UFC on Fox 29 Results: The Real Winners and Losers
If life is a marathon and not a sprint, UFC on Fox 29 was remarkably lifelike.
The 14-fight card began Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET and ended at about 10:30 p.m. ET. That's seven straight hours of UFC action, or 44 percent of the waking hours in an average person's day.
Those who crossed the final tape were rewarded with a scenic home stretch of a main card. In the main event, slugger-poet Justin Gaethje took on a well-rounded and violent veteran in Dustin Poirier. A lightweight title shot shouldn't be far off for the winner.
In the co-main event, fan favorite and muay thai wrecking machine Carlos Condit made a relatively rare appearance in the Octagon against Alex Oliveira, a high-octane Brazilian stepping in on short notice for the injured Matt Brown.
I haven't even mentioned Israel Adesanya yet.
If you didn't finish the marathon or picked up somewhere in the middle, no judgments. Herein we've covered the most noteworthy moments, and as always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 29 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
For the literal-minded among us, full card results appear at the end.
Winners: Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje
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After observing a moment of silence for Dustin Poirier's legs and the lost brain cells of both men, there's nothing but celebration for the gusher of MMA greatness that occurred in the main event of UFC on Fox 29.
This is the kind of main event you dream of if you're a fan or a UFC matchmaker. Poirier and Justin Gaethje are tough as nails and talented as they come. And they waged a war. No other way to put it.
The bout began with Gaethje's familiar attack: some of the most brutal leg kicks in the UFC today. Poirier didn't check the kicks directly but answered each with a signature of his own: a biting counter left hook. It went on that way for some time, punctuated only when they came into the proverbial phone booth, where Poirier worked the head and body with sharp combinations and Gaethje returned fire with straights, uppercuts and the occasional elbow.
It wasn't long before Poirier was in clear pain from the leg kicks, his punching power diminishing as a result of losing thrust in his legs. As time went on, Poirier was out-landing and bloodying Gaethje, but Gaethje's legendary toughness was kicking in. He simply ate punch after punch as he continued his own leg-kick-heavy offense. It looked like Gaethje was slowly pulling away, that the accumulated leg damage would inevitably hit some tipping point. Gaethje did poke the eyes of Poirier more than once, eventually forcing referee Herb Dean to take a point. Would it be a factor?
The violence went on for three-and-a-half outstanding rounds. Until Poirier reached down and unleashed the strike of the match, a crushing left hook. Gaethje, wild man that he is, backed up and beckoned Poirier forward. Poirier obliged, smelling blood. He unleashed the kitchen sink on Gaethje's head. Gaethje would simply not go down. He appeared out on his feet. Finally, he fell to his hands and knees, an exhausted runner who had just crossed a bitter finish line. Dean stepped in (perhaps a few strikes too late) and waved off the fight.
It was a fight and a win for the ages. Poirier is not a good fighter. He is a great fighter. Gaethje is a warrior, a winner and more than a worthy foil for Poirier on Saturday. He has now dropped two in a row, but there is no question he'll be back to make more memories. Perhaps he can take solace in winning, alongside Poirier, the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
"Justin is a warrior and wouldn't have stopped unless Herb [Dean] stepped in like he did," Poirier said in a statement after the fight. "I've been through two weight classes, this is my 20th fight in the UFC. I know what it's like to battle through adversity, get knocked down, get knocked out and stand back up. I would never ask for something unless I knew I earned it. So, Dana [White], [matchmaker] Sean [Shelby]. … [champion] Khabib [Nurmagomedov], let's go!"
Yes, there is an easily doable rematch with Eddie Alvarez that could occur. But Poirier is now 23-5 (1) as a pro. He hasn't lost in three of his last four (including a no-contest with Alvarez) and is 6-1 (1) since returning to lightweight. If he hasn't earned a title shot with this win, you have to wonder what the UFC has against him. Hopefully, it recognizes it has greatness in Poirier and can take steps to reward that and itself.
Winner: Alex Oliveira
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He wasn't the hero in Saturday's co-main event. All he was was the better fighter.
Alex "Cowboy" Oliviera waged a bloody war with Carlos Condit—maybe the most beloved fighter on the UFC roster—and rode an opportunistic guillotine choke to the biggest win of his life.
Condit threatened with a rear-naked choke early, but Oliveira stayed calm and escaped. The two bloodied each other throughout, with both men leaking: Oliveira from his nose and Condit, seemingly (it was hard to tell), from his scalp.
The turning point came in the second round when a prone Oliveira landed an upkick flush on Condit's jaw so hard it spun Condit's head around like The Exorcist. I'm no doctor, but I'd be in no way surprised if the shot broke Condit's jaw.
