Yesterday was the long awaited trilogy between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The card from top to bottom was a very well put together night of fights and there were definitely some major shocks throughout. Looking back 24 hours later some of the fighters are ready to head forward and move onto either title fighters or more highly notable opponents.
Sean O’Malley vs Kris Moutinho (Bantamweight)
Image: From MMAFighting
Looking at the first fight of the main card was actually a replacement between “Suga” Sean O’Malley against a debuting fighter in Kris Moutinho. O’Malley was a heavy favorite going into the fight with some sports books having him as high as -850. Although he did walk away with the victory Moutinho put on quite a performance being able to go the distance and truly show the heart he had. Going forward for Moutinho, I most certainly not be surprised if he is offered a multi fight deal with the UFC and get to mix it up with some of the most elite Bantamweights in the world. He currently holds a 9-5 professional record but the young kid definitely has the right mindset as a fighter, and he deserves to be in the biggest fight promotion. Moutinho also showed how much heart he has by continuing to push forward through the entire fight no matter the damage he was taking. O’Malley who has become an extremely popular fighter put on another great fight to improve the record to 14-1 overall as a professional. I think O’Malley definitely needs to start facing some of the elites at 135 lbs. Although I still believe he might need another fight or two to get into the title picture, the belt is currently tied up between Yan and Sterling getting a top 5 fighter would be huge.
Greg Hardy vs Tai Tuivasa (Heavyweight)
Image: From MMAFighting
Another major fight on the card was Greg Hardy vs Tai Tuivasa. Hardy had quickly become a draw for the promotion due to the controversial issues from his time in the NFL, however, he has impressed a lot of people with his commitment to the fight game and taking it serious. Tuivasa was a test for Hardy to see how he would do against some of the stronger fighters in the Heavyweight division. The favorite in the fight was Tuivasa by a slight odds around -129. The fight was ended in the first round with an astonishing KO by Tuivasa when he clocked Hardy with a hard straight. There was no need for follow up strikes either as Hardy was essentially out cold. This will definitely be a set back for Hardy as a loss to someone also on the rise in Tuivasa hurts his stock. Hardy had he won probably had a good argument for a fight against a ranked fighter, but Tuivasa can now begin to make the same argument. Tuivasa has plenty of opponents at the higher rankings of Heavyweight to go against and I think the way he dominated Hardy definitely deserves some recognition and if he keeps winning he could be thrust into higher spots on the card soon. Hardy will have to go back to the drawing board and begin looking for his next fight and will hopefully find a rebound win soon enough.
Gilbert Burns vs Stephen Thompson (Welterweight)
Image: From MMANews
The co-main event on this card was a great Welterweight matchup between two contenders as Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson faced off. Burns has recently gotten a title shot against former teammate and current champion Kamaru Usman. Thompson has been reclimbing the Welterweight ladder after his forgettable title fight against Tyrone Woodley. Thompson was a -157 favorite walking into the fight and his style definitely was a interesting difference to Burns who can strike but is an extremely successful Jiu-Jitsu fighter. There was not a very high amount of strikes thrown in this fight, and it went all 15 minutes with Gilbert Burns being able to secure the judge’s victory and take the decision victory. Burns can use this win in order to begin arguing for another title fight as he just be a highly ranked contender as well. The fight right now is looking as though it’s going to be a rematch between Usman and Covington but Burns could look to stay active with another high ranked contender. Thompson will definitely stay in the top 5 after this matchup but getting back into the title fight is not going to be an easy task going forward. Hopefully the crowded 170 division will have some clarity in the near future.
Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier (Lightweight)
Image: From The Sun UK
Finally the main event of last night’s card came down to two elite fighters at 155 pounds in Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. The UFC’s biggest star McGregor was a very slight underdog around +130, and he was looking in some way to get back into a title fight as the last few years McGregor has not been the same fighter that was fighting 3,4 times a year and has currently lost 3 out of his last 4 matchups. I still think McGregor is a talented fighter, but the level of effort and commitment needs to be there if he wants to become a champion again in the near future. Poirier is another extremely talented fighter and one who deserves to be in the title picture at lightweight once again and should arguably get the next fight versus Oliviera. The fight did not end the way anyone was expecting with it being stopped by a doctor due to McGregor being injured once again due to leg kicks. Conor in his post fight interview immediately began calling for another fight which I feel is extremely pointless. This trilogy is over and in all honestly Poirier was winning early in the fight anyway which is Conor’s best rounds. I think McGregor after his injury heals needs to seriously get back to work if he wants to eventually be a champion once again. He also needs to become active and I understand it is hard to not put him in a main event slot because of his drawing power but the UFC cannot just hand Conor everything because of the money fights. Poirier going forward can forgot Conor and look back towards the title picture as that is honestly the only accolade that has avoided him throughout his fight career. Winning an interim title was great but becoming the undisputed champion would be huge for his career.