UFC Des Moines: Five Things We Learned

UFC Des Moines: Five Things We Learned

UFC Des Moines is in the books. The event was a decent night of fights. It had a few fights that could have put the audience to sleep. Thankfully, the most important fights on the card delivered entertainment. That saved the event and gave us important lessons to recap. Here are five things we learned from UFC Des Moines.

Cory Sandhagen Continues To Improve

In the UFC Des Moines main event, Cory Sandhagen injured Deiveson Figueiredo to pick up a stoppage win in the second round. The injury occurred while Sandhagen and Figueiredo were in a leg lock exchange. Sandhagen elevated Figueiredo’s leg and created the pressure to hurt his knees.

Sandhagen dominated this fight while it lasted. The striking exchanges were minimal, but Sandhagen was in control. He landed the biggest strike of the fight when he timed an uppercut during one of Figueiredo’s takedown attempts.

The majority of this fight took place on the ground. More specifically, the pair spent a lot of time in leg lock exchanges. In these exchanges, Sandhagen was landing massive ground and pound from the top position. If he had not caused the injury that stopped the fight, he would have put Figueiredo out with strikes eventually.

This fight is a great demonstration of Sandhagen’s growth and improvement in the grappling realm. At one point in his career, Aljamain Sterling submitted him in less than two minutes. Now, he is defending takedowns, grappling offensively, engaging in leg-lock exchanges, and much more. His grappling improvements throughout his career have been remarkable. It is indicative of Sandhagen’s desire to be an elite martial artist. This has helped him become an elite fighter and stay at the top of the division.

Reiner de Ridder Shows His Grappling Accumen

In the UFC Des Moines co-main event, Reinder de Ridder shocked the wrestling fans of Iowa as he defeated Bo Nickal with a flurry of knees in the second round.

In this fight, de Ridder did a sensational job of manipulating his skill set to have success. de Ridder engaged in grappling exchanges with Nickal. At one point, it was not going great for him; however, that changed when Nickal attempted a guillotine. That submission attempt allowed de Ridder to work to the top position. In that position, he used his size to apply a ton of top pressure against Nickal. That pressure appeared to tax Nickal’s gas tank.

In the second round, de Ridder used his clinch game to take control of the fight. The difference in size and clinch striking offense was massive. de Ridder was pushing Nickal around before landing a flurry of knees to the body that finished the fight.

This was a strong performance that put de Ridder’s grappling skills on display. He does not have the wrestling background of Nickal, but he is skilled and massive for the weight class. His size and BJJ skills will make him a serious issue for middleweights.

Bo Nickal Is Not Ready For The Highest Level

On the opposite side of the UFC Des Moines co-main event, Nickal showed the flaws in his game that will prevent him from being a ranked fighter.

Nickal is a sensational wrestler, but it is clear that he has some serious issues. de Ridder showed that his overall grappling game is not quite as strong as many people believe. At the moment, fighters with strong BJJ can extend grappling exchanges long enough to survive. That is dangerous considering his striking and clinch game is underdeveloped. Nickal should have been able to land strikes against de Ridder based on his previously shown defensive striking skills. That was not the case, however. Plus, Nickal showed minimal clinch offense.

At the moment, it is hard to imagine Nickal can win a fight without steamrolling his opponent in the grappling realm. The exceptions to that statement are non-UFC caliber fighters. Nickal may be able to fix the flaws in his game, but time will tell how much success he has in accomplishing that.

Montel Jackson Is Worthy Of A Ranked Opponent

At UFC Des Moines, Montel Jackson impressed as he won a decision against Daniel Marcos. The performance showed that he deserves a ranked matchup.

Jackson did a lot of great work in this bout. In the striking exchanges, he was landing impactful shots. In turn, that made Marcos hesitant. This created a very wide striking differential. Plus, Jackson got the better of the clinch and grappling exchanges. Those moments were much less eventful, but it was still important he came out on top.

This performance showed that Jackson deserves a ranked opponent. Despite having a ranking next to his name, he was forced to fight an unranked opponent. The victory showed he deserves a chance to climb the rankings.

UFC 314: Five Things We Learned

Mason Jones Returns To The UFC With A Bang

At UFC Des Moines, Mason Jones and Jeremy Stephens both made their return to the UFC octagon. The pair provided the fans with a banger, but Jones was the fighter who left with the victory.

This was an interesting showing from Jones. In theory, he could have had dominant grappling success during the entire fight. He was not interested in grappling in the early portions of this fight, however. Instead, he opted to engage in wild striking exchanges. That yielded success too. Jones landed a ton of kicks, got his boxing flowing, and mixed in elbows. That said, Stephens was giving him a run for his money and aggressively threw back. In the final round, Jones opted to take the path of least resistance and dominate the round with his grappling. It was a smart move that helped him secure the victory.

This fight is a great example of why it is tremendous that Jones is back with the UFC. His combination of skill and willingness to brawl is perfect for the most violent division in the sport.

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