UFC on ESPN 9 was the title of the UFC Fight Night 172 which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, although fans were not allowed at the venue and watched from home instead.
Once again, Dana White was able to pull it off, like he has done the past few weeks, making the UFC one of the most relevant sports during the pandemic period.
The main fight at the event was Gilbert Burns vs. Tyron Woodley. Burns, in his first UFC main event, beat Woodley, a former welterweight champion, dominating him every moment of the fight, then winning by unanimous decision from the judges.
From the very first minute the fight started, Burns wasted no time to show us that he meant business. He started with a series of punches on the former champion, eventually sending him to the ground.
That didn’t slow Burns’s roll as he met his opponent on the ground, delivering more punches, eventually blowing up above his left eye with his elbow. But the injury did not make Burns relentless as he still showed no sign of slowing down.
The next rounds all seemed to be in Burns favour as he knew exactly what he was doing. It got to a point where he started making his attacks unpredictable, using both punches and kicks, and he was wise enough to keep well out of Woodley’s reach. He returned every punch with a harder one and always seemed to be in control.
Burns kept Woodley long enough in the ring, punishing him as much as he could. Another series of rapid punches sent Woodley to the floor. But Woodley, who remained resilient, despite the beating he had been taking, was able to get up once more and face his challenger. Getting up, however, did not make any difference as Burns had already done a lot of damage and had proven to be the better fighter throughout the whole fight.
The match came to an end with Burns leading the scoreboard with 50-44, 50-44 and 50-45. The win is the biggest of his career, so far, and he won $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night.
Indeed, Burns put up quite a performance as Woodley needed a few stitching after the fight for the injury above his left eye. Burns teased that he might go for UFC welterweight champion and a close friend, Kamaru Usman next. He said, “I love the champ, my training partner Kamaru Usman but give me a shot.”
Written by: Leon Osamor
