UFC Vegas 17

Jose Aldo defeats Chito Vera at UFC Vegas 17

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In the co-main event of the evening at UFC Vegas 17, we saw a big time matchup in the bantamweight division. Former featherweight champion, Jose Aldo (28-7), took on Marlon “Chito” Vera (16-6-1).

Aldo entered the octagon on a three-fight losing streak. The former UFC champion was looking to turn his career around after hearing everyone tell him that he’s looked washed up. However, it’s worth noting that Aldo’s last fight was for the title.

If you look at all of his UFC losses over the past few years, it’s been against world champions. Fighting Jose Aldo was a massive opportunity for Chito Vera. Vera was coming off of a massive win against Sean O’Malley at UFC 250.

O’Malley was one of the most hyped fighters in the UFC. However, Chito Vera was able to derail the hype train when he finished him in the first round. A win over Aldo would vault Vera into title contention.

UFC Vegas 17 Recap

Round 1

The UFC Vegas 17 co-main event opened with a touch of the gloves. Chito opened the striking with a couple of front kicks. Chito also started working the low kicks as Aldo appeared to be just gauging his opponent.

Aldo opened his striking with a good overhand right that got Chito’s attention. 90 seconds in and Chito tried to get a takedown. However, Aldo did a fantastic job of defending the takedown.

Chito held Aldo against the fence and started working knees to thighs of the former UFC champion. Aldo was able to separate with two minutes left in the round. Once back at range, Aldo landed a nasty hook to the body.

He followed up with another that really looked like it hurt Chito. Chito tried to hide it, but Aldo was hurting his body. One minute left in the round and Aldo opened up with the leg kicks. A dominant end to the first round for the former champion.

Round 2

The second round opened with Chito trying to press forward. Aldo countered with a vicious combination to the body and the head. The UFC champion then went back to work with vicious leg kicks.

Chito kept trying to attack Aldo, but he was appearing a step behind Aldo. 90 seconds in and Aldo was backing Chito against the fence. Aldo then staggered Chito for a second with a couple of left hands.

After that landed, Chito pushed back forward trying to get some respect back. However, the former UFC champion continued to get the better of the exchanges. Aldo ripped a big combination to the body that caused Chito to clinch Aldo.

Chito tried to get a takedown, but again, Aldo’s takedown defense was fantastic. Chito landed a really good left hook and then again tried to take Aldo to the ground. Better second round for Chito, but again, this round goes to the former UFC champion.

Round 3

Chito went right back to the pressure to open the final round. Chito tried to engage the clinch, but Aldo did a good job of swinging to the back. Aldo was able to jump on the back of Vera and get him briefly to the ground.

However, Chito was doing a really good job of defending. Chito tried to shake Aldo off, but ended up getting taken down. Aldo then went to work with a body triangle from the back.

The former UFC champion started working for a rear naked choke, but Chito was defending well. Halfway through the round and the third was all Jose Aldo. 90 seconds left in the round and Chito got up to his feet.

However, Aldo was still locked onto the back of Chito. Chito tried to slam Aldo down, but Aldo kept that body triangle locked in. In the final minute Chito couldn’t get anything done. Dominant victory for the former UFC champion on my scorecard.

Jose Aldo def. Chito Vera by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Rob Font knocks Marlon Moraes out at UFC Vegas 17

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One of the more anticipated matchups on the UFC Vegas 17 main card was the bantamweight matchup between “Magic” Marlon Moraes (23-7-1) and Rob Font (17-4). Font was making his first walk of 2020.

He was entering this fight on a two-fight win streak. A win over Moraes would really put Font on the map in the UFC‘s bantamweight division. However, getting passed Moraes is not an easy task.

Just a couple of years ago, Moraes was looked at as potentially the best bantamweight in the world. Now, he’s coming into UFC Vegas 17 having lost two out of his last three. He was looking to use this fight against Rob Font to get back on track.

UFC Vegas 17 Recap

Round 1

The UFC Vegas 17 bantamweight contest got underway with a body kick from Moraes. After landing a second body kick, Moraes shot in for a takedown and took down Rob Font. Moraes tried to transition into a guillotine, but he lost the top position as a result.

