UFC 283: Five Things We Learned
The UFC finally crowned a new light heavyweight champion at UFC 283 as Jamahal Hill defeated Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision. The quartet of matches between Brandon Moreno and Deveison Figueredo also came to an end. Overall, UFC 283 was an impactful event and left us with a ton of new information.
Here are five things we learned at UFC 283.
Jamahal Hill sits stop the light heavyweight division
At UFC 283, Hill filled the vacancy at the top of the light heavyweight division with his unanimous decision win over Teixeira. Hill dominated for a large majority of the bout, landing a ton of massive strikes which hurt Teixeira on multiple occasions. After 25 minutes of fighting, all three scorecards read 50-44 in Hill’s favor.
After taking out a divisional mainstay in Teixeira, Hill now sits at the top of the light heavyweight division. While he is the champion, there will be a long line of fighters that are looking to challenge for the throne.
The most notable challenger will be Jiri Prochazka, who will be looking to regain the light heavyweight title after vacating the belt due to injury. But Magomed Ankaleav and Jan Blachowicz will also be looking to challenge the new champion, too. Do not be surprised if Alex Pereira, one of Teixeria’s training partners, opts to move up to light heavyweight in the near future either.
Brandon Moreno puts a stamp on the quadrilogy
Moreno and Figueiredo wrapped up their series at UFC 283.
In the fourth fight between the pair, Moreno proved to be the better fighter. He jumped out to a lead, out-striking Figueiredo in the early stage of the fight. In addition, he landed takedowns while avoiding Figueiredo’s submission attempts. Admittedly, the bout was close, but Moreno was winning the fight.
With that being said, in the third round, Moreno took control as he landed a massive hook that cut Figueiredo’s eye. After the round, the ringside doctor called the contest leading to a Moreno TKO victory.
This performance ended the Moreno-Figueiredo rivalry. It’s difficult to dispute the fact that Moreno is the better of the two fighters. Not only does he have two wins in comparison to Figueiredo’s one, but both of his wins came by finish. Figueiredo’s move up to bantamweight almost eliminates the chance these two ever fight again, too.
If this is the last time Moreno and Figueiredo fight, the former has impressively ended the exchange.
Deiveson Figueiredo is moving up to bantamweight
Figueiredo announced that he is moving up to bantamweight after his loss at UFC 283.
This is a perfect time to make the move. After being on the wrong side of the series with Moreno, it is unlikely that he will get a flyweight title shot anytime soon. Plus, he is cutting a lot of weight to make 125 pounds; a move to 135 pounds may help him find pique form.
The bantamweight division is getting a nice spark with the addition of Figueiredo. While the majority of the fighters in the top 15 are booked, Figueiredo will likely not return for several months. When he is ready to come back, there should be a handful of willing opponents. The possibility of seeing him fight guys like Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili or Marlon Vera is must watch television.
Gilbert Burns makes a statement
Burns did not get the fight that he wanted at UFC 283 — he wanted to fight in Brazil and asked for a fight against several fighters in the top 10. However, none of the elite welterweights were willing to take the fight. Instead, he was booked against No. 12 Neil Magny. Well, Burns proved that he should be fighting elite welterweights after submitting Magny in the first round.
Moving forward, Burns should only fight the division elite until proven otherwise. Fights against Colby Covington or Belal Muhammad are great fights. If the UFC is unwilling to give him a top-flight opponent, they could give him superstar Jorge Masvidal.
Two legends walk away from the sport
The UFC saw two legends of the sport walk away at UFC 283. The first came during the prelims as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua called it a career after suffering a knockout loss to Ihor Potieria, while Teixeira retired following his main event loss to Hill.
Neither fighter was able to walk away with a win, but both were able to retire in their birth country, Brazil.
Teixeira and Rua are both legends of MMA. Undoubtedly, fans will miss these two.
***
