What mattered most at UFC on ABC 5 in Jacksonville, Fla.? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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'All In' on Brendan Allen
There’s few more fitting nicknames in the sport right now than Brendan Allen’s. “All In” is a great one, because that’s what I am on his future after another strong performance that ended in a first-round submission of Bruno Silva.
I have been high on Allen (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for several years now, and he continues to live up to the expectations. There’s been a couple stumbles during his UFC tenure, but has come back a better fighter after every loss and now seems to be catching fire with five straight victories.
At just 27 and training out of a A+ gym at Kill Cliff MMA in Florida, there’s no doubt in my mind Allen is a future title contender. I want to see him in there with a top 10 middleweight next, because he is a good stylistic matchup for almost everyone there.
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Maycee Barber thrives in the chaos
Speaking of apt nicknames, “The Future” Maycee Barber raised questions about whether she might actually be the present, when she outgunned Amanda Ribas in one of the best women’s MMA fights of the year en route to a second-round TKO win.
The fight had it all, from momentum shifts to high-impact shots to a plethora of blood spilled from both sides. Ultimately it was Barber (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) who flourished most in that moment, and it led her to a fifth consecutive win in the women’s flyweight division.
Barber came into the UFC with the goal of being the youngest champ in history, but she got a tough reality check as she tried to make her way to the top. Those setbacks have served her well in the end, however, because the 25-year-old has shown a degree of evolution that’s putting her on the verge of being a real contender at 125 pounds.
If Barber can handle another ranked opponent or two in the same manner she did Ribas, she will absolutely find herself in a championship fight.
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Josh Emmett's corner and the reality of his loss
For the second week in a row, we’re here in this column reveling about the toughness and durability of a main event loser. Last week it was Marvin Vettori, who got worked by Jared Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 46, and this time it was Josh Emmett, who took an ungodly beating from Ilia Topuria.
Emmett (18-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) left me in awe with his ability to take all the shots Topuria landed on him over the course of five rounds, but that awe quickly turned into sadness in seeing how utterly mangled his face was in the aftermath of this fight. The corner could’ve and should’ve done more to protect Emmett from all the damage he sustained, because the result of this one was academic after the second – and at worst third – round.
There’s a whole other conversation to be had – and we’ve had it repeatedly – about the responsibility of corners to throw in the towel or stop a fight. MMA culture has bred the idea of this being taboo, so I’m not the least bit surprised Emmett’s corner crew from Team Alpha Male didn’t wave it off, and even went into the time before Round 5 telling Emmett he was “still in this fight,” despite that being radically untrue.
I do understand it somewhat, though. Even if there was a 0.1 percent chance Emmett was going to connect with the Hail Mary shot in those latter rounds, he needed to go for it because losing this fight, in essence, spelled the end of Emmett’s time as an elite featherweight contender.
At 38, Emmett is the oldest ranked fighter at 145 pounds. It’s almost impossible to survive in these lower weight classes as you get closer to 40, and that’s the unfortunate reality for Emmett now. Sure, there’s still some ranked opponents he could beat, and probably do so convincingly. The idea of Emmett putting together another lengthy winning streak to set up a title shot seems farfetched at this stage, so in that sense I get why his team tried to give him every opportunity.
As we reflect the day after, though, it has to be asked if leaving Emmett in there to take all that extra damage worth it in hindsight, though knowing he couldn’t pull off a spectacular comeback? Those are the questions that will linger.
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Ilia Topuria's star-making performance
On the flip side of the coin, there’s a reason Emmett wasn’t able to make anything happen in this main event, and that reason is Ilia Topuria.
Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) put on an absolute clinic against Emmett for 25 minutes to take a lopsided unanimous decision, recording just the fourth 50-42 scorecard in UFC history in the process.
Everything about Topuria in this fight was impressive, from his shot selection to his patience to his precision and, perhaps most important, his conditioning in going the distance in his first five-round fight. If you wanted to stretch a criticism it would be that he didn’t get the finish, but that’s an unfair take given everything he dished out. It’s not Topuria’s fault that Emmett is unreasonably durable, and it would’ve been silly for him to risk his win by recklessly pursuing a stoppage in a fight he was easily winning.
Nevertheless, the overall sentiment coming from this fight is that Topuria has arrived, and it’s very exciting for the featherweight division. Many of the same names have occupied the top of this division in recent years, and for a 26-year-old with Topuria’s skillset and attitude toward the sport to emerge, there’s potentially something special here.
Right now, Topuria seems to have perfectly positioned himself to be a star. Whether he’ll get a title fight next or not remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt he’s in the upper echelon at 145 pounds, and anyone who is sent a bout agreement with Topuria’s name on it, is going to have their hands full.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.
