UFC 209 was a great night of fights with an awful main event, so of course the main event is what we will be talking about. (And then the awesome comebacks, the internet reacting to old man Daniel Kelly beating Rashad Evans, Overeem beating Hunt, and more)
The Ugly
This fuck ass fight. Ugh. #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/mH36jn86HW
— D.E.O. (@ImJustDEO) March 5, 2017
Stephen Thompson pressured Woodley against the cage for long stretches, but refused to lead, and Woodley refused to initiate. This resulted in a stalemate for the better part of five rounds, when Tyron landed with a last-gasp flurry that dropped Thompson and sealed him a majority decision on the scorecards. (see the highlights here)
The most amazing thing to come out of the main event was Dana White and Tyron Woodley agreeing on something. They repeated the same answer in response to fans booing: If you didn’t like it, strap on a pair of four-ounce gloves and get in there yourself. Dana White has no patience for you beer-guzzling popcorn-eating boo-birds. Woodley said the same thing: if you are jeering, he’ll pause the fight, tag you in and watch you go at it with the “annoying” Wonderboy.
After his #UFC209 win, @TWooodley told us @WonderboyMMA's style is 'annoying' & has a message for the fans who booed https://t.co/fAa8302QCL
— AtTheBuzzer (@TheBuzzerOnFOX) March 5, 2017
Dana White to fans: “shut up”
Dana White had a message for those fans who booed at the end of #UFC209:
— AtTheBuzzer (@TheBuzzerOnFOX) March 5, 2017
"Shut up!" pic.twitter.com/bGSnMt9ymH
This isn’t a fight that will help either Woodley or Thompson’s popularity. One has a feeling Woodley will be defending himself for a while:
Wow thought we were cool https://t.co/JfM6NLydhz
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) March 5, 2017
He also won’t be calling anyone out this time, because of you folks on the internet.
Woodley: if I say I want to fight someone next then the whole internet goes crazy. (Gonna leave it up to his mgmt/UFC to figure out.)
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 5, 2017
The Good:
Ryan Harkness also summarized the main card really well here.
Lando Vannata lost to David Teymur in a highly entertaining co-main event. Vannata had the more flashy moments, but Teymur pulled away in the later rounds to get the win
WHAT THE HECK KINDA TOM FOOLERY WAS THAT @GroovyLando?! #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/eKfbbC3J9w
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2017
The Swede @DavidTeymur landing NASTY knees! #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/8Cl2JwVEI9
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2017
Rashad Evans had his middleweight debut spoiled by Daniel Kelly, and Twitter had a field day with that.
Brett Favre making his ring debut .... @ufc #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/PvssBO7rzE
— Matt Dumba (@matt_dumba) March 5, 2017
OHHHH @DanKellyJudo CRACKS Evans w/ the left here in the first! #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/fB0UWC3aFX
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2017
lol Rashad is getting smashed by a moderator from Digusted Dad's Down Under
— Felix Biederman (@ByYourLogic) March 5, 2017
.@SugaRashadEvans lands the nice body kick, but @DanKellyJudo gets in the clinch, then lands the right hook! #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/jSS1DeYE0o
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2017
Rashad is having a pretty rough time with this 60-year-old man they pulled from the crowd.
— The Naked Gambler (@NakedGambling) March 5, 2017
This is Dan Kelly's biggest win since he fought in WWII
— David Michaud (@bulldawgUFC) March 5, 2017
Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem opened the main card with a great heavyweight bout, Overeem closing the show with his patented Uberknees. Not only that, but he did it the day after he was throwing up from food poisoning. Let’s hope the drug tests come back clean for this one.
Mark Hunt threw an unexpected body kick that cut his shin open
.@AlistairOvereem throws a teep kick, but @MarkHunt1974 counters w/ a VICIOUS body kick! #UFC209 #HaloWars2 pic.twitter.com/GEfzQUv1oL
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2017
This was clearly a choice of artistic expression by Hunt, but it left itself open to both highbrow and lowbrow interpretations.
Truly beautiful MMArt from Hunt, literally using his foot as a paintbrush to express his journey through the space of the Octagon over time
— smoogy (@smoogymma) March 5, 2017
With that blood dripping down Hunt's shin to his foot, the mat is going to look like a Family Circus cartoon by the end of this fight.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) March 5, 2017
This was the second-to-last knee.
#UFC209
— UFC Japan (@ufc_jp) March 5, 2017
アリスター・オーフレイムの膝 @Alistairovereem pic.twitter.com/lvavYvzRHF
The Comebacks
In the end, it was a night that was all about the comebacks. Woodley’s burst in the final thirty seconds won the main event for him. Teymur was given 30-27 scorecards, but he was getting marked up in the first round before coming back to take the momentum. Overeem and Hunt was a back-and forth battle that saw Overeem endure a surprising amount of punishment to get a last-round KO. And on the prelims, two of the most dramatic come-from-behind wins in recent memory occured.
Darren Elkins was getting pasted by highly touted prospect Mirsad Bektic. He was down on the scorecards 20-17. He was getting roasted for his awful “Damage” chest tattoo. And then, in the last round, he pulled this out of nowhere:
If you watched the entire fight. You know why this finish was incredible.
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) March 5, 2017
Darren "The Damage" Elkins #UFC209 https://t.co/L0r5r1IPc9
No one was saying anything about his chest tattoo after that. Darren Elkins can get whatever awful tattoo he wants to. He earned it.
And Alcantara locked up a kneebar out of nowhere, in a fight he was losing badly, to leave Luke Sanders no choice but to tap:
CHECK MATE.
— FS1 (@FS1) March 5, 2017
Iuri Alcantara makes a comeback for the ages over Luke Sanders. #UFC209 https://t.co/REf18GGMUO
There were other highlights from the weekend, of course. Combat sports were happening all over the world. Here are just a couple of them.
Pretty slick catch-kick-left-hook from Blaine O'Driscoll for the 2nd round KO #CW81 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/VC6U5nBP52
— UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) March 4, 2017
FNG – Fábio Maldonado TKO's Khamid Davlatov in 1R pic.twitter.com/4ER64qEvnX
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) March 4, 2017
Enjoy your Sundays, Maniacs!