Font was able to get back to his feet, but Moraes was able to take him right back down. Moraes did a really good job of controlling Font once the fight got back to the ground. Font was finally able to get back up with two minutes left in the round.

Once back on the feet, Moraes was rocked by Rob Font with a couple of shots. Moraes landed a headkick to counter, but Font started putting it on him. Font dropped him with a couple of uppercuts and finished the fight with massive follow up shots.

Huge statement from Rob Font. The UFC’s bantamweight division has a new contender.

Rob Font def. Marlon Moraes by TKO – Round 1

Anthony Pettis gets a win on the final fight of his current deal at UFC Vegas 17

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In the featured prelim at UFC Vegas 17, former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis (24-10), took on Alex Morono (18-7, 1 NC). Pettis was entering the fight on the final fight of his current contract with the UFC.

Showtime entered the fight just 1-2 in his last three fights. There was a lot of pressure on the former champion and Alex Morono was looking to be the spoiler. When the fight got underway, it looked like Morono would do just that.

In the opening seconds at UFC Vegas 17, Pettis fell down while throwing a kick. Morono was able to pounce and get on top of Pettis. For the entire first round, Morono was able to control Pettis.

In the second round, Pettis started to open up with his striking. The former UFC champion looked really comfortable on the feet and he outstruck Morono to secure the second round.

In the third round, Pettis was again getting the better of the standup. In the final seconds of the third round, Pettis almost secured a showtime finish when he rocked Morono with a spinning back kick.

Last UFC fight?

All three judges scored the fight for Pettis 29-28. It was a massive win for Pettis and a great way for him to close out his current UFC deal. At this moment, it appears that Pettis will be testing the free agent market.

I don’t think the UFC is going to be the most aggressive in the pursuit due to the announcement of upcoming cuts. If I had to pick a favorite, I think Bellator is the clubhouse favorite to land Anthony Pettis.

Pettis’ younger brother Sergio already fights for Bellator. Sergio Pettis fought in the UFC prior to making the jump over to Bellator. I think that Anthony might just do the exact same thing.

Time will tell, but there’s a very real chance that we’ve seen Pettis for the final time inside the octagon. He can hold his head high knowing he’s had plenty of showtime moments including capturing the lightweight title.

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Anthony Pettis – Alex Morono

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Tomorrow night at UFC Vegas 17 there’s a solid welterweight contest featuring a former champion. Former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis (23-10), is back in action at welterweight taking on Alex Morono (18-6, 1 NC).

For Morono he’s going to be attempting to pickup his second UFC win in the last two months. Back at UFC Vegas 14, Morono took on Rhys McKee. Morono was able to get the unanimous decision victory that night.

Since November of 2018, Morono has gone 4-1 inside the octagon. This is the biggest fight of his career in terms of name recognition. If he can get a win tomorrow night over a former UFC champion, it would be big for him.

“Showtime” will be looking to pickup his second straight win tomorrow night as well. We last saw the former UFC lightweight champion at UFC 249 when he took on Donald Cerrone.

That night, Pettis was able to squeak out a decision victory. That win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Pettis. Pettis’ career has been up and down over the past few years, but he’s only lost to top competition inside the UFC.

UFC Vegas 17 Prediction

This matchup is an interesting one on paper when you look at the credentials of both fighters. Both of these fighters are blackbelts in taekwondo. Both of these men are also really slick on the ground.

That makes for a very compelling matchup at UFC Vegas 17. However, there is one thing about Morono that really concerns me and that is his striking defense. We’ve seen in his past couple of fights that it hasn’t been great.

Khaos Williams was able to knock him out in 27 seconds and Rhys McKee was able to land 50% of his strikes in their fight. McKee through over 200 strikes so that tells you that Morono was hit a lot.

I think Pettis is going to be able to take advantage of that at UFC Vegas 17. Morono’s chance at winning comes down to wrestling Pettis. However, I just don’t know if his wrestling will outweigh the shots he’s going to take from the former champion.

Prediction: Anthony Pettis by Unanimous Decision

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Greg Hardy – Marcin Tybura

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Tomorrow night there’s an intriguing heavyweight clash at UFC Vegas 17. That heavyweight clash features former All-Pro defensive lineman, Greg Hardy (7-2, 1 NC), taking on the surging Marcin Tybura (20-6).

