BreakingDown UFC 303: Pereira VS Prochazka 2

 Written by: Danny Albers

Bantamweight Bout 

Ricky Simon (20-6) VS Vinicius Oliveira (21-3) 

Result: Vinicius Oliveira wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) 

Vinicius Oliveira is one of the most impressive prospects in the UFC. Ricky Simon is a huge challenge this early in his career, and Oliveira embraced the challenge and dictated the fight. I thought he respected Simon’s striking a bit too much and both men looked hesitant to engage, but Oliveira’s energy was unmatched. Oliveira is now 3-0 in the UFC, and I don’t think it’s crazy to think he gets a top 15 opponent. 

Predicting Vinicius Oliveira’s Next Fight: Pedro Munhoz 

Flyweight Bout 

Rei Tsuruya (10-0) VS Carlos Hernandez (9-4) 

Result: Rei Tsuruya wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

There are some impressive fighters coming up the flyweight ranks. Tsuruya is one of them. An unbeaten Japanese 22 year old who won Road to the UFC. He had WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura in his corner for this. Rei Tsuruya’s grappling was impressive but Carlos Hernandez was down for the challenge. He might have learned from his last unbeaten Japanese phenom he fought in December in Tatsuro Taira. Tsuruya won the striking exchange 62-26 and had 3 takedowns to Hernandez’s 1. This was a big win for his official UFC debut

Predicting Rei Tsuruya’s Next Fight: Tatsuro Taira 

Heavyweight Bout 

Andrei Arlovski (34-24) VS Martin Buday (14-2) 

Result: Martin Buday wins by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 27-30) 

It was announced that Andrei Arlovski fought his last fight in his illustrious and long UFC career. A true heavyweight legend. It’s a shame he went out like this in a fight that was really uneventful. Both men tried to use their weight onto one another to get an advantage, but it caused both men to spend a lot of time pressed up against the cage. Buday threw more strikes in this fight, but Arlovski dictated the fight. He had more significant strikes and control time. This was another fight that I think they got wrong. 

Predicting Martin Buday’s Next Fight: Rodrigo Nascimento 

Women’s Strawweight Bout 

(14) Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-13) VS (15) Gillian Robertson (14-8) 

Result: Gillian Robertson wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) 

It was hard to see Michelle Waterson-Gomez look like a shell of herself in this fight. Gillian Robertson beat the shit out of Waterson-Gomez. Robertson outstruck Waterson-Gomez 122-41 and had 2 takedowns. She had 12:34 of control time on the ground. She dictated every aspect of this fight. At 38, and losing 7 of her last 8 fights, including 5 in a row. It might be time for the Karate Hottie to hang up the gloves. 

Predicting the Next Fight For Gillian Robertson: Iasmin Lucindo 

Bantamweight Bout 

Payton Talbott (9-0) VS Yanis Ghemmouri (12-3) 

Result: Peyton Talbott wins by 1st round KO (Punch) 

Just as Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier were talking about how ridiculous his fight odds were, he knocked out his opponent with a nasty strike just 19 seconds into this fight. He’s so young, the UFC might sit on him and feed him more fighters, but I say put him in there with a former UFC Champion and see what the undefeated fighters can do. 

Predicting Payton Talbott’s Next Fight: Cody Garbrandt 

Featherweight Bout 

Charles Jourdain (15-8-1) VS Jean Silva (13-2) 

Result: Jean Silva wins by 2nd round TKO (punch) 

Silva looked extremely happy to be in the UFC. He might fit more naturally in the lightweight division. He looked very big after missing weight, and his power compared to Charles Jourdain who’s one of the more dangerous fighters in the featherweight division was impressive. His uppercut that he hit on Jourdain turned the lights out. Jourdain had 3 takedowns and had some strong moments in this fight. But he got locked into the clinch with Silva and he felt Silva’s power. It was too much. Tough night for the Canadians.

Predicting Jean Silva’s Next Fight: Sodiq Yusuff  

Featherweight Bout 

Cub Swanson (29-14) VS Andre Fili (24-11) 

Result: Andre Fili wins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-29) 

Cub Swanson really struggled with how unorthodox Andre Fili was. I still thought Cub still had the edge on the feet. I was a bit surprised that Fili attempted so many takedowns. I think that showed Fili’s respect for Cub’s striking. Fili controlled the fight when it was on the ground. This was a massive rebound for Fili after getting knocked out by Dan Ige. 

