UFC Fight Night 135 on Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, was one for the books, featuring highlight-reel finishes from beginning to end and some of the best performances of the year. They provide the material for the latest edition of the Geek for Technique series.
Drew Dober had a rough start to his UFC career -- he went 1-3-1 in his first 5 fights -- but he has turned it around of late, winning five of his last six fights. Dober was the heavy favorite going into his fight with Jon Tuck, and his performance showed he was worthy of the tag. Outside of a close first round, Dober dominated the fight on the feet and did surprisingly well on the ground in the latter stages. On the feet, Dober’s rear kick to the body was landing all night, and once the fight hit the ground, Tuck offered nothing off of his back. Dober essentially beat him up with ground-and-pound for the better part of two rounds.
Joanne Calderwood put on one of the best performances of the event, as she earned the first submission victory of her career with a triangle armbar on Kalindra Faria. Calderwood has been recognized as one of the top muay Thai stylists in the women’s flyweight division but never posed much of a threat from a submission standpoint. Before the fight, “JoJo” promised to show up new and improved, and she followed through with her effort in the cage.
After a lopsided loss to Randy Brown in November, Mickey Gall was paired with George Sullivan and looked the part as a -325 favorite. Gall wasted no time taking the fight to the ground, quickly took Sullivan’s back and secured the rear-naked choke. He did so with an unorthodox grip. Gall used a top grip on his hand instead of the usual behind-the-head grip. The choke may be more difficult to finish this way, but it also harder to defend.
Andrew Sanchez might have had suspect cardio in the past, but he had enough left in the tank to defeat Markus Perez by decision. Sanchez entered the UFC as an exciting prospect but endured a disappointing 2017 campaign that featured two knockout losses. Nonetheless, Sanchez shows some promising technique, provided he can keep his conditioning where it needs to be.
Cory Sandhagen completed one of the more memorable comebacks of the year against Iuri Alcantara and closed out the Brazilian with one of the most disturbing finishes in recent memory. Early in the first round, Alcantara caught Sandhagen with a right hook and locked up a deep triangle armbar that appeared destined to break bones. Sandhagen’s jelly-like arm survived the armbar and allowed him to take top control, where he battered Alcantara for the remainder of the period. Alcantara seemed to be out on his feet but was allowed to continue by his team and the referee. As a result, he absorbed an uncomfortable amount of unnecessary damage in the second round before the stoppage was called.
Warlley Alves was expected to run though James Krause, but the World Extreme Cagefighting veteran had other plans and authored a stunning upset as a +300 underdog. Midway through the second round, Krause landed a beautiful leaping knee and finished the fight with a flurry against the cage. Alves was clearly out on his feet, and referee Kevin MacDonald stepped in at the perfect moment. Krause has not been viewed as a top contender, but he finds himself on a five-fight winning streak and in line to face a ranked opponent at 170 pounds.
Eryk Anders kicked off the main card with one of the nastiest knockouts of the year. After struggling to find his rhythm for much of the fight, Anders connected with a devastating head kick while Tim Williams was attempting to rise to his feet late in the third round. A former linebacker at the University of Alabama, Anders remains an intriguing prospect at 185 pounds due to his freakish athleticism. He may not have the cleanest technique, but it will be interesting to see how far his physical tools can take him.
Since the creation of the UFC flyweight division, many have complained about the lack of competition at 125 pounds, but the last few years have seen promising contenders start to rise to the top. The masses may not know much about Deiveson Figueiredo, but hardcore fans have been raving about him for years. Figueiredo controlled his match with John Moraga from the start, did significant damage with elbows and closed the deal with a left hook to the liver.
Bryan Barberena looked as impressive as ever and quickly finished Jake Ellenberger in the first round of their welterweight showcase. Dropped by a right hook, Ellenberger covered up and allowed Barberena to finish him with a flurry of ground-and-pound. After the fight, Ellenberger called it quits and retired in front of his fellow Nebraskans.
The co-main event saw Michael Johnson eke out a split decision over Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili. Early in the fight, Fili caught Johnson in a deep rear-naked choke. However, “The Menace” managed to survive, got the fight back to the feet and controlled the next two rounds.
Johnson’s success more often than not came from his insanely quick left straight, as he landed it with ease. He never placed Fili in real peril, but the Californian had no answers for Johnson’s left straight and spent all night failing to counter it. Johnson has had a rough few years in the UFC -- he was 1-5 in his previous six appearances -- but now has a win at 145 pounds and can focus on revitalizing his career in a new division.
The much-anticipated main event saw human highlight reel Justin Gaethje take on dark horse contender James Vick at 155 pounds. Vick started off doing all the right things, as he jabbed and kicked to keep Gaethje out of range. Gaethje was visibly flustered by the body kicks and teeps to the chest but knew if he kept coming forward Vick would eventually drop his guard, back himself to the cage and open himself up.
Vick’s biggest problem has always been getting backed to the cage due to his lack of footwork. It also does not help that he keeps his hands low and his chin high, where he is wide open to be hit. Most expected Vick to fix some of these holes in his game in advance of the biggest fight of his career, but instead, he appeared to be overwhelmed by the moment; and Gaethje made him pay.