In the main event of UFC 277 on Saturday, Amanda Nunes avenged her title loss to Julianna Pena by outpointing the American to reclaim the women’s bantamweight belt.
Seven months after suffering a shocking submission defeat by Pena, featherweight champion Nunes regained her status as a dual-weight champion with a unanimous-decision win against the brave but outmatched 32-year-old.
In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno moved a step closer to recapturing the men’s flyweight title, stopping Kai Kara-France in the third round to claim the interim belt and likely set up a fourth clash with Deiveson Figueiredo, whom Moreno dethroned in 2021 but lost the gold to this January.
Elsewhere on the card, Magomed Ankalaev secured a stoppage victory over Anthony Smith, beating the former light heavyweight title challenger in the second round after the American suffered a broken ankle that left him vulnerable.
Below, Indy Sport plays matchmaker for the protagonists of UFC 277...
Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena 3
The UFC’s commentators arguably made Nunes vs Pena 2 seem more competitive than it actually was. The reality is that Nunes largely dominated, dropping Pena multiple times and taking her down at will later in the fight. Pena was gutsy and appeared to come close with one or two submission attempts, but most of those holds were not especially close to being secured.
However, that doesn't mean a third clash between the pair isn’t a valid option. There are very few alternatives out there for Nunes (22-5), and the most appetising is a trilogy bout against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who may be otherwise occupied; Indy Sport has in fact advocated a rematch between Shevchenko and Taila Santos, who arguably did enough to outpoint the Kyrgyzstani in June despite losing on the judges’ scorecards.
Nunes changed camps between her duels with Nunes and was reportedly ill before their first in-ring meeting. With the appropriate adjustments, including a switch to southpaw that was devastatingly effective, Nunes looked much more like herself in the rematch. Does that mean Pena (11-5) can’t beat a primed Nunes? A trilogy fight would answer that question for sure. If Nunes wins and Shevchenko ends up facing and beating Santos again, then Nunes vs Shevchenko is undoubtedly the way to go.
Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo 4
Moreno’s victory over Kara-France – his second, following a 2016 decision win against the Kiwi – saw the Mexican become interim flyweight champion, with ‘disputed’ title holder Figueiredo entering the Octagoon afterwards for a face-off.
The two rivals look certain to square off again at the end of the year, with their rivalry currently scored at 1-1-1. Following a draw between the pair in 2020, Moreno (20-6-2) submitted the Brazilian in their rematch last year to win the belt, only to lose it back to Figueiredo (21-2-1) on points this January.
All three fights were thrilling, and that – along with the overall scoreline – means there is genuine appetite for a fourth clash. Such a contest would mark the first occasion on which two fighters have gone head to head four times under the UFC banner. This is the right rivalry to make that history.
Kai Kara-France vs Alexandre Pantoja
Kara-France was looking as sharp as he ever has during his rematch with Moreno on Saturday, and he even appeared to have seized momentum as the bout hit its midway point. Then he was dropped by a kick to the liver, and finished on the canvas.
It was a cruel end to the fight for Kara-France (24-10, 1 No Contest) after such a fine performance from the New Zealander, but such is the nature of the sport. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old showed he can compete at championship level and will hopefully bounce back.
He may have to do so against Pantoja (25-5), who was a winner at UFC 277 with an early submission of Alex Perez. What was expected to be a competitive contest was anything but that, with Pantoja earning the win with a neck crank just 91 seconds into the first round.
It was a scarily efficient showing from the Brazilian, who would represent an intriguing test for Kara-France in a fight that might just crown a No 1 contender to face the winner of the expected Moreno vs Figueiredo rubber match.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Jan Blachowicz
Ankalaev is on a nine-fight win streak, is unbeaten in four years, and is now ranked third at light heavyweight. The Russian is edging closer and closer to a title shot, and there’s an argument that he is just one win away.
The 30-year-old was undoubtedly aided against Smith by the American suffering a broken ankle in the first round – an injury that caught up with Smith in Round 2 – but Ankalaev (17-1) did look comfortable up to that point in any case.
Ahead of Ankalaev in the rankings are champion Jiri Prochazka and the two most recent previous title holders: Glover Teixeira and Blachowicz. Prochazka and Teixeira look set for a rematch after their war in June, which saw the Czech submit Teixeira late on to win the gold, meaning Blachowicz could be free for a No 1 contender’s bout with Ankalaev.
