Killing Of The Bull

We experienced one helluva combat filled weekend as the UFC and ONE Championship delivered major noise to pack our weekend with violence and triumph. The Featherweight King has fallen. A new King has taken the throne. Spain has it's champion. All hail the El Matador!

The action all started on Friday night when the two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty defended his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai strap against the number three challenger Felipe Lobo in the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Haggerty's first title defense is one that will be talked about for some time as he survived major adversity to ignite the crowd and retain his belt.

The first round was neck and neck as each guy seemed to take the time to set their reads with Haggerty being the main aggressor. It wasn't until the final 60 seconds of the opening round when the noise really began. The challenger found some confidence and flipped the table to be the aggressor. That's when the kill or be killed narrative came to light for the champion. Lobo had the crowd jumpin' when he landed a heavy-hand combination to put the champ on the ropes:

video via the3els//x - footage via ONE Championship

Lobo had EVERYONE's attention after that fury. The champ survived the round and knew he was in for a war. He knew it was time to activate kill or be killed mode, settin' up one of the best second rounds of any combat you will see. Haggerty shot out of a cannon to start the second round like a bat out of hell, as he went after Lobo with major power to drop the contender. Lobo survived and flipped the switch again rockin' Haggerty several times that brought the crowd to complete thrills. There was 70 total significant-strikes landed between the two in the second round with a huge spike in the final two minutes. Power for power. Blood for blood. It was a spectacular performance by both fighters. They were quick to throw away technical warfare. They wanted to ignite the crowd with violence and did so in a wonderful way.

Haggerty's survival. Lobo trying to stun the masses. The pure striking exchanges and violence. You just couldn't write it any better. Unfortunately for Lobo, his efforts would come up short, as the punishment became too destructive. His gas tank ran out in terms of eating power shots. Kill or be killed. That's how it ended. The champion survived adversity to complete his kill and first successful Bantamweight title defense:

video via sherdogdotcom//x - footage via ONE Championship

What a punishing right hand... for those wondering if I think the stoppage was premature- absolutely not. It was apparent that Lobo's time was up with his fatigue and body language. The ref avoided another big head shot with the stop; good stoppage. What a performance by Haggerty. He survived some major punishment and adversity. There was two or three instances in the fight that gave us the feeling that his title reign was in grave danger. He overcame each instance and responded with utter gladiator motives. The General. And still. What a fight by these two gladiators.

UFC 298 concluded with shockwaves being sent across the fight world. An epic knockout that left jaws on the floor, gave two countries reasons for celebration, and left complete silence down-under. Two kickass main-events, one epic night.

The card was meh in regards of the expectations and pre-fight hype going into the evening. The prelims saw some solid noise that was topped off by a helluva fight between Strawweight contenders Amanda Lemos and Mackenzie Dern. The main-card's first three fights came and went with the Cejudo-Dvalishvilli fight being as advertised. I'm still in awe that Merab did this to an Olympic Gold medalist wrestler:

video via Malcom_fleX48//x - footage via Zuffa LLC and UFC/ESPN

As advertised doesn't mean it was a banger. Just so we are clear. Advertised as a grappling/wrestling matchup and that's exactly what we got. Quite lackluster in terms of excitement outside of a few moments. Same can be said regarding the Neal-Garry fight. A good technical performance by Machado-Garry gave him an easy decision win. His game-plan was orchestrated and worked to what he excels in: using his length and movement. Clinch work was stellar. It was quite a mismatch, frankly, as Garry's spacing and prototype never allowed Neal to reach his power or his strengths. Hats off to Machado-Garry for another solid dub as he climbs the ranks to potential contendership. I want to see him in a better matchup. One that eliminates a massive length differential. Next up should be one of Jack Della Maddalena, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, or the mighty Shavkat Rakhmonov. We saw what JDM did to Kevin Holland and Randy Brown. Would love to see Garry throw his prototype on the line against one of those welterweight ranks.

Thankfully, things turned up a notch with the Co-Main. Now when I say as advertised for this one... I'm talking a scheduled banger being a banger. A banger is exactly what we got from Rob Whittaker and Paulo Costa. The two now give du Plessis and Strickland a run for their money for top Main or Co-Main fight of 2024 thus far. This fight going to the scorecards speaks full tone on the chins those two gladiators have. Especially the Reaper. Whittaker survived a MONSTER heel kick that would have flat-lined 99.9% of men:

video via SportsCenter//X - all footage via Zuffa LLC

Make sure you watch the zoomed up angle towards the end of the clip. Heel bone right on the jaw, baby. Just unreal survival. The fact Rob stayed on his feet is jaw-droppin'. Costa had a few big time leg strikes land up top, but Rob was hungry all night. So was Costa. The Vettori fight and now this one has shown his UNREAL chin. Despite takin' damage with ease, Costa was out-worked and out-classed by Whittaker.

