The UFC's welterweight division has consistently held its status as one of the deepest collectives under the promotional banner in the Zuffa era, with Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves being staples of the upper echelon of the weight class for the past several years.
Yet with both the Natural Born Killer and American Top Team representative being sidelined for lengthy stints in recent years, questions began to hover in regard to their elite-level status. The Pitbull has returned from his two-year hiatus with back-to-back victories that have the Muay Thai wrecking machine looking back to form inside the Octagon. He went into Fight Night 67 looking to officially reclaim his place in the divisional title race and was determined to get the job done in his signature brutal fashion.
Across the cage, Condit was facing uncertainty of his own. More than a year had passed since he suffered a devastating knee injury against Tyron Woodley at UFC 171, and the New Mexico native worked diligently in his time away from action to ensure he'd be ready to go when the next opportunity came to pass. That moment came in Goiania, Brazil on Saturday night, as two of the best finishers in the history of the welterweight division stepped into the cage to handle their business.
The collision between the former champion and the Pitbull figured to be a violent affair, and it certainly delivered. While the opening round had a large feeling out period, the second frame was pure ferocity. Condit dropped Alves with a short elbow on a counter exchange that mangled the Brazilian's nose. Nevertheless, the former title challenger dug deep and continued throwing heat despite Condit lacing him with huge shots at every turn.
In between the second and third rounds, the cageside doctor called a stop to the fight because of the state of Alves' nose, and Condit marked a triumphant return with a crisp and devastating performance.
Let's take a look at the good, bad and strange from Fight Night 67.
The Good
Carlos Condit has been one of the baddest welterweights in the world for the better part of the past decade, but after suffering a tough knee injury that put him out of action for 14 months, it was unclear whether the same Natural Born Killer would ever return.
Those questions were answered at Fight Night 67, as the former interim champion blistered a resurgent Thiago Alves in the main event in Goiania, Brazil. While Pitbull overcame the New Mexico native's length with his signature leg kicks in the opening frame, the second round saw Condit unleash that killer instinct he has built his career upon.
The Jackson-Winkeljohn-trained fighter ripped Alves with a short elbow in the early goings then proceeded to batter and pound away at the Brazilian powerhouse for the rest of the second frame.
The end result of Condit's barrage led to Alves suffering a badly broken nose that forced the cageside doctor to call an end to the bout. With the win, Condit not only stamped an impressive return to the heated welterweight ranks but also put himself back on track to climb toward the top of the 170-pound division.
*** There was bad blood brewing between Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz leading up to their tilt at Fight Night 67, and it's Do Bronx who got the last laugh. After their initial meeting ended in a "no contest" because of an illegal knee strike from the 25-year-old submission ace back in 2011, they came into their rematch in Goiania looking to settle things once and for all.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the initial two rounds, but Oliveira latched onto a guillotine choke in the final round to pick up his fourth consecutive win in the featherweight ranks.
*** Stepping up on short notice is a risky move, but the reward was definitely worthwhile for Alex Oilveira in Goiania. Cowboy stepped in as a replacement to face K.J. Noons and defeated the former Elite XC lightweight champion via rear-naked choke in the first round of the contest. With King Karl's savvy boxing pedigree, the wiry Brazilian wasted zero time taking his opponent to the floor. Once Oliveira had the former Strikeforce title challenger on the mat, he locked in the choke to earn his first victory under the UFC banner.
*** While there was nothing pretty about the fight between Francisco Trinaldo and Norman Parke, the lightweight tilt did provide an interesting study in how victory can be obtained despite faltering late in the fight. The stocky Brazilian and The Ultimate Fighter winner had a close opening round, but Trinaldo battled back to take a clear lead in the second.
While Parke didn't show a crazy sense of urgency in the final frame, he certainly did enough to take the round on the judges' cards. Yet when the final decision was read, two of the judges saw the bout going in Trinaldo's favor. That's a tough call because the fight was there for the taking for Parke, but the UK native couldn't quite find a consistent rhythm.
*** It's not wise to go to the ground with a guy who has "Jiu-Jitsu" tattooed on his back, and Rony Jason showed Damon Jackson exactly why that is. While the Leech was getting the better of the The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil winner in the early goings, the savvy submission artist hit a brilliant sweep off his back he turned into a triangle choke. Jackson did his best to fight off the lock, but the more he rolled on the mat, the deeper in danger he landed until he was forced to tap.
With the victory, Jason not only gave his home country crowd something to cheer about but picked up his second win in his past three showings inside the Octagon as well.
*** Jussier Formiga is looking to make a run at the flyweight title, and the Nova Uniao fighter took another strong step at Fight Night 67. The resilient Brazilian took it to Wilson Reis on the preliminary portion of the card, as he used his striking, forward pressure and grappling skills to keep the flyweight powerhouse on the defensive. The end result was Formiga picking up his third consecutive win in the 125-pound ranks, and it will be interesting to see what the UFC chooses to do with him.
While it's doubtful he could leapfrog John Dodson in the race for title contention, he will definitely draw one of the division's biggest names in his next outing.
