What mattered most at UFC 291 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Gabriel Bonfim on the rise at 170 pounds
Gabriel Bonfim added to his hype in a big way with a slick submission of Trevin Giles just 73 second into their featured preliminary bout in the welterweight division.
Brazil’s Bonfim (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is proving to be extremely dangerous. He’s finished all of his career wins inside the distance, and is doing it in impressive fashion. I can’t wait to see how far he can go.
He made the ballsy callout of Neil Magny post-fight, and that seems like a fitting matchup. You know Magny won’t back down from the challenge, and would probably even be willing to go to Brazil in November to make it happen. Hopefully it does, because it would be a perfect barometer of Bonfim’s skillset as he tries to gain more traction at 170 pounds.
Tony Ferguson's future between a rock and a hard place
Bobby Green sent Tony Ferguson’s career into an even deeper spiral than it already was, with the former interim UFC champ being choked out cold with just second remains in their lightweight bout.
It’s hard to come away with the fight with any other emotion than sadness. It’s still sad Ferguson (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) never got his chance to fight for the undisputed UFC title. It’s sad that his fortunes have turned to the point he’s on a six-fight losing skid. It’s sad how the losses are almost looking worse each time. It’s sad it’s likely to only get more grim from here.
I can tell you right now: Ferguson is not the type of guy who wants our sympathies. I don’t write that to poke fun at the memes about him. Anyone who has followed his career knows he lives in his own world to a degree, and for a long time that was a product of his success. Now it’s seemingly the product of his failures.
It’s a tough spot. You could try to find the upside in Ferguson’s skid coming into this event given the level of competition he’d been facing, and although Green is not a scrub, he’s also a considerable step back in competition to the line of champions, former champions and future UFC Hall of Famers that Ferguson had lost to previously. That’s what makes this result one that requires a deeper reflection.
At 39 and winless since June 2019, many other fighters would’ve been long let go from the UFC roster. But then you look at the reception Ferguson received from fans in the arena when he stepped in the octagon and during the fight. You look at the metrics his stories and social media posts pull. It’s not hard to understand why the UFC keeps him around, because if it doesn’t, then someone else will gladly pick up his services and take advantage of his desire to compete.
I can’t tell you for sure what the answer is here. If he doesn’t want to retire and the UFC won’t let him go, the promotion is contractually obligated to offer him fights. That’s just the reality. Perhaps releasing him would serve as a wake-up call of sorts, but that’s a risky move for the reason I just explained. The responsibility here likely falls on his management, team, friends and family to intervene – otherwise there’s only more sadness on the horizon.
The knockout king retakes his throne
What was the best way for Derrick Lewis to not worry about fighting at elevation and bring an end to his three-fight losing skid? How about destroy Marcos Rogerio de Lima in just 33 seconds? That worked out pretty damn well for him.
Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) finally landed the flying switch knee he’s attempted in so many fights over the years, and it spelled the beginning of the end for de Lima. It was a sensational finish, but what followed was even better. He completely ripped the roof off the arena with his sprawled-out celebration on the mat, followed by taking his pants off and delivering an epic post-fight interview to Joe Rogan.
It put a three-fight losing skid in the past and in the span of a few minutes reminded us all why he’s such a unique entity in the sport. We need to appreciate the 38-year-old while we can, because we don’t know how long he’ll be here. In fact, a world exists where this is the last time we see him in the octagon.
Lewis revealed post-fight he’s now a free agent, and the UFC best sign this man as soon as possible to a new possible. Win or lose, he’s one of the most entertaining fighters ever and need to be on this stage. It would be a tremendous loss to see him go, but I’m quite confident the UFC brass and matchmaker Mick Maynard will not allow that to happen.
Alex Pereira's expedited run to 205 pounds
Alex Pereira’s debut in the light heavyweight debut ended in a split decision victory over Jan Blachowicz. It wasn’t the most entertaining of fights, but it proved a lot about the Brazilian not only in regard to how far his MMA skillset has come, but his potential ceiling in this new weight class.
I’m not keen to go into a debate about the decision. I was cageside for the fight and thought it was fine either way. In the moment I felt Pereira (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) won Round 2 and Round 3, giving him just a minor edge of Blachowicz, but there wasn’t a whole lot of big moments there to work off.
Nevertheless, this is probably the best outcome for the UFC. Pereira is far more marketable than Blachowicz at this point, and there’s a lot more intrigue in seeing him fight the other top-ranked 205-pound fighters. In fact, his next fight is probably going to be for the title.
With Jamahal Hill recently vacating the belt due to a serious injury, Pereira is likely to find himself in a situation to fight for the strap. Just like his title run at middleweight was a product of circumstance due to his history with Israel Adesanya (he wasn’t getting a shot as soon as his did if anyone else was holding the gold), “Poatan” again finds himself in the right place at the right time.
The question is: Can he beat Jiri Prochazka?
I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has been out of action for 14 months and running due to a significant shoulder injury that forced him to relinquish the title, but he appears firmly on the comeback trail, and there’s no doubt he’s going to be one half of the next fight.
In theory, Prochazka should be a sizable favorite over Pereira. However, the unknowns about how he’ll rebound from the injury and his reckless fighting style definitely presents a solid chance for Pereira to make something happen. Pereira’s entire run in the UFC has been full of surprises, so for any of us to sit here and pretend like he can’t do it again, would be foolish.
Is this the pinnacle for 'BMF' Justin Gaethje?
We’re all still reeling from that utterly bonkers head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier that captured the “BMF” title for Justin Gaethje. It was totally nuts and totally violent, and spelled perhaps the greatest moment in a career filled with big spots.
Avenging a key loss in his career the way that Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) did has to be beyond gratifying. It was such a big platform with such high stakes, and after failing in similar positions before, he emerged this time as the winner and a highlight that will live on the reels for years to come.
The question is: Will this be the apex of Gaethje’s story, or the start of his redemption arc? All signs point to him fighting the winner of October’s UFC 294 title bout between champ Islam Makhachev and former titleholder Charles Oliveira. It’ll be his third shot at the undisputed 155-pound belt, with him having lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020 and Oliveira in May 2022.
Even though he’s already lost to Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) by first-round submission at UFC 274 in a thrilling – albeit pretty one-sided affair – it seems like that might be the more winnable matchup for him. Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) is a force to be reckoned with, and I can’t say I would love Gaethje’s chances in that one.
It’s going to be an uphill climb for Gaethje no matter who the opponent is. He’ll be the underdog again. But as we saw against Poirier and many other times in the past, he has the ability to end anyone’s night with one hellacious shot, so the possibility is there.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
