UFC Moncton Analysis, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com

Steven Ray defeated Jessin Ayari 

• This is Ayari’s first fight at lightweight and you can see a clear size advantage for him.
• Stevie Ray has lost two straight fights going into this, after starting his UFC career 5-1.
• Ayari is really susceptible to combos, so I’m surprised why Stevie Ray hasn’t went there. Ray instead went to low kicks and didn’t really set them up. He would get countered a lot because of this. Ayari was finding his uppercut and pressing forward often.
• I can’t believe Steven Ray got the win. I had it 29-28 Ayari. 30-27 Ray is odd. He barely staved off a pink slip. He knows it, too. 
• 12 of 13 had this fight for Ayari.
• SRS’ Rec: Pass. Not a great fight, and a terrible decision.

Arjan Bhullar outlasts Marcelo Golm

• Arjan Bhullar is the fighter that then-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal was supposed to walk to the cage last year, but a hurricane hit Mahal’s home. He said that a talk with Mahal actually discouraged him from trying out for WWE, and told @LynchOnSports they don’t talk much now.
• The leg kick giveth and taketh away. Bhullar gets cracked with a lot of them, but checks one and Golm feels it big time. 
• Bhullar scooped up Golm and just flopped him down on the canvas. He coasts to a 2-1 victory here. 
• Bhullar’s wrestling and sometimes his combos up against the cage are promising, but I think he gets beat by anyone in the top 15.
• SRS’ Rec: You don’t need to watch this unless you’re one of those people who know that every heavyweight fight matters because almost any UFC heavyweight can win on any given night.

Don Madge KOs Te Edwards with the Ol’ Left Right roundhouse special, R2.

• Madge cracks Edwards and drops him early. The crowd needs this fight after the last two snoozers.
• Madge applies an armbar, and the ref almost cost Edwards the fight by blocking him as he rolled out. 
• To start round 2, Madge lands a couple of sick head kicks, including the second as Edwards is circling away. Edwards lasted way longer than he should have.
• Madge wins in round 2 prop was +1700.
• Madge has some injury history and has trouble staying in the cage, but tonight was promising.
• SRS’ Rec: This was a blast. Edwards was the favorite and got blasted repeatedly and almost submitted. Must watch. 

Talita Bernardo Decisions Sarah Moras

• Bernardo takes notice of Moras’ improved striking and works her way to underhooks and an outside trip.
• Bernardo controls rounds one and two, but in the third, Moras comes back. Takedown, ground and pound, nasty elbows, then cracked Bernardo several times on the feet trying to finish her off. 
• Sarah Moras didn’t win that fight, but she damn well closed it out like someone who was trying to steal it.
• SRS’ Rec: Watch the third round. You’ll get the full portrait of the fight in much less time, and be much more excited.

Calvin Kattar blasts Chris Fishgold, R1 KO

• Chris Fishgold is a big underdog and comes out like one. Kattar stays composed and by three minutes in, has gassed Fishgold,
• This pays off, and Kattar lands a nasty combo on Fishgold, finishes up on the ground and wins. 
• Kattar moves to 3-1 in the UFC, and 19-3 career. This is the first fight Kattar has had since 2010 that didn’t go to the third round.
• SRS’ Rec: This was a great fight. An underdog fighting like he had to, and then the favorite comes back and does what he’s supposed to.

Nasrat Haqparast beat the brakes off of Gouti, UD

• Haqparast is way too fast for Gouti. He lulls Gouti in, and makes him fear the right, then lands the left heavily. 
• Gouti lasts way longer than most expected, but nine minutes in he’s dropping his hands to avoid the barrage Haqparast has unleashed on his body.
• I can’t believe Gouti survived this fight. He was dominated in every facet of this bout. 
• Gouti is sure to get cut. He’s lost 5 of 6, was deemed medically unfit in another fight, and lost on TUF 22.
• SRS’ Rec: If you’re interested in watching prospects, this is worth a view. 

Sean Strickland thumps Nordine Taleb

• This is not a great fight in the first round. In the second Strickland is able to put together a lot of strikes at range to drop Taleb.
• Strickland did a great job switching stances in the middle of throwing a flurry to really hammer it home. From right jab, stance switch, right straight. 
• Strickland gets big ground and pound and wins. He’s 7-3 in the UFC. Taleb has lost two in a row. 
• SRS’ Rec: Watch the second round.

