UFC 198 Review

Fabricio Werdum was the latest victim of the UFC heavyweight title curse this past weekend, losing his title in his third scheduled defence of the belt, continuing the tradition of no heavyweight fighter holding the title for more than two defences. Werdum and Miocic were having a good tactical striking battle until Werdum made the decision to charge at Stipe Miocic all guns blazing and got starched for his efforts. Miocic put the champion away with a right hand that put Werdum face first on the canvas and crowned a new king at heavyweight. Impressive work from the underdog and dare I say it: The Dawn of the Miocic Era?

The co-main event was a one sided affair with Jacare Souza dominating Vitor Belfort and finishing the former light-heavyweight champion with strikes from the mount late in to the first round. Belfort looked half the man he was 18 months ago and Jacare had his way with him in pretty much every department before the finish.

Finally we got to see Chris ‘Cyborg’ Justino in the UFC octagon and unfortunately for Leslie Smith, she was the sacrificial lamb. Cyborg looked great against Smith and threw some heavy leather against her opponent before dropping her midway through the round, following up with ground and pound forcing the ref to step in and stop the fight and awarding the Invicta FC champion the victory on her UFC debut.

Mauricio Rua and Corey Anderson had a tight back and forth battle in a light-heavyweight bout. Rua looked to have the edge over Anderson in the first round, picking him apart at will and nearly finishing Anderson with ground and pound right before the bell at the end of the first round. The second round was a tighter affair, with Rua landing the bigger shots but Anderson landing the takedowns and tying Rua up against the cage. The third round was all Anderson, with the American again getting the better of the grappling exchanges and tying Rua up against the cage. In the end, the fight was judges to be a split decision in Rua’s favour which was maybe to be a tad harsh on Anderson.

If you want to see two fighters swinging with bad intentions for three rounds, then watch Bryan Barberena vs. Warlley Alves because these two fighters didn’t stop for fifteen minutes. Alves had the better of the first round with heavy body shots and some brutal kicks to the legs and body of Barberena but Barberena stepped it up in the second and third round, finding his range and landing big combinations. Alves began to fade as the fight went on but continued to put up a fight but ultimately the judges saw it in favour of Barberena via unanimous decision.

UFC 198 Full Results:

Stipe Miocic def. Fabricio Werdum via KO (punch) at 2:47 of round one
Jacare Souza def. Vitor Belfort via TKO (punches) at 4:38 of round one
Cris Cyborg def. Leslie Smith via TKO (punches) at 1:21 of round one
Mauricio Rua def. Corey Anderson via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Bryan Barberena def. Warlley Alves via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Demian Maia def. Matt Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:31 of round three
Thiago Santos def. Nate Marquardt via KO (punch) at 3:39 of round one
Francisco Trinaldo def. Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-27, 30-26)
John Lineker def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Patrick Cummins via TKO (punches) at 4:52 of round one
Sergio Moraes vs. Luan Chagas split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
Renato Moicano def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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