Both of these fighters will be looking to break into the UFC‘s top 15 at heavyweight with a win tomorrow night. It’s been an interesting ride for Greg Hardy so far in his UFC career.

Hardy was awarded a developmental deal with the UFC after winning his first two pro fights on Dana White’s Contender Series. After getting another first round knockout in XFN, Hardy got the call to the big show.

Hardy lost in his first pro fight after he was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee. After that fight he won two straight by knockout. He then defeated Ben Sosoli by decision, but the fight was turned to a No Contest after Hardy used an inhaler.

Hardy stepped in last minute to face Alexander Volkov in his first UFC main event after that where he lost. Since then, he defeated Yorgan De Castro by decision and he’s knocked out Maurice Greene.

Standing across from Hardy is Marcin Tybura. The former M-1 Heavyweight champion has won three-fights in a row leading into UFC Vegas 17. After entering the promotion with only one loss, Tybura has gone 7-5 in the UFC.

UFC Vegas 17 Prediction

The heavyweight battle at UFC Vegas 17 is going to go one of two ways in my opinion. Either Hardy is going to get another first round knockout or Tybura is going to grind out another decision victory.

Tybura is the type of fighter who is just going to bull forward and push you against the fence. From there, he does a good job of using dirty boxing and clinch strikes to wear out his opponents.

We’ve seen Hardy’s gas tank look a little dicey at times in his UFC career. Tybura has been finished before and you can bet Hardy can finish him if he connects. However, that’s a big if.

Hardy is going to have to be patient and look for big shots as Tybura is coming in. I don’t see Hardy’s power translating well over a three round grinding fight. If he’s going to get it done, he has to do it early.

Unfortunately for Greg Hardy, I’m not sure he’s going to be able to do it. He can easily put Tybura away, but something tells me we are going to see Tybura using his superior clinch game tomorrow night to get a decision.

Prediction: Marcin Tybura by Unanimous Decision

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Khaos Williams – Michel Pereira

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If there’s one fight on the UFC Vegas 17 card that gives me goosebumps it’s this one. A banger of a welterweight matchup between Khaos Williams (11-1) and Michel Pereira (24-11, 2 NC).

If you want a fight at UFC Vegas 17 that’s almost guaranteed to produce a finish, look no further than this one. Khaos Williams has fought twice this year and neither one of those fights has gone past the first minute.

Williams made his UFC debut in February against Alex Morono. He finished him in 27 seconds. From there, Khaos took on knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan who had never been finished. Williams knocked him out in 30 seconds.

Khaos Williams is going to bring ungodly power into the fight tomorrow night. However, it’s power that he’s really honed in on this year. Only six of his eleven wins have come by knockout, but he’s finally tying everything together with his power to get finishes.

Standing across from Williams at UFC Vegas 17 will be Michel Pereira. Pereira is one of the more entertaining fighters in the UFC. He’s a wild man who will do some crazy stuff inside the octagon.

We’ve seen him do a backflip in the middle of the fight. We’ve seen him blow kisses at opponents then open hand slap them. You truly never know what you are going to get from Michel Pereira.

Pereira is just 4-3 in his last seven fights. Granted, one of losses was a DQ loss to Diego Sanchez in a fight that he was completely dominating. While flashy, sometimes Pereira doesn’t fight as smart as he needs to in order to get his hand raised.

UFC Vegas 17 Prediction

I truly have no idea what is going to happen at UFC Vegas 17. However, I know that someone is going to get knocked out. I really can’t see this fight going to the judges scorecards with these two powerful strikers.

Pereira has a very diverse attack. He’s going to throw kicks, flying knees, and big punches. Khaos Williams is also well rounded, but so far we’ve only seen his hands doing the damage inside the octagon.

Prior to his UFC debut, Pereira was knocked out by Dusko Todorovic. We know he can be finished while Khaos Williams hasn’t been in much trouble throughout his career.

In my prediction, I’m going to go out on a limb in saying Khaos Williams is getting another finish. I think he’s going to catch Pereira with something during one of Pereira’s flashy attacks. A clean counter shot puts Pereira away in the first round in this one.

