UFC Fight Night 187, more popularly known as Vegas 21 was a very unique fight card. In the history of the UFC, for the first time the main card has kicked off and ended with a No Contest. The main event was scheduled to be between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev in the welterweight (170 lbs) division. The pair had been scheduled to compete twice in the past, in December 2020 and January 2021. Due to Covid affecting both fighters, the encounters did not manage to materialize and yet again, for the third time, the pair failed to compete as Khamzat pulled out due to lingering effects of Covid.
On a month’s notice, Palestine born Chicago raised Belal Muhammad stepped in to face the dangerous Leon Rocky Edwards.
The contest was going Rocky’s way in Round 1 and was unfortunately stopped early in Round 2 due to an accidental eye poke. It seemed Belal wanted to continue the fight, but the doctors called it off citing long term possible damage. It’s a known fact that Belal starts clicking after round 2, so even though it seemed round 1 clearly went Leon’s way, we are sure the contest would have been an exciting one once it entered Round 3 onwards.
Overall it would’ve been an exciting contest but it ended too early for the fans.
The co-main event featured two hard hitting light heavyweights (205 lbs) in Ryan Spann squaring off against Latvian-Canadian Misha Cirkunov.
Ryan Spann is coming off a vicious loss against Johny Walker and had to prove a point to the UFC that he is UFC worthy. On the opposite side we have hard hitting Misha Cirkunov who hasn’t had a single easy fight in the UFC. The contest was highly anticipated as to who would catapult themselves to compete against a top 10 ranker.
Texas native Spann completely proved the critics wrong and shut the lights with a beautiful right cross that dropped Misha in the first round itself. The hammer fists at the end were not needed, but that’s when the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight in 1 min 11 secs of the first round.
The Ultimate Fighter season 22 winner Ryan Hall was supposed to face fellow featherweight contender Dan Ige in a much-awaited clash.
Unfortunately Hall pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and Gavin Tucker stepped in.
Hopefully you enjoyed my article on SPOGO News. I look forward to speaking with all of you at 5 pm on 21st March only on the Sony Sports India Facebook page. Tune in to my pre fight analysis for UFC Vegas 22: Brunson vs Holland right here on SPOGO news or hear me on my podcast – The Fighting GOAT only on the IVM Podcast Network. 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. Instagram: Somesh.Kamra Twitter: Somesh_Kamra