Should you had any doubts as to who’s the best feminine combined martial artist in historical past, that reply was definitively supplied on June 6 at UFC 250 when the present two-division champion Amanda Nunes efficiently defended her featherweight championship by obliterating challenger Felicia Spencer with a brutal unanimous determination.
The struggle was utterly one-sided and the entire beat down of Spencer left little doubt in anybody’s thoughts that we simply witnessed maybe the perfect efficiency of Nunes’ profession and she or he established herself as not simply the best feminine fighter ever however perhaps the perfect pound-for-pound biggest fighter in historical past man or lady.
Whereas all different sports activities are idle, the UFC staged the principle card that was stable in all 5 fights that adopted the preliminary and early preliminary bouts. Once more, the fights had been held with no single fan within the enviornment out in Las Vegas on the UFC’s APEX facility. The UFC appears to be getting snug holding occasions with out followers and that is one thing that no different sport may most likely get away with.
Of the 5 fights on the principle card, solely two went the space. There have been seven different fights on the night time and three of these made it by the whole three rounds (winners by determination had been Alex Caceres, Cody Stamann, and Devin Clark). Ian Heinisch, Maki Pitolo, and Alex Perez all scored TKOs whereas Herbert Burns scored one in all solely two submissions on the night time as he used a rear-naked choke to defeat an excellent Evan Dunham.
Ranging from the opening bout of the principle card, what follows is my breakdown of the motion.
Sean O’Malley defeats Eddie Wineland by KO.
Sean O’Malley might have entered this struggle with the worst hair coloring in historical past. With a number of colours making up his wild hair that was braided up for the occasion, O’Malley’s mop-top had no influence on his efficiency as he blasted out a cagey veteran in Eddie Wineland within the opening spherical. With the victory, O’Malley collects a Efficiency of the Evening bonus and is headed in the direction of changing into one of the vital harmful fighters within the bantamweight division. O’Malley could be very lengthy and his body makes him a really tough fighter to determine. For Wineland, he’s been round for a very long time however he failed handy O’Malley his first loss in 12 professional fights.
Neil Magny by unanimous determination over Anthony Rocco Martin within the welterweight division.
Magny could also be one of the vital underrated fighters within the UFC and with this victory has gained 4 of his final 5 and 7 of his final 10 dropping solely to Santiago Ponzinibbio, Rafael dos Anjos, and Lorenz Larkin in these final 10 bouts. However at UFC 250, Magny was dominant elevating his total document to 23-7. Martin had gained 5 of his final six the one loss coming by the hands of Demian Maia. Magny made this one look straightforward and he needs to be in vary for a title shot someday quickly.
Aljamain Sterling submits Cory Sandhagen with a rear-naked choke.
Of the 5 fights on the principle card at UFC 250, 4 had been within the bantamweight division. One of many largest threats to the now vacant bantamweight title is Aljamain Sterling. With Henry Cejudo retired, Marlon Moraes is top-ranked adopted by Sterling at #2. Moraes already owns a knockout victory over Sterling that passed off at UFC Struggle Evening: Swanson vs. Ortega on December 9, 2017. However since then, Sterling has gained 5 straight fights beating Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, Jimmie Rivera, Pedro Munhoz, and on June 6, Sandhagen. This was believed by many to be the perfect struggle of the night time however as a substitute Sterling was masterful with a phenomenal rear-naked choke victory that made a sandman out of Sandhagen as he went to sleep for a second. I consider in a rematch with Moraes for the vacant title Sterling wins the belt. Sterling has simply two different losses on his document each coming back-to-back to Raphael Assunção and Bryan Caraway each by a call that passed off in 2016 and 2017. Earlier than the Caraway struggle, Sterling was 12-0.
Cody Garbrandt knocks out Raphael Assunção within the second spherical.
