https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/97740-ufc-fight-night
UFC Vegas 72 words I collected for 8 of the 12 fights:
Brian Kelleher is a battle-tested, tough veteran of the sport. Although he lacks the elite athleticism and speed needed to see a significant climb up the bantamweight division, he possesses skills that will be tough fight for any non-ranked fighter to overcome. The reason why he is such a tough test is due to him having an extremely dangerous overhand right that is accompanied by having a solid ground game. More specifically, Kelleher does a very good job pressuring his opponent on the feet, throws the big right hand, and if the punch misses, he seamlessly transitions to a clinch against the cage. Once here, Kelleher either secures the takedown where he can inflict ground and pound or he loses the position, his opponent attempts to land a takedown, and once there, Kelleher finds the neck to lock up his patented guillotine – many of his submission wins are by guillotine. The main issue for Kelleher is that this game plan has proved ineffective against higher-level fighters given these fighters can avoid the overhand right and avoid positions that give up their neck. Kelleher is perhaps the poster child of what makes a “solid UFC pro”, whereby he possesses finishing ability wherever the fight takes place accompanied by having intangibles befitting that of someone who has fought30+ times as a professional – good fight IQ, tough, and shows a lot of heart. Although these attributes are all extreme positives, the issue for Kelleher stems from having a notable ceiling as a fighter, as he has a track record of losing to top 20 caliber fighters while beating his lesser opponents. The explanatory analysis is far easier for the latter compared to the former, as Kelleher has routinely shown the ability to bait lesser fighters into positions that are simultaneously most beneficial for him while being the most compromising for them. The way in which he fights is extremely similar to that of Kakhramonov, whereby he has an aggressive mindset on the feet knowing the submission game will always be present if he needs it to be. The separating factor for Kelleher is his experience, as he has shown the willingness and ability to fight in the position that is most advantageous to secure the victory. The deciding factor for this bout is if Kelleher’s savviness can negate the potential high-ceiling of his opponent. Brian Kelleher is a well-rounded fighter with fire in his hands and a dangerous ground game. Quick to the punch, Kelleher stands tall and moves light on his feet, but knows when to plant and throw in order to land with conviction. He likes to switch step in and throw the rear hand, which he does from both sides but primarily from the orthodox stance. He also has a smooth but stiff left hook, which when landed can put anyone out. He can trade kicks from the outside but his most preferred technique is the front kick down the middle. Rather than a teep, this usually comes in the form of a snap front kick to either the chin or belly. This works particularly well with switch step tactics because both begin with raising the knee and exploding forward, keeping his opponent’s guessing as to which he is going for. Kelleher can hang on the ground with most. He is best known for his guillotine choke which he looks for both actively and reactively. Against Ode’ Osbourne, Kelleher took the initiative, shot for the takedown, barred down the pressure, and forced Osbourne to push back to get to his feet, catching the guillotine on the transition. On the other side, he is also quick to snap onto the neck when his opponent looks to change levels.
Journey Newsome: He has power in his strikes and decent technical ability, but he’s sometimes too tentative as he waits for fights to come to him. He has a BJJ black belt, but most of his fights take place at striking range. While he does have a solid wrestling base, Newson has primarily been focused on throwing hands since getting signed to the promotion. Newson begun his career strictly as a BJJ practitioner. With some work on his striking and getting a background in boxing, he’s become a better fighter. He hasn’t fought the best of competition but at least most of his opponents had more experience at the time they fought. In terms of striking, Newson has some big power in his hands as shown in his last bout, getting a knockout. He will rush forward with power shots in the blitzes he will utilize often. He’s getting better but is not the most technical guy and is hittable, being willing to take one to give one. His jiu-jitsu is solid and his submissions don’t really show it. It’s really the control, transitions, and the fluidity that stands out with his ground game.
