Photo Credit: Getty Images
*This was originally posted May 1, 2022*
Closing out the month, hyping fight fans up for the PPV next week, the UFC was on FIRE this week, serving up an incredible main event and impressive performances all night long. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera proved he’s the real deal, mangling Font’s face, dropping him multiple times in the main event. The fan-favourite veteran, Andrei Arlovski BARELY edged ahead in a controversial split decision over Jake Collier. We also saw another unbelievable performance from Alexandr Romanov, moving to 5-0 in the UFC, and a HUGE win for rookie Joanderson Brito in his 2nd UFC fight. All of the bouts from UFC Vegas 53 are covered below along with BLÜ’s favourite performances of the night: the BLÜ BONUSES. As a special bonus, BFL 72: BFL Mania (as seen on UFC Fight Pass) is also covered below.
Prelim. Action
Fight #1
Shanna Young def. Gina Mazany by TKO in the 2nd Round
After a late cancellation, we opened the night with these ladies in a close stand-up battle. Mazany came in looking great. She was winning the early clinch battles, pushed the pace of the feet and managed to stumble Young once with a BIG knee. She kept the momentum going into the 2nd Round, but then Young started to find her rhythm, picking Gina apart on the feet. Realizing Young was starting to steal the momentum, Mazany tried to move the fight to the ground. Sadly for her, she was reversed, landing with Young on top. From there, Shanna took full advantage of her position, letting loose some relentless ground and pound to get her first UFC win.
Fight #2
Natan Levy def. Mike Breeden by Unanimous Decision
Breeden stuck to his game plan early, taking Levy down, trying to shut down his offence. Levy managed to get up fairly quickly from that though and actually briefly brought the fight to the ground again, fighting for a NASTY heel hook. After throwing another blistering head kick, Levy did the exact same thing again, latching onto another heel hook. The round was VERY close, but with the flashy moves and late control time, Levy likely took the round on the cards. Switching strategies from the opening round, Breeden came in hot with some WILD strikes. Knowing he had the grappling advantage after the first round, Levy avoided those strikes and threw Breeden down to the ground. As both men started to get tired, it seemed as though Breeden was starting to regain momentum. This all ended as Levy landed a big one, stunned Breeden and used his wrestling to smother him, likely taking another round on the cards. Breeden came in just as heavy in the final round, throwing everything at Levy, trying to get a finish. Levy couldn’t get anything going, Breeden was relentless, throwing HUGE body shots, knees and combos, trying to get it done. Then it was Levy who had the biggest moment of the round, landing one that dropped Breeden to his knees. It was an all-out war, but it seemed like Levy won a fairly clear 29-28, perhaps even 30-27 decision on the cards. The judges agreed, scoring it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Levy, giving him his first UFC win.
Fight #3
Gabe Green def. Yohan Lainesse by TKO in the 2nd Round
The fight started pretty even with a pure striking battle. The one noticeable difference was Lainesse’s power, landing the bigger strikes. Near the end of the first, Lainesse brought the fight to the ground, solidifying the round on the cards. It started off even in the second but took a brutal turn after Green dropped to the ground after a MASSIVE hook. He kept that momentum going throughout the round, using his wrestling to shut down Green’s offence. After he got up though, Green started to finally let it all go. He started to let loose combo after combo to the body and the head, melting Lainesse along the fence until the ref stepped in to end it.
Fight #4
Francisco Figueiredo def. Daniel da Silva by Submission in the 1st Round
Knowing the power and skill coming back at them, both men were slow to start. The action ended as soon as it started with da Silva throwing Francisco to the ground. From there, Figueiredo slipped down to grab his knee and just started twisting. A little over a minute in and Figueiredo had grabbed the win with a DEVASTATING kneebar.
