The UFC bantamweight image isn’t any clearer after UFC Vegas 60 than earlier than the occasion. However on a constructive notice, the battle on the high of the promotion’s 135-pound weight class didn’t get murkier on Saturday evening.
Within the headlining bout of UFC Vegas 60, Cory Sandhagen, who entered the occasion because the No. 4 ranked fighter within the official UFC bantamweight rankings, defeated No. 10 Track Yadong by way of physician stoppage. With the win, Sandhagen, who was on a two-fight shedding skid, is prone to maintain onto his spot within the rankings and maybe land himself a title eliminator in his subsequent outing.
Within the co-main occasion, Gregory Rodrigues overcame having a chasm blasted into his brow compliments of a well-timed knee of Chidi Njokuani to win that middleweight contest by way of TKO.
Learn on for the winners and losers from the complete UFC Vegas 60 struggle card, which happened on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streamed on ESPN+.
Winners:
Cory Sandhagen: Cory Sandhagen’s focus heading into UFC Vegas 60 was to finish his two-fight shedding skid and maintain onto his No. 4 spot within the official UFC rankings. He did that with a wonderful efficiency towards a future star in Track Yadong.
Sandhagen used quantity, diversified strikes, unorthodox assaults, meanness and stellar cardio to get the win by way of physician stoppage on the finish of the fourth stanza. The struggle was shut, two judges had it tied going into the fifth and the opposite had Sandhagen forward. With that, it was Sandhagen’s skill to do injury after which exploit that injury that received him the struggle.
With the win, Sandhagen stays within the combine on the high of a crowded division with a number of fighters vying for a shot on the winner of the UFC 280 struggle between present 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling and former champ T.J. Dillashaw.
Track Yadong: Track Yadong doesn’t flip 25 till December 2. With that, look forward to finding him hanging across the high of the bantamweight division for years to come back. My criticism of Yadong coming into this struggle was that he throws every thing with most effort. My concern was that he would depart himself open to counters and fade as the competition went into the later rounds.
I nonetheless suppose Yadong wants to combine up his putting and he typically bit on actions his opponent, Cory Sandhagen, made through the struggle. However his toughness, resiliency and takedown protection have been all off the charts on Saturday evening.
Yadong and Crew Alpha Male ought to take a look at UFC Vegas 60 as a studying experiment and make changes specializing in incremental enchancment. Yadong doesn’t want a complete retooling, however some minor tweaks will make him a greater and extra profitable fighter.
Gregory Rodrigues: After his win over Chidi Njokuani, Gregory Rodrigues stood in the midst of the octagon along with his brow cut up extensive open and advised UFC commentator Daniel Cormier that he’s “constructed for this.”
That’s a phrase we regularly hear in fight sports activities. Nevertheless, after witnessing what Rodrigues did through the co-main occasion of UFC Vegas 60, one has no selection however to imagine his assertion.
Rodrigues took the hellacious knee that opened that reduce within the early going of the struggle and by no means faltered, coming again to complete Njokuani within the second stanza.
Andre Fili vs. Invoice Algeo: Andre Fili and Invoice Algeo had themselves a spirited featherweight battle. Fili’s putting was on level and he spent a good period of time within the third spherical searching for a submission. Nevertheless, Algeo made issues shut due to his refusal to stop.
Joseph Pyfer: Joseph Pyfer earned a UFC contract with a memorable knockout on a July Dana White Contender Sequence card. The UFC was impressed sufficient with that end that they put Pyfer on the UFC Vegas 60 essential card. Pyfer made probably the most of that chance, scoring a spotlight reel knockout over Alen Amedovski within the first spherical.
Anthony Hernandez: Anthony Hernandez made an announcement at UFC Vegas 60, beating up Marc-Andre Barriault in nearly each means attainable. He had a 65 % important putting price, eight takedowns, two submission makes an attempt and eight:45 of management time in a struggle that ended at 1:53 of the third spherical by way of technical submission.
Hernandez’s efficiency at UFC UFC Vegas 60 was his third straight win and possibly his most interesting efficiency underneath the UFC banner.
Damon Jackson: Damon Jackson harm Pat Sabatini early after which went for the end with some nasty and efficient floor strikes. These blows introduced a verbal submission from Sabatini on the 1:09 mark of the primary spherical.
The win got here only a week after Jackson’s brother died. Moments after he earned the victory, the feelings Jackson saved inside throughout struggle week poured out.
With the victory, Jackson is now on a four-fight profitable streak.
Trey Ogden: Every thing Trey Ogden did towards Daniel Zellhuber was efficient and spectacular. Ogden and his coach, James Krause, created — and executed — an ideal recreation plan to finish the profitable streak of the favored Daniel Zellhuber at UFC Vegas 60.
Ogden’s protection, counters, mixture of strategies and pace have been all noteworthy in his choice victory.
Gillian Robertson: I’m torn on Gillian Robertson. On the one hand, Robertson misplaced the primary spherical due to her concentrate on placing Mariya Agapova to the mat. In that spherical, Agapova landed 82 strikes to Robertson’s two. Stat keepers deemed 37 of these blows “important.” Alternatively, Robertson’s grappling and the choke she used to finish the struggle have been top-notch.
