UFC 295 review - Englishman in New York
In a shocking turn of events, Madison Square Garden delivers once again! Two new champions, a main card full of finishes and a fight of the year contender on the prelims. All action in NYC!
Logically I should start with talking about the main event where Alex Pereira won his second world title in only his 6th UFC fight, but from a UK point of view the co-main event was the main attraction in New York City on Saturday night. What Tom Aspinall did to Sergei Pavlovich was truly special, and though he is not the undisputed champion I think he is the best heavyweight in the world at the moment. Taking the fight on two weeks notice (which Pavlovich technically did as well, but he was set to be the backup for Jones vs Miocic so he was already in camp) and then suffering a back injury 10 days before the fight which left him unable to do get the right preparations just makes it even more incredible.
Aspinall kept saying during fight week that Pavlovich hasn’t fought anyone with the speed and movement that he possesses, which is a cliché that fighters often use when asked why they’re going to win a fight. “He’s never fought anyone like me” is something we hear at nearly every press conference and interview these days, but in Aspinall’s case I feel it’s justified. The only heavyweight with similar footwork and movement is probably Ciryl Gane, but he’s a different kind of striker so it’s not totally comparable either. And that’s only talking about the striking, which is arguably not even the strongest part of Aspinall’s game. He has world class grappling and jiu jitsu which he hasn’t had to use a whole lot yet, but I’m sure he’ll pull it out more if things aren’t going his way on the feet (though that doesn’t really seem to be an issue at the moment).
The embrace before the fight was nice to see, and while I’m never opposed to some trash talking to hype up a fight, I also like when fighters are just respectful of each other and can let the fight do the talking. Pavlovich did actually catch Aspinall with a left hook in the opening exchange, but Aspinall took it very well and didn’t look fazed at all. It looked like his head movement and feints made Pavlovich more hesitant than usual, and once Aspinall connected with a straight to the temple, Pavlovich were wobbling all over the place. A 1-2 later, and the Russian crashed to the canvas for Aspinall to land a few more follow up shots. It was a mighty impressive performance against what Aspinall himself claimed is the scariest guy in the division, and while it’s an interim title for now it wouldn’t surprise me if it becomes the undisputed belt after Jones fights Miocic and retires. I want Aspinall to get his dream fight against Jon Jones, because I honestly believe he would beat Jones, probably even finish him. We’ll have to wait and see.
Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight title was up next. And surprisingly it wasn’t quite as much of a barnburner as I was anticipating. Don’t get me wrong it was a very fun fight, and I think the intensity added so much intrigue to the contest, but Pereira’s measured approach was enough to negate some of Prochazka’s craziness. But before getting into the actual fight, I have to mention the walkouts, because they were both incredible and you could feel the whole arena getting tense when they faced off in the octagon. We know Pereira’s walkouts are always incredible, the bow and arrow towards the cage and the scream before walking stoic to the octagon. Then Jiri comes out, and while I have no clue what song he was walking out to, it just encapsulates Jiri Prochazka in a way I can’t quite explain. This wasn’t visible for us watching the broadcast, but apparently Pereira was just standing stone-faced during the entirety of Jiri’s entrance which is completely in character for ‘Poatan’. The face off itself was one of the most intense I’ve ever seen, and after seeing Aspinall win I was ready to watch without really having a vested interest in who won, I just wanted to see a fun scrap.
It wasn’t the most fast paced opening round, but Pereira found huge success in attacking the lead leg of Jiri Prochazka. You could see after just a couple of kicks that it was bothering him, and the problem for Jiri when fighting an excellent kicker like Pereira is that his stance is so wide that his lead leg is very open to be kicked, especially as Pereira doesn’t really telegraph his leg kicks at all. Jiri landed a nice uppercut at some point, but neither fighter really had the other in any trouble during the opening round. The Czech managed to take Pereira down with a little over 2 minutes left on the clock and landed some ground and pound, but nothing of huge significance. A cautionary first round which I personally scored for Pereira on the back of the success he had with the leg kicks.
In the second round I actually thought Jiri had a lot of success. He stung Pereira on several occasions, but wasn’t really in a position where he was close to a finish. It was the aggression and pressure that kept Pereira on the back foot that had him ahead in the round, but in one exchange he got a little too eager, and Pereira countered him with his trademark left hook and put him down. Jiri tried to grab onto a double leg, but Pereira defended by elbowing the side of Jiri’s head until he fell backwards and referee Marc Goddard called the fight. Many, including me, though it was an early stoppage as Prochazka was straight back up and seemed to be capable of continuing the fight. He said in the post fight interview that he was okay with the stoppage and was out, at least briefly. It’s very rare to hear a fighter say that about a controversial stoppage, so I think it’s fair to say that Goddard did a good job.
Alex Pereira has now won belts in two division across his 6 fight, 2 year UFC career, which is honestly bonkers. He called out Adesanya for a trilogy fight at 205lbs, but I’d rather him fight a light heavyweight contender. I wouldn’t be surprised if both Aspinall and Pereira could feature at UFC 300 next year, in addition to a certain Irishman perhaps (The rumour is that McGregor will return for UFC 300 at least).
Like I said before the weekend, whenever the UFC take over MSG, it’s usually a spectacle and amongst the best PPV’s of the year. This now is definitely the frontrunner for me, and I am lying to myself if I say that attending a UFC event at Madison Square Garden isn’t on my bucket list.
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