Fight #5
BLÜ’s Prelim. Pick
Alexandr Romanov vs. Chase Sherman
Originally this was a much closer matchup between Tanner Boser and Romanov, sadly Boser had to pull out of the fight and we were left with Chase Sherman. Then, Sherman was the one to pull out on fight day last week, but they’re back now. In the original matchup, Romanov was likely going to have a tough time but still seemed to be a fairly heavy favourite in the matchup. In this matchup, Romanov was just that much heavier of a favourite; this was a perfect matchup for him. Romanov joined the UFC fairly recently, going 4-0 and extending his undefeated record to 15-0. Most recently, he proved how big of a threat to the division he is by finishing Jared Vanderaa in the 2nd Round. Sherman is also fairly new to the UFC and grabbed a win in his debut. After that he was thrown into the deep end of the division, losing to Arlovski, Porter and Collier. Unfortunately for Sherman, there were some very clear differences between these two men and most of them favoured Romanov heavily. Romanov had only been in ONE decision in his whole career, meaning he had 14 finishes in 15 fights leading up to this one. Romanov is one of the best, strongest wrestlers in the heavyweight division. Finally, he also cuts down to make 265 pounds, while Sherman doesn’t cut much weight, landing at around 250 pounds regularly. I thought that may give Sherman a speed advantage which he could use to land a sneaky one on Romanov. The problem is that Romanov is VERY tough, can stand up to that power, walk through it and slam Sherman on the canvas. I thought that was exactly what we’d see and that Romanov would continue his finishing streak. It’s also worth pointing out that Romanov was the biggest betting favourite in UFC history going into this fight, sitting at -2200.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Romanov by Finish
Less than a minute into the fight Romanov showed why he’s the huge favourite, throwing Sherman over his head and slamming him into the canvas. He managed to get back up briefly, but Romanov dragged him back down, pushed him along the fence and started to let loose his famous ‘King Kong’ ground and pound. From there it was all over; he grabbed Sherman’s arm, twisted it back and got a quick, nasty Americana submission in the very first round.
Result
Alexandr Romanov def. Chase Sherman by Submission in the 1st Round
The Future
Given his 5-0 UFC start, especially after this win, it’s pretty clear he deserves to fight a top 15 contender. He mentioned Sakai in his interview after the fight; I think that’d be ideal. We haven’t seen him in a while, but another fighter near the bottom of the top 15 is Walt Harris. With talent like this though, he could even give someone in the top 10 like Tybura, Daukaus and Pavlovich some problems. Whoever he faces next, MMA fans everywhere will want to tune in.
Main Card Action
Fight #6
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Krzysztof Jotko
He doesn’t have the best record, but Meerschaert has been around the UFC since 2016. He’s got his fair share of wins with a record of 9-6 in the UFC, but any time he’s faced a ranked opponent or one near the rankings, he’s lost. These losses include Hermansson, Holland, Heinisch and, most famously, Chimaev. Jotko found himself in a similar position; he’s been in the UFC since 2013 and has earned a record of 10-5 here. He’s got a couple more slightly more impressive wins over Cirkunov and Anders, but he too has struggled against ranked contenders like Hall, Tavares and Strickland. This one was about as even as it could be. They were both a similar age with similar reach and experience. This could have gone either way, but I gave the slight edge to Jotko because of his recent performances and his history of decisions. Jotko’s fights tend to end in decisions, while Gerald’s ends in finishes from either side. That told me that Jotko could probably withstand heavy offence and get off his own, while Gerald could be too reckless. I thought Jotko’s plan would succeed and he’d outpace Meerschaert to win a close decision.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Jotko by Decision
Jotko took the momentum early with his quick and accurate striking, bouncing around the cage, landing combos and kicks to overwhelm Meerschaert on the feet. After edging ahead in the first round, Jotko found himself stuck along the fence at the start of the second. He got away from the fence to hit Gerald with a couple more combos, but GM3 kept the wrestling going, pushing him along the fence and threatening takedowns. It was looking good for him, but after getting reversed with a minute left in the round, Jotko found himself in the dominant position and may have actually stolen the round. Jotko kept that strategy going in the final round, taking Meerschaert down again, grabbing some control time. The rest of the round was some more control time on the ground, split up by some crisp combos on the feet. As predicted, it was a tight fight, but Jotko was just slightly too much for GM3 and edged ahead, taking the decision win.
