The Very Best Of UFC In NYC

If you hadn’t ever watched UFC 208 and just glanced over the card trying to guess who Fight of the Night went to that cold evening in Brooklyn, nine out of ten of you would have correctly landed on the actual winners of that honor: Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller. For a full fifteen minutes, the two kicked off the main card by exchanging the sort of trademark violence that made them the iconic UFC legends they’ve become. (SL)

As a born and bred New Yorker, I’m fond of telling people that there’s nothing like a big fight at Madison Square Garden. And Georges St-Pierre vs Michael Bisping was a big fight. Forget the high stakes involved. This one just delivered on all counts. GSP came out and won the first round like it was 2013, not 2017, but then Bisping roared back and had St-Pierre in trouble in the third until the Canadian dropped him and then finished him later in that round. High-level stuff from two of the best in the business. And in the Mecca, no less. (TG)

It was “Youth vs Experience” and experience won out, though it wasn’t easy. Hernandez landed a right hand right out of the chute and had Cerrone backing up less than 30 seconds into the fight, which prompted “Cowboy” to wrestle. Even when Cerrone found a home for his strikes, Hernandez was right there with one of his own, pushing a rapid pace in an attempt to suffocate and tire out the veteran. But by the end of the first, Cerrone was battering Hernandez and brimming with confidence, and less than 90 seconds into the middle stanza, he was right back at it, punishing Hernandez every time he came forward and picking his spots with an assortment of heavy strikes. Late in the second, an unexpected right high kick rocked Hernandez, sending him to the canvas, where a series of piston-like right hands brought the fight to a close. (ESK)

Rose Namajunas made it two for two over Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the UFC 223 co-main event at Barclays Center, but she had to go five rounds to get the win the second time around, pulling off a unanimous decision victory to retain her UFC women’s strawweight title for the first time in a bout that was a lot closer than the 49-46 scores would indicate.

Kevin Lee called Gregor Gillespie the worst fight he could take in his return to 155 pounds, but his head kick knockout proved that, who dares wins. Yeah, it was a risky fight to take, but in doing so, Lee made a statement and then made a bigger one with perhaps his biggest win. (TG)

Words will fail most who try to describe the epic three-rounder between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler, so all I’ll tell you is to go watch it. It doesn’t need words. And after scoring a hard-fought win in a fight that lived up to every ounce of hype preceding it, Gaethje put himself back in the title conversation by doing what he does best. (TG)

Before his Saturday bout with Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and I discussed how some fighters are remembered not just for titles and a win-loss record, but for how they made you feel. Against Chandler, Poirier added another chapter to a career that won’t be forgotten, because he showed up and went to war once again with a top-level opponent who is carving out a similar legacy for himself. And yeah, Poirier wouldn’t turn down another crack at the lightweight crown, but whatever happens from here on out, he’s built a Hall of Fame resume. (TG)

Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya 1 [Watch On UFC FIGHT PASS]

By the fifth round of UFC 281’s main event between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, I can’t say I saw that ending coming. Adesanya had taken some of Pereira’s thunder, but he was still standing and could have coasted to a decision win. The best fighters all have an ego, though, and Adesanya kept dipping his toes into the fire in the final round, and eventually, he got burned. Kudos to that night’s new champ for continuing to fight what was shaping up to be a losing battle, and to the former champ for not sitting on a lead. (TG)