5 best finishes from UFC Fight Night: Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night event didn’t feature a major amount of fanfare coming in, but in execution, it delivered with some truly great action.
Of the 14 bouts at last night’s UFC Fight Night, nine ended in finishes, most of them genuinely brutal ones. Quite how the promotion only gave out four disclosed $50k bonuses is anyone’s guess.
With plenty of options to choose from, then, here are the five best finishes from UFC Fight Night: Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland.
#5. UFC catchweight bout: Philip Rowe defeated Niko Price via TKO
The 173.5-pound catchweight bout between Philip Rowe and Niko Price always promised to be an exciting one on last night’s card. Price had only been the distance in two of his 14 trips to the octagon, while Rowe had won his last two UFC fights via TKO.
While stats like that don’t always lead to fireworks, on this occasion, they definitely did. ‘The Hybrid’ and ‘The Fresh Prince’ went toe-to-toe for the best part of three rounds before Rowe found a way to end things with just under two minutes remaining.
In reality, despite Price’s best efforts, Rowe was always slightly one step ahead. The first round saw him land the better strikes, while the second round saw him come relatively close to a finish on the ground.
The bout appeared to be ticking towards the final buzzer, though, before ‘The Fresh Prince’ really opened up on Price, who looked exhausted. After hurting him with a pair of right hands, Rowe dropped his foe with a knee and then unloaded a truly brutal flurry on him to force ref Marc Goddard to step in.
Price didn’t technically hit the mat before the fight was stopped, but there’s no denying that the right call was made. This was a genuinely great showing from Rowe, and he may well have earned a $50k bonus had he made weight.
#4. UFC welterweight bout: Rafael dos Anjos defeated Bryan Barberena via submission
The lone submission win of the night belonged to Brazilian veteran Rafael dos Anjos. The former UFC lightweight champion dealt with a tricky test in the form of Bryan Barberena well, and eventually finished the fight in the second round.
‘Bam Bam’ clearly had a brawl in mind, hoping to overwhelm ‘RDA’ as he’d done with Robbie Lawler earlier this year. That wasn’t in the remit of dos Anjos, though, and it came as no surprise to see him plant Barberena down relatively early.
He couldn’t get a finish in the first round, but in the second, it didn’t take him long to pursue and complete a takedown again. This time, Barberena took more risks, looking for a potential reversal, but that only led to dos Anjos taking his back.
From there, the bout was essentially over. ‘RDA’ slapped on a rear-naked choke, got both hooks in, and when Barberena attempted to defend, he simply switched to a neck crank to force the tap-out.
While it’s unlikely that dos Anjos will be granted the fight with Conor McGregor that he asked for after this fight – and it’s also unlikely he’ll move back into title contention – this was an excellent showing.
It was also a timely reminder that while his striking has developed over the years, his bread-and-butter remains his venomous grappling game.
#3. UFC flyweight bout: Matheus Nicolau defeated Matt Schnell via KO
With the fourth UFC flyweight title bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno coming soon, last night’s fight between Matheus Nicolau and Matt Schnell had plenty riding on it.
It felt like the winner would almost certainly put themselves in line for a potential title shot somewhere down the line. After his showing, Nicolau may well have done just that.
The Brazilian, who was riding a five-fight win streak coming in, looked excellent from the word go in this fight. Of course, it was his knockout finish that made him really stand out.
Schnell was aggressive, but that almost played into Nicolau’s hands. ‘Danger’ was dropped by a left hand in the first round, and the second round saw the same thing happen, as Schnell practically walked into the shot.
Unlike in the opening stanza, though, Nicolau capitalized. As Schnell walked forward, the Brazilian countered with a right that dropped him face-first.
Seconds later, the bout was called off as Nicolau punished ‘Danger’ with punches to the head. Realistically, Keith Peterson should probably have stopped things sooner.
The win somehow didn’t net Nicolau a disclosed bonus, but what it should do is move him into title contention. With that, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him claim that shot in 2023.
#2. UFC middleweight bout: Roman Dolidze defeated Jack Hermansson via TKO
While it wasn’t the most brutal finish on offer last night, the slickest stoppage definitely belonged to middleweight Roman Dolidze. He dispatched Jack Hermansson in ridiculous style in the second round, and should find himself in the UFC's 185-pound top 10 next week because of it.
Dolidze had won his previous three bouts in the octagon, but this one was a big step up. Not only was he taking the fight on late notice, but Hermansson was ranked at No.8 in the division having beaten the likes of Kelvin Gastelum and Jacare Souza before.
That didn’t matter to the native of Georgia, though. He struggled with Hermansson’s range in the first round, but gave a glimpse of his skills on the ground by reversing position when the fight went to the mat.
Hermansson should perhaps have heeded that warning, but he didn’t. So, when the fight hit the mat in the second, Dolidze capitalized. ‘The Joker’ found himself caught in an inverted triangle, and when he scrambled, that allowed Dolidze to somehow slap on a nasty-looking calf slicer.
While he couldn’t force the Norwegian-Swede to tap out to the hold, he did use it to take back mount. From there, the Georgian landed a series of thunderous punches to the head.
Hermansson was trapped, and with no way out, Marc Goddard was forced to step in and rescue him with just under a minute to go in the round.
This was a fantastic win from Dolidze, who should be given a genuinely huge fight in his next outing. He also earned a $50k bonus, and nobody could deny that he deserved it fully.
#1. UFC heavyweight bout: Sergei Pavlovich defeated Tai Tuivasa via KO
Undoubtedly, the best and most violent finish at last night’s UFC event belonged to heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich. He dispatched Tai Tuivasa in under a minute with some remarkable brutality, largely stunning the fans in the process.
Tuivasa was coming into this bout on the back of a loss to Ciryl Gane, but that fight had seen him take inhuman punishment before being stopped. Prior to that, ‘Bam Bam’ had recorded big comeback wins over both Derrick Lewis and Greg Hardy.
Sure, Pavlovich was on a great run in his own right, winning his last four fights by KO. However, few people expected him to be able to take out Tuivasa in the same fashion.
The Russian proved them wrong in dramatic fashion, though. He came at ‘Bam Bam’ from the word go, clocking him with huge punches while also dodging the Aussie’s wild swings back at him.
Tuivasa ended up going down three times, and while he got up twice, his face looked like it’d been attacked by a machete. When he went down for the third time, the fight was clearly over. If anything, Dan Miragliotta’s stoppage was merciful.
How far can Pavlovich go in this division? Judging by this, he’s a genuine contender for the UFC heavyweight title. Depending on what happens with Francis Ngannou, it wouldn’t even be surprising to see him claim the gold in 2023.