UFC Vegas 97: Five Things We Learned

UFC Vegas 97: Five Things We Learned

UFC Vegas 97 was an entertaining night of fights. The event also showcased ranked talent and rising prospects, giving us several lessons to recap. Here are five of the biggest things we learned during UFC Vegas 97.

Sean Brady adapts to a striking battle

In the UFC Vegas 97 main event, Sean Brady adapted to a tough matchup and used his striking to win by decision over Gilbert Burns.

This matchup consisted of two primary grapplers. For the majority of the fight, that prevented either fighter from getting their offensive grappling working. Brady had more success of the pair as he landed a few takedowns and control from the top position for several minutes. Outside of that, a lot of his control time took place in the clinch.

The lack of overall grappling exchanges resulted in a lot of striking. In that realm, Brady showed a lot of offensive improvements. In the 25-minute bout, he landed 274 of his 368 strike attempts. That included landing 120 of his 217 significant strikes.

In this fight, Brady showed a lot of boxing improvements. This began with his boxing. Brady was throwing long boxing combinations and landing at a good rate. On top of that, he was landing strong leg kicks.

Brady is far from an elite striker; however, he made a few necessary improvements. Those improvements were needed for him to pick up a win against a fighter he could not dominantly grapple. More importantly, it provides optimism he can continue to get high-level wins.

Gilbert Burns shows further regression

On the opposite side of the UFC Vegas 97 main event, Burns showed serious signs of regression.

This was not a strong showing from Burns. In theory, he should have been the fighter to find striking success. In his career, he has a much better track record in striking exchanges. Still, Brady was the one putting combinations together and landing strikes. Burns was often regulated to a defensive position and he rarely threw counters.

This fight was not a complete domination. Burns landed several big shots and had moments of success. Still, from an overall standpoint, it is evident that he has regressed significantly.

Natalia Silva gets a signature win

In the UFC Vegas 97, co-main event Natalia Silva earned a decision win over Jessica Andrade. The victory is a signature win for the top prospect.

Silva was the fighter who landed the better strikes throughout this bout. This came in the fashion of boxing counter and flashy kicks. On several occasions, it felt like she had a chance to push for a finish. Regardless, she won a unanimous decision and won every round.

In all honesty, there was not much to learn from this fight. Silva was clearly an elite prospect. Still, it is nice to see her reach her potential and pick up a win over a former champion.

Steve Garcia continues his streak of violence

At UFC Vegas 97, Steve Garcia knocked out Kyle Nelson with an elbow from the top position. The win was Garcia’s fifth consecutive knockout victory.

Garcia is currently on an insane run of creating violence. It really does not matter how he manages to get the job done. Five consecutive finish victories speak for themselves.

It is obvious Garcia is one of the more entertaining featherweights on the UFC roster. At some point, he deserves a big opportunity in the featherweight division.

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Andre Lima shows off his grappling

At UFC Vegas 97, Andre Lima showed off his grappling prowess for the first time in his UFC run. That helped him pick up a decision victory over Felipe dos Santos.

Lima has shown a lot of skill early in his UFC run. On his Dana White’s Contender Series performance, he proved to be an exciting prospect. In the UFC, he continued to show serious skill. Now, he showed a further layer of his skills.

Lima has shown a lot of striking skills. In this fight, he showed his ability to control the fight on the ground. Lima landed takedowns, worked to the body triangle, and nearly submitted dos Santos.

At 25-years-old, Lima is a very skilled flyweight. For his long-term success, that is promising.

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