Well… it certainly can’t be said that UFC London failed to produce it’s share of drama and controversy. All the way from dubious decisions, to backstage brawls, Fight Night 147 had it all. On the back of this event we now have yet another top Middleweight contender, with the return of Jorge Masvidal, and a new contender at Light Heavyweight, as Dominick Reyes ‘beat’ Volkan Oezdemir.
Reyes vs Oezdemir
It was always going to be one of the more interesting fights of the night. Even if the bout itself didn’t live up to the billing, the fallout was going to have a big impact on the future of the Light Heavyweight division.
Well the fight was definitely interesting, and it ended up in the hands of the judges, who bafflingly awarded the decision victory to Reyes, despite an outcry from MMA fans across the globe. It was clear to all that Oezdemir had won the fight, and it still baffles many as to where the judges came up with their scores.
However, Reyes retains his unbeaten record and moves past one of the top contenders in the division. The question now is, who does he fight next?
There aren’t exactly a gluttony of contenders at the top of the 205 lb division, with Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith already booked to face each other in the coming months, which leaves two viable contenders for Reyes’ next fight. Jan Blachowicz and Thiago Santos.
Santos is likely next in line for a shot at Jones, and Blachowicz is coming off a loss to Santos, so it makes most sense to pair Reyes up with the Polish fighter for his next bout.
UFC London: Till vs Masvidal
A difficult fight to predict going in, but there was no controversy around this one. Masvidal unleashed an absolute bomb on the side of Darren Till’s head – the type North Korea would be proud of – and that was all she wrote. It was a surprising end to the fight, with Masvidal not known for his one punch power, but there’s no doubt that he is now back on the scene and ready to take on the top contenders.
Till comes away from the bout with back to back losses, and the first knockout loss of his career. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here, and who he takes on next. A fight with Ben Askren could still be on the cards, but has slightly less appeal now that he has dropped both of his last two fights. It also means we’re likely to see Askren looking for a new opponent in the coming weeks.
Draaaaaaaaaamaaaaaaa
It doesn’t happen often, but after the fights were over, there was one last scuffle to be had. Leon Edwards picked up a comfortable split decision victory earlier in the night (again, poor judging), and called out the winner of the main event in his post fight interview.
Well it turns out Jorge Masvidal did not take too kindly to that, nor to whatever was said during his backstage interview:
Hopefully we’ll see the two throw down inside the Octagon in the near future, I’m sure Edwards would love to get a few shots of his own in this time.
For more news and opinions from the world of MMA and boxing, visit our combat sports page here. Meanwhile, follow us on Facebook for more opinions and analysis right to your timeline.