‘The Ultimate Fighter 22’ Finale
Friday, Dec. 11
The Cosmopolitan | Las Vegas
When determining what makes a great round of mixed martial arts, a bigger question is being asked. What makes for great moments, individually or strung together, in professional fighting? These moments are the atoms that compound into rounds, the structure of each round together giving shape and personality to the fight. It is both science and art.
In the case of Tony Ferguson and Edson Barboza at “The Ultimate Fighter 22” Finale, the first round was a series of brilliant moments that aggregated into a near-flawless round. It was at times a competitive and dynamic striking match, with both men trading deft kickboxing combinations that blended chicken-and-rice fundamental punches with spectacular spinning kicks. It was high-level, technical and visually compelling all at once.
Barboza displayed his signature brand of athletic and powerful striking, holding Ferguson at bay until “El Cucuy” dove into a rolling kneebar. Barboza was briefly stalemated in the labyrinth of limbs, and Ferguson took advantage with a number of unimpeded hammerfists upward into Barboza’s face. Barboza responded by going to work on Ferguson’s body. They traded off like this until Ferguson broke the ice with an illegal kick to Barboza’s face that caused referee John Mccarthy to step in and deduct a point. The kick fired up Barboza, who was otherwise rocked by it, and the point reduction made Ferguson more desperate; after a short break, they met in the ring more spirited than before.
They met each other in the middle, and Ferguson pressured Barboza. After what seemed to be fairly equal exchanges, Barboza whipped a lightning fast head kick that, even though partially blocked, still made a visible and audible impact. He ducked and pivoted out of danger while tagging Ferguson with crisp punches at range.
“El Cucuy” busted out every trick in his book. He touched the ground to try and catch Barboza looking down into an incoming uppercut, eventually pulling Barboza into his guard. The Brazilian wanted nothing to do with the ground and stood up. On the feet, Ferguson stalked Barboza, but Barboza continued to counter with big shots. It was not a knock-down, drag-out affair but rather a chess game between two violent grandmasters.
Ferguson attempted another rolling submission, out of which Barboza high-stepped, and action resumed on the feet. After countering Ferguson for the greater part of their exchanges, Barboza broke out a blindingly fast spinning heel kick to the body.
Though there were interstitial moments of pause between the spurts of action, each striking exchange was as aesthetic as it was fierce, and the unorthodox grappling attempts of Ferguson’s diving, rolling submission game made it undeniably fun to watch. Ferguson ended up putting away Barboza with a brabo choke in the second round, but given the show of talent they put on, there would not be any complaints if a rematch was announced.
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