Event UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya [Results]

John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz rebooked for this event

 

Helwani says the UFC are not able to find a title fight to headline this card. They floated Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya but weren't able to make it happen. Not sure where Megan Anderson fits into that discussion. Cyborg wants to fight Nunes who they also fruitlessly tried to pull for this event. There is a chance they could make Edgar vs. Ortega a five-round fight and have it serve as the main event.

 

Edgar-Ortega and Cyborg-Kunitskaya booked according to MMAFighting

 

Bout lineup set.

I believe this is the first event to be priced at $65 USD

So, I guess, vote with your wallet on whether or not this change is welcome.

 

Stylistically it is a bad matchup for him but it is the right kind of fight for him to take. Good test at this point in his career.

I'm a little skeptical of Ortega because of his prior doping offense. Edgar and Holloway are cardio beasts. If Ortega's work ethic is shit he has no chance against those guys or in any long fights.

 

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Cris Cyborg (144.75) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (144) – for women’s featherweight title
• Frankie Edgar (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5)
• Sean O’Malley (136) vs. Andre Soukhamthath (135.25)
• Andrei Arlovski (247.5) vs. Stefan Struve (266)
• Ketlen Vieira (136) vs. Cat Zingano (135.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Ashley Yoder (115.5)
• Beneil Dariush (156) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155)
• John Dodson (134.5) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)
• C.B. Dollaway (185.5) vs. Hector Lombard (185.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Zak Ottow (171) vs. Mike Pyle (170)
• Bryan Caraway (135.5) vs. Cody Stamann (135.75)
• Jordan Johnson (206) vs. Adam Milstead (205)

 

Jorge Gurgel translating for Dern. What in the fuck?

Edit: ok, after the first question she doesn't use him, but still this is so bizarre.

 

Adelaide Byrd is judging tonight. First event she has judged since GGG/Canelo. (Also, the NSAC has yet to pick up the new "unified" rules of MMA for some goddamn reason).

So far she's given Jon Dodson 30-27 and picked Yoder over Dern. So, 0-2 so far.

 

My goodness...

 

Meanwhile...

 

Results

• Cris Justino def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (punches) - Round 1
• Brian Ortega def. Frankie Edgar via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:44
• Sean O’Malley def. Andre Soukhamthath via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
• Andrei Arlovski def. Stefan Struve via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Ketlen Vieira def. Cat Zingano via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Mackenzie Dern def. Ashley Yoder via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alexander Hernandez def. Beneil Dariush via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:42
• John Dodson def. Pedro Munhoz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• C.B. Dollaway def. Hector Lombard via disqualification (late punches) – Round 1, 5:00
• Zak Ottow def. Mike Pyle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:34
• Cody Stamann def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jordan Johnson def. Adam Milstead via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

 

I actually watched most of the fights tonight.

Mike Pyle's career is over. He's lost six-of-eight with five of those losses coming via KO/TKO. Thankfully he has acting to fall back on.

C.B. Dolloway was close to being jobbed by the NAC and their officials tonight. I don't know what took so long to decide that Lombard needed to be DQ'd. It was an easy call and should've been immediate. Intentional late shots. The idea that he'll be appealing is ludicrous. He should be suspended.

John Dodson vs. Pedro Munhoz was competitive. The end decision was razor thin save for Byrd's outlandish scorecard. She has a history of favoring black fighters I'm told. In a five round fight Munhoz wins.

Alex "Hercules" Hernandez flattened Beneil Dariush. That's how you debut. At one point Dariush had a five-fight streak going in the UFC and beat Jim Miller and Michael Johnson. He even rebounded to beat James Vick. Seems like a lifetime ago.

Mackenzie Dern eeked out a decision against Ashley Yoder. Dern has serious grappling skills but her striking is rudimentary and she is out of shape. Thankfully Yoder has no outstanding skills (demonstrated by her wasting at least 1/4 of the fight clinching and grappling with Dern when she had the opportunity to separate, rather than attempting to use her successful kicks and long jabs) and that's why she was hand-picked to face Dern in her debut. Dern is very green and will have to be brought up slowly even compared to the likes of PVZ and Sage. A few more fights in Invicta would've helped but such is the state of the WMMA side of the UFC.

Cat Zingano looked a little better than she has lately in her fight with the rising Ketlen Vieira but the split decision was generous in her favour. Can't really fault her for not improving over the last few years given her personal circumstances and the fact she is now on the bad side of 35 but I don't know where she goes from here. Is she content to fight unranked fighters? Vieira comes from a good camp and has potential in the division. Pena or the loser of Nunes/Pennington would make sense as her next opponent.

Speaking of not improving, Stefan Struve fought and lost again tonight. I had a thought during his typical performance against Arlvoski--does Struve train with too many tall fucks? He comes from a Dutch camp with loads of giants. No wonder he hasn't developed his polearm. Every year it's the same deal with this dude. He has a job for life based on how consistently exciting his fights are but has about zero chance of sniffing the belt. Kudos to Arlovski who has become the Jaromir Jagr of MMA just cruising along having fun, banging Eastern European broads and living the life.

Andre Soukhamthath is the dumbest fighter on the roster. I seem to recall him showboating his way to a decision loss not long ago and now he catches a literal break against Sean O'Malley and, despite the combined willpower of everyone in attendance and watching at home, opts not to stay standing with a hobbled opponent in the dying minutes of the fight and instead go for takedowns and poor G&P. Just shocking. O'Malley on the other hand is one of those rare fighters who combines creativity with effectiveness in the cage and will be a star.

It's going to take a lot for me to get over two things about Ortega: the past steroid bust and the current affiliation with the slimy Gracie bros., but he had an undeniable performance tonight against a legend. Edgar appeared to be active and looked to put pressure on Ortega but his combinations were mostly short and Ortega hit back when it mattered. You can't call him a prospect anymore now that he's beaten a consensus top-3 FW off the back of beating a consensus top-10 FW in Cub Swanson. If Holloway can't go in two-three months I suspect we'll see Ortega against Stephens which, on paper, looks another showcase for Ortega. Can't say much about Edgar--he looked small and took the worst loss of his career but I'm sure he'll be back quickly as his quest is never over.

The main event was a flop. Kunitskaya looked like she'd never been punched before. Justino was practically laughing at her attempts to grapple her. It was a matter of time before the lumbering ork shrugged her off and pummeled her. There is no competition for Justino and no point in this division. Megan Anderson is just as raw. She called out Amanda Nunes and while that's the very best fight for her in terms of competition it risks fucking up the BW division, which is already thin, for the sake of one PPV buy rate.

Should note that the chemistry between Anik-Rogan-DC, especially the later two, is super refreshing. DC is a saint.