Another fight weekend is in the books, one with a ton of events from all across the MMA landscape. The UFC’s Saturday night card was much more fun than you might have expected, while Bellator’s double-shot brought even more of the ridiculous shit you’ve come to know and love from Bellator.
It was a big weekend for fighters like Michelle Waterson, Phil Davis, and new Bellator bantamweight champ Juan Archuleta. But as usual, here are three fighters outside the main event that boosted their stock over the last couple days:
It seems like the UFC cards that look weaker on paper always end up delivering on the entertainment. Saturday’s event from the UFC Apex was no exception. Although UFC Vegas 10 was light on names, it was long on wild stuff to watch, whether it was 14 (!)-year UFC vet Ed Herman losing and then winning against Mike Rodriguez, Alexander Romanov tossing 258-pound Roque Martinez around like a small child, or an excellent main event scrap between Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill.
And after Moroccan lightweight Ottman Azaitar sent Teemu Packalen to the Shadow Realm with one of 2019’s most frightening knockouts, he came back on Saturday night and once again brought the violence. Azaitar faced Pittsburgh native Khama Worthy in a matchup of talented prospects, and needed only 93 seconds to dispatch the hyperathletic counter-striker.
Azaitar basically put Worthy away with his first real flurry of the fight – after stunning his opponent with a withering right-left combo, he moved in and blew the doors off Worthy with a series of shots from in close, sending him to the floor with a left and finishing him with punches on the ground.
Worthy, a good fighter and a promising talent in his own right, didn’t even get the chance to lay a finger on him. It was about as tidy as you can get, and it’ll do wonders for Azaitar’s profile – his knockout of Packalen came on the prelims, but this came in a prime spot on the main card.
The “Bulldozer” has a record that’s pleasing to the eye – 13-0 with 10 knockouts – and he has a style that matches. Perhaps generously listed at 5-foot-8, Azaitar has an aggressive mindset and throws heavy leather, and so far hasn’t let his opponents stick around long enough to test any holes in his game.
I’d say two UFC fights, two first-round knockouts and two $50,000 Performance of the Night checks is a pretty good start to a career. He’s already caught the eye of Dana White, who’s looking to book him in a quick turnaround on one of the upcoming Fight Island shows. Looks like this guy is going places.
I’m a nerd for the history of mixed martial arts, and to me, the name “Gracie” still means something. The Gracie family – the founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and one of the forefather clans of mixed martial arts – are MMA royalty, and fighters with that last name will always garner attention simply because of their lineage.
But when you look closer, you realize that a Gracie hasn’t been relevant as an elite fighter in what, 20 years? The early Gracie MMA stars, like Royce and Rickson, were arrogant in their mastery of Brazilian jiu-jitsu – they never felt that they had to train in anything else. The game passed fighters like them by suddenly, and left them in the dust.
Since then, other Gracies have suffered from similar weaknesses in the MMA arena: they’re masters of the submission game, but the other areas of the sport elude them. But 31-year-old Neiman Gracie, great-grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder Carlos Gracie and the son of BJJ legend Marcio Stambowsky, might be something different. Gracie might already be the most well-rounded Gracie MMA fighter we’ve seen, and he scored the biggest win of his career on Saturday night when he tapped out longtime top welterweight contender Jon Fitch.
One of the pitfalls of pure jiu-jitsu in MMA is the lack of strong takedowns – you have to be able to get someone to the ground who doesn’t necessarily want to be there. Many BJJ competitors have struggled when opponents aren’t willing to get into their guard. Neiman Gracie doesn’t have that problem: he went after Fitch with double-leg takedowns and repeatedly put one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the sport on his back before locking in a heel hook late in the second. Fitch, at 42 years old and over 18 years in the game, retired after the fight.
(Pour one out for Fitch, by the way. Fitch was consistently one of the best welterweights in the world for the better part of a decade, but after getting dominated by a peak Georges St-Pierre, arguably the greatest fighter to ever live, he never received another look at UFC gold despite the fact he kept winning and winning. His crime was a top-control wrestling style that wasn’t particularly exciting, but it was undeniably effective for many years. Fitch had to endure a lot of disrespect despite all his success, and all things considered, he had a wonderful career.)
Don’t let Fitch’s age fool you. He still had a lot left in the tank, and he hadn’t lost since Dec. 2014. But the sight of a Gracie – a Gracie! – being that aggressive, taking down his opponent, forcing them to where he wanted to be and attacking with submissions, was almost disorienting. For the first time, perhaps since I started watching the sport, I watched a Gracie fight in a mixed martial arts bout and saw them being able to implement their game against the best.
Neiman Gracie has the jiu-jitsu pedigree that is carried in his DNA: he’s a second-degree black belt under his cousin Renzo, and he’s a two-time world medalist. You know he can submit almost anyone if he gets the fight where he wants it. It’s everything else around it that will determine whether he can be the real deal. After that performance? I might be convinced.
Until Saturday night, Kevin Croom seemed destined to be some guy on the record of better fighters. If you had ever heard of him, it wasn’t because of any great win or any real success in his career. It was probably because he was Justin Gaethje‘s first professional opponent, a fight that ended when Gaethje slammed him into unconsciousness:
Croom has been around. Bellator, LFA, Titan FC. He’s fought in Japan, Canada and Dagestan. Over 30 pro fights, double-digit losses. Hell, he’s even fought Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett. Croom is the quintessential journeyman – and just a few days ago, he had $64 in his bank account.
Croom has been grinding for over a decade for one goal: making it to the UFC. He thought he had made it earlier this summer, when he was originally tapped on short notice to replace Giga Chikadze against Alex Caceres, but he lost his spot on the card just 24 hours later. His lifelong dream finally came true on Saturday when he stepped in for Matt Frevola against the talented Roosevelt Roberts – when he walked to the cage, the whole narrative was about how nice it was that Croom was just getting this experience after all these years.
I think it’s safe to say that nobody saw Kevin Croom absolutely beating Roberts’ ass. But Kevin Croom’s first big punch of the fight, a left hook, put Roberts on his ass, and the 33-year-old lightweight pounced with a gnarly modified guillotine that forced Roberts to tap out in just 31 seconds.
For a little while, Croom didn’t even really celebrate – he was staring off into space, apparently in complete disbelief that it even happened. It didn’t feel like Kevin Croom himself didn’t really consider the idea that he’d win that fight. But he did, and the guy with $64 in his bank account cashed a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. And, the best part: he’ll be back.
Mixed martial arts is an exceptionally brutal and heartless sport. It doesn’t often make you feel good inside. But watching Kevin Croom win that fight made me feel good inside.
The Big Fight 