UFC329 returned to the company’s marquee venue at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the UFC’s third event there this year.
The event was held during the UFC’s annual international fight week, two days after the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony.
There were 14 fights on the card. 11 ended in stoppages, including two submissions and eight first-round finishes, which was a record.
TOP PERFORMANCE: PADDY PIMBLETT
Coming off a brutal points defeat to Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title. Paddy had to face another very tough and hard-hitting opponent in the Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis. It was said that Paddy was coming into the fight as a slight underdog.
Saint Denis was on a four-fight winning streak with two submissions and two brutal stoppages, and this looked an interesting prospect for both, with possible title ramifications. Some said Paddy was tailor-made for BSD’s heavy hands.
However, Paddy had a plan, and as soon as the fight started, Saint Denis went in for a takedown. This allowed Paddy to lock in a choke. As Saint Denis struggled, Paddy transitioned it into a beautiful Peruvian necktie to put Saint Denis out and finish the fight in under a minute.
TOP PERFORMER 2: KING GREEN
In what was a grudge fight with plenty of needle in the build-up, former friends King Green and Terrance McKinney faced off against each other. Both fighters came into it in indifferent form, both having won three of their last four.
However, Green was the more experienced, and fought better fighters and had momentum, being on a three-fight winning streak after losing three of his last four. But McKinney was the younger, fresher fighter and won five of his last seven.
McKinney started the fight aggressively and was dominating. Green was cut and almost got choked out. However, Green somehow got out and had McKinney backed up, with several head shots, kicks to the stomach, and then body shots. McKinney, who put everything into an early stoppage, crumbled, and Green got a first-round stoppage with a second to go.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Brandon Royval stepped up his quest for a flyweight title fight with a gruelling third-round submission victory over the tough Brit, Lone’er Kavanagh, in a back-and-forth fight of the night battle. Royval showed his toughness, surviving a knockdown in the second and getting rocked in the third. To come back, take Kavanagh down to choke and tap him out.
Robert Whittaker moved up to light heavyweight, following two defeats in his last two at middleweight, to fight Nikita Krylov. Whittaker was clearly the smaller man and had to navigate that with his speed. He showed it with some lovely head shots throughout. In the third, a hard right rocked Krylov, who was visibly troubled and called a halt with what looked like a broken jaw to give Whittaker a good debut victory.
