Ladies and Gentlemen, the most anticipated fight card of the year has finally landed, and oh boy was it a big one.
Sean Shelby assembled a massive card consisting of the deadliest fighters the UFC has to offer with many fighters putting their zero losses on the line.
Abu Dhabi hosted this card in the Mecca of events at the incredible Etihad Arena in Dubai. The fights occurred early for us North American fans because of the time difference, as Dubai is on the completely opposite side of the world, but that didn’t stop the dedicated American fans from supporting their fellow red, white, and blue compatriots who were competing.
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley
Here we are with the fight of the night. Indeed, it was a controversial decision, but we will journey to that discussion in a brief second. Not one UFC or MMA fan could believe the news when the UFC announced this fight back in July of 2022. The #11 bantamweight contender vs the #1 bantamweight contender. An absolutely huge step across the pond for the man in the green shorts (pictured above) in his career. O’Malley would be introduced to one of the most feared competitors in the entire UFC business. The Russian, Yan, is a striker who puts his opponents to sleep with ease. He is very quick and demonstrates a unique talent for prestige movement, as well as intense grappling. Yan is currently ranked as the #13 Pound-for-Pound fighter in the world even after losing to the bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling twice in a row. So yes, this fight was an absolute shock to see completed and certified for Dubai.
This bout was scheduled for three rounds with O’Malley starting off surprisingly strong. He utilized a bunch of feints to tire out his opponent, followed by quick jabs to the face to stun “No Mercy” Yan. He also was very slick with his takedown defense, being able to withstand some of Yan’s takedown attempts. O’Malley supposedly won the first round.
The second round comes along and Petr is everywhere landing strikes and leg kicks. Every shot was finding its home for the #1 guy, leaving fans believing its wraps for the representative from Phoenix, Arizona. Yan scored a few takedowns in the second 5 period time limit resulting in a Yan second-round win.
Now for the third and final round, each combatant came out striking. From the motivational words from Tim Welch, Sean’s head coach, to Yan’s hope for a crisp finish all comes down to these final five minutes. O’Malley moves around the canvas to lure his opponent into oncoming flurries of strikes and Yan falls for the trap. “Suga” lands a clean overhand right to stun Yan, forcing his head in the opposite direction from the sheer power of the strike, and then right after, delivers a left hand to the jaw, wobbling Petr. Next Yan mails a few of his own letters to his opponent and lands a massive overhand left, stumbling Sean close to a knockdown. Then Sean sends a huge high left kick plummeting Petr, which he eats with ease, ultimately catching the judge’s eyes.
The final decision comes along and the whole MMA and UFC community believe that Yan had done enough to win and that there was no chance O’Malley secured this victory. But once Bruce Buffer announced the winner of the fight, the whole world was shocked by the words, “By the winner of split decision… Sugar, Sean O’Malley!” Sean had proved everyone wrong. People were super upset by the judges ruling believing that Petr was robbed, even Sean was speechless during his octagon interview. Sean will now compete at the #1 bantamweight contender spot.
Aljamain Sterling vs TJ Dillashaw
In the first title fight of the night, Aljamain sought to continue his reign as the undisputed Bantamweight champion of the world, looking to defend his belt for the third time. His opponent was TJ Dillashaw. This would be Dillashaw’s eighth title fight in the UFC. Both fighters came out looking incredible. In shape, in tune, and ready to paint red on each other’s faces.
One of the more not-suitable-for-work fights or appalling bouts of the card with no leakage of red began with a busted-out dislocated shoulder of TJ. Even though it was stated by announcer Jon Anik that Dillashaw suffered this dislocation prior to the fight, he still followed through with the competition. Sterling mainly focused this fight on the ground, after all, he is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He caught TJ’s leg off a kick and carried him to the fence and dropped him where TJ’s shoulder became worse and more obvious, as the spectator could be able to make out where exactly the bone was improperly located. The belt remains in Long Island with Aljamain Sterling, as he TKO’s TJ on the canvas with referee Marc Goddard putting a stop to the contest after he had seen enough. TJ Dillashaw sadly leaves Abu Dhabi after a myriad of training camps and programs to prepare him for this title opportunity.
Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev
Here we are at the main event of the evening. The long-awaited Lightweight world championship is underway. The Brazilian, Oliveira will take on the #4 contender Makhachev, a fellow Dagestani in a five-round bout to prove who will hold dominance over the most prestigious division in the UFC.
This fight only captured two rounds with Islam coming out strong with his wrestling and grappling. He took down Charles very quickly into the first round and started landing intense elbows to Charles’s jaw as well as strikes to his liver to tire him out. Islam begins with a straight left + right hook combo to stun Oliveira, heading into the next round.
With two minutes left in the second round, Islam lands a quick left hook and then an instant right hook to drop Charles onto the canvas. Islam then scrambles to get on top of “Do Bronx” in hopes of submission to win the title. Islam begins to grapple with his opponent, attempting an arm triangle, where he stays on top of his opponent and latches and wraps his arms around the head and neck preventing his opponent from moving his arms from the lock. Ultimately, Islam submits Charles Oliveira with an arm triangle, to grant him the lightweight belt. The belt is now on route to Dagestan, Russia.
UFC 281 returns for one hell of a card on November 12 consisting of Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira which will take place at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York.
Stay tuned to the Roundup for more UFC coverage!