Stephanie Egger is a Judo fighter with a strong upper body and clinch game. Egger typically looks to engage the clinch as quickly as possible because her range striking is basic and low volume. Despite often being the larger woman, Egger struggles to maintain a safe and effective range; her jab is basic, and her combinations are slow. Instead, Egger will engage just enough on the feet to close distance; more recently, Egger will allow her opponent to push her back to the cage, then Egger will grab ahold of her opponent and take her into her Judo world. Egger has a strong upper body, uses head position well, and can land takedowns through Judo throws. Egger excels by following her opponent down after the Judo throw and hunting the finish from the top position. Egger struggles, though, when opponents drop levels in the clinch or successfully scramble and force Egger into bottom position. Egger can survive from her back but often gives up several minutes of control time, unable to get the fight back on the feet or reverse position. Egger tends to win fights when she has the strength advantage, advantage in the clinch, and can Judo throw an opponent down to end up in top position. Egger tends to struggle against volume strikers or opponents with a dangerous grappling game. Egger’s background in Judoka is a big feather in her cap as a fighter, but make no mistake she is a very well-rounded athlete with just as dangerous striking as grappling. On the feet she is patient, with good shot selection and range, she utilizes mostly the basics, especially a crisp jab and cross as well as her great right low kick. The kick is an especially good weapon as she has been often able to time it perfectly, breaking the stance of potentially oncoming opponents, but outside of this she rarely fights on the back heel. What that means is a consistent pattern in Egger’s fights is that she steps forward to exchange on her terms or covers up and moves backward away from danger when her opponent steps in, she rarely looks to counter punch, instead choosing to reset and attack when she feels like it.
Irina Alekseeva will jump right into competing on the main UFC roster and won’t appear on this season of Dana White’s Contender Series. She is expected to drop to strawweight for her promotional debut. Alekseeva (4-1), 32, is a three-time silver medalist at the Russian Judo Championships and a Russian and European gold medalist at Sambo Worlds. Additionally, she is a multiple-time “hand-to-hand combat champion.” Alekseeva’s arrival to the UFC comes after she was released from Bellator, which signed her to a multifight contract in December 2020. Alekseeva went on to compete once for Bellator, winning a unanimous decision against Stephanie Page in October 2021. It’s unclear why Bellator released her after only one appearance.
Cody Durden is a well-rounded and high-output fighter. His strikes are not the most technical and crisp but they serve to overwhelm his opponents and provide the openings he needs to shoot for the takedown. Typically he likes to put his foot on the gas at the opening bell and he favors a lead hand approach to his boxing. Most dominantly you will see Durden fight behind his jab, on which he will double up and then follow up with either a hook or overhand off of the same side. He mixes these in with a very heavy lowkick game as well. Ultimately, however, these strikes are used to back his opponents up and draw respect from their guard, if he can get his opponents to react or even better cover-up for a moment, he will instantly shoot in. Durden is a highly committed fighter, and he pursues his attempts very strongly whether it’s striking or wrestling. The upside is, he often is able to push past the sprawl and secure very strong tight wrestling positions when he shoots, the downside is if timed wrong and he does get shucked off he can end up fully off-balanced and out of position. His approach is very much a high risk reward when it comes to his use of techniques. If he can get his opponents down, he tends to look to take the back. He will be relentless in his pursuit of this position but once he secures hooks he becomes far more patient, not rushing any submissions but maintaining position, winning on scoring and time while he comfortably works to secure the neck. Cody Durden is also well-rounded, he has kickboxing experience but comes primarily from wrestling. The staple of his style is high movement and high pace and like Aori, Durden looks to land full force right off the bat. In the best-case scenarios this has led to him overwhelming opponents early with strikes enough to open up a clean takedown, Durden excels and finding the back, where he knows he can take his foot off the gas and work more patiently. In terms of the techniques he uses on the feet, he has a great heavy low leg kick, and he likes to throw looping left hooks and overhangs behind the jab off the same hand. Durden does not typically entertain the feinting and feeling out process, he commits to his strikes and takedowns 100% and with bad intentions always. When they work it’s great but the negative side to this is that he doesn’t often adjust midway through failing shots or flurries and ends up being shucked completely off balance or cleanly countered. Against Flick, his over-commitment to bridging the distance put him deep into a submission early. Against Gutierrez, because he did not hide his want for a takedown, his heavy lead leg was picked apart.
