UFC 208 is in the books, and after a long Saturday night of underwhelming fights, few will be sad to see it pass in the rear-view mirror.
Despite its generally lackluster quality, however, there was still some noteworthy action to discuss.
In the main event, Germaine de Randamie captured the inaugural women's featherweight title in a competitive win over Holly Holm. Anderson Silva recaptured just enough of his old magic to bamboozle both Derek Brunson and the judges into handing him a decision win in the co-main. While hampered by a scary leg injury, Dustin Poirier showed off sharp skills in capturing an exciting decision over Jim Miller.
Let's dig into these three fights.
Dustin Poirier vs. Jim Miller
According to announcers Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, Poirier emphasized defense and controlling his desire to brawl in the training camp leading up to this fight. Given that Michael Johnson knocked him out in brutal fashion just 95 seconds into his last outing, that was a smart adjustment to make.
That emphasis on safety and technique was clear early in the fight. Poirier pumped a sharp jab and cracked Miller with low kicks as he circled through the cage, cutting off angles and moving smoothly in a departure from his usual stalking, flat-footed style.
When the opportunities came, though, Poirier still couldn't resist the urge to exchange leather in the pocket, something his corner reprimanded him for between rounds.
It's notable, though, how much more responsibly Poirier exchanged in this fight than he has in the past. Defense has always been an issue for him, and he has tended to rely on his footwork and a tight double-forearm guard to avoid his opponent's shots at close range. Against Miller, Poirier was still cutting off angles with his feet, but he also parried, blocked and slipped his head off the center line to set up his counters.
Exchanging in the pocket is always going to dangerous, simply because you're standing at a range where your opponent can hit you. Responsible, layered defense of the type Poirier was using against Miller can minimize that risk, though, and so can forcing an opponent to the fence. When Miller's feet were squared with his back to the cage, he couldn't generate enough power to really hurt Poirier.
At heart, Poirier is a puncher, but punchers don't have to be brawlers. Technique, as it is for slick outside strikers, is just as important for fighters who prefer to operate at close range in an opponent's face. Poirier has the raw power, and he's gaining the skills to apply it safely and effectively.
The improved craft Poirier showed against Miller will go a long way toward both extending his career—brawlers aren't known for their longevity—and giving him a better shot against some of the crisp, technical opponents he'll face as he continues to rise up the lightweight ranks.
We can only hope Poirier's leg injury doesn't keep him out of action for too long, because the veteran of 17 fights in the UFC is coming into his own as an elite competitor.
Anderson Silva vs. Derek Brunson
Few observers thought Silva had done enough to beat Brunson over the 15-minute distance, but the judges disagreed, handing the legendary former middleweight champion a 30-27 scorecard and two 29-28s.
What did the judges see that fans and the media didn't?
We can't get inside the scorers' heads, but we can bet they based their decisions on two things: Brunson's inactivity and Silva's swagger.
Brunson ran face-first into Robert Whittaker's fists in November and suffered a knockout loss that snapped his five-fight winning streak. Determined not to do the same thing against the best counterpuncher the sport has ever seen, Brunson overshot the mark and let Silva dictate the pace, range and location of the fight for practically its entirety.
After eating a hard right-hook counter in the first 90 seconds, Brunson effectively refused to throw strikes at range for large chunks of the fight for fear of giving Silva too much to work with. The offense he generated came in the clinch in the form of short hooks and uppercuts that may have been effective but weren't visually impressive. He completed takedowns but did little with them.
Although Brunson landed more strikes and two takedowns (per FightMetric), Silva looked like he was winning the fight. He was generally the one moving forward, throwing big, flashy kicks and knees. He was the one who seemed to have the initiative and control of proceedings.
Whether judges are supposed to score those impressions or not, they do matter. Floyd Mayweather Jr. made a career out of manipulating observers' impressions of his activity, and former lightweight champion Benson Henderson was a master of the art.
Nobody in MMA is better at doing that than Silva, and it takes a herculean effort on the part of judges and fans to just focus on what he's doing rather than how he's doing it. Silva's aura and his ability to suck everyone involved into his style of fighting are legitimate skills in their own right, not an accident.
Leaving aside the questionable decision, Silva didn't look bad against a dangerous 33-year-old contender in Brunson. Whether that means the 41-year-old should be fighting other young, dangerous contenders instead of hopping over to the legends' circuit is another story.
Germaine de Randamie vs. Holly Holm
De Randamie's title-winning effort against Holm won't go down as a barnburner, but it did showcase high levels of technique and, even if it didn't work, a strong game plan from Holm and her camp.
The decision was controversial, but for good reason: de Randamie's best offense consisted of counterpunches, which are hard for observers to see clearly, and Holm spent much of the fight attacking with combinations and pressing de Randamie into the fence.
Even when de Randamie was landing the harder, cleaner punches—and more of them—they weren't easy to pick out in the midst of Holm's whirling limbs. De Randamie's sharp knees did more damage with her back to the fence than Holm did pressing her into the cage, but Holm looked like she was in control even if she wasn't landing real, significant offense.
Those two things go a long way toward explaining the backlash about the decision. Many others took issue with de Randamie's late shots just after the bell in the first and second rounds or with the referee's inability to control the situation and refusal to take a point.
Leaving that aside, let's focus on what the two fighters were trying to do. De Randamie spent most of the fight patiently stalking Holm, working her way into range behind the occasional jab and a steady diet of round kicks. After a while, it became clear that she wasn't really trying to back Holm into the fence; instead, she was attempting to draw out Holm's blitzes, which de Randamie countered with consummate skill.
Specifically, de Randamie was looking for one punch: the inside-angle counter. When Holm came forward throwing her trademark straight left, de Randamie stepped back and to her right, then pivoted on her lead foot and simultaneously threw her right hand over the top of Holm's left. It's devastating because it lands across the plane of the opponent's body, making it difficult to absorb.
This is the punch that has made Conor McGregor's career, and de Randamie executed it beautifully over and over again. More than anything else, it's what won her the fight.
Holm, by contrast, tried to set a long distance with her side kicks and then step in with her blitzing combinations. Whenever possible, she tried to clinch up with de Randamie to control her against the fence and work takedowns.
This wasn't a bad plan. De Randamie isn't the most active striker, and Holm could drown her in volume and pace at range while stifling her for long periods. To the judges, Holm would appear to be the fighter who was actually producing offense.
Unfortunately, Holm's blitzes were effective only in limited spots, and she couldn't get much going in the way of takedowns or effective offense when she pressed de Randamie into the fence.
It's back to the drawing board for Holm, who has now lost three in a row. Whether de Randamie can repeat her success in an anticipated matchup with Cris Cyborg remains to be seen.
Patrick Wyman is the Senior MMA Analyst for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Heavy Hands Podcast, your source for the finer points of face-punching. For the history enthusiasts out there, he also hosts The Fall of Rome Podcast on the end of the Roman Empire. He can be found on Twitter and on Facebook.