5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 186: Who is to blame for ho-hum headliner?
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 186 at the UFC Apex on Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
1. Is Ciryl Gane "legit" for real?
We all thought last week's Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes heavyweight main event had the potential to be a stinker due to the style matchup. That ended up providing a "Knockout of the Year" contender. But surprisingly, [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]'s victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik ended up sliding in as the dull February headliner. Gane shouldn't feel too badly about it, though. He's the one who got his hand raised, and in undeniable fashion, at that, in the form of a lopsided unanimous decision with 50-45 scorecards across the board. Would it have been nice if Gane cranked up the pace and pressure on a clearly gun-shy Rozenstruik to put a stamp on his victory? Of course. It's what we all wanted as spectators. But if we can avoid being selfish for a second, let's consider the importance of this moment for Gane in the big picture. Even if Gane had utterly crushed Rozenstruik in the first round, he still wouldn't be challenging for the title next. In the long run, logging 25 minutes of octagon experience is going to be way more beneficial to his development as a future contender. Gane declared himself "legit" and title-ready right now in the aftermath of his win. There's no doubt beating Rozenstruik – no matter the fashion – gives some validity to that statement. He still only has eight professional fight, though, and getting one or two more in before fighting for gold is only going to boost his chances o winning in that moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ageJtyp0yU
2. Jairzinho Rozenstruik's troubling trend
If there's going to be any finger pointing at the lackluster main event, it should go in the direction of [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]. The speed advantage possessed by Gane was clearly a huge problem for Rozenstruik, and he simply couldn't find a way to work around it. He got off just 111 total strike attempts over the course of 25 minutes, with only 49 landing. Almost none of those 49 were of consequence, either. Gane left the octagon with nary a scratch on him. It's hard to criticize Gane too much for riding a commanding lead in the fight to the final bell. Rozenstruik, however, clearly was losing and never made the strategic adjustments or took the type of chances necessary to get himself back in the fight. We saw a very similar performance from Rozenstruik against Alistair Overeem in their December 2019 clash. Except in that fight, Rozenstruik pulled the trigger at the last moment, and it paid off in a big way with the knockout victory in the final seconds of the last round. Could Rozenstruik have caught Gane with a similar Hail Mary shot? We can't say, because he didn't really go for it. Either way, it's not ideal for Rozenstruik to have to constantly face the pressure of a come-from-behind win. It's happened in both of his UFC main events, though, and if he wants to be back in that spot again, he must buck the trend. Rozenstruik said post-fight that his fight with Gane was his "worst performance ever." It seems he has a level of introspection about what happened already, and now it remains to be seen what type of changes he can make to avoid making a habit out of these type of fights.
3. Magomed Ankalaev continues to rise
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] looks to be the future of the UFC light heavyweight division. That's pretty exciting, because it's a weight class in need of as much fresh blood as possible. Russia's Ankalaev (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) had shown off powerful striking in his recent trips to the octagon. Against Nikita Krylov, though, he was forced to resort to his grappling late in the fight to claim the unanimous decision win and extend his streak to six consecutive fights. Ankalaev's skills seems to all be there, and his biggest problem going forward will likely be a difficulty securing high profile fights. He has all of the talent but none of the name value to the casual fan, and it may prove problematic to get a big name in there with him. That said, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard has done well in these types of situations. Making Dominick Reyes vs. a largely unheralded Jiri Prochazka comes to mind a a current example in this division. Maynard knows how to bring fighters like Ankalaev along, and I have faith he'll find a fitting matchup for him next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rq2paGdomc
4. Pay attention to Thiago Moises
It's time to start giving [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] some respect as a lightweight on the rise after his clinical victory over Alexander Hernandez to extend his winning streak to three. Moises (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) showed tremendous striking in a unanimous decision win over Hernandez. The Brazilian was on point both offensively and defensively, and the performance warranted attention. The 25-year-old, who trains at American Top Team in Florida, already has wins over Hernandez, Bobby Green and Michael Johnson. Those are solid names for the resume just six fights into his octagon tenure, and it's going to be interesting to see what his ceiling looks like. Moises' climb to the top of the absolutely stacked 155-pound division is likely to be long and very difficult. If he can keep adding to the game that thwarted Hernandez, though, the future is bright. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-_1-Q3A6Ao
5. Alexis Davis rebounds
After suffering three consecutive losses, UFC Fight Night 186 very much felt like a do-or-die scenario for former UFC title challenger [autotag]Alexis Davis[/autotag]. The past several years have been rough on Davis (20-10 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in terms of results, and at 36, it felt like she was being somewhat ushered out the door in being booked against 23-year-old Sabina Mazo, who is the 10th youngest fighter on the UFC roster. Davis showed up in her best form in recent memory, using a ruthless leg kick onslaught paired with timely grappling dominance to beat Mazo and get her hand raised for the first time since December 2017. The Canadian may be far from the days of challenging Ronda Rousey for a UFC title. And although she may never get back there, this win over Mazo showed she's not yet ready to fade into the night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egHKHE8N2oo
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