What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 230 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
5
Terrance McKinney does it again
Terrance McKinney continues to show he’s among the biggest pound-for-pound knockout threats in the UFC – especially in the first round – when he took out promotional newcomer Brendon Marotte in a mere 20 seconds.
If we are to believe McKinney (15-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) when he talks about his championship aspirations for his career, this is the message he needed to send. Marotte was significantly overmatched on paper in taking the lightweight bout on just five days’ notice, and McKinney showed that is the case in reality, too.
The win put McKinney in an exclusive club with Anthony Johnson and welterweight Matthew Semelsberger as the only fighters in UFC history with multiple knockout wins in 20 seconds or less. Despite that bit of history, this win didn’t tell us much more about “T-Wrecks” than we already knew.
It’s been clear for some time that McKinney can spark anyone in the first few minutes of a fight. It’s been the moments in which he hasn’t been able to put someone away, or faced adversity coming back, when trouble has risen and he’s experienced his losses.
If McKinney can continue to get his mental and physical right in fixing the flaw, he’s going to be a problem for a lot of people. The question is: Can he pull that off? Only more fights against better competition will provide the answer.
4
Darren Elkins still 'The Damage'
Even at 39, Darren Elkins is still able to create magic in that octagon. He wasn’t forced to overcome a brutal beating in order to submit TJ Brown in the third round of their featherweight prelim bout, but he did face some trying moments before he snatched the rear-naked choke.
What more can you say about Elkins (28-11 MMA, 18-10 UFC) at this stage of his career? He’s a legend in his own right, and it feels like he’s hit a sweet spot for a fighter at this phase of his fighting life. No one wants to see Elkins in there with high-ranked opponents. He needs to be facing more unproven names like Brown, where he has a chance to win but also serves as a test for his foes.
Elkins claims his body is right from injuries for the first time in years, and he feels like he has a lot left to give in the sport. He can keep going a few more years if he stays in his lane, I reckon, but it only takes one night where everything he’s been through catches up and the page turns. In that regard, he’ll be one to monitor going forward.
3
Michel Pereira makes an impression at middleweight
Michel Pereira showed Andre Petroski’s confidence in stepping up to fight him on short notice was misplaced when he recorded a 66-second TKO win in his middleweight debut.
Pereira (28-11 MMA, 7-2 UFC) was outcasted from the UFC welterweight division after recurring weight issues, and quite frankly, it was overdue. He looked happier and healthier at 185 pounds throughout fight week, and is translated in the octagon en route to handing Petroski his first UFC defeat.
It was a spectacular showing from the Brazilian, who has now won six consecutive fights. He’s dialed back the high-risk style that made him so loved, but it hasn’t hurt his watchability. He has refined his game to be very effective against a variety of styles, and I’m fascinated to see if he can make a run in the rankings at this weight class.
2
Time to give Jonathan Martinez his chance
Jonathan Martinez’s shy personality doesn’t do him any favors in terms of marketability, but his fighting continues to be remarkable after he pushed his winning streak to six with a rare leg kick TKO finish of Adrian Yanez.
Martinez (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has been building momentum over the past few years, and his recent victories over Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov and Cub Swanson in particular have put him on the map in the loaded bantamweight division. With so many big personalities and talented fighters in the at 135 pounds, it’s understandable that Martinez flies under the radar.
Despite the best efforts from the media and people around him, Martinez has shown us he’s not capable of emerging from his introverted shell. It’s simply who he is, and people are going to have to accept it and live off what he does in the cage.
Martinez’s striking is seemingly going to be competitive with pretty much anyone in this division, but he doesn’t seem to want those friendly matchups. He called out Merab Dvalishvili of all people after his win, and although he acknowledged he likely wouldn’t get it, it shows where his headspace is at.
Hopefully the UFC gives him someone in the top seven of his weight class next, because I want to see where this skillset stacks up against the very elite.
1
Where does Edson Barboza fit into history?
No matter how his career goes from here, Edson Barboza has already entrenched his place in UFC lore. He’s done a lot of great things throughout his career, but the epic comeback to defeat Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision in their Fight of the Night main event might be the cherry on top.
One of the reasonable criticisms of Barboza (24-11 MMA, 18-11 UFC) throughout his promotional tenure has been that he has not responded tremendously to adversity. He’s an incredible hammer, but when the time comes to be the nail, he show a willingness to accept it. That wasn’t the case on this night, because he refused to be taken out in the first round, and the way the remainder of the fight played out led to one of the more memorable 25-minute contests of the year.
Barboza is one of the all-time great action fighters to ever grace the octagon. The hard facts prove that statement, because he now has the most Fight of the Night bonuses of any fighter in company history at nine. His reel of highlight knockouts also stacks up with anyone out there, which is all evidence to support the case of the Brazilian being a special fighter.
At 37, I don’t think anyone is expecting Barboza to make a legitimate title run. Could he beat some top 10 or top seven featherweights on the right night? Most certainly. But everything he does from this point forward is essentially gravy, because we know who he is after 29 octagon appearances dating back to his November 2010 debut.
The question is, how should a fighter like Barboza be appreciated when it’s all said and done and he stops fighting? The UFC Hall of Fame discussion came up from some pundits in the aftermath of this fight, and it’s certainly an intriguing discussion of whether he belongs.
In my opinion, the UFC dismantled any standard for its Hall of Fame when it chose to give a spot to Donald Cerrone. Not to say “Cowboy” wasn’t worthy of his induction, but if there was a certain barrier for entry, Cerrone changed it. Not to say that’s not OK, but Barboza probably fits in the same vein of a Jim Miller in the sense that they’ve done a lot, hold certain significant records and are UFC staples, but don’t have the championship pedigree.
Is there a world where Barboza could one day find himself in the UFC Hall of Fame? I say yes. However, there’s a lot of caveats. There’s a laundry list of people who should be in there before him, so if the UFC continues its current trajectory of inducting one of two fighters for each wing of its Hall of Fame per year, it should be a long while before Barboza gets in. But if things change over time and each yearly class expands to more people, I could Barboza sneaking in not too long after he finally decides to hang it up – especially when there’s still time to further enhance his resume.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