Predicting Andre Fili’s Next Fight: Edson Barboza 

Middleweight Bout 

Joe Pyfer (13-3) VS Marc-Andre Barriault (16-8) 

Result: Joe Pyfer wins by KO (Punch) 

Joe Pyfer’s power is scary. Marc-Andre Barriault is a tough fighter who has proven to be difficult to finish. But it only took Pyfer 8 strikes and 1:25 to put the French Canadian away. Pyfer got pushed up the Middleweight rankings when he fought Jack Hermansson in a 5-round Fight Night main event. I think the top 15 is likely next for him. 

Predicting Joe Pyfer’s Next Fight: Michel Pereira 

Welterweight Bout

(7) Ian Machado Garry (15-0) VS (14) Michael “Venom” Page (22-3)

Result: Ian Machado Garry wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 

Ian Machado Garry’s grappling was significantly better than MVP. Page didn’t really know how to defend any of the takedowns or the submission attempts, and was lucky that he escaped a dominant 1st round by Garry who tried to end the fight by submission on multiple occasions. But Garry was humbled in the 2nd round. He thought he was faster on the feet than MVP and that was not the case. Garry stood and took some strikes from MVP towards the end of the second round, but nothing to take Garry off his game. But it was clear to Garry, who trained with Damian Maia in preparation for this fight, that grappling was the path to victory. He got taken down in the 3rd round. Garry was still active and throwing elbows from his back. When Garry got up he scored a takedown, and then when MVP got up, Garry took the back of MVP. Garry finished with 7:29 of control time and he actually outstruck MVP on the feet even though MVP’s shots had more malice on them. Great win for Ian Garry against an extremely dangerous fighter.

Predicting Ian Garry’s Next Fight: Gilbert Burns  

Women’s Bantamweight Bout 

(3) Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4-1) VS (7) Macy Chiasson (11-3) 

Result: Macy Chiasson wins by 2nd round TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 

From the start of this fight, these ladies were swinging at each other hard. Mayra and Macy both connected on some vicious shots. Macy hit so hard that everything she threw had the ability to put away Mayra. After an exciting first round that saw both women trade more strikes than the Welterweight opener, Mayra had a gash over her right eye that was bleeding into her eyes. The doctor made the right call, especially with how much these ladies were trading, if Mayra’s vision was significantly affected, her health would be at risk. 

Predicting Macy Chiasson’s Next Fight: Kayla Harrison 

Light Heavyweight Bout 

(10) Anthony Smith (38-20) VS Roman Dolidze (13-3)

Result: Roman Dolidze wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) 

Because of Carlos Ulberg dropping out of the fight, Roman Dolidze jumped up to Light Heavyweight to take the fight. After a pretty inactive fight where Anthony Smith’s motor ran out on him, and the fact that Roman Dolidze is his friend made this a bad fight. Especially in round 3 when both men were dancing and showing off but not actually landing anything. Anthony Smith landed some good leg kicks early in the fight and then just stopped throwing them. Roman Dolidze is now in the top 10 in two weight classes. Roman Dolidze landed 103 strikes to Smith’s 51. The crazy thing was Roman was the one on 2-days notice versus Smith who had a full fight camp. 

Predicting Roman Dolidze’s Next Fight: Dominick Reyes 

Catch Weight Bout 

Dan Ige (18-8) VS Diego Lopes (25-6) 

Result: Diego Lopes wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 

You have to give Dan Ige credit for standing up and fighting Diego Lopes on just 4 hours notice. Diego Lopes was content with standing on his feet early before going to the ground. It would have been interesting to see how Ige would have looked with a full fight camp. In the third round his motor completely gave out and Lopes ran away with the fight. This still needs to be looked at as an impressive performance from Lopes. He’s on a 4-fight winning streak now and will get a high profile top 15 fight next. 

Predicting Diego Lopes’s Next Fight: Calvin Kattar 

Light Heavyweight Championship Fight 

(!) Alex Pereira (11-2) VS Jiri Procházka (30-5-1) 

Result: Alex Pereira wins by 2nd round TKO (Punches) 

Alex Pereira out struck Jiri 49-7. He hit Procházka with 38 significant strikes. He dropped Jiri at the end of the 2nd that could have ended the fight. He clearly wasn’t back, because just 13 seconds into the second round, Alex Pereira knocked out the former champion, and left him delirious and staggering for about 40 seconds after the fight ended. Pereira is so dangerous, that I would say the only challenge he’s going to get is likely at Heavyweight. 

Predicting Alex Pereira’s Next Fight: Ciryl Gane