UFC 239 RESULTS and the Flying Knee Heard All Around the World

Longtime UFC Fan at his First Live Event

By Todd Rubin, TFN West Coast Corespondent
July 7, 2019

As a longtime fan of the UFC going all the way back to the earliest days of the octagon where it was usual to see specialists in specific areas of martial arts face off against each other, I have always wanted to go to a UFC event. I have recently relocated to Las Vegas, just in time for International Fight Week, by the way. I have watched countless UFC and other MMA events on live television or PPV, but truly nothing rivals the experience of seeing an UFC event live. There is an energy that is present that watching on a screen cannot capture.

I arrived to the T-Mobile arena and quickly found my seat. Luckily I was with a friend who has been to many live events to help guide me on this experience. We arrived during the first of the early preliminary fights to what appeared to be a fairly empty arena. I was a little surprised that people would not want to watch the prelims as those often produce great fights, but that I suppose is a matter of opinion. Of all the early prelims I think that Edmen Shahbazyan (10-0-0) is the fighter that is the one to watch right now. He seems poised for success in the UFC. In the regular prelim fights standouts were Song Yadong (14-3-0, 2 NC) and Arnold Allen (15-1-0). Both fighters won their matches and performed very well. Yadong defeated Alejandro Perez by KO/TKO in Round 1 at 2:04. Allen defeated longtime standout fighter Gilbert Melendez by decision.

On to the main card, and as each match went on there was a gradual increase in the number of spectators. Diego Sanchez came out to a loud reception, but despite chants of “Diego, Diego” from the crowd, he was unable to put up much offense against Michael Chiesa’s ground game and ultimately lost by decision. Diego may have a few more fights in him but the UFC may not be the place for him.

Next was the first of three vicious knockouts in UFC 239. Jan Błachowicz won by KO/TKO over Luke Rockhold in round 2 at 1:39. After this fight it seems like a lot of the MMA world believes that Rockhold is ready for retirement as he was once a great fighter but it seems to his best days are behind him.

By this time the arena was more filled than empty. There was a buzz, electricity in the air as they showed the promos for Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren. The crowd was ramping up but what came was shocking to all, except maybe Jorge Masvidal and his training camp. By now the whole MMA world is abuzz with the flying knee that ended the fight just 5 seconds in, that had so much hype leading up to it, but it seems that this was a plan that was executed perfectly. Also I think this shows that when a fighter relies too heavily on a single aspect of MMA, in this case it was wrestling, but really I think it applies to any fighter that relies on a singular approach to fighting, that there is an inherent weakness in that fighter’s game. The arena exploded with emotion when Masvidal connected with that flying knee. I don’t know that I have really ever experienced that kind of shared excitement.

Next Amanda Nunes defeated Holly Holm by KO/TKO in round 1 at 4:10. Holy Holm just did not look like she was really able to deal with the technique and power of Nunes.

Finally, it was time for the main event, the light heavyweight championship fight. This was a battle for 25 minutes where Jon Jones threw a lot of his signature strikes and Thiago Santos avoided many of those strikes. Santos effectively struck Jones using low leg kicks to seriously slow down the champ. It seemed that Santos was also fighting through some injuries of his own in his legs that affected his movement. Ultimately Jones retained his title with a split decision. I wonder if these two will ever meet again. I hear there is no talk of a rematch right now and both fighters left the arena in wheelchairs so it isn’t happening anytime soon but maybe in future.
So overall I would tell anyone that is a fan of the UFC and you have not been to a live event and you have the chance don’t pass it up. It is a great event and it is run very well.