8. Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje | UFC 268
The furious battle between Chandler and Gaethje finishes at a solid eighth. It was billed as a potential fight of the year and it delivered in spades. Both men came into the fight having just lost lightweight title fights: Chandler to Charles Oliveira and Gaethje to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ergo, this was a title eliminator of sorts, which was confirmed when the victor Gaethje challenged Oliveira for the crown in his next outing. Round 1 Chandler is a force to behold but Round 1 Gaethje isn't far behind, with the two clashing in Sherdog's 2021 “Round of the Year.” I wrote an entire column about it, and the swings of the stanza were truly mesmerizing, more incredible than the most action-packed martial arts movie. Back and forth they went, cracking each otherwith one huge shot after another. And these were expert blows, thrown with a level of technique, speed, power and accuracy rare in all of MMA. It's very possibly the greatest round in UFC history. I scored it slightly for Chandler, as did the majority of viewers. However, by its end, Chandler was clearly tired and fading, with Gaethje dominating him over the final minute with an array of leg kicks, right crosses, left hooks and uppercuts. Indeed, over the final two rounds the fight settled into merely being a highly entertaining affair rather than the greatest battle ever. Chandler didn't have his same speed and explosiveness, with only the occasional eruption of dynamic strikes, while Gaethje ruthlessly punished him at range. When the final bell rang, Gaethje won the unanimous decision, having clearly won the last two stanzas. Nevertheless, it was a great fight with perhaps the greatest round ever.
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