UFC 178 Review: McGregor justifies hype, Cruz savage in return, Zingano stakes title claim, Cerrone prevails and Mighty Mouse dazzles

UFC 178 Review: McGregor justifies hype, Cruz savage in return, Zingano stakes title claim, Cerrone prevails and Mighty Mouse dazzles 

By Alex Dillon @AlexKingdomMMA

For quite some time, UFC 178 had been a hugely anticipated card, various fights carried their own significant hype going into the event and big questions were hovering: could Eddie Alvarez hang with the lightweight elite? Is McGregor legit? Is Zingano the true #1 contender for Ronda Rousey’s title and can Cruz successfully come back from a career threatening injury? Once the dust had settled Saturday night, it was clear that they were all emphatically answered.

UFC Flyweight Championship:  Demetrious Johnson (c) vs Chris Cariaso

For a title fight headliner, this was the least talked about fight on the main card, many expected ‘Mighty Mouse’ to blast through #8 ranked Cariaso and that’s exactly what happened after a cagey opening. Johnson who holds the far superior technical skills began to land on Cariaso as the 1st round was drawing to a close with various kicks and knees to the body which seemed to hurt his opponent and Cariaso was literally saved by the bell. The finish would come half way through the 2nd round as Cariaso would find himself in all sorts of trouble off his back and end up being submitted by the champion via Kimura. It’s fair to say this victory didn’t do a whole lot for Mighty Mouse but again he showed why he is a complete mixed martial artist, awesome performance none the less.

Result: Demetrious Johnson (c) def. Chris Cariaso via submission (Kimura) at 2:29 of Round 2

Donald Cerrone vs Eddie Alvarez

This fight pitted lightweight stand out Cerrone vs UFC newcomer and former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez. Cerrone as he typically does, started the fight off slow and Alvarez was having much joy in the opening round landing some heavy shots and at one point, had Cerrone in the clinch firing away multiple blows to him that were obviously doing damage but a Cerrone said in the post fight interview “no not today”.  In the 2nd round, Cerrone started to get into his groove with an array of leg kicks and body kicks that clearly troubled Alvarez and this pattern continued for the rest of the fight as Cerrone chopped away with leg kicks that at one point dropped Alvarez en route to a Unanimous Decision victory. Eddie Alvarez gave a good debut performance but Cowboy is on a surge at the moment which arguably puts him as the #1 contender in the division and rightly so.

Result: Donald Cerrone def. Eddie Alvarez via Unanimous Decision 29-28 (x3)

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier

This fight was by far, the most anticipated fight in the UFC for a while never mind this card. McGregor, arguably the most hyped fighter since Brock Lesnar, was yet to be tested significantly for all of his talk and Dustin Poirier ranked #5 was deemed the man to give him that test. The Irish followed McGregor to Vegas in their thousands and it felt like Dublin all over again with Poirier being jeered in his own country. The fight got underway with both fighters meeting in the middle of the octagon and immediately exchanging. McGregor looked to dictate the pace as always and connected straight away but Poirier would land a shot of his own which didn’t seem to affect the Irishman. McGregor would land heavily again and then another glancing blow which clipped Poirer behind the ear sent him down to the canvas and McGregor finished him with some ground and pound early on in the 1st round.  This was the performance McGregor promised everybody and certainly puts him in the hierarchy of the featherweight division. He’ll fly out to Brazil for Aldo/Mendes II and don’t be too surprised to see him leapfrog Edgar/Swanson for a title shot.

Result: Conor McGregor def. Dustin Poirier via TKO (strikes) at 1:46 of Round 1

Yoel Romero v Tim Kennedy

This middleweight match up pitted two contenders with solid wrestling backgrounds who were looking to assert themselves in the title picture. The early stages of this fight were largely dictated by Romero who used his explosive striking and grappling to control Kennedy and really rough him up which was seemingly working as Kennedy was already cut heading back to his corner in the 1st. The 2nd round was quite different as Kennedy turned it around and at one point had Romero out on his feet landing some heavy uppercuts and further heavy strike against the cage before Romero was saved by the bell. Controversy struck as Romero failed to ‘answer the bell’ come the final round as his corner delayed him getting off his stool. 30 seconds over the allotted time and the 3rd round finally got underway. It was to be a blessing for Romero as he eventually got the TKO victory over Kennedy in the early stages of Round 3 in a fight which was awarded FOTN.

Result: Yoel Romero def. Tim Kennedy via TKO (punches) at 0:58 of Round 3

Cat Zingano vs Amanda Nunes

This fight marked the return of #1 women’s contender Cat Zingano after a pretty rough year out of the sport due to different situations. It couldn’t have been a worst start for her as Nunes quickly gained a takedown and punched away at Zingano who somehow hung in there to survive the onslaught and end round 1 in top position. Enter round 2 and Zingano began where she left off. Beginning to dominate and assert all aspects of her game landing two really impressive takedown throws which got the crowd pumped. Zingano would continue to be impressive throughout and justified her #1 contender spot as she finished Nunes with some brutal ground and pound in the 3rd.

Result: Cat Zingano def. Amanda Nunes via TKO (strikes) at 1:21 of Round 3

Dominick Cruz vs Takeya Mizugaki

Former bantamweight champion Cruz made his eagerly anticipated return as headliner on the prelims after a two year injury lay off in which he was forced to relinquish his title. Many wondered if the injury would affect Cruz’ expert footwork and overall game and if he could ever reach his championship level again. Those questions were swiftly answered as Cruz landed a big take down early on which then turned to a mauling of Mizugaki as Cruz produced a barrage of punches to his opponent against the cage which forced the referee to stop the fight. Cruz looked unreal and in his post fight interview re-ignited an old rivalry by saying that he wanted to beat up some more ‘alpha fail’ which clearly indicates that Cruz wants his bantamweight title back and it’s hard to deny him a matchup with T.J Dillashaw after that performance.

Result: Dominick Cruz def. Takeya Mizugaki via KO (punches) at 1:01 of Round 1


Jorge Masvidal def. James Krause via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Stephen Thompson def. Patrick Cote via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Brian Ebersole def. John Howard via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Kevin Lee def. Jon Tuck via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Manny Gamburyan def. Cody Gibson via Submission (Guillotine choke) at 4:51 of Round 2

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