UFC on FOX 27: Jacare vs. Brunson post-fight results and analysis

History (sort of) repeated itself in the UFC on FOX 27 main event, as Ronaldo Souza stopped Derek Brunson in the opening round, much to the disappointment of the pro-Brunson crowd. Jacare knocked Brunson out in under a minute when they fought in Strikeforce. This time it took 3:50, with the Brazilian rocking Brunson with a head kick and then putting him away with a series of punches. It’s a win that keeps Jacare very much among the top contenders at middleweight, while Brunson is just not quite there with the elite of the division. He tried to take a more patient approach, but when he did attack, he left himself vulnerable to counters, and I have a feeling that short of landing that big left hand, he was always destined to get caught with a massive shot.

After a slow start to Saturday’s show, with some absolutely rotten televised prelims, the back-half of the card was much better in terms of fight quality (albeit with a really low bar to clear). It’s definitely not a show that stands out as particularly memorable for positive reasons, and it feels like I could say the same for several UFC events in recent months.

More thoughts below:

Main Card

I certainly didn’t expect Andre Fili to outwrestle Dennis Bermudez. I also didn’t expect him to get the split decision to go his way, because that’s indefensible. At best, he won round 2 in my book, especially off of his jab. Fili was getting his leg kicked to pieces in round 1, definitely didn’t land the majority of the better strikes in round 3, and the only way you could score that for Fili is if you have an insanely misguided belief that Fili’s takedowns were round stealers. On a night filled with wacky scorecards, this was a robbery. Fili finally has a winning streak, and it’s through questionable judging.
Bermudez has dropped three straight. He went from one of the clear contenders at featherweight to possibly out of the top-15 come next week’s rankings. I consider him to be unlucky to lose to Fili, but there’s no denying he’s fallen off from his best run of form.
Gregor Gillespie is a name to watch at lightweight as a future title contender. Once he took North Carolina’s Jordan Rinaldi down, it was a schooling and a thrashing. Gillespie showed smooth grappling, then devastating ground-and-pound from back mount for the TKO. Gregor is now 4-0 in the UFC, with three finishes, and it’s time for a step up in competition.
Drew Dober and Frank Camacho were expected to deliver a fun fight, and that’s w hat materialized. Camacho got off to a great start with his trip takedowns, but faded badly and was dominated in round 2, then the final frame was truly back-and-forth. I wouldn’t have been against Camacho getting a 29-28 in his favor, but instead all three judges saw it for Dober, including a very incorrect 30-27. An enjoyable battle and a nice comeback by Dober against a dangerous striker in Camacho.

Preliminary Card

Bobby Green’s accurate striking and effective pressure went a long way towards getting his first win since 2014, as he beat Erik Koch by 29-28 (x3) unanimous decision. It was a well-contested fight with Koch taking the opening round, but Green turned the tide and Koch struggled to compete with the prolonged striking exchanges.
In his first fight since his stunning defeat to Darren Elkins, featherweight prospect Mirsad Bektic crumpled Godofredo Pepey with a brutal body shot right to the solar plexus. Pepey was absolutely toast when that punch landed, and my insides hurt just looking at the replays.
Do yourself a favor and do not watch (or re-watch) Katlyn Chookagian vs. Mara Romero Borella. Chookagian won a unanimous decision, and I honestly have no recollection of the best moments of the fight. It was practically a sparring session with a whole lot of missed strikes.
In news that should surprise no one, Juliana Lima was in a brutally boring fight in which she went out of her way to value control over meaningful offense. Unfortunately for her, Randa Markos was able to get the necessary takedowns and deliver some good ground-and-pound to pick up the W.
Ji Yeon Kim somehow got a split decision over Justine Kish, including an asinine 30-27 score in her favor. Truly puzzling scoring from the judges. I only saw Kim taking the final round, and that Kish did the better work in rounds 1 and 2. That’s a rough loss for Kish to take.
Vinc Pichel bested Joaquim Silva by unanimous decision in a remarkably nondescript fight. Pichel was more active with his striking, and I thought he deserved the nod. Hardly an entertaining bout, though.
Niko Price and George Sullivan had a good back-and-forth scrap, with Price hurting Sullivan on the feet but Sullivan doing some damage on the ground. When Price reversed Sullivan in round 2, he finished the fight with a beautiful rear-naked choke, putting him back in the win column and quite possibly sending Sullivan out of the UFC. Two USADA violations and a 1-3 stretch over four fights should spell doom for George.
Cory Sandhagen won by KO last week, then made his short-notice UFC debut by hammering away at Austin Arnett’s liver and getting an impressive second-round TKO. What a surprise that the Sikjitsu-affiliated Arnett showed a vulnerability to body shots. That must be coaching...