Result
Krzysztof Jotko def. Gerald Meerschaert by Unanimous Decision
Fight #7
Darren Elkins vs. Tristan Connelly
This was a matchup you’d tend to see in the prelims; it was one that we normally wouldn’t be analyzing. Elkins has been around the UFC since 2010, racking up quite a few wins since then. Older MMA fans will know him, but since his 4 fight losing streak from 2018-to 2020, he hasn’t grabbed the same level of attention. Since those losses he’d done better, going 2-1 with a stunning KO loss to Cub Swanson in his last. Connelly is much newer to the UFC with only 2 appearances so far. He made it to the end of both those fights with a decision loss to Sabatini and a win over Michel Pereira in 2019. This was another coin toss for the night. They were the same age and seemed to be quite equally matched. The main difference was, of course, the wealth of UFC experience that Elkins held going into the fight. He’s more experienced, he’s been more active and he also had a slight 3-inch reach advantage. I said it’d be close, but I gave a slight edge to Elkins thanks to those factors.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Elkins by Decision
Elkins showed his experience early, throwing together some crisp combos and dragging Connelly to the ground. Connelly managed to get up for a bit, but Elkins got him back down, smothering him on the ground for almost the whole round. In the 2nd Round, Connelly started to open up his striking a little more, landing some brutal leg kicks and nice combos. Sadly for him, Elkins regained his momentum after taking the fight to the ground again. With the striking from Tristan and the wrestling from Elkins, it’s tough to say who won the 2nd Round; it was too close to call. Maybe Elkins was starting to get tired or maybe Connelly was starting to feel himself, but the opening of the 3rd Round was HUGE for him. He started to piece Elkins up with elbows and knees, making him bleed and stumble. As the fight was nearing its end, Elkins used his experience and his wrestling to drag Connelly down to the ground and keep him there for the rest of the fight and busting apart his face with some ground and pound. It looked as though Elkins was going to grab a late, late submission, but they made it to the final bell. It was just as close as we thought it would be, but I’d have scored it 29-28 for Elkins thanks to his experience and wrestling ability. The judges agreed, all scoring it 30-27 for Elkins.
Result
Darren Elkins def. Tristan Connelly by Unanimous Decision
Fight #8
Jared Gordon vs. Grant Dawson
Jared Gordon has done fairly well in his UFC career with a record of 7-3 heading into the weekend. Sadly, almost all his wins had come by decision and he was finished by the only two noteworthy names on the list: Oliveira and Ferreira. Dawson hasn’t been around as long but has done very well since getting his contract on DWCS. In his first 6 fights in the UFC, he’d gone unbeaten with a 5-0 start and a draw in his last one with Ricky Glenn. Just like all the other fights on the main card, this one was dead even. Dawson had been doing well but hadn’t quite fought the same calibre as Jared Gordon. The difference for me was their recent history. Gordon had won 3 in a row since his loss to Oliveira, but they were all decisions (and one of them was split). Meanwhile, Dawson hadn’t lost yet in the UFC and had grabbed 3 finishes. This finishing power, plus the fact that he’s slightly younger and had a 4-inch reach advantage, gave an edge to Dawson and may have meant we could have seen a finish.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Dawson by Finish
This one started off with some explosive offence from both sides. Gordon led early with some impressive combos and a bit of clinch work, but Dawson might’ve stolen the round with some absolutely dominant wrestling. He kept that going into the 2nd Round where he took Gordon’s back and stayed there for most of the round. He tried to get back up, but he just couldn’t get anything going at all. Finding himself two rounds down on the cards, Gordon tried his best to finish Dawson, swinging huge combos and throwing out some submission attempts. It was that recklessness that led to the late finish; Gordon threw everything into a guillotine, Dawson waited it out, took his back and grabbed the win with a minute left.
Result
Grant Dawson def. Jared Gordon by Submission in the 3rd Round
Fight #9
Andre Fili vs. Joanderson Brito
Andre Fili is a fan favourite of the UFC, making his debut all the way back in 2013. Since then his record has been about 50/50, but most of his losses have come to some of the best featherweights in the UFC like Mitchell, Yusuff, Kattar and Yair. Brito looked as though he was going to storm the division after he got his contract on DWCS but sadly lost by decision to Algeo in his debut a few months ago. Brito is a promising prospect, but it just didn’t seem like he had the skill, endurance or experience to fully match up with someone like Fili. Fili looked like he’d be able to pick Brito apart on the feet and keep his distance. Since Brito slowed down as his fight went into the later rounds, I thought Fili would be able to use his stamina to secure the 2nd and 3rd rounds to win decisively. Even though I thought Fili would walk away with a convincing win, I said Brito was VERY tough and would likely survive to see the final bell.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Fili by Decision
The fight was over as soon as it started. Just like we thought, Brito was explosive right away with leg kicks and HUGE shots. He landed a BOMB on Fili, dropped him and swarmed him with ground and pound, leaving the ref with no choice but to stop the fight early in the first round.
