The UFC 178 event is in the books from Las Vegas, and what was expected to be top notch card did not disappoint. In the main event, dominant Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson continued his dominant run with a second round commission of Chris Cariaso, but it was the under-card that provided the drama!
In the Lightweight division, Eddie Alvarez and Donald Cerrone met in a pick ’em fight at the books. For Alvarez, it was a disappointing outcome, and now that he is at the highest level of the sport, he will once again hear the calls that he belongs in a lower weight class. The height and reach advantages were ample in this fight, and though Alvarez is a unique and explosive fighter who has fought bigger people his whole career, at the highest level, it is hard to overcome conceding such a big edge. As for Cerrone, he is officially riding the best streak of his already great career, and his name will pop up in the title picture sooner or later. He just has to keep winning, because part of his appeal has said that he has been hyperactive. Shelving him for eight months for a title shot wouldn’t do the Cowboy any favors.
Some controversy at Middleweights, as Yoel Romero seemed to get almost a minute extra rest time to recover after barely surviving the end of Round 2 against Tim Kennedy. Kennedy, a slight underdog, dropped the first round but evened things up with a strong second round. When they came out for the third round, Romero finished the fight with a desperate burst of aggression that makes the extra rest time due to bad corner work may have had an effect on the match outcome.
At Bantamweight, Dominik Cruz wasted no time in wiping out Takeya Mizugaki with crumpling punches that crumpled the Japanese fighter. Cruz entered the bout a solid favorite, and he did not disappoint, though how his knee and myriad injuries will hold up if he gets into a drawn out war is still an open question.
In the women’s division, Cat Zingano came back from a knee injury herself and engaged in a hard fought battle with Amanda Nunez that saw her drop the first round but bounce back for the TKO win. UFC President Dana White hinted after the show that Zingano would be next up to face women’s champion Ronda Rousey on January 3rd on UFC 182.
