Written by Lucas Themelis
With UFC 260 culminating this past weekend, there has been a changing of the guard seen in the last three bouts of the night: Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida, Tyron Woodley vs. Vicente Luque, and Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 for the heavyweight championship. These three fights represented the growth of a sport ushering in a new era that is soon to take over the UFC.
Let us first start with Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida. We saw the “Suga Show” on full display Saturday night with a dominant, unorthodox striking performance.
O'Malley came into the contest off the only loss of his career. This came last August against rival Marlon “Chito” Vera, where he sustained an injury due to a calf kick hitting his peroneal nerve. He would drop as a result, opening up the window for an easy TKO finish for Vera.
Being finished that way, many were concerned if O'Malley's legs were durable enough to withstand the best of the division. Almeida did not test this facet of O'Malleys game too much in this fight, as he struggled massively to close the distance and land clean combinations.
This match to me signified a possible change in striking. Almeida employed a more traditional boxer stance with a high guard, while O'Malley seemed very fluid defensively, even when his hands were down. O’Malley focused on movement and distance management, translating directly to a successful offensive attack, which seemed to be connecting on all levels for him.
There are few strikers with similar styles to O'Malley, but one comparison could be current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Both men have a stand-up style that genuinely looks like it is taken straight from EA UFC 4.
With how successful both these men are with their stand-up style and how influential they are to MMA fans, especially the younger demographic. We will without a doubt see this style of striking become more prevalent as time passes.
Next up on the night was the former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who came into the contest ranked 7th in the division, against the scrappy 10th-ranked Vicente Luque.
Woodley, undoubtedly a top-five welterweight of all-time, has a remarkable resume. That being said, the Woodley we have seen recently seems to have lost his edge, with three straight dominant losses to the champion Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, and Colby Covington, which saw not a single round won for Woodley and a broken rib for good measure.
For a portion of the fight with Vicente, it seemed like the old Woodley had returned. He looked good, cracking the Brazilian Luque early and having him in trouble, but Luque would respond with clean, powerful striking to wobble his opponent and have him stumble up against the cage. From there, Luque would take a rocked Woodley to the ground, where he would soon earn the 1st round D'arce choke finish.
This was the first time Woodley has been submitted in his career and could be the last time we see him fight, whether that refers just to the UFC or at all, with retirement an option. For the time being, Woodley looked leaps and bounds better than the recent version of himself, so whether he continues to fight within the UFC against lower competition or takes his talents to another promotion such as Bellator, he could certainly get back in the win column before he hangs it up.
On the other hand, this win over the former champion, a higher-ranked opponent, could propel Luque several spots up in the rankings and possibly earn himself a top-five contender his next time out. Avenging his losses to either Leon Edwards or Stephen Thompson are goals that may open up for the 29-year-old out of Sanford MMA.
If this does indeed end up being Tyron Woodley's last contest in the UFC, he can retire knowing he is a top-five welterweight of all-time, a feat that only a select few can claim.
Finally, we get to the UFC heavyweight championship in the main event.
Francis Ngannou knocks Stipe Miocic unconscious in 2nd round of their championship fight rematch. Ngannou imposed his power on the former champion with a gruesome left hook that left many fans worried.
Stipe has since put out a statement on social media congratulating the new champion and letting the fans know that he is fine and is focused on welcoming another baby into the world with his family soon.
This could as well be the final fight of Stipe’s career. A deterioration in the former champion’s skillset and mindset is not in question like Woodley. Personally, I feel his legacy is already solidified enough as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time and very likely the greatest heavyweight in the history of mixed martial arts, so opening himself up to further damage is unnecessary at this point for him.
That aside, what an incredible performance from Francis Ngannou. Stipe may be the greatest heavyweight of all time, but Francis is no question the scariest fighter ever. A single punch sends his victims to their graves, as he has shown time and time again.
Now, Francis is much more than a one-trick pony with his power, how he came into the first match with Stipe over three years ago. He displayed a newfound ability to guard takedowns, secure a dominant position, landing a takedown, and land devastating ground strikes.
All this combined with his inhuman power seems unfair.
Right now, absolutely nothing is official regarding what fight is next for Francis. He has stated multiple times that he is ready for anyone in the division. The most likely fight for Francis, and most difficult, is Jon Jones.
After relinquishing his light heavyweight title and bulking up to nearly 250 pounds, Jones is eyeing Francis for the belt, but at one condition.
Arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time has stated he will only take the fight if he is paid what he is worth. Dana White expressed in the post-fight press conference that if Jon wants the fight, it is his. He furthered by alluding to Jon possibly being scared to face Francis, citing his comment on wanting to be paid as the reasoning.
It is also possible Stipe wants an immediate rematch for his belt, though this seems unlikely given Ngannou’s current progression path. Derrick Lewis may be next in line, the one to give Ngannou his only other loss, if the politics surrounding the UFC and Jones do not quickly resolve themselves.
With that being said, there is a new king in the heavyweight division. The greatest of all-time has passed the torch to the scariest of all-time.
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