It is only March, and yet, UFC 285 might be the event of the year for the UFC. In an action-packed night that didn’t disappoint, fans witnessed the dominance of the greatest champion the division has ever seen, the fall of a legend, and the arrival of the next generation of UFC stars. After the dust settled these were the major takeaways from a historic evening:
1. Jon “ Goat” Jones– The greatest champion the UFC had ever seen, with ten title defenses as a light heavyweight, Jon “Bones” Jones easily made the transition to heavyweight and disposed of Ciryl Gane in half a round. Jones had not fought in a three-year span and was arguably facing the second-best heavyweight alive in Gane. A man whom the lineal heavyweight, Francis Ngannou had to battle for five rounds, barely winning with a takedown at the end. Jones made it look easy, he made Gane look like a rookie that had never fought professionally. Now Jones is eying the greatest heavyweight winner of all time, Stipe Miocic for international fight week on July 8th at UFC 290. With his win over Gane, Jones cemented his place as the greatest heavyweight of all time, but Jones does not want to stop there, he wants to take on the heavyweight “Goat” in Stipe and finish him as well, adding to a legacy that is already cemented as the greatest mixed martial artists in the UFC’s history.
2. The Rise of Mexico– 2023 is the year of the Mexican Champions. Yair Rodriguez won the interim featherweight belt earlier this year at UFC 284, and Brandon Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283. Now this past week, Alexa Grasso joined her countrymen in defeating the legendary Valentina Shevchenko by rear-naked choke in the 4th round. Grasso’s victory came when she timed Schevchenko’s spinning back kick perfectly, got her back, and ended her reign after successfully defending her flyweight title seven times. For Schevchenko, who has struggled in her past two fights, one has to wonder if her physical skills are finally starting to decline, or if this is just a bump in the road where she will need to refocus and hone her ground game. Mexico will have a chance to add a 4th champion when Henry Cejudo takes on bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
3. The Arrival of Bo Nickal– Bo Nickal’s long-awaited UFC debut did not disappoint. The three-time NCAA Division-I National Champion and Olympic finalist easily defeated Jamie Pickett in round one. Nickal is set to take on the middleweight division by storm and has already called for some top middleweights like Khamzat Chimaev. Although he will most likely not face Chimaev anytime soon, another dominant performance against his next opponent will fast-track him to face top-15 caliber opponents.
4. Dricus Duplessis is Ready for Prime Time– In one of the best undercard fights, South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis defeated Derek Brunson by second round-TKO. The middleweight contender solidified himself as a top-five fighter in his division and with a dominant win over Brunson is now on track to fight someone like Robert Whitaker or Jared Cannonier. If he continues to win in dominant fashion, do not be surprised if he ends up facing the winner of Pereira vs. Adesanya late this year.
5. Shavkat Rakhmonov Calls Out Covington– In another phenomenal performance, Rakhmonov defeated Geoff Neal via third-round submission. Already at 16-0 with nine of those wins ending in first-round finishes, Rakhmonov has become one of the most dangerous welterweights on the planet. What is next in the cards for Rakhmonov? If he has it his way, he wants a fight versus the number two contender, Colby Covington:
UFC President didn’t promise it would happen but suggested that a Colby Covington vs Rakhmonov fight would be “fun”:
The ripple effect of UFC285 will be felt long after March 4th. The arrival of new contenders, the “Goat “ matchup between Stipe and Jones, The rise of Mexican champions, and the new and hungry contenders at the middleweight and welterweight divisions, will ensure that the rest of the year will have some of the best matchups between top fighters that we have ever seen. For the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC285 served as a springboard for 2023 and because of it, the best is yet to come.
UFC285 Fight Results
-Jon Jones def. Cyril Gane by first-round submission
-Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko by fourth-round submission
-Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal by third-round submission
-Mateusz Gamrot def. Jalin Turner by split decision
-Bo Nickal def. Jamie Pickett by first-round submission
-Cody Garbrandt def. Trevin Jones by unanimous decision
-Dricus Du Plessis def. Derek Brunson by second-round TKO
-Amanda Ribas def. Viviane Araujo by unanimous decision
-Marc-Andre Barriault def. Julian Marquez by second-round TKO
-Ian Garry def. Kenan Song by third-round TKO
-Cameron Saaiman def. Mana Martinez by majority decision
-Tabitha Ricci def. Jessica Penne by second-round submission
-Farid Basharat def. Da’Mon Blackshear by unanimous decision
-Loik Radzhabov def. Esteban Ribovics by unanimous decision