Result
Joanderson Brito def. Andre Fili by TKO in the 1st Round
Co-Main Event
Jake Collier vs. Andrei Arlovski
We’ve talked about Arlovski a lot on this show, so by now, we should all know that he’s one of the biggest and best veterans currently in the UFC. Although ranked contenders like Aspinall, Rozenstruik, Sakai and Tuivasa have been problems for Arlovski the past few years, he’s been using his unmatched experience to beat everyone else recently. Collier has also been around for a while, joining the UFC back in 2014. While he’s also lost to Aspinall, his other losses haven’t been as noteworthy. Just like his last 3 fights, it seemed as though this was going to be a case of Arlovski grinding his opponents down over 15 minutes to grab a decision. Most of Collier’s fights have ended in a decision; that told me he wouldn’t have the power or skill to finish Arlovski. I predicted that if he couldn’t finish him, I didn’t really see how Collier could win the fight.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Arlovski by Decision
Collier opened up the fight using his size to his advantage, pinning Arlovski to the fence. In between his moments along the fence, Collier was hitting Andrei with some big, big shots, busting him open. The 2nd Round was still close with Andrei landing some decent shots here and there, but Collier likely took the round with his power and control time along the fence. Arlovski came in heavier in the final round, trying to get a finish, but it seemed like it was too late to come back on the cards. It was a tight fight, but Collier clearly won the decision. Against all logic, against all odds, two of the judges had it 29-28 for Arlovski while one of the judges… who was actually watching the fight, scored it 30-27 for Collier.
Result
Andrei Arlovski def. Jake Collier by Split Decision
Main Event
Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera
Closing out the night was the most exciting ranked bout we’ve had in a while; a bantamweight brawl between number 5 contender, Font, and 8th spot Vera. Font was coming in as one of the best strikers in the division, while Vera was more well-known for his grappling. After jumping to the top of the rankings with wins over Ricky Simon, Moraes and Garbrandt, he lost in his last outing, headlining a main event in December against Aldo. Vera had jumped up the rankings as well recently with a loss to Aldo and wins over Davey Grant and Frankie Edgar. The fight had the potential to end with either man on top, especially in a 5 rounder. The thing that stuck out to me was their last performances. Font lost to Aldo, but even though he was getting pounded by one of the best UFC strikers in history, he held his own and made it to the final bell. Vera may have won against Edgar, but he was losing on the cards up until he landed a HUGE front kick that ended the fight. With that in mind, I didn’t think Vera could finish Font, plus, I thought Font could out-strike Vera and win a close decision. Vera’s grappling looked like it’d be a problem, but I thought Font would overcome it.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Font by Decision
As expected, this fight started as a BRAWL with both men trying to get their offence going on the feet. Thanks to his boxing experience, Font led after the opening round with his extra-crisp combos and extra activity. Chito woke up in the 2nd Round, throwing a barrage of kicks and extra combos, but Font was still picking him apart with some beautiful combos. Just as it looked like Font was about to clinch the round on the cards, Chito cracked him with a HUGE shot to drop him to the ground. Font seemed to push that out of his mind in between rounds, coming in fresh, going back to his striking and picking Vera apart. Then, incredibly, for the second round in a row, right at the end of the round, Chito dropped Font to the ground after a BOMB. The 4th Round was almost an exact copy again with Font doing amazing work on the feet, only to be dropped with a couple minutes left after a WILD head kick from Chito. On the cards this really could’ve gone either way going into the final round, but, visually speaking, Chito was the MUCH fresher fighter, almost looking like he hadn’t fought yet while Font’s face was a mess. The final round opened with Font leading the offence yet again. He used his boxing to almost break a bantamweight record in significant strikes. Then, just like rounds 2-4, Vera landed a big one to stumble Font backwards into the fence. It’s tough to score a fight like this; Font was way ahead in the striking totals… but Vera landed the much heavier strikes. In the end, the judges went with power over quantity, all scoring the fight for Vera.
Result
Marlon Vera def. Rob Font by Unanimous Decision
The Future
It’s tough to say what’s next for this division; there are so many guys right at the top who deserve a title shot. The champ, Aljo, seems to want to fight TJ next but could be facing Yan in a rematch or maybe even Aldo. For Vera, that could mean a fight against one of those guys, but it also could mean a matchup against Sandhagen, fresh off his title shot loss to Yan, or Merab who hasn’t fought in a while but is on a 7 fight win streak. I’ve said this a dozen times though, any Top 15 matchup in this division is sure to bring some highlight reel action. After losing his last two, Font is going to be matched up with someone rising up the rankings; personally, I’d love to see Song Yadong, ‘Suga’ Sean or Ricky Simon. Those are all young contenders ready for a big brawl, ready to fight someone like Font to climb up the ladder.
