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Brett Okamoto
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Brett Okamoto
ESPN Staff Writer
- Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: «Chuck and Tito,» which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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Sam Bruce
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Sam Bruce
Deputy Editor, espn.com.au
- Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage.
The second UFC numbered event of the year took place Saturday across the globe in Sydney, bringing a slew of early submissions and dominant performances. The main event was a rematch of last April’s featherweight title match between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. And after another robust performance from the Australian champion, it’s safe to say we probably didn’t need a Volk-Lopes Part 2.
In the two fights before the main event, the lightweights showed up and showed out. The next challenger to Ilia Topuria’s crown may not have revealed himself just yet, but UFC fans can look forward to a lot of high-quality fights from the new class of lightweights in the near future.
Sometimes the critics are right. We didn’t need to see this rematch.
The UFC gets a lot of its matchmaking right. This one was a miss. There was no reason to run this fight back 10 months after the first meeting.
What makes it worse is that Volkanovski is 37. He doesn’t have many championship fights left. He didn’t want the rematch, but he’s never going to turn down a fight. But what is Volkanovski doing fighting the same guy twice in the span of 10 months, after the first one was — frankly — not that competitive? If Volkanovski were 32, fine. It wouldn’t make it right, but at least it wouldn’t feel like we wasted precious time of his brilliant career, when time is limited.
None of this is meant as a criticism of Lopes. He put forth a great effort in both contests, and he did his job in September by knocking out a very dangerous Jean Silva. No one can criticize Lopes, but they can criticize the UFC on this one. Movsar Evloev or Lerone Murphy would have been a far better choice. Volkanovski should have been fighting someone else on Saturday. — Brett Okamoto
Clinical Saint Denis takes a step toward a lightweight title shot — but it won’t be next
The lightweight division is crowded, but Benoît Saint Denis proved with a hugely impressive win over the dangerous Dan Hooker that he belongs in the title conversation. It was the Frenchman’s fourth straight UFC win, and the quality of his performance makes him worthy of a jump in the rankings by at least a couple of spots.
Saint Denis (17-3) used his grappling strength to wear down Hooker in the tight exchanges and also secured two takedowns. While the submission finish proved elusive, a flurry of elbows and punches saw him earn the TKO nod with 15 seconds left in Round 2.
Standing inside the Octagon after his win, Saint Denis called for either a shot at the interim title won by Justin Gaethje last weekend at UFC 324, or a crack at the BMF title, which will be contested by Charles Oliveira and BMF champion Max Holloway at UFC 326 in March. Saint Denis may need one further victory, next time over a true lightweight contender, to persuade the UFC he is ready for a fight with a belt on the line. However, with a fourth straight win, he is certainly banging on the lightweight door. — Sam Bruce
The lightweight division is going to be just fine
The 155-pound division will always be in good shape. Historically, it’s one of the deepest in the sport. Over the past couple years, however, there has been a little cause for concern. This new era, for a good stretch, wasn’t getting the job done. Saint Denis, Rafael Fiziev, Jalin Turner — and, after last week, Paddy Pimblett — all suffered through learning curves against the golden era of lightweights such as Dustin Poirier and Gaethje. This new class is still proving itself, but a fight such as Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy shows the extreme talent we’re witnessing at lightweight.
There is still growth to come. But with Poirier retired and names such as Gaethje and Oliveira not far behind, there’s a looming void at lightweight, but that’s not a concern. We are going to see some absolute classics between young fighters the likes of Arman Tsarukyan (29), Ruffy (29), Saint Denis (30) and beyond to Pimblett (31), Quillan Salkilld (26) and Manuel Torres (30). We’re still gonna miss those big names at lightweight, but this new class might be nearly as fun. — Okamoto