Prediction: Khaos Williams by KO – Round 1

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Marlon Moraes – Rob Font

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Tomorrow night at UFC Vegas 17, there’s a battle of top eleven bantamweights on the main card. Former title challenger, “Magic” Marlon Moraes (23-7-1), will be taking on Rob Font (17-4).

Font will be making his first walk of 2020 tomorrow night. He will enter UFC Vegas 17 on a two-fight winning streak. Those two fights came against Ricky Simon and Sergio Pettis. However, Font hasn’t been very active over the last two years.

This is the third straight December that Font has had a fight. However, in 2019 and 2020, Font didn’t have another fight besides the December matchup. So this is only the third time Font has fought since mid-2018.

UFC Vegas 17 is a massive opportunity for Font. Getting to fight someone inside the top five is big for his career. If he can come out tomorrow and defeat Moraes, he could really set himself up well for a great 2021.

Marlon Moraes is in a very weird spot right now. Before UFC 238, Moraes was looked at as the best bantamweight in the world. He was setup to face Henry Cejudo for the vacant bantamweight title that night. He dominated Cejudo early on.

However, as the fight went on Cejudo didn’t go away. Cejudo ended up breaking Moraes and finishing him in the third round. After that fight, Moraes fought Jose Aldo to split decision. He won, but the general consensus was that he lost.

After that, he was finished the in second round by Cory Sandhagen back in October. In the eyes of most in the MMA world, Moraes has gone from being the best to essentially losing three straight.

UFC Vegas 17 Preview

UFC Vegas 17 is such an important event for both men. Moraes is looking to bounce back while Font is really looking to break through. We should see the fight take place on the feet tomorrow night.

Many are calling this a fight of the night favorite, and I like the call. Rob Font has some of the best MMA boxing in the business. His hands are very crisp and he’s very slick with his combinations.

Moraes on the other hand has very good striking, but comes at things more while using his kicks. That is going to be really key for him tomorrow night. If he’s going to beat Rob Font, he has to be active with his kicking game.

I think this matchup at UFC Vegas 17 is going to go the distance tomorrow. I believe we will see a striking chess match, but in the end, I like Moraes in this one. I expect him to be very active with kicks to the leg and to the body. In the end, that’ll be enough to secure the decision.

Prediction: Marlon Moraes by Unanimous Decision

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Jose Aldo – Marlon Vera

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In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 17, we have a banger of a matchup in the bantamweight division. Former featherweight champion, Jose Aldo (28-7), will be taking on Marlon “Chito” Vera (16-6-1).

This is the biggest opportunity so far in the UFC for Chito Vera. Getting the opportunity to fight a former world champion and getting the chance to really break through. However, you could make the argument he did that in his last fight.

Coming into UFC Vegas 17, Vera is coming off of a big win against Sean O’Malley. Vera was able to cancel the Suga Show with a leg kick that deadened the leg of O’Malley and compromised him. Chito went on to finish O’Malley with ground and pound.

Since 2018, Chito Vera has really taken off in the UFC. He’s 6-1 in his last seven fights with the lone loss coming against Song Yadong. However, most people believe that Chito won that fight.

He’s going to have his hands full tomorrow with the former UFC featherweight champion. There are a lot of critics out there who claim that Jose Aldo might be washed up. However, when you look at the 34 year old’s record, you have to look at the losses.

Aldo is just 3-6 in his last nine fights in the UFC. His loss against Marlon Moraes was razor close and I actually had Aldo winning the fight. The other five losses were to Max Holloway (Twice), Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, and Petr Yan.

All four of those fighters are world champions. Make no mistake about it, Jose Aldo is still one of the best fighters in the bantamweight division. The former UFC champion still has a lot left in the tank.

UFC Vegas 17 Prediction

The UFC Vegas 17 co-main event is a good one. When it comes to the fight, I think it’s a very difficult stylistic matchup for Chito Vera. Vera has looked very good over the last couple of years, but this is a really tough one for him.

When Chito fought O’Malley, he was really struggling early on. O’Malley was landing clean leg kicks and Chito was biting on almost every feint. Vera went on to make the adjustments needed, but that fight wasn’t looking good until that perfect low kick landed.

Chito has a very good top game, however, I can’t see him getting Aldo to the ground. On the feet, I don’t think Chito will have the speed or power advantage over Aldo either. Thus, it’s hard for me to pick him to win this fight.

