6 biggest takeaways from UFC on ESPN 40: Was Geoff Neal’s KO his peak, or just the start?
What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 40 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
6. A special night of fights
After multiple fights were lost in the days and hours leading up to the event, UFC on ESPN 40 looked very much like it was just going to be another relatively ordinary night of fights during this nine-week summer stretch of cards.
Instead, we were treated to something pretty unique with all 10 fights on the card ending in a stoppage. It’s the first time this has happened since 2014, when a UFC Fight Night event in Australia had all 11 bouts wrap up inside the distance.
The train of violence was nonstop at the UFC Apex, and it made it worth waiting until 8 p.m. ET for the first fight and passt 1 a.m. ET for the main event to wrap. Hopefully it’s not another eight years until we’re blessed with another event featuring all finishes.
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5. Sam Alvey's UFC run hits its end
The downfall of [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag] has been a topic of conversation in this column for the past several fights. But this has to be the end, right? All signs point to yes.
Alvey (33-18-MMA, 10-13-1 UFC) saw his winless skid hit a UFC record nine fights when he was dropped and stopped by Michal Oleksiejczuk in the first round of their middleweight bout. It’s been more than four years since Alvey won a fight inside the octagon, and many have been perplexed as to why he’s been given so much rope.
There are a couple of reasons, in my opinion. Alvey has helped the UFC out of multiple binds in taking fights on short notice and less than ideal circumstances. Because of that, the promotion acted in good faith and allowed him to fight out the remainder of his contract, which came to a conclusion with this latest loss.
Although the UFC brass doesn’t always show that same degree of good faith to every fighter – it can terminate contracts at essentially any point – Alvey earned and received it. Fair enough, but now that the deal has be honored by both sides, it has to be time to part ways.
If Alvey decides to continue fighting elsewhere (which seems inadvisable but that’s his choice), then so be it. But to be blunt: He no longer serves purpose on the UFC roster.
4. Terrance McKinney rebounds strong
[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag] bounced back from his first UFC loss against Drew Dober earlier this year with a definitive first-round submission of Erick Gonzalez in their lightweight bout.
It was an impressive display from McKinney (13-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who went right back to his violent ways by exchanging with Gonzalez from the outset. He gave out some hard shots and even took a clean one of his own, but then he showed great fight IQ by shifting the action into a grappling situation, where he quickly finished the job with a standing rear-naked choke.
At 27, McKinney looks to have a lot of promise and upside. At worst, he’s going to be a reliable action fighter for years to come, and at best he’ll evolve into something special – potentially with championship caliber. It’s going to be very compelling to see how this prospect unfolds in the coming years, because he has all the physical attributes to thrive.
3. 'TUF 30' concludes
I’ll be honest: I didn’t watch a single episode of the “The Ultimate Fighter 30” prior to the tournament finals at this event. From what I hear, that decision didn’t cause me to miss much.
As someone who recapped “TUF” for 12 seasons here at MMA Junkie, I’ve seen everything that show can possibly offer. It’s not appointment viewing anymore, and with the likes of Bellator, PFL and more scooping up young talent, in addition to a path into the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series, it’s clearly not a platform that attracts the best anymore.
With that said, heavyweight tournament winner [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag] and women’s flyweight winner [autotag]Juliana Miller[/autotag] are a couple of characters we can get invested in.
How far will they go? It’s hard to say. Usman, who is the brother of UFC champ Kamaru Usman (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), obviously packs a nasty punch at heavyweight. For better or worse, his last name is going to draw more eyes to his career than he’d get otherwise, so we’ll see how he evolves under that pressure.
Miller (3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), for her part, has a future that’s impossible to predict. She has just four professional fights and is in a 125-pound division ruled by arguably the pound-for-pound best in Valentina Shevchenko. I dig her personality and edginess during interviews, but when it comes to in the octagon, I fear for her ability to properly develop on this stage.
2. Geoff Neal breaks through
[autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] took the next big step in his career with a sensational showcase of striking that was capped off by him becoming the first man to knock out Vicente Luque.
Luque is known as arguably the most durable fighter in the division, but Neal (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) managed to hurt him early and often before closing the show in the third round of the welterweight bout for what’s his signature win thus far.
Neal was unable to find this form in previous opportunities against highly ranked names like Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny. He’s arrived in a big way now, though, and he’s in a position in which it’s only going to be marquee fights going forward in the shark tank that is 170 pounds.
It’s only going to get tougher for Neal from here on out, too. An argument can be made that Luque is the most style-friendly matchup for him out of anyone in the top 10.
From the champion Kamaru Usman to contenders like Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev, Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad – there are a lot of grapplers on the horizon who won’t be nearly as willing to stand toe-to-toe. That means it’s not going to be easy for Neal to break into the next rung of contenders at 170 pounds, but with a tremendous team around him at Fortis MMA headed by coach Sayif Saud, he has the tools at his disposal to make it happen.
1. Jamahal Hill passes a critical test
Say what you want about the post-Jon Jones, post-knee surgery version of Thiago Santos. He’s still a tough out for anyone, and Jamahal Hill learned as much by going tooth and nail with the Brazilian before finally finishing the fight by fourth-round TKO.
Anyone predicting this was going to be a light night of work for Hill (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was way off. Santos came swinging for the fence and with some strategy, too, as he tried to mix in some wrestling. Hill had to take some lumps to get through the fire, but his conditioning and output ultimately reigned supreme as he closed the show and made it 2-0 in UFC main events.
Hill is a contender in the light heavyweight division, no doubt. I’m not quite ready to anoint him as a guaranteed future champion, but I do think he’s right there with the best in this weight class.
The confidence that emanates off Hill is hard to ignore, and if he can keep adding bits and pieces to his game, he has a very real chance of holding that belt.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
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