UFC314 was held in Miami, Florida, at the Kaseya Centre, formerly the American Airline Arena, home of the Miami Heat.
It was only the fourth time the UFC has been in Miami and the first time since March 2024 at UFC299. At the event, it was announced that former women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunez would be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
There were thirteen fights on the card, eight stoppages, including two submissions and five fights going the distance, including one split decision.
TOP PERFORMER: PADDY PIMBLETT
Although his opponent, Michael Chandler, was already on a two-fight losing streak and had lost four of his last five fights, this was supposed to be Paddy’s acid test.
If you put both resumes against each other, Chandler had tougher opponents. However, Pimblett quickly proved his worth in the fight with a dismantling job none of Chandler’s last four defeats had seen.
Whether on the feet or on the ground, Pimblett was one step ahead and proved he was the better fighter with an epic beat down. In the end, the ref stopped the fight, leaving Chandler a bloody mess on the ground.
TOP PERFORMER 2: JEAN SILVA
In an intense build-up for the ages, Silva and Bryce Mitchell wasted no time going against each other from the moment this fight was announced.
They often stole the press conferences with some scathing verbals. The fight was fairly even in the first, but Silva showed his abilities in the second and began to break Mitchell down.
In the third, he stalked Mitchell, who was trying to fire back, but Silva locked him into a deep choke from standing, which got deeper as they got to the ground, where Silva left Mitchell lying unconscious for a satisfying win.
TOP PERFORMER 3: DOMINICK REYES
The former light heavyweight title challenger is finally on the right track. After controversially losing to Jon Jones in 2020, he got knocked out in his next three fights.
Since, he has three wins in a row, this was another step up against Nikita Krylov, who was on a three-fight winning streak.
In the first round, he showed his movement and quick hands to walk Krylov into a lovely left hook to put him down, and out for his third straight knockout victory.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Alexander Volkanovski became a two-time UFC featherweight champion by defeating Diego Lopes in a comprehensive unanimous points victory. Although Lopes was the bigger guy, Volkanovski used all his experience and athleticism to nullify his reach and tag him at will. He was strong in the clinch and accurate at range to ease to a second title.
Julian Erosa demonstrated an elite array of striking to take Darren Elkins out in the first round. From the first bell, Eroso looked like a man on a mission and did not allow Elkins to breathe a second. He overwhelmed him with a mixture of kicks, knees, hooks and hammer fists, forcing the ref to call mercy on a beaten and bloody Elkins.
Virna Jandiroba put herself in position for a strawweight title shot with a comprehensive points victory over former strawweight title challenger Yan Xiaonan. It was a combination of strong wrestling and submission attacks, then smart strikes on the feet that were too much for Xiaonan, who had no answer for Jandiroba’s game plan.
