Results Alexander Volkanovski def. Chan Sung Jung via TKO (punches) – Round 4, 0:45 Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) – to unify bantamweight title Khamzat Chimaev def. Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Mackenzie Dern def. Tecia Torres via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Mark Madsen def. Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Ian Garry def. Darian Weeks via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Anthony Hernandez def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Raquel Pennington def. Aspen Ladd via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Mike Malott def. Mickey Gall via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:41 Aleksei Oleinik def. Jared Vanderaa via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:39 Piera Rodriguez def. Kay Hansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Julio Arce def. Daniel Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
I know Burns is a tough customer, but I didn't see anything that said Chimaev would be a problem for Usman. That will be a big time fight and probably do well at the box office, but I see Usman putting Chimaev to sleep.
I disagree. Chimaev is absolutely a problem for Usman, but Usman is also a problem for Chimaev. That was Borz's biggest test so far and he was able to stand and bang with him. He was the #11 ranked fighter in the division and he just beat the #2. Burns is a 4x world champion BJJ artist. He almost caught Borz in an armbar in round 1 when it went to the ground, he was setting it up. I think thats why Chimaev didn't go back to the grappling and decided to stand and bang. Chimaev after the fight admitted he fought real stupid and head hunted once he knocked down Burns. Chimaev proved he has a solid gas tank and a pretty damn good chin. Burns as dynamite in his hands and he was able to eat a lot of his punches. Usman is a sloppy striker. Im not saying Chimaev beats him but I think Chimaev is a major matchup issue for Usman. I think Burns was the biggest matchup issue for Chimaev in this division because of his BJJ. Expecting Chimaev to plow through Burns like he has in his first 4 fights is silly. Im not saying you said that but a lot of fans did. There is a reason why Burns is ranked #2 in the world at WW. He's a tough SOB and put up a hell of a fight against Borz. As for the rest of the card, Yan / Aljo should have been a draw. What a boring fight. I can't fathom Aljo winning by taking Yan's back early in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and doing absolutely nothing with it. Yan fought lke an idiot, too. Why did he keep going to the ground in the 4th and 5th rounds? If he keep it standing he wins that fight easily. I expect him to work his way back to a rematch if Aljo beats Dillashaw. I think Dillashaw beats Aljo, however. Aljo is probably the least inspiring champion I've seen since Forrest Griffin won the LHW belt. Imagine winning a fight when you secured 2/22 take downs and did absolutely nothing with them. I scored it for Yan 3-2 but can definitely see how Aljo had it 3-2 but two of those rounds he did absolutely nothing with. I hope Volk goes up to 155. There is nothing left for him at 145. He's the most dominant fighter in that division right now. I think he beats Max easily if they fight again. Volk is just on another level right now. He's great everywhere and has elite fight IQ.
