The weekend has come and gone, but it’s worth taking a look back at the card that was. UFC Boise (UFC Fight Night 133) brought some big returns, and big finishes.
On Saturday night Junior dos Santos and Chad Mendes both made successful UFC returns after separate quarrels with the United States Anti-Doping Agency rendered the fighters inactive for a significant portion of their prime fighting days. UFC Boise (UFC Fight Night 133) was a decently loaded card for a ‘B-level UFC show,’ but you’d never know it based on marketing and the live Twitter feed because the name “UFC Boise” doesn’t scream ‘must-watch programming.’ I wasn’t sure who was fighting on Saturday night leading up to the event — but I damn sure knew where they were taking place!
Let’s get to the good stuff:
Junior dos Santos def. Blagoy Ivanov via Unanimous Decision
After a moderate suspension from USADA after apparently doing nothing wrong, JDS returned to form on Saturday and handed the former WSOF/PFL Heavyweight Champion, Blagoy Ivanov, a 50-45 unanimous decision loss in his UFC debut. JDS successfully utilized his jab against the south-paw and by round four Ivanov’s corner was calling for a knockout as their only path to victory — and that’s never a good place to be in.
To date Junior dos Santos’ only losses in the UFC have come against Cain Velasquez (x2), Alistair Overeem, and Stipe Miocic.
The top end of the heavyweight division is possibly looking at a huge logjam depending on how things go with the Brock Lesnar/DC/Jon Jones love triangle, but with another win or two Junior dos Santos can get himself right back into title contention. Derrick Lewis, Francis Ngannou, a healthy Cain Velasquez
JDS looked a little sluggish at times, but that’s what a lengthy absence will do to your skillset and timing.
In form.
Who should @Junior_Cigano fight next? #UFCBoise pic.twitter.com/u6AVUOfKZk
— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2018
Sage Northcutt def. Zak Ottow by Knockout at 3:13 Round 2
‘Super’ Sage went up to welterweight for this fight against Zak Ottow and even though Ottow dominated round 1 early, Northcutt came back and finished strong to get momentum on his side heading into the second round.
Northcutt first dropped Ottow:
Wobbled him.
Finished him.@SageNorthcutt enjoys a triumphant return to WW. #UFCBoise pic.twitter.com/DZzg7QQfjA
— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2018
Then Sage finished Ottow off with brutal hammer fists moments later:
Rick Glenn def. Dennis Bermudez via Split Decision
You can read more about this fight here, but there really aren’t any highlights so I’ll spare you the time. Next.
Niko Price def. Randy Brown via Murderous Hammer Fists at 1:09 RD 2
Niko ‘The Hybrid’ Price landed SIX unanswered hammer fists from the bottom to knock out Randy Brown from the BOTTOM off of his BACK. That’s perhaps the scariest thing several wrestlers at welterweight have ever seen.
Chad Mendes def. Myles Jury via TKO (Punches) at 2:52 Round 1
You wouldn’t think about it because of his placement on the card, but Chad Mendes after his win in Boise on Saturday was only two fights removed from his UFC 189 classic against Conor McGregor in which he competed for the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship on one of the best cards in UFC company history.
Mendes knocked Jury down with a big left hand and then finished him with a barrage of big right hands against the cage:
Mendes should shoot right back up the featherweight rankings now and perhaps a rematch with Frankie Edgar makes the most sense now as he’d likely be the quickest route to a title shot for ‘Money’ Mendes — and time is money.
Cat Zingano def. Marion Reneau via Unanimous Decision
‘Alpha’ Cat Zingano got back on track in Boise as she utilized takedowns and a dominant ground game to beat Marion Reneau in a three round decision.
“We fought to the bone. Feeling good but there’s still work to do. Much respect to Marion for the push Saturday night. Thanks for having us BOISE!! ” – Cat Zingano via Intstagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlTFWdJHA6_/?hl=en&taken-by=alphacatzingano
