UFC Vegas 26, what we termed as a doldrum event literally proved to be one. We had yet another last minute cancellation with Amanda Ribas being tested positive for Covid a few hours before the event.

That in turn gave the middleweights – Phil Hawes and Kyle Daukaus to be on the main card.

One of the shortest fight cards in the UFC with 9 fights overall, UFC Vegas 26 still proved to be exciting and a watch-worthy event.

The fight that stole the show was the lightweight (155 lbs) bout between Gregor Gillespie and Diego Ferreira.

Since Ferreira missed weight, the fight in-turn was a catchweight bout at 160.5 lbs. Ferreira had to forfeit 30% of his match purse to Gillespie.

This however, turned out to be a showstopper performance from the 34 year old NCAA wrestler. Not only did he dominate Ferreira, but closed the show with brilliant ground and pound that got this fight the Fight of the Night bonus.

Since Ferreira missed weight, as per the rules, the Fight of the Night bonus goes to the opponent. Hence Gillespie raked in a cool $ 230,000 for his brilliant performance (fight purse, win bonus, incentives combined)

Let's have a look at the results of the Fights below:

Starting the fights on the main card were middleweights (185 lbs) Phil Hawes and Kyle Daukaus.

The fight starts with no touch of gloves. Hawes starts aggressively and backs Daukaus towards the fence.

Hawes has the tendency of starting explosively and having issues with his cardio in the later stages of the fight. It almost seemed Daukaus was waiting for Hawes to gas out.

Daukaus’ power seemed way lower than Hawes and that made a significant difference in the overall performance. Hawes clearly dominates round 1 with his striking and grappling skills.

Round 2 was no different. Hawes came out aggressively and pushed Daukaus back to the fence shooting for a take down after getting rocked by Daukaus but Hawes recovered quickly and started attacking the body of Daukaus. It makes a significant impact and Hawes knows victory in sight as he continues damaging the body through Round 3.

With a total of 157 strikes and 2 takedowns, Hawes got the unanimous decision over a tough Daukaus.

It would be extremely interesting to see this prospect back in the octagon after he recovers completely.

In the welterweight (170 lbs) division we saw the return of Neil Magny taking on the dangerous Geoff Neal.

Hard hitting Geoff Neal started off well, but it was Magny that picked up the pace in round 2 and 3 and closed the show for a decision victory.

For those that doubted Magny, this victory will be a sour one to swallow. Magny had the perfect strategy to rely on his volume, since he knew Geoff would come in with the harder shots.

Magny (89 strikes and 2 takedowns) clearly overshadowed Geoff Neal (37 strikes and 1 takedown) to show the UFC that he still is in the welterweight mix.

This unfortunately may leave Geoff Neal as the gatekeeper of the division, but at 30, you can never count out the hard hitting southpaw.

The co-main event was another interesting welterweight contest between a 50+ fight veteran Donald Cerrone and last-minute replacement Alex Morono.

Morona’s management had called the UFC prior stating his availability for this fight if either of the fighters dropped for a reason. To his luck, Diego Sanchez was taken off the card and Morono had the chance to showcase his striking skills.

Decorated kickboxer, Alex Morono stated in every interview that it was an honor to fight a legend like Cerrone, but it was his time now and the old war horse had to make way.

Cerrone on the other hand was confident he would blow Morono away and there's no chance the kid was beating him.

The fight started aggressively when Morono launched to his right, aiming to take off Cerrone's head. Cerrone ducked attempting a take down. Morono lands a knee and an upper cut and both split. Morono has now set the tone for the fight. Cerrone takes a breather and a step back to regroup, but Morono doesn’t let the pedal off the gas and keeps pushing forward. Cerrone fires a body kick and a punch that lands clean. Morono shakes it off and lands a huge overhand right that hurts Cerrone.

Morono lands a barrage of punches that pushes Cerrone to the fence. Marc Goddard steps in to save Cerrone from any further damage at 4:40 secs of Round 1.

Morono has proved his money’s worth and may get a younger, hungrier opponent next.

Meanwhile, we’ll get to know what happens with Cerrone next. Hoping to see a Cerrone victory before he hangs up his gloves.

And now… for the Main Event of the evening.

The muay thai ace Marina Rodriguez completely dominated the Karate hottie Michelle Waterson in the first 3 rounds. The output and precision of Rodriguez was too much for Waterson to handle.

However, in Round 4, Rodriguez had little answer on the ground after getting taken down by Waterson. Which makes us believe she has holes in her ground game. If that aspect were to improve, Rodriguez would be a complete package that could break into the top ranks of the division.

If Rodriguez had to face Mackenzie Dern, she would possibly be in a soup, unless she works on her ground game.

The positive however, was her 80% take down defence versus her natural average of 59%.

We cannot wait to see Rodriguez back in the octagon versus another top contender.

Hope you enjoyed my read exclusively for SPOGO News.

For more fun content, stay tuned to my podcast – The Fighting G.O.A.T that releases every Wednesday only on the IVM Podcast Network.

This week we have ‘The Indian Tigress’ Ritu Phogat as the guest on The Fighting G.O.A.T and her upcoming fight versus Bi Nguyen on 15/May at One Championship.

About the author

Somesh Kamra is a professional mixed martial artist specializing in Muay Thai. He has designed many effective training programs for Superhuman Gym and the Police Academy. His knowledge of hand to hand combat is unbeaten and has been a success story for many students. Somesh Kamra is educated from the University of Gold's Gym in the field of physical fitness that includes strength training, plyometrics & cardiovascular training for muscular conditioning.

He works closely with the UFC for India and serves as the panelist for the TV Show – The Ultimate Guide to UFC and Pit Stop on Sony Sports Network. 

Somesh runs India’s first combat podcast – The Fighting G.O.A.T produced exclusively by the IVM Podcast Network. 

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