UFC: Top 5 brutal fights of 2020
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What a year 2020 has been for the UFC. From Conor McGregor’s return to the events almost being cancelled, we have seen it all. With the UFC calendar for 2020 done and dusted – there were some amazing wars the year witnessed. Here are the top 5 brutal fights of 2020.
5. Justin Gaethje vs. Tony Ferguson
Justin Gaethje stepped in place of Khabib Nurmagomedov to take on ‘El Cucuy’ Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Tony Ferguson was running high on a hot win streak of 12 – unbeaten in 8 years. But, Justin Gaethje had other ideas, as he put up a measured and cautious performance, rather than his usual pressurizing style.
“The Highlight” beat Tony to a pulp, leaving him bloodied. But, the Bogeyman fought on, with a destroyed chin, taking the fight well into the fifth round, before the referee waved off the fight, when Tony crashed into the cage following a barrage of strikes from Justin.
4. Dan Hooker vs. Paul Felder
Dan “The Hangman” Hooker and “The Irish Dragon” Paul Felder put on a fight for the ages on the 23rd of February, in a packed Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Hooker inspired by the support of his countrymen was a man possessed in the initial rounds, battering the hard-as-nails Paul Felder, painting him crimson.
But, the ‘Irish Dragon’ breathed fire in the later rounds, like a man with three lungs; he tried to come back into the fight. The ‘Hangman‘ had done enough by the time Paul Felder began his late charge, and emerged victorious.
3. Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker
Another Dan Hooker ‘diamond’. They say, more the diamond is cut the brighter it sparkles, and boy did Dustin ‘Diamond’ Poirier live up to that. Dustin Poirier was coming off a loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov – quite a long gap for an active fighter like Dustin. Hooker was coming off the aforementioned bloodbath against Paul Felder.
In a fight that would propel the victor to a much higher ranking in the lightweight division, Dustin Poirier showed Dan Hooker why he has been a UFC mainstay, portraying unbelievable endurance until the last minute, emerging victorious in a match that witnessed more cuts than a Ridley Scott film. The win gave Dustin the much needed ticket to stay in the title hunt, as he will be taking on Conor McGregor, next.
2. Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
The main event of UFC 248 was an absolute snooze-fest, but the co-main event featuring Women’s strawweight fighters Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk made up for it. In a match that was decided only via. a split decision, pinpoint striker Joanna Jedrzejczyk despite being the loser, showed that she had plenty to prove, thereby, shutting the mouths of people who called her ‘washed’.
Weili inspired by her ‘then ailing nation’ – due to the Coronavirus, dedicated her victory to her homeland in front of a packed T-Mobile Arena. If people think women are weak, show them this!
1. Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
The first in the list, is the most recent mega-ambush between two ‘flyweights’, Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo. The match ended in a majority draw, with Deiveson going straight to the hospital after the fight. Even more impressive was Deiveson’s time period between fights – a meagre 21 days (a UFC record, when title defense is taken into consideration).
Brandon Moreno, coming into the fight as the underdog, gave Deiveson a run for his money, almost taking his title away. An all time classic saw both the fighters going BIFF! WHAM! POW!, as a draw all but ensured a cracker of a rematch, very soon.
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Gerard Crispin
(3318 Articles Published)