What were the biggest moments from UFC Mexico City and PFL vs. Bellator? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim offer their final thoughts after historic 10-fight cards in Saudi Arabia and 12-fight cards in Mexico.
ufc mexico city takeaway
Will we finally see Brian Ortega fully realized?
Raimondi: If you’re a fan of “T-City”, it’s a depressing existence. He has the skills to defeat any featherweight in the world for years – his hands full of power, smart boxing and superhuman submission instincts. The man who nearly crushed Alexander Volkanovski in 2021 was the closest anyone came to defeating Volkanovski at 145-pounder featherweight until Ilya Topuria knocked him out last weekend. But Ortega has struggled with injuries and other issues over the past few years. Saturday was his fourth fight since 2018. That’s four fights in about six years.
Ortega overcame adversity against Yair Rodriguez, as he always seems capable of doing. Apparently injuring his ankle during the entry, the Mexican-born fighter quickly cornered him and stormed off. By the end of the first round, Ortega had dominated his opponent. Ortega scored in the second round. By the third, he choked out Rodriguez.
In his post-fight interview, Ortega said that his life is together now, and he is not doing the same stupid things. He is just 33 years old. “T-City” fans have another ray of hope. After the win over Rodriguez, the kid from the Harbor-area projects of Los Angeles is back at the top of the featherweight division.
The next wave of Mexican talent is ready for primetime
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Ortega knocked out Rodriguez in round 3
Brian Ortega took Yair Rodriguez into submission and forced him to tap out in round 3.
Raimondi: Yair Rodriguez is 31 years old. Brandon Moreno is still only 30 years old. Both he and Alexa Grasso, 30, are still the present and future of Mexican MMA. When their careers are over, the next wave is clearly coming, and all of these possibilities were on display at UFC Mexico City on Saturday night.
Daniel Zellhuber put on a masterclass against Francisco Prado, using his range and tearing Prado apart with punches and front kicks until both of his eyes were basically closed and bloodied. Did not happen. Manuel “El Loco” Torres finished Chris Duncan with an emphatic rear-naked choke submission. Yazmin Jauregui knocked out Sam Hughes in three rounds in a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
Zellhuber and Jauregui are only 24 years old. Torres is 28 years old. Raul Rosas Jr., who was born in the United States to Mexican-born parents and represents Mexico, did not get a chance to compete on Saturday due to illness, but he is only 19 years old and is a super potential player .
This week, ESPN MMA ranked Mexico 5th in its first MMA World Power Index. Let those potential future stars grow and develop, as well as some of the developmental athletes who may come out of the new UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City, and be careful.
PFL vs. Bellator: Champs Takeaway
PFL finally gets prizefight
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Ferreira’s first-minute TKO win over Bader secures potential fight against Ngannou
Renan Ferreira knocked out Ryan Bader in under a minute, securing a potential fight against Francis Ngannou in the future.
Wagenheim: This took about half a second. No, I’m not talking about how long it took PFL’s massive heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira to defeat Bellator’s massive champion Ryan Bader. It took 21 seconds. But when referee Kerry Healy pushed Ferreira away from a prone, motionless Bader and stopped the fight, it took about half a second for the television feed to turn its attention to the side of the cage and a smiling Francis Ngannou.
Coveted PFL signee Ngannou said earlier this week that he will face the winner of Saturday’s main event when he makes his PFL debut later this year. Of course, the former UFC heavyweight king has work to do first, as he will take on former heavyweight boxing world champion Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring on March 9. This is Ngannou’s second fight as a boxer after suffering a split-decision loss in a tough fight last October. Current champion Tyson Fury’s fight will also be held in Riyadh.
Ngannou was cageside in the makeshift outdoor arena Saturday, leading to a gathering of the heavyweights. UFC champion Jon Jones was there, as well as boxing legend Mike Tyson, who was enlisted to wrap championship belts around the waists of the winners of the day’s PFL champion-versus-Bellator champion bouts.
For most of the day, Bellator fighters took home gold medals, winning all five bouts before the main event. PFL may have purchased Bellator MMA a few months ago, but as of this day, Bellator owned PFL.
Until the final act, that is. That’s when PFL got what it wanted. Ferreira, who has lost only one of his last 10 fights, scored his fourth consecutive knockout, all but one of which came in Round 1. We all know what Ngannou is. Now he’s ready to fight a man with similar destructive power.
For the PFL, it’s a dream matchup paired with the nightmare of a waiting game. If Ngannou beats Joshua in a few weeks, he will surely continue boxing, where lucrative opportunities await. But when he’s ready to return to MMA, a much bigger challenge awaits him.
Ferreira made the loudest statement, but Nemkov may be the best veteran
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Jon Jones interested in diversifying MMA, fighting Francis Ngannou
Jon Jones joins the “PFL vs. Bellator: Champs” broadcast and predicts he will defeat Francis Ngannou and other veterans in potential future bouts.
Okamoto: Don’t be surprised if 12 to 18 months from now, we’re talking about Vadim Nemkov as the best heavyweight in the PFL/Bellator world. Yes, Ferreira knocked out Bader in spectacular style on Saturday and he deserves the Francis Ngannou fight more than anyone. He is definitely capable of winning that battle. The athletically talented Ferreira has been on fans’ radar for the past few years, and now we’re seeing that potential realized.
At this stage of his career, Nemkov is quite accomplished and is not dramatically inferior at heavyweight. He ran through a former PFL champion in Bruno Cappellozza. Nemkov will have to wait his turn for some of these opportunities, but sitting here right now, I’m not sure I’d pick him against any of these other veterans, including Ferreira and Ngannou. He is extremely consistent and possesses heavyweight power for a former light heavyweight.
Let’s all watch and enjoy the Ngannou vs. Ferreira matchup, it looks like we’ll be getting one in the near future, but keep in mind that Nemkov may have a hidden horse.
Bellator’s early investment in McKee-Pico could pay dividends for PFL
Raimondi: AJ McKee and Aaron Pico were considered the two cornerstones of Bellator’s future. Former Bellator President Scott Coker signed both of them when they were very young. McKee debuted in Bellator in 2015, three days after his 20th birthday. Pico was just 18 years old when he put pen to paper in 2014.
Mackie and Pico were to take over the reins of Bellator from some of the veterans of yesteryear and lead the promotion into the future. Those best-laid plans didn’t quite work out. Bellator exited, and PFL acquired the company from parent corporation Viacom in late 2023. But, almost a decade later, Mackie and Pico still have a chance to be the leading men of a brand: PFL.
Both won on Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card in Saudi Arabia, each with convincing first-round submissions. McKee submitted Clay Collard with a spectacular slick armbar from a triangle on the bottom. Pico avenged his previous loss by knocking out Henry Corrales, who was coming in on short notice, via TKO.
McKee has already fulfilled some of his potential by winning the Bellator featherweight title. But at just 28, he still has a lot to show. Once considered the best prospect in MMA history, Pico has achieved only a fraction of his potential after floundering in his 20s. At 27 years old, Pico looks to be one of the most promising fighters on this new roster. Same goes for McKee.
It might not have been what everyone thought nine or ten years ago, but it will be interesting to see what Mackie and Pico can do in this new integration of the PFL and Bellator.
