5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
To say that there was little fanfare around UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad would be an understatement, particularly as the card was not even finalized until midway through the week.
In the end, it’s safe to say that despite a handful of explosive moments, this UFC Fight Night was largely a disappointment.
With a number of bouts being marred by fouls, and the majority of the fights on the card going the distance, this turned out to be an event to forget – even if there were some watchable moments overall.
With this considered, here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad.
#5. Martin Buday produces one of the most controversial moments in recent UFC history
Last night’s event saw two of the more controversial moments in recent UFC history, as two of the 14 bouts were stopped due to illegal blows, and ended up going to a ‘Technical Decision’. Incredibly, on both occasions, the fighter who threw the illegal blow ended up winning.
The decision not to disqualify UFC middleweight Caio Borralho after he illegally kneed Gadzhi Omargazhiev was perhaps understandable, as the Brazilian clearly thought his opponent had lifted his hand off the mat prior to the blow, meaning there was no illegal intent there.
In the heavyweight bout between newcomer Martin Buday and opponent Chris Barnett, though, that wasn’t the case.
Buday, who was clearly winning the fight with his superior striking, hurt Barnett in the third round with a knee to the body. When ‘Beast Boy’ got to his feet, the UFC newcomer unloaded on him and landed a blatantly illegal elbow to the back of the head.
Barnett was crumpled, and referee Dan Miragliotta quite rightly stopped the fight. However, when it became clear that Barnett couldn’t continue, then it seemed like the only path would be to disqualify ‘Badys’.
Not so, apparently. Somehow deciding that the blow hadn’t been intentional – on what grounds remains a mystery, the bout was allowed to go to the scorecards, where Buday was awarded a victory.
Had this elbow landed to the side of Barnett’s head, then there’d have been no disputing Buday’s win. However, the illegal nature of it, and the odd choice not to disqualify the newcomer, left a black cloud over this clash altogether. Hopefully the promotion can run it back soon. Overall, this was an explosive moment, but a frustrating one to see, too.