UFC Vegas 49 Post-fight Review
Islam Makhachev continues to dominate
With Bobby Green stepping in on short notice, Islam Makhachev had to make it look easy if he wanted to claim a title shot and that’s exactly what he did. He’s now joined an elite group of fighters that’s won 10 consecutive fights inside the Octagon. Makhachev has taken the torch from Khabib Nurmagomedov and is running with it. He’s finished his last 4 opponents and did it without resistance. Going into his fight against Green, 59% of the Verdict Community predicted Makhachev to finish Green by submission and only 6% predicted a TKO. With 10 straight dominant wins in the UFC, it’s hard to deny Islam Makhachev a title shot. He very well could be facing the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Another Dagestani fighter could be sitting on the Lightweight throne by the end of 2022.
Official Result: Islam Makhachev by 1st round TKO at 3:23
Wellington Turman battles back from adversity
Misha Cirkunov was in full control of the fight in the 1st round and it appeared as if that was the direction that the fight was heading in. With 89 seconds into the 2nd round, Wellington Turman rallied back and finished Cirkunov with an armbar. Coming into the fight, 22% of the Verdict Community predicted Cirkunov to finish Turman by submission and only 3% predicted Turman to win by this method. This was the first time in nearly 10 years that Cirkunov has been submitted. Cirkunov is now on the biggest losing streak of his career with 3 consecutive losses.
Official Result- Wellington Turman by 2nd round submission at 1:29
An early fight of the year candidate
Many questioned why Priscila Cachoeira vs. Ji Yeon Kim was featured on the main card. Cachoeira and Kim silenced those critics by putting on one of the most entertaining fights of 2022. After a competitive first two rounds, Cachoeira and Kim both went for broke in the 3rd round and attacked until the final bell had sounded. The 3rd round had multiple momentum swings which made it a difficult round to score. The Global Scorecard data for the 3rd round was razor close. In a fight this competitive, it could have gone either way.
Many fighters including Angela Hill took to Twitter and stated they thought that Ji Yeon Kim won the fight. Angela Hill knows a thing or two about close fights.
Official Result- Priscila Cachoeira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Arman Tsarukyan makes a statement
Coming into this fight, Joel Alvarez finished 4 consecutive opponents in the UFC. Two of those wins came against Thiago Moises and Joe Duffy who once submitted Conor McGregor. Many members of the Verdict Community believed that Alvarez was the most valuable pick on the card as 73% predicted him to lose. The majority was emphatically correct, as Arman Tsarukyan mauled Joel Alvarez. Tsarukyan smashed Alvarez with a vicious elbow in the 1st round that made him pour blood all over the Octagon. There was so much blood that the fight could have justified being stopped after the 1st round ended. Instead, Alvarez went out to fight in the 2nd round but the mauling continued. Tsarukyan finished Alvarez by TKO in the 2nd round which only 6% predicted. Tsarukyan has now won 5 consecutive fights in the UFC with his last loss coming to Islam Makhachev in April of 2019. Islam Makhachev is making it look easy against his opponents, but he couldn’t do that against Tsarukyan. Arman Tsarukyan was competitive against Makhachev and made him earn that win. What’s most impressive is that Tsarukyan was only 22 years old when he fought Makhachev. He’s continued to improve and now wants to fight a top 10 opponent next. Arman Tsarukyan is a serious threat to the Lightweight division.
Official Result- Arman Tsarukyan by 2nd round TKO at 1:57
30-27 for Petrosyan?
Armen Petrosyan was awarded a split decision win against Gregory Rodrigues. The Global Scorecard had Rodrigues winning the fight by a narrow margin. What was most surprising was that Judge Tony Weeks scored every round for Petrosyan. The 3rd round had the biggest discrepancy of all rounds on the Global Scorecard. Rodrigues was dominating the majority of the 3rd round before Petrosyan began to fire back in the final minute of the fight. Should winning the final minute of a round weigh more than winning the first 4 minutes of a round?
Official Result- Armen Petrosyan by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 30–27)
Ignacio Bahamondes earns his first submission win
After finishing Roosevelt Roberts with a spinning wheel kick knockout in his last fight, 48% of the Verdict Community predicted that Bahamondes would also finish Zhu Rong by knockout. Instead, he shocked a lot of people by submitting Rong. This is the first submission win of Bahamondes’ 7-year professional career. Those that predicted a submission win by Bahamondes skyrocketed up the Global Leaderboard.
Official Result- Ignacio Bahamondes by 3rd round submission at 1:40
