Generally it makes a distinction to have been there earlier than. Simply ask Alexandre Pantoja. At instances in his flyweight title protection towards Steve Erceg at UFC 301, he seemed appreciated a person on the verge of being overwhelmed by the rising tide.
Then the champion collected himself, caught his breath, secured a takedown, and bought again to profitable the struggle. He managed to do all this simply sufficient, and at simply the proper instances, to safe the unanimous choice victory in the principle occasion.
Which may sound like the essential necessities of a champion, however right here it was indicative of how laborious it’s to remain on high in essentially the most aggressive UFC weight courses. Pantoja took on the No. 10-ranked fighter in his division, and nonetheless he had his palms full. It was solely his savvy within the shut rounds and down the stretch that made the distinction, and solely towards an opponent nonetheless making an attempt to determine methods to win shut fights in entrance of an unfriendly crowd.
Pantoja needed to squint by the blood to get it executed, however his expertise made all of the distinction in an in depth struggle. Perhaps the true lesson was that, within the talent-rich weight courses south of 155 kilos, there’s no such factor as a straightforward night time of labor.
A number of different ideas on UFC 301 …
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José Aldo remains to be that dude. What, simply because he’s been technically retired and appears to be angling for a post-UFC boxing profession, you thought he was executed? Jonathan Martinez could have thought the identical factor, to his detriment. Within the UFC 301 primary occasion, the “King of Rio” reminded us all how he bought that crown, whereas additionally asserting a future for himself in a fight sports activities world that may’t fairly eliminate him simply but.
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Anthony Smith advised us he wasn’t able to be a stepping stone. He made clear that he meant to flip the narrative from the man being constructed upon to the man being constructed. Naturally, we couldn’t consider it till we noticed it for ourselves. However with a first-round submission win over Vitor Petrino, he’s not less than purchased himself slightly little bit of respiratory room.