I think at UFC Vegas 17 we are going to see Jose Aldo really put on a good performance. I think if he’s aggressive and works the body of Chito, he’s going to be able to comfortably win this one tomorrow night.

Prediction: Jose Aldo by Unanimous Decision

UFC Vegas 17 Preview: Stephen Thompson – Geoff Neal

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UFC Vegas 17 is the final card of what has been a crazy 2020. Despite all of the negative things in the world, 2020 has produced some incredible fights. Tomorrow night’s card is expected to be fireworks.

In the main event of the evening, we have a welterweight contest between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (15-4-1) and Geoff Neal (13-2). Both of these guys are fighting their first UFC fight of 2020.

Wonderboy was able to get back on the winning side of things last November when he fought Vicente Luque. Prior to the Luque fight, Wonderboy had gone 1-3-1 in his previous five trips inside the octagon.

However, it’s worth noting that all of those fights were against top competition. When he defeated Luque last November at UFC 244, Wonderboy did what he does best. He stayed at range and used his counters to hurt Luque bad in their fight.

Wonderboy was able to drop Luque multiple times on his way to a unanimous decision. Just a few weeks after that fight, Geoff Neal went out and knocked out Mike Perry at UFC 245 in the first round.

Since making his promotional debut back in 2018, Geoff Neal has looked unstoppable. He’s a perfect 5-0 inside the UFC and only one fight has gone the distance. He’s only lost once since 2017 and that was to the rising star, Kevin Holland.

UFC Vegas 17 Prediction

This is such a tremendous matchup, but it’s a very difficult one to pick. With the styles of these two, you’d expect the UFC Vegas 17 to take place completely on the feet. It’s going to be a striking chess match.

Wonderboy is really good about fighting from range and using counters. He’s going to throw a lot of side kicks to try and keep Neal away and keep him from getting comfortable.

Meanwhile, Neal is going to try to use his speed and power to get in and out and land big combinations. While Neal is a finisher, I don’t know if he’s going to be able to get a finish against Wonderboy.

I think we are going to see some very high level striking tomorrow night. To be completely honest, I wouldn’t be shocked by either man winning. However, I think at the moment it’s just Geoff Neal’s time in the UFC.

Tomorrow, I expect him to use his speed to get off just a little more. Ultimately, I think he will be able to score enough points on Wonderboy to get a decision. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if Wonderboy’s range striking gets him the nod.

Prediction: Geoff Neal by Unanimous Decision

Manel Kape to serve as UFC 256 backup

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For the second time this year, a UFC newcomer is going to serve as the backup for a title fight. Per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, the promotion has decided to make Manel Kape (15-4) the backup fighter for next weekend’s UFC 256 flyweight title fight.

The UFC flyweight title fight pairs the top contender, Brandon Moreno, against champion, Deiveson Figueiredo. Kape was originally supposed to fight at UFC Vegas 17 on December 19th.

The promotion paired him against top five contender, Alexandre Pantoja. There is a ton of hype surrounding the UFC flyweight debut of Manel Kape. While not quite as big, it’s very similar to the Michael Chandler situation.

Kape is widely considered one of the best flyweights in the world, and obviously the UFC agrees. They were throwing him right into a fight with a guy in the top five. However, Pantoja tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was cancelled.

There is talk that the promotion will look to rebook that fight in either February or March. However, the promotion wanted Kape to stay in Vegas and keep cutting weight. They decided to make Kape the backup just to ensure that the cursed UFC 256 card has a fallback option.

Year of the UFC backup

As mentioned above, this is the second time this year that a UFC newcomer will serve as a backup. Back in October, Michael Chandler was brought in to the be the backup for UFC 254 which featured the title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.

Chandler flew to Fight Island and made weight for the contest. While the Khabib – Gaethje fight went through, Chandler was ready to go just to be safe. Dana White admitted a couple of weeks ago he’s slightly nervous about the weight cuts for the flyweights next weekend.

Both men just fought at UFC 255 and Figueiredo usually struggles to make 125 pounds. Well, the promotion decided to instill a backup option just to cover their bases. While we hope the main event happens as planned, Kape is a very solid fallback option if things go south.