UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira produces one of the most controversial events in the history of the UFC APEX
UFC Fight Night 206 went down at the UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday evening. The card was headlined by former UFC Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and potential future Bantamweight title contender Ketlen Vieira. It was a controversial card for a variety of reasons with several contentious decisions on the main card.
Ketlen Vieira Secures Split Decision Victory
Ketlen Vieira adds another household name to her resume in the form of Holly Holm. The fight was somewhat lackluster at times due to the clinch control against the fence and distance management of Holly Holm, however Vieira made sure to put stamps on the rounds during key moments of the fight with powerful right hands in the pocket. All of the trademark Holly Holm weapons were on full display Saturday night, however, it never really seemed to affect the Brazilian native. Holly landed several range finders throughout the bout with a variety of low kicks, body kicks, and intercepting sidekicks. She also mixed in a few flurries of punches at times, albeit, with little success in that department. Ketlen was numerically outstruck in the contest 188 to 122, however, it seemed that Ketlen was landing the more damaging shots in rounds two through four. Despite the Official Scorecards favoring Vieira, The Verdict Community scored four out of the five rounds in favor of Holly. The commentary team also seemed to believe that Holm had done enough to get the judges nod.
Michel Pereira & Santiago Ponzinibbio Brawl to the Bell
It was always going to be this way. "The People's Main Event" delivered and then some when Michel Pereira and Santiago Ponzinibbio duked it out for three all too short rounds in the Welterweight Division. The fight was largely dictated by a pair of weapons in each man's holsters: the Pereira straight right and teep to the gut versus the Ponzinibbio left hook and low calf kick. There were large momentum swings throughout the bout, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. The Verdict Community for the most part agreed that Pereira won the 1st round by a significant margin, but Ponzinibbio eeked out the 2nd and 3rd rounds. At the end of the battle, Michel Pereira was the one rewarded with a five-fight winning streak by two of the three judges, one of those score-cards being a baffling 30-27.
Chidi Njokuani Scores Vicious Knockout
It didn't take long for Chidi Njokuani to deliver a spectacular display of violence against Dusko Todorovic. After somewhat of a rocky start dictated by a smothering grappling assault at the hands of Todorovic, "Chidi Bang Bang" landed a thunderous right elbow at 4:48 of the first round.
The sequence was initiated off of a clinch break and landed directly to the side of the head of the unlucky Dusko. This puts Njokuani at a four-fight win streak all via stoppage, three of which being UFC affiliated. The future appears bright for the young talent and he is a welcome addition to the UFC's Middleweight Division.
Tabatha Ricci Takedowns Cinch the Victory
"Baby Shark" dictated where the fight took place in this Women's Strawweight Bout. Polyana Viana was game on the feet and at times Viana was arguably even the better of the two women in the Octagon. However, Viana was ultimately unable to keep the fight on the feet where she could utilize her striking. Multiple times throughout the bout, Ricci was able to secure a double leg-inside trip hybrid style takedown. Ricci was largely unable to do much with these takedowns as the closed guard of Viana was quite formidable. Every time Ricci looked to pass the guard Viana either threatened with an armbar or used the space to create separation. This stalemate of sorts left long portions of the bout with Ricci standing over a grounded Polyana Viana. At the end of the contest, Tabatha Ricci scored a judge's sweep of 29-28's. The Verdict Community however scored all three rounds in favor of Ricci.
Jun Yong Park Wins Controversial Decision
It was a close one when Eryk Anders took on Jun Young Park. The two combatants showcased a clash of styles and strategies in this fight. The Southpaw, "Ya Boi", looked to play the volume game by throwing lots of feints, level changes, and straight lefts. "The Iron Turtle", however, had a completely different approach in looking to be as efficient and accurate as possible with his counter-punching. Not only was this bout a clash of strategies and interesting nicknames, but it was also a clash of knees to the groin as each fighter landed low blows throughout the fifteen-minute bout. In the end, two of the three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Park. The Verdict Community however only gave Park the 3rd round and had Anders taking the Final Score 28.65 to 28.44.
