Oh boy, the UFC Apex was buzzing again last Saturday. After chilling for a week, the Ultimate Fighting Championship threw down an electrifying card. Middleweight contenders Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov were the main dish. Their fight? Well, let’s just say it was a bit of a mess, but Imavov snagged his first win since 2022. It was a majority decision victory that had everyone talking.
Despite the main event not living up to the hype, the rest of the night was fire. We’re talking highlight-reel knockouts and performances that had fans on their feet. Want the lowdown on UFC Fight Night 235? Here’s the scoop – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
First up, the good stuff. Spectacular finishes were the theme of the night. Fighters like Molly McCann, Charlie Radtke, and Randy Brown seriously upped their game. But the talk of the town? Zimbabwe’s own Themba Gorimbo. This guy, man, he’s something else. Last August, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised him with a new house. Yeah, you read that right. And now, he’s out here knocking people out in 32 seconds flat. Pete Rodriguez didn’t know what hit him.
Right after, Gorimbo’s shouting his love for Daniel Cormier and making bold claims about being welterweight champ by year’s end. Ambitious, considering he’s not even in the Top 15. But hey, you gotta love his spirit.
Then there’s “Meatball” McCann. She jumped into a new weight class and ended Diana Belbita’s night in dramatic fashion. McCann’s now throwing punches in the strawweight division, and with powerhouses like Amanda Lemos, Jessica Andrade, and champ Weili Zhang around, things are heating up.
Radtke and Brown? They were on a mission for knockouts and boy, did they deliver. Radtke’s left hook on Gilbert Urbina was a thing of beauty, and Brown’s combo on Muslim Salikhov was straight out of a boxing textbook. Classics never die.
Now, the bad. Julija Stoliarenko and Luana Carolina were locked in a flyweight feud. Stoliarenko, known for her grappling, nearly had Carolina in the first round with an armbar. Time wasn’t on her side, though. She had another shot later in the fight but couldn’t seal the deal. Carolina turned the tables and KO’d Stoliarenko with a right hand that had everyone gasping. A tough loss for Stoliarenko, especially against someone who hadn’t stopped an opponent since 2016.
And the ugly? Makhmud Muradov and Aliaskhab Khizriev’s fight ended in just 11 seconds. But not for a knockout or submission. Nope. An accidental eye poke from Khizriev to Muradov stopped the fight dead. It was declared a No Contest. Both fighters were gutted, especially since eye pokes are still a problem in the sport, despite new glove designs.
So there you have it. UFC Fight Night 235 had it all – the good, the bad, and the eye-poke ugly. In this sport, anything can happen, and Saturday night was no exception.