What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris? Here are a few post-fight musings …
5. Abus Magomedov announces his arrival
Add Abus Magomedov to the growing list of dangerous fighters from Russia after he completely pummeled Dustin Stoltzfus within 19 seconds of his octagon debut.
Magomedov (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) opened his fight with a perfect front kick to the jaw that rocked his opponent, then poured on the pressure until securing the finish just moments thereafter. Although the quality of competition wasn’t the highest, it was exactly what Magomedov needed for a memorable debut.
It’s clear he thinks he belongs, too, because Magomedov had no problem saying he would “smash” UFC champ Israel Adesanya during his session with reporters at the post-fight press conference. He should probably slow his roll on that front, but I don’t hate the confidence.
We need to see more of Magomedov to get a better feeling of what he’s all about, but for a debut, he gave us a lot to think about.
4. Nathaniel Wood gaining momentum at 145
Nathaniel Wood’s move up to the featherweight division keeping proving to be the right call for his career. He’s now 2-0 in the weight class after outworking Charles Jourdain to a unanimous decision, and it seems obvious this is a good fit for him.
Wood (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) had some solid success fighting down at bantamweight, but he’ll openly admit the weight cut took something away from him. Seeing these performances at 145 pounds, I’d have to agree with him.
Regardless of which division Wood competes in, he’s got a massive task ahead of him. Featherweight and bantamweight are as deep as it gets in the sport, so Wood is going to have a difficult climb to the top. If it’s all the same, though, then why not fight in the division where you feel physically at your best? I can appreciate Wood doing that.
3. Robert, Izzy and the rest
The line between Robert Whittaker and the rest of the middleweight contenders was even further defined when the former UFC champ had his way with Marvin Vettori for the majority of three rounds to take a unanimous decision.
Coming into the fight, Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) had shown he’s on a different level than anyone not named Israel Adesanya. Vettori was a compelling test given his own moments of success when fighting Adesanya, but he didn’t have much to offer, and Whittaker shined once more. It was merely a reminder of the clear pecking order at 185 pounds.
It’s a tricky position to be in for Whittaker. It’s similar to what Max Holloway went through in the featherweight division, where he’s clearly better than anyone he comes across outside the current champ of his division. The difference, however, is that Whittaker is vocal about his relentless desire to get a third fight, whereas Holloway played as if he was indifferent about it.
Whittaker’s passion to once again hold UFC gold is admirable, but if he wants it to be reality, he needs to be Alex Pereira’s biggest fan against Adesanya when they clash for gold at UFC 281 in November. Because while he’s great, we need to look at his first two fights with the champ and acknowledge Adesanya is greater.
2. Marvin Vettori gets a reality check
Sep 3, 2022; Paris, FRANCE; Robert Whittaker (red gloves) and Marvin Vettori (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
Marvin Vettori gets a lot of hate for his edgy personality and comments that, at times, can be off-putting. I think he gets a bad wrap for it but can understand why his antics and approach to interviews can rub people the wrong way.
For better or worse, Vettori makes this entire fighting process compelling. He has a bravado that makes him unique, and I’m curious how that confidence might be impacted on the heels of his loss to Whittaker.
Whether you think he was delusional or just outright wrong, Vettori convinced himself he won or at least had an upper hand in his two encounters with Adesanya. He was able to frame things in a way that gave confidence despite not winning, but it’s hard to take the result with Whittaker the same way, because he was just outclassed in that moment.
Unless Vettori has a different excuse to justify the product he put out in Paris, he can’t do anything but take this one on the chin and know that he needs to return to the gym and work to be better. That humility is important at this stage, and if Vettori fails to express that, we may have seen the best from him.
1. Ciryl Gane shows his mettle
Ciryl Gane made his case to be included among the more entertaining fighters in the heavyweight division when he put on a Fight of the Night for the first time in his UFC tenure against Tai Tuivasa.
Due to his precision striking style, there had been a segment of fans who labeled Gane (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) as either a point fighter or just too risk-averse. He put those negative narratives to bed with a blood-and-guts brawl with Tuivasa, where he emerged on the winning side of.
We love to watch it, but if you’re Gane, you probably don’t want to make a habit of those type of fights. But at least now he knows he’s capable, and that’s another ace up his sleeve to strike fear into his fellow heavyweights.
Gane might’ve slipped up and let a big opportunity pass him by against Francis Ngannou in their title unification fight in January, but if he used that outcome as a positive and evolved from it, he’s going to be a big problem.
There was a lot of pressure on Gane to deliver at the UFC’s debut event in his native France, and Gane showed up with a gutsy effort that expanded the conversation around his name. He couldn’t ask for much more than that.