Faber took one hell of an ass kicking. I still can't believe they fed him to Petr Yan. Fight should have been stopped in Round 2, and if not, then his coaches should have never let him get off the stool for Round 3. Yan's a real problem.
Moraes looked very very good vs Aldo, but tbh I had Aldo winning rounds 2 and 3. But I can totally see how judges would give Moraes round 3 after the last minute. A note on Aldo moving down - most fighters move up a weightclass to extend their careers, Aldo moving down had me worried, and I felt he was gonna get rekt. By cutting down to 135 he's actually sacrificing speed and his chin. But he showed that depth of skill and experience, and he's obviously still got the power. He looked slower than Moraes, but he read him well, hurt him when he landed, took some good shots, and IMO won that fight. He looked good and I'm excited for his potential match-ups here.
Moraes vs Yan next, winner fights Cejudo IMO. In the meanwhile, draft Cejudo in to fight Valentina as a short notice replacement for Chookagian plz.
Nunes is a monster and GDR is way tougher than I gave her credit for. I thought she ducked Cyborg and so would find a way out of this fight once she got hit, but she hung in there and could have even won if she had a better ground/guard game. Really good fight.
I picked Volkanovski to beat Max. Although tbf I was picking him to finish Max, but a 5 round decision is close enough. Not a knock on Max, Volkanovski is just a phenomenal athlete and really well rounded. Max could take him in a rematch, but the fight will have to be more of a chess match and less of a brawl. Max relying on his volume, cardio and chin was never going to be enough. He's got to actually fight to a gameplan and use his skill and experience to beat Volkanovski.
And the main event, OMG. I want a compilation GIF of all the time Kumaru and Colby punched each other in the face simultaneously. Two elite wrestlers who choose to stand and bang, always a recipe for an instant classic. Both men were beasts, in the end it was Usman breaking Colby's jaw in Round 3 that won him the fight. Wasn't an easy fight to score, I'd have to rewatch it. Haven't checked to see what the judges scored it as, but tbf who gives a **** what the judges think anymore. Glad Usman finished it.
Been a long while till I've seen a card this good.
Oh - and how terrible was it that Colby fans in the stadium were chanting 'U-S-A!' over and over. Kumaru is American too! Must have felt awful for Usman to hear all that. Glad he won tbh.