Within the closing bantamweight struggle of the night time, former champion Cody Garbrandt bought off the dropping snide by scoring a vicious KO of the favored by some, Assunção. With a call victory over champion Dominick Cruz in December 2016, Garbrandt would get blasted out by T.J. Dillashaw in simply two rounds and lose his title. Within the rematch nearly a yr later, Dillashaw repeated the efficiency scoring one other TKO this time within the first spherical. Then, Pedro Munhoz handed Garbrandt his third straight knockout loss on March 2, 2019. UFC 250 was a crossroads struggle for Garbrandt, a particular MUST win and he bought it. However in a post-fight commentary, he started to boast once more and he ought to watch himself. Sure, he had a pleasant win, however given his earlier three fights, this victory doesn’t set up himself because the division’s greatest one thing he appeared to consider following his knockout win. As for Assunção, he now has misplaced three straight after driving a four-fight win streak. Within the final three losses he has suffered, Assunção misplaced to Moraes, Sandhagen, and now Garbrandt.
Amanda Nunes defeats Felicia Spencer by unanimous determination.
Whereas Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov are each undefeated champions, Amanda Nunes at present holds the ladies’s bantamweight and featherweight championships and at UFC 250 made historical past by changing into the one fighter in MMA historical past to efficiently defend two championships whereas holding each titles. Nunes did it in extraordinarily spectacular style with the win over Spencer. Not solely did Nunes dominate the struggle successful by scores of 50-44, 50-44, and 50-45, she beat up Spencer. By the fifth and closing spherical, all Spencer had completed was that she confirmed tons of coronary heart in staying within the struggle and taking big-time strikes.
Felicia Spencer was overwhelmed in all facets of the struggle and Amanda Nunes confirmed that she isn’t just a striker, however a whole martial artist expert in all aspects of the game. That in itself makes her unbeatable for now. This struggle was so one-sided that I believed Spencer’s nook was irresponsible sending her out for a closing spherical. It’s spectacular that she had the guts and can to need to go on, however she had NO likelihood to win that struggle so going out for a fifth-round made no sense.
In supporting Amanda Nunes as the perfect, simply take into consideration who she has overwhelmed. She wipes out Spencer, choices a recreation Germaine de Randamie, viciously knocks out Holly Holm, Cris Cyborg, Raquel Pennington, and Ronda Rousey, and submits Miesha Tate to win the bantamweight title. However the checklist of stable fighters she has overwhelmed is ridiculous. Amongst these is Valentina Shevchenko who some suppose is the perfect feminine fighter however there’s no argument for that given Nunes has overwhelmed her twice by determination, one was cut up the opposite unanimously. Others who’ve fallen sufferer to the girl’s two-belt champion have been Julia Budd, Shayna Baszler, and Sara McMann.
Extra meals for thought…Spencer, Holm, Cyborg, Randamie, Tate, Shevchenko, Baszler, and Budd have ALL been former or are present champions. That’s eight fighters who wore a belt and Amanda Nunes owns a victory over all of them. And Conor McGregor desires to name himself the most effective ever? He even put himself within the prime 5 of G.O.A.T.s. Ridiculous.
Whereas Nunes misplaced to Cat Zingano, that was six years in the past and Nunes is a much better and extra rounded fighter now. Alexis Davis additionally defeated Nunes however that struggle was 9 years in the past. The issue for Amanda Nunes now could be who to struggle subsequent? She’s primarily worn out each of the divisions she is champion. There’s nobody left. Of these ranked who she has not fought, there is no such thing as a manner they current a problem.
We’ve all seen the pound-for-pound rankings which might be separated by women and men fighters however I feel since all of them carry out in the identical sport, primarily based on abilities the pound-for-pound rating ought to incorporate each genders. Due to this fact, for me, Amanda Nunes is the perfect of them, males or girls. Some would possibly say Jon Jones however given how he has struggled in a number of of his previous most up-to-date fights, he has by no means dominated anybody the best way Nunes did at UFC 250. Khabib Nurmagomedov is undefeated however he has not confronted the expertise degree that Nunes has in beating all of his opponents. Anderson Silva is among the all-time greats however whether or not he has pushed his profession too far and may have retired way back or not, I feel Amanda Nunes is a greater total fighter than he.
Conor McGregor? For me, he doesn’t even fall into the highest 10 all-time. McGregor wins two titles and defends neither. Now he retires abruptly and does so on an evening the place Amanda Nunes shined. Making an attempt to steal the highlight was McGregor and I feel he give up as a result of he is aware of he isn’t the perfect fighter on the market. His hype and mouth have clouded what his actual expertise within the Octagon is and it isn’t very a lot. Amanda Nunes is the G.O.A.T. throughout all divisions be it males or girls.
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