Oliveira sprang to his feet and a hurt Condit shot in for a takedown on pure instinct. He charged directly into Oliveira's guillotine, Oliveira squeezed for all he was worth, they hit the mat and Condit tapped.
Yes, this is Condit's fourth straight loss, going back more than two years. After 42 pro contests, the 33-year-old has some thinking to do. He seems like a thoughtful guy, not one who will continue out of stubbornness or delusion.
So let him do his thinking. Tonight, give Oliveira some shine for coming into hostile territory and winning his third bout in four tries, and on two weeks' notice at that.
Loser: Israel Adesanya
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What? No knockout? That's it. Close down the hype train.
OK, perhaps I'm being a little tongue-in-cheek. But despite escaping with a split-decision win, Saturday was a lateral move for Israel Adesanya.
He kept his phenom status intact with a win that featured the kind of dynamism fans came to love in his kickboxing career and then in MMA. But the lack of a stoppage wasn't the only reason Adesanya didn't have his best night: his opponent, Marvin Vettori, drew the blueprint for how to beat him.
It's not rocket science, but Vettori was the first to actually do it. He took Adesanya down and held him there. He didn't try any, you know, offense, just stayed on him chest-to-chest and clung for dear life. It was the opposite of pretty and, given that he waited until the third round to try it, more than a little desperate. Still, it proved what Rob Wilkinson couldn't in Adesanya's UFC debut: wrestling and grappling are big holes in the phenom's game.
The split decision went Adesanya's way (I have no idea who gave Vettori two rounds), and order was maintained. Adesanya is now 13-0. There were memorable moments that showed his masterful striking, timing, feinting, evasiveness and range control. He's a great talent and great things lie ahead—he just has some stuff to work on before he gets a real test.
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Winner: Michelle Waterson
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Michelle Waterson made her bones at 105 pounds. It may be hard to imagine, but she's tiny as a 115-pound strawweight. With every bout, she surrenders substantial size and strength.
It was no different against Cortney Casey, who stood 5'7" with a 67" reach—or four inches and five inches longer than Waterson, respectively.
Waterson was on her bicycle early, took big shots and was almost rag-dolled by Casey at times. But down the stretch, she stayed out of submission attempts, hit trip takedowns and controlled the action on the mat with superior wrestling. Casey didn't seem to have much of an answer to Waterson's wrestling despite the size differential. That ultimately spelled the difference, as Waterson walked away with the split decision.
It's hard to know where Waterson's ceiling is. She has talent and charisma to burn, but against larger fighters with a full complement of skills, she may return to the misfortune that put her on a two-fight losing streak before Saturday. But for now, a win is a win, and the Karate Hottie should enjoy it.
Winner: The Shoe Face
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Antonio "Cara de Sapato" Carlos Junior might be the most dangerous jiu-jitsu player you've never heard of in the UFC. His nickname literally means "Shoe Face," which is appropriate, because he really likes to kick his opponents around. Haha.
His middleweight bout with Tim Boetsch started with some back-and-forth brawling. As the round entered its final minute, the action hit the canvas with a Shoe Face double-leg takedown. He ended up on top of Boetsch, with the brawny Boetsch trying to power his way out.
Nothing doing. Shoe Face took his back, flattened him out, and in seconds Boetsch was tapping to the rear-naked choke.
That's pretty quick work against a veteran like Boetsch. That's five in a row now for Shoe Face. He is ridiculously fun to watch, he is powerful and he is very good at what he does. He needs a top-15 opponent next. How about another of the night's middleweight winners, Mr. Brad Tavares?
Loser: Ricky Rainey
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Muslim Salikhov and Ricky Rainey have led interesting careers.
For several years, Salikhov dominated the world of wushu sanda, a martial art that blends striking and grappling and, as such, translates well to MMA. The Dagestani ran his record to 13-1—including a win over the zombie corpse that used to be Melvin Guillard—to earn a UFC berth, which he promptly squandered with a second-round submission loss to Alex Garcia.
Rainey began his career in 2011 and gritted his way through regional circuits and a long run in Bellator to slowly build a reputation as a tough-headed knockout artist. He accepted this fight with Salikhov on barely two weeks' notice.
It was a fairly close bout until the second round, when Salikhov slipped a Rainey hook and delivered a crushing right hand of his own. Before Rainey even hit the ground, Salikhov was finishing the job with straight shots to his face. Two or three more and the ref stepped in to stop it.