Each guy had a certain game-plan and worked it. Whittaker's GP was just a bit better. Rob used technical advantage and pressure to set up power combinations while Costa focused on landing a fatal blow while working the jab and high leg strikes. I had the scorecard 29-28 Whittaker. Mike Bell was the only judge to not score the bout 29-28. Bell scoring the fight 30-27 for Whittaker is interesting, but not outlandish. For me, the damage Costa landed went a big way, but his gameplan wasn't beating Rob's. Whittaker was setting up combinations and feints to control the fight; Costa used no feints and struggled in creating combos. The pressure was a big factor in my score as well. Rob was the aggressor and the fighter who controlled the fight. He used body shots and calf kicks to set up his over-hands and combinations. It was a remarkable display of fight IQ. Costa focused on a finish, while Whittaker focused on winning the fight if it came to the scorecards. Don't get me wrong, I don't fully degrade Costa's game-plan. I mean that spinning-heel kick is a nuclear shot in most cases. Just not nuclear enough to eliminate the Reaper. Good for Whittaker to not answer Costa's throw it down gesture half-way through the second round, ha! Paulo is a hoot and at the same time; very smart. That would have been his access to a dub, why not bait em? Loved it.

Both Whittaker and Costa woke up Sunday sore as ever- I already know it. The calf damages, the face welts, ah maaaan those cats went to war. Dandy of a fight that took the rotten smell out of the Anaheim air and set up the crowd nicely for the main-event. Real nicely. Once you hear that click to Men At Work, you know it's time to stay stationed upright. The Featherweight King defending his throne against a coveted 0. The vibes inside watch rooms across the Globe were unreal. The vibes inside the Honda Center were polarizing. Unlike the five previous UFC Featherweight title defenses- this one had a vastly different result.

The killing of the bull. Just one right-hand sent shockwaves across the fight world. One right-hand shifted tectonic plates in the featherweight division. One right-hand ended one of the greatest regimes in the sport's history. One of the greatest title thrones turned to dust; to create and embrace new history. Spain and Georgia have their FIRST UFC champion. Ilia Topuria slayed Volk to become the ultimate El Matador. What a moment it was. A moment that literally dropped my jaw to the surface. A moment that dropped a nuke inside my chest. I had never gone against Volkanovski during his reign as featherweight champion. I stated to have a 98% confidence percentage in my pick for this bout. You already know Topuria left me quiet and in awe. After losing the first round, Topuria created a combination to set Volk right into his lethal crosshairs. Ka-ching:

video via ContentFight//X - footage via Zuffa LLC and UFC

As flush a flat-liner that you will see. Right on the button. The gameplan for the new champ' was flawless as Topuria took the first round to be calculated and strategic. Volkanovski's use of leg kicks was an odd and interesting GP in the opening round. Volk's spacing and movement was the reason why I confidently leaned towards him on my scorecard after the first, but it was close. Topuria warmed up quick and showed zero hesitation as he was the aggressor. Only reason why Volk controlled the pace was due to his stellar angle-cutting. Which is why he arguably won the opening round.

The challenger knew he couldn't allow that in the second round. Illia had to break Volk's bubble to back him up into the fence and into Topuria's danger zone. That's exactly what happened. Topuria's most destructive combinations come when his opp has their back against the fence. He uses power-body combos to force the opp's chin to walk into his atom bomb. Volk walked right into his strengths... checkout the knockout from the best angle and speed:

video via ContentFight//X - footage via Zuffa LLC and UFC

Power body shot with the right followed with a high power left to break the barrier. Volk went into the deepest part of the water and then that final destructive right drowned him. The combo took away any chance of Volk having the wherewithal to dodge the right that shut his lights out. Stellar offensive striking by Topuria. Boy, does he pack-a-punch. Nuclear power that shuts the lights out upon immediate impact. The scorpion nap is what I call that. Pure limp mode. For the first time in five years, we have a new featherweight champ.

Topuria conquers the title in quick fashion and finally breaks the narrative of Volkanovski and Holloway being in their own tier above the rest of the featherweights. Less than a year ago, Ilia secured his best win over Josh Emmett. Now in his next fight, he slays one of the pound-for-pound best in the world to become a UFC champion. An unreal climb to the mountaintop. Topuria has become a superstar in other regions of the globe. Representing both Georgia and Spain, Ilia becomes the first UFC champion to represent either nation. A remarkable feat that enshrines his name in the history books. Topuria's knockout will be replayed for years to come. His feat will be spoken about for eternity across Spain and Georgia. Congrats to El Matador. All hail the new king.

---

Follow our Socials and my personal Twitter:

Twitter: @SpittinCap & @djp_spittincap

IG: @spittin_cap

Make sure to click the heart and leave a like... share for others to read

Opinion. Fact. Or Straight Up Cap.