BLÜ’s Record for the Night
Prelims: 1-0
Romanov (W)
Main Card: 4-2
Jotko (W)
Elkins (W)
Dawson (W)
Fili (L)
Arlovski (W)
Font (L)
BLÜ BONUSES
KO of the Night: Joanderson Brito
Sub. of the Night: Francisco Figueiredo
Brawl of the Night: Font vs. Vera
Most Valuable Fighter
Gabe Green
He could barely see anything for a year, had to have an operation to fix his vision, came back to face off against an impressive rookie and found himself in a bad spot in the opening round. He overcame all of this to get a TKO finish in the 2nd Round! Never give up folks, that’s the fighting spirit!
Alexandr Romanov
He didn’t do anything to surprise us… but that’s what was so impressive! He came in the biggest favourite in UFC history at -2200 and notched a rare, incredibly impressive Americana submission in the very first round. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be cracking the top 15 soon.
Other Fight News
Battlefield Fight League 72
Thanks to UFC Fight Pass and Battlefield Fight League we saw another fantastic night of Canadian MMA. It was BFL Mania with not one, but THREE title fights to close the night. Dejan Kajic and Serhiy Sidey retained their belts while Mateo Vogel grabbed the vacant Featherweight belt. We also saw an incredible fight between the ‘Alanamal’ Alana Cook and ‘the Babysitter’ Maria Demers in both of their second pro MMA fights. There was also an unbelievable late come-from-behind submission victory from Ryan Rohovich and a TKO finish from Mitch Strazzella in his 2nd pro appearance. All the fights, along with the BLÜ BONUSES for the night, are described below.
Fight #1
Oguzhan Yalcin def. Wesley Bowman by Unanimous Decision
Based on the intros alone, it seemed as though Yalcin was going to completely dominate this fight. Right away he got Bowman to the ground and started to smother him with his wrestling. He couldn’t get the finish in the first, but he spent every second of the round on top, moving towards submissions and using his ground and pound. After likely winning a 10-8 round, he started the 2nd Round the exact same way, dragging Bowman to the ground. After another 5 minutes of dominance, Yalcin likely found himself sitting at 20-16 on the cards. To the surprise of nobody, Yalcin took less than 5 seconds to take the fight to the ground once again. Yalcin couldn’t get the finish in this one, but with a pro record of 2-0 now, it’s forgivable to not get a finish. With a bit more finesse or power, it’s clear that this guy has an incredible future in MMA.
Fight #2
Alana Cook def. Maria Demers by Unanimous Decision
For the first couple minutes of the fight, it was a dead even clinch battle along the fence, but everything changed after a beautiful takedown from Cook. She was looking good in top position until Demers flipped the script, almost grabbing an incredible armbar finish. Amazingly, Cook managed to get out of it… until Demers started to grab her ankle! It was an incredible round and very close, but I’d say Cook probably took the 1st Round thanks to her control time and extra strikes. The 2nd Round opened with Demers trying to steal momentum early with some control time along the fence. Sadly, Cook managed to sweep her to the ground, grabbing some much-needed control time. After getting up though, Demers used the rest of the round to get some of her striking going. The final round opened up with some FIREWORKS with Demers blitzing her with some combos, stumbling her up against the fence. Cook managed to rally back from the fence, taking Demers down to the ground. From there, it was all Cook, she kept dragging her down and letting loose some BIG ground and pound. It was a VERY close first two rounds, but thanks to the final round, it seemed clear that Cook was walking away with the decision win.
Fight #3
Mitch Strazzella def. Matty Hovorka by TKO in the 1st Round
Both men came in HEAVY, landing some early combos. After getting hit pretty hard, Hovorka took Mitch down, trying to get some control time. After that though, Strazzella was the one who landed on top, likely stealing the round away. Matty slid in some DEEP armbar attempts throughout the round, but thanks to the control time and ground and pound, Strazzella was taking the lead. Thankfully, the judges were left out of it after Mitch bombarded Hovorka with some wild ground and pound, taking the late 1st Round TKO finish.
