Kevin Holland got things done early in his fight against Charlie Ontiveros. In a little over two minutes he landed two slams, and after the second one, Ontiveros tapped due to neck pain. Holland was rewarded with a performance of the night bonus, and the young prospect now has four wins in 2020. The UFC middleweight division is buzzing with prospects and was already full of top contenders; however, when it came time for Holland to make a post-fight callout, his choice was a little baffling. Maybe Holland was trying to be Robert Whittaker for Halloween, but his callout of champ Israel Adesanya is certainly a fight that the unranked Holland will not receive.
After almost infamously becoming the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight, Greg Hardy turned in the best performance of his career against Maurice Greene. “The Prince of War” Hardy will always be followed by controversy, but the UFC has put in all its resources to build him as a heavyweight prospect. The former NFL star, disgraced from the sport after a publicized domestic violence incident, made his professional MMA debut on Dana White’s Contender Series, and has since received a cast of opponents with similar abilities. The UFC knows that Hardy brings viewers, even if they just want to see him on the receiving end of a knockout.
After Hardy’s win against Greene, it looks like he is here to stay and he is likely just a few spots out of the official rankings. He led the pace in the fight and he is starting to look like a multi-dimensional fighter. He is an awkward kickboxer who throws labored strikes, but he does have respectable power. He even got a takedown in the first round and landed some ground and pound. Thankfully, his lack of speed should ensure he will never sniff a title shot, but his detractors are likely disappointed by his growth.
In the main event, Anderson Silva had his swan song in a bout with Uriah Hall. Or did he? Silva has never looked the same since his two defeats to Chris Weidman in 2013. Since that time, he has only one win and he has served a suspension for PED use. “The Spider” will be remembered for his dominance of the middleweight division during his prime, but that form of the 45-year-old legend is long gone. Against Hall, Silva was having his best performance since losing his belt, and he possibly won the first three rounds. Unfortunately, Hall’s respect for the fading embers of Silva’s offense only went so far and he began landing consistently in round three and knocked down Silva with seconds remaining in the round. Silva was saved by the bell but Hall closed out the show early in round four with a straight right while Silva overextended himself leaving himself completely exposed for the blow.
Silva’s final moments in the Octagon were a bit par for the course of what has been seen from him since 2013. I think we would all like to see him retire, but I don’t know if that will be the case. He and his team have expressed that though this was his last fight with the UFC, they will look to take his name value elsewhere and continue fighting. The MMA icon will likely have plenty of suitors, but I can’t see him ever bringing the same entertainment value of when he was UFC’s top star.
