Positives and negatives from UFC 281

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While UFC has had few slow weeks recently, UFC 281 held at Madison Square Garden in New York proved to be action-packed with several big headline fights and a celebrated lightweight clash. Here we look at the positives and negatives of UFC 281.

Positives:

The kickboxing bout between Carlos Ulberg and Nicolae Negumereanu turned out to be a thriller, with a “flawless” performance fromUlberg. The two have won a total of 12 matches by knockout, and neither player was expected to go down without a proper fight. However, Ulberg, who has been having a very successful year, finally emerged victorious after dominating over his opponent, and delivering a win by knockout. The battle between Michael Trizano and Seungwoo Choi was also a high octane, featherweight fight, with both fighters looking for a knockout win, in contrast to their previous match which was less eventful. The match also featured a rare double-knockdown when both men delivering identical left hook shots. Meanwhile, Renato Moicano left a mark in his lightweight fight against Brad Riddell, who was expected to have an advantage with his kickboxing skills. However, Moicano dominated on the floor and in the use of his feet both, while also delivering a memorable post-match interview. Among players to make a comeback in style, was Dustin Poirier with a lightweight match against Michael Chandler, who had lost his second undisputed title fight last December.

Negatives:

Viewers had to experience some organizational issues with the decision for the strawweight fight between Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Silvana Gomez Juarez delayed, due to a commissioner interrupting Bruce Bufferwith some edited notes. This perplexed onlookers have ventured a guess that the commissioner was correcting miscalculated scores. The light heavyweight fight between Dominick Reyes and Ryan Spann also proved to be a dampener. While it demonstrated Spann’s superiority in the 205-pound category, it also proved that Reyes, who has spent a lengthy recovery period from his previous two knockout losses, and was fighting his first match in 18 months, will have to wait longer to return to his old form. Finally, lightweight legend Frankie Edgar, who was fighting his last UFC match, suffered a third consecutive loss by knockout. This left fans in silence, as they had hoped for a more dignified finish to his final fight.