Charles Johnson has an unusual sports background which has fed his skills in his fighting career. From an early age, Johnson had other athletic aspirations separate from fighting; his father acted as coach from early on in his Olympic pursuit in Steeplechase. Although the five rings never materialized for the American, the sport, which for the unfamiliar, is an intensive obstacle race equivalent to that of horse racing and one of the most unforgiving endurance sports in the world. It involves 28 barriers and 7 water jumps. Johnson rose to the peak within the United states, winning national titles twice. While this sport has little in common with MMA, it does provide some insight as to how Johnson later built his unique fighting style which heavily leans on his extraordinary cardio and endurance, breaking down his opponents over the duration of the fight. On top of this, he also owns a professional boxing record, which, although not the most successful, can also be attributed to his unique style of elusive head movement. Together, his background in both boxing and endurance racing paints a good picture of what makes him such an effective fighter. Johnson primarily likes to sit in a boxing stance, constantly fainting and switching and sitting on the outside until he is confident he has read the range and timing of his opponent. At this point, he will move forward and is particularly good at only slipping barely out of range and back into it in order to land. There is little wasted movement in his style, which is in part how he sustains his pace almost perfectly over 25 minutes. He tends to keep a low guard to protect the body and is confident in his head movement to protect himself upstairs, his movement is very similar to that of Bobby Green in this regard. He utilizes a lot of kicks, exclusively to the body and legs, as he wants to chip away at his opponent instead of finding a one-strike KO, but his stabbing front kicks and slapping low kicks also set up his hands to the head. However, because he works at a consistent pace in order to pay dividends later in the fight, he does not always throw with substantial speed, especially kicking to the body he has been caught on multiple occasions and taken down as a counter. This is something that Mokaev will look for as the superior grappler. Many of Johnson’s attacks are built around his head movement, he likes to slip and rip counters, but he also hides his level changes behind his ducks, allowing him to avoid telegraphing takedowns. The problem with this is because he is so often ready to lead on the front leg and slip forward or lean backward, his body is almost always open to be hit, even if he is covering up. Johnson is a confident fighter off of his back, but he has shown he is willing to give up his back or stretch out limbs as he bodies his way up, he has gotten away with this against fighters on the level of BJJ black belt. Johnson, after transferring over from LFA, was touted as someone to keep on the radar for the flyweight division. He is a strong wrestler, primarily defensively, and has crispy boxing rooted in speed and movement. Johnson, typically, looks to fight from range where he can use his height and reach to keep opponents at the end of his punches. He uses a snapping jab that he can land from a variety of angles to dictate the position of his opponents. Johnson, who often stands with a wide boxing base and heavy lead leg, tends to move slowly and plot forward. But, because of his head movement and hip dexterity, he still uses a flashy bob-and-weave defense that requires him to be faster and more reactive than his opponents. Because of his natural speed advantage and reliable jaw, Johnson has implemented this riskier defense successfully throughout his career. He often looks to slip or roll an opponent’s combination and then return with his own fast and powerful counter combination. When he’s flowing, he looks impressive in the pocket; but, as he’s getting older and facing better competition, Johnson has been caught and forced to eat a few clean shots in each fight. “InnerG” is a strong wrestler as well. He is capable of getting his own takedowns; but, more commonly, he uses his wide base, strong upper body, and wrestling background to keep the fight standing. The bottom line is that Johnson is a well-rounded and athletic striker who tends to win when he’s the faster, more athletic, or sharper boxer. But, he struggles when opponents can match him in those regards.