Court McGee pins Alex Garcia, UD

• UFC truly doesn’t give a shit about their last several fight cards on their way out of Fox Sports 1.
• McGee pushed the pressure and got taken down, but got right back up. They both worked very hard for the takedown.
• Garcia seemed to be emptying his gas tank throwing big power shots. He tried to swarm McGee early in the second, too. He gets dropped by a jab — not a good sign for his cardio.
• McGee spends the rest of the fight on top of Garcia essentially. He wins a decision.
• I can’t really convey how inconsequential this card has been.
• SRS’ Rec: Don’t watch it. Maybe Youtube highlights. 

Gian Villante SPLIT DECISIONS Ed Herman

• Villante comes into this fight a fringe top 15 guy on the outside looking in at a division that is going to change a LOT over the next six months.
• Ed Herman has a chin to be able to take a lot of these Villante punches. They go back and forth with some tough hooks that Villante gets the better of. It looks like this fight could have ended at any moment, but it goes all the way.
• Both throw and get countered with regularity. They both end up with cuts under the eye as well.
• Herman is starting to look like the Kool Aid Man.
• Technique and footwork give way to exhaustion in this. 
• They put over this fight way more than it deserved. Heart and grit, but not a good fight. Ed Herman isn’t happy losing and curses on Fox Sports 1. 
• SRS’ Rec: Watch whatever breakdown Fox does for this fight. Not the whole thing.

Andre Soukhamthath UD’s Jonathan Martinez

• Martinez gets dropped early, then gets up and applies pressure. He recovers pretty well, but he’s really overmatched in this fight.
• I’m very surprised Soukhamtath didn’t finish Martinez with the measured shots against the cage when Martinez did nothing but cover up.
• The ref STEPS IN during a completely legal knee from Soukhamthath and warns, and then Martinez gets a takedown. What a horrible pause. Jerin Valel shit the bed.
• On the feet, Soukhamthath is in control, but the ref’s shitty call has really changed the momentum. Fortunately Soukhamthath is able to take his opponent down in the third down and ride it out.
• SRS’ Rec: The fight was okay. The ref pause is worth seeing just to see what not to do ever.

#11 Misha Cirkunov tap tap taparoos #14 Patrick Cummins R1 with an Arm Triangle

• The scouting report on Patrick Cummins is punch him in the face and capitalize. He knows this and pushes forward after he’s hit. 
• Cummins works for a takedown, but Cirkunov ends up on top and wins with an arm triangle. 
• Cummins will hope to retain his spot in the top-15, while Gian Villante (who beat Ed Herman on the card) hopes to re-enter the rankings. Cummins does have a win over Villante.
• Cirkunov stops a two-fight losing streak, and Cummins is now on one. 
• SRS’ Rec: Yeah man, watch this. Fights that matter on this show are hard to come by — only two with ranked fighters. This is quick and painless.

Michael Johnson is better than Artem Lobov, UD.

• Johnson has wins overs Tibau, Barboza, Lauzon, Ferguson and Poirier, and losses to Gaethje, Khabib, Elkins, Dariush and Diaz. So the announcers saying he hasn’t fought anyone like Lobov is really weird. 
• Lobov throws wide and wild, and has zero head movement with short arms. The best offensive tool he has is an uppercut and an outside body kick. 
• Lobov gets wobbled by a left to the jaw. As much as Lobov sees one of the best left hands in the history of MMA, he sure does get cracked with one from Johnson a lot.
• That’s the story of the fight. Michael Johnson is a way better striker, and takes down Lobov at the end of the third.
• Johnson wants to fight be the end of the year, specifically in Australia.
• SRS’ Rec: Nope. 

#10 Anthony Smith Comes Back And Taps #2 Volkan Oezdemir

• The winner of this fight very well could end up getting a title shot.
• Smith pushes forward into the clinch, but the tides get turned. He isn’t liking the power of Oezdemir, who lands several shots at Smith covers up.
• Seems like a matter of time before Oezdemir cracks Smith.
• After eating the worst of several exchanges, Smith finally starts countering off the fence. 
• After an eye poke, Oezdemir immediately lands a head kick. 
• Smith wisely opens round three by rushing Oezdemir with 1-2 combos. He’s dragged down are held down in turtle position the whole round. 
• Smith has taken a lot more of Oezdemir’s shots than most, and is getting better as the fight goes on.
• Smith drags down Oezdemir and gets a body triangle in! Rear naked choke is fought by Oezdemir, but Smith locks it in. He wins!
• Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Volkan Oezdemir in under FIVE MONTHS. 
• Smith’s win gives him his third win over a former UFC Champion or title challenger in under five months. Smith asked for a title shot after the win. 
• Oezdemir wants to fight again soon.
• SRS’ Rec: For sure. A high level fight with strengths, weaknesses and stakes.