Javid Basharat: Javid Basharat moved to 13-0 with a call win over Tony Gravely. What I actually appreciated about Basharat’s recreation on this bantamweight contest was how he blended up his putting targets and strategies. The 27-year-old’s putting assault prevented Gravely from getting a learn on what was coming and the place it was coming from.
Basharat will get some bonus factors for preserving his cool — at the least through the struggle — after a few head clashes through the motion.
Nikolas Motta: Nikolas Motta didn’t have to attend lengthy to search out his opening towards Cameron VanCamp. Motta gave up lots of top and attain to his opponent, however VanCamp appeared to imagine that his benefits would make him untouchable. They didn’t, as Motta used his pace and countering skill to search out VanCamp’s off button on the 3:49 mark of Spherical 1.
The knockout win was a strong rebound efficiency for the 29-year-old, who opened his UFC profession win a knockout loss to Jim Miller in February.
Rodrigo Nascimento: After his choice win over Tanner Boser, Rodrigo Nascimento had a request. Whereas many fighters take their time on the mic after a win to ask the UFC for a $50,000 fight-night bonus, Nascimento requested tickets for the trilogy struggle between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. Hey, at the least it was completely different.
NSAC cageside physician: Cageside docs have a troublesome job. Once they work fight sports activities, these women and men typically need to go towards their coaching. The position of a cageside physician, within the case of a reduce, is to evaluate if the fighter can see or if there’s a threat of everlasting nerve injury. They don’t — or shouldn’t — contemplate the beauty consequence of the injury. With that in thoughts, the physician on Saturday did an excellent job making the calls he did within the co-main occasion and essential occasion.
Losers:
Pat Sabatini: Damon Jackson by no means gave Pat Sabatini an opportunity to get into their featherweight contest. Sabatini verbally submitted to strikes early within the first spherical. The loss ended Sabatini’s three-fight UFC profitable streak and his general run of six straight victories.
Sabatini’s subsequent struggle shall be vital concerning his trajectory with the promotion.
Daniel Zellhuber: One of many issues Daniel Zellhuber spoke about within the lead-up to his UFC debut was that earlier than he moved to Xtreme Couture a couple of months in the past, he had issue getting high-level coaching. That confirmed in his loss to Trey Ogden. He appeared unable to regulate through the struggle and regarded as if he was annoyed along with his incapability to make something occur.
It’s far too early to jot down off Zellhuber, who’s simply 23, after his first profession loss, however we have to see lots of progress from the younger man in his subsequent struggle. The time he spends with head coach Erick Nicksick shall be vital.
Mariya Agapova: Mariya Agapova ought to have tapped. Fighters don’t get a “toughness” bonus. Gillian Robertson had the choke locked in and Agapova wasn’t combating it in any means that will have allowed her to flee the method.
Cameron VanCamp: Cameron VanCamp realized the lesson that many fighters uncover after they step up in competitors. That lesson? Size and attain aren’t an alternative choice to a robust defensive putting guard.
Sara McMann: Sara McMann has not fought since March. The UFC had booked her to face Aspen Ladd in August, however that struggle fell by way of after Ladd contracted COVID-19.
The promotion rebooked McMann vs. Ladd for UFC Vegas 60. Nevertheless, with Ladd lacking weight on Friday and the struggle being scratched, Ladd prevented McMann from competing contained in the octagon.
McMann stated the UFC took “excellent care’ of her, which is nice, however with no struggle, every thing she put into coaching camp — bodily and financial — was for naught. The shortage of a struggle additionally prevents McMann from shifting to the subsequent degree of her UFC contract as a result of, with no win, there shall be no motion in that regard.
Aspen Ladd: Aspen Ladd has missed weight 3 times in her UFC profession and had a daunting second on the dimensions in 2019, the place she made weight, however not with out some questions on her well being. She additionally didn’t make weight as soon as underneath the Invicta banner. Ladd’s weight misses with the UFC have value her opponents — Sara McMann, Macy Chiasson and Leslie Smith the chance to carry out on UFC playing cards.
The UFC is reluctant to drive fighters to maneuver weight divisions, however Ladd has proven a sample. If the UFC needs to be well being and security first, it wants to inform Ladd any more, she should struggle at 145 kilos.
UFC Fighters: Within the early moments of the UFC Vegas 60 broadcast, the commentary staff talked about that 13 Dana White Contender Sequence alum have been competing on the cardboard.
Whereas the DWCS has supplied loads of fighters with UFC contracts, it has finished that at a decrease beginning pay for many of these fighters. From what we now have seen from the commissions that also reveal fighter salaries, all indications are that DWCS alum begin their careers with $10,000 UFC contracts.
The DWCS appears to have been designed with the concept it will present the UFC and ESPN with low cost content material creators. It has succeeded in doing that.
A excessive variety of DWCS alum on a struggle card isn’t a lot of a constructive for those who care about fighter pay.
UFC: After his win, Joe Pyfer stated, “Thanks to Dana White. That man gave me money on the aspect and a spot to dwell for the subsequent yr.”
In a simply world, UFC athletes would earn sufficient cash that housing wouldn’t be a priority, however for those who have been unaware, Pyfer’s “really feel good” story was one other reminder that the UFC is a unclean enterprise, of us.
