The Bigger Picture | UFC 297

For a number of years, the UFC middleweight division was… how can I say this?

Middleweight felt like a network TV sitcom like The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother, in that you kind of knew where things were heading most of the time, the names were all familiar and established, and there were much more compelling things happening elsewhere. Millions of people watched each of those shows and fight fans still tuned in for big fights in the 185-pound ranks, but it reached a point where it just felt like we were in Season 4 of a solid show that offered few twists and turns.

UFC 298 Event Page

Over the last seven months, however, there has been a massive shakeup.

Du Plessis thumped Robert Whittaker to emerge as the No. 1 contender. Sean Strickland ventured to Sydney and unseated Israel Adesanya to become champion. Former titleholder Alex Pereira relocated to light heavyweight and won gold there, and now, with “Stillknocks” climbing to the top of the middleweight mountain, things are more fresh and interesting than they have been in years.

Through her first 10 professional fights, Raquel Pennington was a .500 fighter. She was a perennial tough out, but when positioned against top talent in the 135-pound weight class, the Colorado native struggled to find success.

That same reality applied to her early UFC tenure as well, and even after ascending into contention on the strength of a four-fight winning streak that included avenging a previous defeat to Jessica Andrade and dominating Miesha Tate at Madison Square Garden, key results in big fights still didn’t go her way, resulting in a 1-3 run over her next four appearances that left her record sitting at 10-8 overall.

UFC 297 | Fight Card | Final Results | Official Scorecards

Four years later, Pennington woke up on Sunday morning as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, having out-hustled Mayra Bueno Silva in a gritty battle that was won as much on resolve and determination as anything else. The victory extended her winning streak to six, and a look back at her struggles along the way offers a very different picture than most people ever seemed to notice.

Each of Pennington’s five UFC defeats have come against individuals that have held championship gold — Andrade, who went on to win the strawweight title and challenge for the flyweight crown; a pair of close decision losses to bantamweight champ and multiple time challenger across two divisions Holly Holm; the best female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes; and former featherweight queen and bantamweight title challenger Germaine de Randamie.

Movsar Evloev forced his way into the featherweight title picture with a unanimous decision win over Arnold Allen, pushing his record to 18-0 in the process. The unbeaten Russian is rock solid everywhere, with strong conditioning, good coaching, and the kind of steely resolve that makes him a legitimate title threat in the 145-pound ranks.

Sean Woodson is a handful at featherweight because of his fluid boxing and uncanny height and reach. The Dana White’s Contender Series grad has won back-to-back outings, is unbeaten in his last five, and 5-1-1 through seven UFC starts, and absolutely needs to be facing someone with a number next to their name next time out in order to figure out whether he’s a dark horse in the division or someone better suited to thriving just outside the Top 15.

If Ramon Taveras and Serhiy Sidey wanted to fight each other every 10-12 months for the rest of time, I would be perfectly okay with that, and I think everyone else would be as well. The bantamweight rivals co-authored a banger on Saturday’s prelims, with Taveras eking out a debated split decision win.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Sam Patterson progresses at welterweight. The towering Brit collected a smooth submission win over Yohan Lainesse in Toronto, and he has the size and grappling acumen to make some noise in the middle of the division over the next 12-18 months.

Jasmine Jasudavicius loved every minute of her initial walk to the Octagon, clicked in, and then made Priscila Cachoeira pay for missing weight. The Niagara Top Team product is 3-1 in her last four and a guaranteed bundle of fun whenever she steps into the Octagon.

One Last Thing

It was great to see Canadian fans turn out en masse again on Saturday night, making it back-to-back shows over the last eight months that have been sold out, loud, and a reminder of what a great market this country has been in the past and can be in the future.

A couple events per year in Canada is going to enliven the grassroots scene in this country, and with the Ontario Combat Sports Commission undergoing changes, things look promising going forward.

The final results weren’t great for the Canadian athletes on the card, but it still feels like we’re at the start of something when it comes to MMA in this country, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses.

And with that, I’m out.

See you again after UFC 298.