improve his striking.
Mina and Duffy Doing Damage
Alberto Mina made a statement Thursday.
He used a perfectly placed running knee to destroy Mike Pyle in the second round of their preliminary bout. The moment the knee landed, Pyle was done, but Mina added two or three hammer fists to force the stoppage.
Pyle is 40 years old, but he's tough and experienced. The way Mina dominated and finished him made his performance among the most noteworthy of the night.
Joe Duffy was just as good as Mina, but he didn't need as much time to stop Mitch Clarke.
A straight right hand caught Clarke over the top and forced the latter to face-plant. Seconds later, Duffy sunk in the rear-naked choke, and Clarke was tapping.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports reacted:
Fans have always seen Duffy as an up-and-coming fighter. At 28 years old, the time is now for him.
Jouban and Muhammad Go to War
For the first two rounds, it looked as though Alan Jouban was seconds away from stopping Belal Muhammad. Jouban dropped Muhammad twice but couldn't finish the rugged UFC newcomer.
In fact, Muhammad was the fresher of the two in the final round.
He landed a ton of hard power shots on Jouban, who had to show his own mettle to survive the final frame. Jouban earned the win based on his control of the first two rounds, but Muhammad gained some fans with the way he finished in a losing effort.
In a post-fight interview with the UFC, Jouban talked about maintaining his good looks—despite some bumps and bruises:
Jouban has the style and look to be a star, but his defense is a work in progress.
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