The Weekend Review - #4

Controversy In Liverpool & A New King In The UFC Middleweight Division.

Evening all,

Combat sports was back in full flow this weekend and as usual…controversy followed.

We have talking points across both sports and from what I can see on social media, people are split.

The UFC usually takes the lead in this newsletter and a new champ was crowned this weekend but with everything that went on… Liverpool seems the most logical place to start.

JONAS REMAINS CHAMP…JUST.

IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas managed to cling onto her belt with a split decision win over Mikaela Mayer and it’s turned into one the biggest talking point of the weekend.

As I said on Friday’s newsletter, I couldn’t split the fighters and as a huge fan of Tasha, I never liked this matchup for her.

I was convinced the move to welterweight was perfect for Mayer and I think that played out in front of our eyes.

Tasha, on paper, was the puncher but it became apparent early that Mayer can really whack at this new weight and she used her physical advantages to perfection.

I rewatched the fight again before writing this newsletter but my opinion didn’t change.

I thought Mayer won the fight by two rounds.

However, I don’t think it was a robbery.

The fight was as close as it gets and the majority of rounds could have gone either way but my gut feeling at the end of the fight and my conclusion after watching it without emotion was that Mayer did enough.

I think what set her apart was activity.

Tasha landed a lot of eye-catching shots but Mayer was the one on the front foot, landing more shots and really putting her stamp on rounds.

THREE MINUTE ROUNDS IN THE REMATCH?

For a long time, I was an advocate for three minute rounds but after conversations with some knowledgeable people in the game, I understand why they haven’t introduced it yet.

Female boxing just doesn’t have the depth of talent for three minute rounds to be mandatory.

At the lower levels, three minute rounds would cause more problems than they solve.

Professional women’s boxing is still developing and fighters at a certain level benefit because they get to fight over two minutes so I am absolutely fine with them remaining the norm for 99% of fights.

However, fighters at the level of Jonas and Mayer can handle the longer distance.

I am aware three minute rounds was discussed for this fight but there was a disagreement about money and again, I don’t mind that either.

If you are fighting for longer, you deserve to be paid accordingly.

But if (or when) the rematch happens, the introduction of three minute rounds would take this to a whole new level and I think it would bring a finish and isn’t that what we all want here?

A conclusive winner?

I tweeted after the fight that the rematch should be made and both women should get a career high pay-day and the introduction of three minute rounds would allow for that money to be generated.

Whether people like it or not, Natasha Jonas vs Mikaela Mayer 2 is now one of the biggest fights that can be made this year.

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The main event was superb but the undercard was poor.

In the co-main event, Chelli managed to win (and land us a winner) but it was a poor fight.

I don’t blame Chelli, he had a gameplan that worked but I think Cullen struggled to get going and it just got messy and both men looked limited.

Chelli emerges as the new British champion but I think challengers will really fancy taking him on.

Also a word to Chelli’s Dad….get off the camera.

Elsewhere, Mark Jeffers managed to get a convincing win but he injured his hand in the second round.

As I said last week, I am convinved he is a bigger puncher than he is given credit and that doesn’t change after Saturday’s fight.

I am looking forward to seeing how he is matched next.

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The debut of Ste Clarke was a real highlight for the card, too.

As a local lad, it was a dream for him to be ringwalking at the arena and he sold over a 1000 tickets which is a massive achievement.

He had Stephen Smith in his corner too which is a very shrewd move.

That was Stephen’s first time leading a corner but I thought his advice was spot on throughout.

He was a top class amateur, a top class pro and has seen it all.

I am really looking forward to following his journey as well as Ste Clarke’s.

NEW CHAMP IN CANADA.

MMA had it’s own controversy this weekend with Dricus Du Plessis claiming the middleweight title via split decision victory over Sean Strickland.

The fight weren’t a classic (neither was the card) but it was very competitive and although we landed a pick by Du Plessis winning, I felt it was a bit harsh on Strickland.

I had him winning but again, it wasn’t a robbery.

I felt Strickland started better, he was busting Du Plessis up early on and I felt he was cruising a little bit until his own eye got badly damaged.

He has since posted on social media that he couldn’t see and there was a clear momentum shift after that moment.

Credit to Du Plessis, he done himself proud.

His style will never be pretty but he knows how to stay in fights and he always finishes strong.

His takedown’s were probably the difference but again, he proved he can mix it with the best in the world and whether you believe he won or not…he is now 7-0 in the UFC and hold’s all the cards in the 185 division.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Israel Adesanya was the first name out of the Du Plessis’ mouth and it’s a clever move.

There is already a narrative for those two to fight and if they can make it happen…it will generate crazy money.

Despite losing to Strickland, the star of Adesanya shines as bright as ever.

Again, he is a character that splits opinion but he is one of the biggest UFC personalities in recent numbers and whenever he fights…the numbers for huge.

From an actual match-up standpoint, that is a fight the new champion will be confident in.

The bluebrint to beat Adesanya is there.

It is much harder to do than than it looks in theory, but he isn’t the unbeatable champion that he was once viewed as.

Personally, I think a fit, focused Adesanya wins the belt back but I am sure Du Plessis and his team will be confident they can put the final nail in the former champ’s coffin.

Either way, we will all watch and that’s all that matters.

I can see that fight happening at MSG later this year.

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For Strickland, he is as big as he has ever been.

He may no longer have the belt but I don’t think that really matters.

Strickland, due to his personality mainly, is a star.

People love him or they love to hate him.

He say’s stupid suff constantly but it sells.

The belt was just an added bonus, the career of Sean Strickland has many chapters left.

Whittaker?

Du Plessis 2?

Khamzat?

Anyone vs Strickland sells.

And he knows it.

CARD ROUND-UP.

This was not a classic UFC card by any stretch of the imagination but there are, as always, some stories.

Neil Magny pulled off a huge upset by stopping Mike Malott in the third round.

Magny got beat up for two rounds but he hung in there and as I said last week, this was a huge step up for Malott and I never thought it was going to be as easy as some people said.

Magny isn’t the force of old but Malott isn’t a generational talent either.

He is a solid young talent but that’s it and nobody at that level is just going to run through a vet like Neil Magny.

I am happy for Magny and he has secured a few more years at the welterweight top table.

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The other talking point was the fight between Movsar Evloev vs Arnold Allen.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the fight in the moment.

Then I logged onto social media….

I couldn’t believe the criticism. Especially from Dana.

There was no stoppage but is that how we grade a fight now?

This was two high level contenders going at it and there was very little between them.

Evloev came out on top and the wrestling, as expected, closed the show for him.

I understand the knees were a talking point, Allen will say they were legal and I believe they were borderline but borderline is too close.

Evloev never made a big deal of it and that wasn’t why he won.

I was quite disappointed with the reaction to this fight, to be honest.

We should be celebrating guys like this.

Not criticising them because neither got the finish.

NOT ALL CELEBRATIONS FOR CANADA.

Canada was a great place for the UFC to kick the year off and the fans were incredible all week.

However, I am not sure we have ever seen home fighters get dominated the way they did this weekend.

If my maths is correct, the Canadian fighters went 2-7 on the entire card…

It didn’t dampen the crowd much but it’s still a horrendous!

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The UFC takes a week rest now but we will be back on Thursday with some early picks for the Matchroom Boxing card in Belfast and a few other bits!

See you then!