UFC 252 Recap & Reaction

Undercard Takeaways

The once promising Felice Herrig looks far away from the rising star of just a few years ago.  Tonight she lost her third straight fight.  This time, only 1:44 into the very first round with a armbar submission lost to Virna Jandiroba.  This drops her to 14-9 overall, and in shaky ground for the UFC.

Another once UFC big name, Jim Miller, also lost.  His defeat came via unanimous decision to Vinc Pichel. The loss drops Jim Miller to 32-15-1.  Despite the loss, no one can deny that Miller has made a career of being in the UFC and will go out on his terms one day.

The sole knockout of the undercard came from Chris Daukas over Parker Porter at 4:28 of the very first round.  The win improves Daukas to 9-3 and he looks like he has the kind of talent to stick around the UFC and move up the card for a long time to come.

Decisions wins were also secured by Kai Kamaka III, Livia Renata Souza and Daniel Chavez.

Main Card Takeaways

John Dodson vs Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili

It was hard to figure out what John Dodson was trying to do tonight as he didn’t so much of anything.  Merab “The Machine “Dvalishvili didn’t do anything great, but he did things well enough to push the action and capture the decision win across the board 30-27.

Daniel Pineda vs Herbert Burns

Daniel The Pit Pineda last fought in the UFC 6 years ago, but managed to pile up 8 big wins in various different promotions during the absence.

Herbert Burns came in at 11-2 and looking to make a name for himself on the big stage.  Most of round one was spent on the matt as Daniel Pineda worked from the top in Burns guard. He landed some nice shots to the ribs of Burns, but nothing that put him in serious trouble.

In round two, it was Burns getting Pineda on the ground and it looked early like it may be his round after a great right hand.  It would change quickly however as Pineda would turn it around, get on top, crucifix Burns and just beat him into submission.  6 years away from the UFC, and Pineda looked better than ever showing the heart of a champion tonight!

Junior Dos Santos vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik

It was Rozenstruik making everyone forget about his 20 second KO loss to Francis Ngannou only 60 days ago.  He had a dominant knockout tonight that sealed the end of the run of JDS towards the top.  For JDS, this is his third straight loss all by KO. JDS has now also lost 5 of his last 9 with all 5 being by KO.

Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera

Marlon Vera came into tonight’s fight a 16 fight UFC veteran, with an impressive 11-5 record in those fights, but the hype and attention was all Sean Sugar O’Malley. That angered Vera and he showed why with a super effort tonight.  He smelled blood after the early O’Malley injury and poured it one never giving O’Malley a chance to recover with a powerful first round knockout.

Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship

Round One was excellent as both men landed big shots.  Stipe to the body, and DC to the chin.  Both men also showed great reserve and ability to take a hit. I scored it 10-9 DC

Round Two saw DC land some serious power shots to the chin of Stipe Miocic that appeared to be made of steel.  The short left of DC was working but Stipe got is shots in as well. Stipe lands a thunderous strike that sends DC to the canvas with less than 12 seconds left in the round.  DC gets saved by the bell.  Stipe steals the round and takes it 10-9

Round Three was all Stipe, who even threw in an accidental eye poke to add insult to injury.  It closed DC’s eye and was horrid to see in such a great fight.

Even with a bad eye, DC did enough to out strike Stipe and take Round Four.   All even at 2-2 going into the 5th.

A classic ROUND FIVE in which both men went to war.  If there was a crowd the roar would have been deafening.

I have it 48-47 Stipe…. Let’s see what the judges say.

The judges agree with 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47

This was the best fight in the UFC in 2020, and a classic trilogy.