*** Making a good first impression on the sport's biggest stage is a crucial move to make, and both Nicolas Dalby and Elizeu dos Santos showed up to scrap on their respective debuts. The former Cage Warriors champion triumphed in what was a hard-fought tilt from start to finish.
The Danish striker jumped used his aggression to claim the opening frame, but dos Santos upped his output and was able to turn the tide. While the fight could have easily gone either way, it was Dalby who pulled out the split-decision victory on the judges' scorecards.
*** Mirsad Bektic simply isn't messing around, and he furthered that notion against Lucas Martins at Fight Night 67. The 24-year-old Bosnian scrapper dominated Minero from the jump until he pounded out the stoppage victory in the second round.
With his victory on Saturday, the American Top Team product not only keeps his undefeated record intact but has now collected three consecutive victories under the UFC banner. The featherweight division is only growing more competitive, and Bektic could very well be poised to do big things in the 145-pound fold.
The Bad
While it would seem unlikely that K.J. Noons would be released from his UFC contract after submitting to Alex Oliveira on Saturday night, there does seem to be something amiss with the California-based fighter.
His bout with Cowboy at Fight Night 67 was to be his third as a welterweight under the UFC banner, and there just wasn't anything that looked right about him once he stepped into the cage. Commentator Jon Anik mentioned that Noons has changed up his training pattern, putting more focus on giving his body ample time to rest. While his gas tank was never tested against Oliveira, his preparation was, as the rangy Brazilian was able to get Noons down and submit him with relative ease.
While the loss is nothing to write Noons off about, it's clear he's not fighting with the same intensity and urgency upon which he made his name. The fighter who has stepped in to compete in recent outings is a far cry from the high-volume striker that went toe-to-toe with Nick Diaz in a pair of memorable matchups several years back.
Simply put: Noons just doesn't seem to be fully invested in what he's doing at the present time, and the cracks are beginning to show. If he wants to turn things around, he's going to need that fire from the days of old. Only time will tell if he ever recaptures that drive.
The Strange
The best part of writing this article while covering cards in Brazil is there is just so much strange to be found. Whether the frenzied crowd keeps their passionate and threatening chants cranked up to full volume from the opening bout until the main event or chaos spills out in the physical form for all to see inside the Octagon, things have simply been known to get weird in the place widely regarded as the birthplace of mixed martial arts.
That trend continued at Fight Night 67 in Goiania on Saturday, and fight fans didn't have to wait long for the curious happenings to present themselves.
The initial wacky turn came from the cageside judges during the women's strawweight bout between Juliana Lima and Ericka Almeida in the second fight of the night. While Lima scored with a solid takedown, she was allowed to ride out top control for lengthy stints without doing any major damage or working toward a submission finish. Furthermore, while Almeida was on her back for most of the fight, she was able to defend herself well despite being in a compromising position.
All in all, it was a difficult fight to watch. One of the judges apparently shared that sentiment, as they handed in a 30-25 card in favor of Lima. When 10-8 rounds are scored, there is normally a lopsided beating handed out or one of the fighters is clearly dominated to the point of nearly being put away. The judge who scored two of those rounds as such either saw things playing out that way or fell asleep, which would be understandable in this particular case.
And what would complement strange scoring and questionable standups better than a bit of mystery? Thank goodness Darren Till was on hand to provide the fighting faithful with the necessary bit of intrigue it takes to get through a six-fight main card. The debuting welterweight's left arm is adorned by a portrait tattoo of a woman who some in the MMA community believe strikes a solid resemblance to surging strawweight star Paige VanZant.
While that's probably not the case, it's still a far better look than Alan Belcher's ill-fated Johny Cash tattoo. No offense to the legendary Man in Black, but the ink on Belcher's arm looks like the late country star pulled through a dough press. On the other hand, Till's artwork looks well done and served as a solid complement to finish he scored after after blistering Wendell Oliveira with a buffet of ground shots to earn the second-round knockout.
It took Till time to get comfortable under the bright lights, but once he settled, he—as he so eloquently put in his post-fight interview—"elbowed his opponent's face off." It was a job well done by Till and an impressive first showing inside the Octagon.
With murder having been addressed in the last paragraph, it's a fine segue to get into what happened to Ryan Jimmo at Fight Night 67.
The former MFC champ turned struggling UFC light heavyweight came into his bout against Francimar Barroso in desperate need of a victory, as the Big Deal had dropped all but one of his past three showings inside the cage. And while Jimmo came out determined and aggressive, those energies were quickly zapped from his bulky frame courtesy of a brutal groin kick.
While low blows and eye pokes are common in MMA, rarely do fans ever get to see the puke bucket brought out. Any time a shot downstairs induces vomiting, it's a sure guarantee that shot to the pills was of the vicious variety. After throwing up and regaining his bearings, Jimmo continued, but he never recovered from the illegal blaster that floored him.
Some illegal shots are simply an unfortunate effect of where fighters are throwing strikes from, but they are illegal nonetheless. What Barroso did certainly had an impact on the fight and should have resulted in a deduction because it broke the rules. However, it's a rare sight to see a referee take a point on the first offense of the fight, and that gray area certainly played out in the Brazilian's favor on Saturday night.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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