Rainey falls to 13-5, and this was only the third knockout loss of his career (one of the others came to Bellator phenom Michael Page). Considering he took this fight on short notice, and given how he clawed his way up to this point, here's hoping UFC brass give Rainey another shot in the big time. If not, it would be a tough way to begin and end his UFC career.
Winner: Gilbert Burns and His Hands of Stone
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When Gilbert Burns entered the UFC, people viewed him as a jiu-jitsu specialist. His four BJJ world championships pretty much demanded that label.
It's been a different Durinho of late, however. Despite his grappling prowess, Burns had a somewhat uneven UFC tenure, winning his first three over relatively soft competition before dropping two of his next three.
Then, in September, Burns scored a one-punch knockout on Jason Saggo. Was it a flash shot or a harbinger? Exhibit A for the latter came Saturday when he lawn-chaired Dan Moret less than a minute into the second round.
Burns invoked Hector Lombard (the good Hector Lombard, not the bad one) by weathering some early punishment, stalking down Moret and hammering his foe with fierce uppercuts along the fence, the last one of which planted Moret on the canvas.
"Durinho's in love with that knockout life!" broadcaster Daniel Cormier bellowed from cageside.
If he can keep his power striking going—without forgetting the jiu-jitsu that brought him here in the first place—Burns is a force to be reckoned with at lightweight.
Loser: My Non-UFC Saturday
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I love MMA. I love the UFC. I love the fights and the fighters and the action. I loved this card. I love the narratives and personalities. I'm an MMA junky through and through.
But 14 fights? Come on. Fourteen?
It was beautiful here on the East Coast this Saturday. The sun was out, birds were chirping. People were eating ice cream and riding bicycles and holding hands and stuff. Or so I was told.
Right after lunch, I was watching fights until I finished this article and went to bed. It was dark and solitary.
All right, I'm exaggerating a bit. I enjoyed it. But it wears on you, you know? If it wears on me, the hardcore fan who covers the bouts for a living, what do you think it does for casual fans? I daresay they didn't stay around for the entire card. In fact, and I'm just spitballing here, but I'd love to see the data on the number of UFC staffers and fighters and trainers and associates who watched the whole thing. No aspersion on them, but, again—because this can't be overemphasized—this card was like running wind sprints after practice when the coach is trying to prove some point to you that he hasn't yet bothered to articulate.
UFC observers are crying out for fewer and shorter events, to bring quality and intrigue and true promotion back into play, to replace this constant churn of volume. This card, in microcosm, is a step in the wrong direction.
Now if you'll excuse me, if I have a Sunday to enjoy.
Winner: A Rare Submission Vintage
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He doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. But now he has one of the rarest submissions in UFC history.
Adam Wieczorek was a substantial underdog to promising heavyweight Arjan Bhullar, according to OddsShark. During a second-round grappling exchange (which Bhullar was handily controlling), Wieczorek threw his legs around Bhullar's arm and shoulder for the beginnings of an omoplata attempt—but one that appeared non-threatening because Wieczorek's position against the fence seemed to deprive him of ideal leverage.
But then Wieczorek adjusted his position, stayed with the hold and cranked Bhullar's shoulder into a very awkward position, forcing either a tap or significant injury. Bhullar chose the tap. It was the first defeat of Bhullar's career. At least he can say it came in spectacular (if not painless) fashion.
According to Fight Metric stat keeper Michael Carroll, this was only the second successful omoplata in UFC history, after Ben Saunders used it against Chris Heatherly back in 2014. As the icing on the cake, Wieczorek picked up a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for the effort.
Now, about that Wikipedia page.
UFC on Fox 29 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Dustin Poirier def. Justin Gaethje by TKO, 0:33, Rd. 4
Alex Oliveira def. Carlos Condit by submission (guillotine choke), 3:17, Rd. 2
Israel Adesanya def. Marvin Vettori by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Michelle Waterson def. Cortney Casey by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Antonio Carlos Junior def. Tim Boetsch by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:28, Rd. 1
Muslim Salikhov def. Ricky Rainey by KO, 4:12, Rd. 2
John Moraga def. Wilson Reis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brad Tavares def. Krzysztof Jotko by TKO, 2:16, Rd. 3
Gilbert Burns def. Dan Moret by KO, 0:59, Rd. 2
Lauren Mueller def. Shana Dobson by unainimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yushin Okami def. Dhiego Lima by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Adam Wieczorek def. Arjan Bhullar by submission (omoplata), 1:59, Rd. 2
Alejandro Perez def. Matthew Lopez by TKO, 3:42, Rd. 2
Luke Sanders def. Patrick Williams by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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