Fight #4
Ryan Rohovich def. Josh Kwiatkowski by Submission in the 3rd Round
The first round was ALL offence from both sides. Both men stumbled, and both men landed some heavy combos. Thanks to his control time and HUGE punches that busted Rohovich open, Josh was the one who edged ahead early on the cards. After almost getting finished at the end of the opening round, Rohovich came in with the heavy offence, landing some big combos to stumble Josh. Then it was Kwiatkowski who landed the heavier shots, wobbling Ryan, forcing him to shoot for a takedown. Ryan shot for the takedown, but it was Josh who ended up on top, letting loose some dangerous ground and pound. Rohovich threatened a couple of dangerous submissions, but ultimately Josh likely moved ahead 2-0 on the cards. Avoiding early damage this time, Kwiatkowski chose to take the fight to the ground early. Just as it looked like Kwiatkowski was going to cruise to a comfortable decision win, Rohovich snuck in a quick arm triangle and (with only a minute left in the fight) stole the win with a HUGE submission.
Fight #5 (Featherweight Title Fight)
Mateo Vogel def. Nic Ouellet by Majority Decision
This one really started as it hit the ground. Ouellet was looking great, finding himself on top, but Vogel, showing his Jiu-Jitsu skills, sunk in a VERY deep arm triangle, almost ending the fight early. From there they were switching positions, scrambling back and forth with Ouellet finding himself on top. With multiple submission attempts, Vogel may have taken the opening round, but with all the control time, it could’ve still been Ouellet taking the round. The 2nd Round was way more one-sided, clearly favouring Ouellet thanks to some dominant wrestling and massive elbows that sliced Vogel open, leaking blood everywhere. Only 2 rounds in and it looked like Vogel had been in a car crash, painting his blood all over the canvas. The third round was back and forth; Vogel opened the round on top, and Ouellet flipped things to get back until Vogel switched it up AGAIN, threatening submissions and ground and pound to close the round. Switching things up, the round opened with some BIG combos on the feet from both men. From there though, they moved back to the ground with Ouellet finding himself on top once again. He spent the majority of the round on top, but Vogel made it interesting again, finding himself on top, attempting a few more submissions to close the 4th round. In the final round, it seemed as though Vogel may have had the edge in stamina, finding himself in the dominant position along the fence and on the ground. He may not have been on top, but Ouellet was making it VERY interesting with a couple of deep submission attempts. That said, this was a very clear round for Vogel thanks to all the control time. After 5 rounds, there was really no way to say which way the judges were going to go. I’d have probably gone 3-2 for Ouellet thanks to his early dominance, but it was about as close as it could be. In the end, the judges scored it a majority decision in favour of Mateo Vogel.
Co-Main Event (Bantamweight Title Fight)
Serhiy Sidey def. Austin Russell by Unanimous Decision
Moving away from all the wrestling of the last fight, this one opened up with a round of pure striking. Both men were throwing some WILD combos and both guys landed some big ones. Momentum started to shift in the 2nd Round as the defending champ, Sidey, used forward pressure and crisp combos. Sidey shifted away from striking in the 3rd Round, opting instead to grapple with Russell. Thanks to that change in strategy, Sidey was really starting to take a large lead on the judges’ cards. The 4th Round showed more overwhelming offence from Sidey, spending most of the round in top position or picking him apart on the feet. Closing out the fight it was all Sidey once again, using his wrestling to control Russell and shut down all of his offence. To really put a stamp on it, Serhiy went CRAZY, throwing flying knees and spinning backfists to try and land a highlight-reel finish. Ultimately, we ended up at the judges’ cards where they gave Sidey the clear decision win.
Main Event (Super Welterweight Title Fight)
Dejan Kajic def. Saeid Mirzaei by Doctor Stoppage in the 1st Round
Mirzaei finished his last fight QUICK, but he was having a much harder time in the 1st Round of this one with Kajic leading most of the early exchanges with his forward pressure, even stumbling Saeid a couple times. Sadly, the fight was cut prematurely after Mirzaei verbally ended the fight after he seemingly dislocated his own shoulder with a missed combination. It’s a sad way to end it, but Kajic looked great, defended his belt and offered Mirzaei a rematch because of the way it ended.
BLÜ BONUSES
KO of the Night: Mitch Strazzella
Sub. of the Night: Ryan Rohovich
Brawl of the Night: Mateo Vogel vs. Nic Ouellet
Brawl of the Night: Alana Cook vs. Maria Demers
Most Valuable Fighter
Serhiy Sidey
BFL has some great young fighters, but there’s something special about this guy. He was almost flawless in a 5 round title fight against an impressive undefeated prospect. With performances like that, it seems almost inevitable that this guy is going to be on the Contender Series or in the UFC at some point.
