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UFC 297 is officially in the books, the first PPV of the year and it brought us two brand new champions. The card, as a whole, wasn’t very strong on paper, and in practice, it was a bit underwhelming. The early prelims were great and saw serious action from the jump. But as the event wore on, the fights began slowing down. It was almost as if we were in a sort of intermission phase.
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UFC 297 started strong then began to fizzle
Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson was a good enough scrap, but is it one that would still be on your mind next week? The most noteworthy thing about that fight was the mixup with the announcement of the winner. Actually, there was something else to this contest and that is it should have never been a split decision. The judging there was horrendous.
Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield wasn’t exactly a banger either, but here again, it wasn’t awful. Movsar Evloev vs. Arnold Allen was a good fight that showcased the talent of both men, but it was mired in controversy over some knees that may not have actually been illegal. It was a sour end to what was shaping up to be a tremendous sequence, possibly a fight-ender.
Chris Curtis being called “Action Man” is kind of funny. When you wait until the third round to actually get the action going, perhaps you might want to rethink your nickname. It’s not suited to your style, which seems content to point fight until forced into getting down to brute force. Round three was great, but why wait till then to let your fists go?
Mike Mallott was doing so well for two entire rounds against Neil Magny, and as the fight wore on, the more comfortable he became. So comfortable, in fact, that an over-eager mistake cost him the fight. He was winning it by a country mile, too. Then he got overzealous, losing a scramble in the third and eating a ferocious flurry from Magny that forced the ref to intervene with just 15 seconds left on the clock. Brutal!
UFC 297 crowns two new champions
The co-main event saw a fresh Mayra Bueno Silva take the first round of the fight but by the time the second round rolled around, Raquel Pennington had made her adjustments and dominated the rest of the fight. Bueno Silva was completely gassed by the time round three rolled around and remained that way, taking a nasty beating from the new champ in the process. Was it exciting? It had a few moments, but overall, it was an ugly, grindy fight.
The first two rounds of the main event had moments where it felt like we were watching a sparring session, then, in the blink of an eye, a fight would break out. By round three, we were starting to see the momentum pick up and from there, it was an action-packed battle. Both men ended up battered, bruised and bloody, but it would be Du Plessis taking the split decision and the belt from Strickland amid cries of “robbery” on the social media streets. It was the end of the Strickland era.
UFC 297 Quick Results
Main card
- – Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (48-47×2,47-48)
- – Raquel Pennington def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (49-46×2, 49-45)
- – Neil Magny def. Mike Malott by TKO at 4:45 of round 3: Welterweight
- – Chris Curtis def. Marc-André Barriault by split decision (30-27 x2, 28-29 ): Middleweight
- – Movsar Evloev def. Arnold Allen by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Featherweight
Prelims
- – Garrett Armfield def. Brad Katona by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Bantamweight
- – Sean Woodson def. Charles Jourdain by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Featherweight
- – Ramon Taveras def. Serhiy Sidey by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Bantamweight
- – Gillian Robertson def. Polyana Viana by TKO at 3:12 of round 2: Strawweight
- – Sam Patterson def. Yohan Lainesse by submission (RNC) at 2:03 of round 1: Welterweight
- – Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Priscila Cachoeira by submission (D’arce) at 4:21 of round 3: (W) Flyweight
- – Jimmy Flick def. Malcolm Gordon by submission (Arm Triangle) at 1:17 of round 2: Flyweight
Don’t forget to check out the bonus section where the boys give their patented, five-star review of all the fights and UFC 297 as a complete event. You can’t get this anywhere…or can you? We like to think you can’t, so we’ll stick with that. Just be sure to listen!
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