MONTHLY REPORT: OCTOBER 2024

Though he’s done nothing but stack victories since his come-from-behind finish of Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258 in February 2021, “Fluffy” had been flying slightly under the radar in the middleweight division prior to his main event debut last month. His first two wins in his current run of success came on the prelims of pay-per-view cards, and while the next three wins were all main card triumphs, there was often something else that overshadowed his efforts.

But on the penultimate fight card of the month, Hernandez headlined against another surging middleweight in Pereira, and used the opportunity to kick in the door and fully announce his presence as a genuine threat in the increasingly competitive middleweight ranks.

After a competitive opening frame, the NorCal native took over, earning at least one 10-8 round from each judge over the next three rounds before putting Pereira away amidst a hailstorm of elbows midway through the fifth to extend his winning streak to six.

That was the collective reaction of the MMA world when Chimaev steamrolled the former middleweight champion last week in Abu Dhabi, and it’s the reason why his first-round submission finish earns top honors here this month.

Chimaev wasted no time closing the distance and dragging Whittaker to the mat at UFC 308, working diligently to try and settle “The Reaper” on the canvas and find ways to advance his position. It took some time, but he eventually worked around to back control along the fence, where he clubbed Whittaker with heavy shots that opened up the opportunity to clamp onto his jaw and squeeze.

Whittaker tapped instantly and with urgency, a sure sign that something was amiss, and reports and photographs after the fact confirmed the Australian standout had suffered a jaw injury that made the finishing hold all the more gruesome.

It’s not the mechanics of the finish that land Chimaev in this position, though, but rather the overall impact of his effort in Abu Dhabi.

Over the previous decade, Whittaker had lost three times, to two people — former champ Israel Adesanya twice, and current champ Dricus Du Plessis — and though he was stopped in his first meeting with “The Last Stylebender” and his UFC 290 encounter with “Stillknocks,” neither of those men were able to dispatch the former champion with the swiftness that Chimaev showed last Saturday.

This was one-way traffic from the word “Go” and it confirmed the long-held belief that a healthy and active Chimaev is a significant problem in the 185-pound weight class; one that could very well fight for championship gold in 2025 after a performance like this one.

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Honorable Mentions: Court McGee vs. Tim Means, Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux, Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha, Pat Sabatini vs. Jonathan Pearce

Knockout of the Month: Ilia Topuria stops Max Holloway (UFC 308)

Back in February, Topuira landed “Breakout Performance of the Month” for his featherweight title-winning finish of Alexander Volkanovski at UC 298. This month, “El Matador” returns, claiming Knockout of the Month honors after stopping Holloway to successfully defend his title for the first time.

Throughout the build to this contest, Topuira stated — promised, even — that he was going to be the first to finish Holloway with strikes, and last Saturday night at Etihad Arena, the 27-year-old titleholder made good on his word. After a pair of competitive rounds where each man had their moments, Topuria backed Holloway up with a sharp right hand early in the third round, chasing him to the fence and chasing down the finish soon after.

What made Topuria’s performance really stand out (at least to me) is that there wasn’t a single moment where he deviated from the plan or his traditional approach.

In breaking down the matchup for the Coach Conversation series, Eliot Marshall and I discussed how Topuria uses his forward pressure to force opponents into the positions he wants, making reads along the way until he sees his opportunity to pounce, and that’s precisely what happened. Despite taking some good shots from Holloway in the opening two rounds, Topuria’s approach or focus never wavered; he just kept advancing, compiling data, and landing shots of his own until the right hand buckled “Blessed,” and he swarmed for the finish.

It’s the second time this year that the Spaniard has dispatched an icon in the 145-pound weight class with such surprising ease — not that it was easy — that it makes you wonder just where the ceiling rests for the undefeated reigning featherweight champion.

Pereira’s previous two fights in 2024 had been quick and decisive — a first-round knockout win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, completely with the “You See?” meme celebration, and a finish of Jiri Prochazka just 13 seconds into the second round of their rematch at UFC 303 — and when this fight with Rountree Jr. was announced, many expected things to play out in a similar fashion.

While Rountree Jr. entered on a five-fight winning streak, he was positioned at No. 8 in the divisional rankings and had bested just one Top 15 opponent on his way to his championship opportunity. Most assumed he would suffer a similar fate to the one that befell Hill and Prochazka before him, but the challenger had other ideas.

Rountree Jr. won the first two rounds on all three scorecards, landing the better shots in a pair of competitive frames, including sitting the champion down at one point. He kept Pereira off balance and out of rhythm; his southpaw stance and big power giving the Brazilian more information to synthesize than he’d faced in his previous appearances earlier in the year.