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 UFC 209 may have lost a marquee matchup over the weekend but thankfully for fans of the OFC, all of our title fights scheduled remained intact. Clearly we're working with professionals here as every fighter on the card made weight without hospitalization. On top of this feat, OFC 265: Rockin vs Santos also achieved the 2nd Largest Attendance and the 6th Highest Rated Event in OFC History! You just know that the record holder of OFC 200 is going to be taken down at some point...especially with OFC 300 aka the Canadian WrestleMania being just months away. And don't worry, I'll let you know once tickets become available...so no need to keep tweeting me! Anyways, where were we? Oh yes, OFC 265, 3 Title Fights, as well as a potential FOTY Candidate, let's not keep the people waiting. So...Without further ado, let's run it all back with a Full Review!
In case you were unsure of who was headlining the event from the name alone, it was Lightweight Champion Robbie Rockin looking to defend his title against Neymar Santos. The Champ was actually a slight underdog coming in to the fight...I have a feeling his management team may have capitalized on the odds over at OFC: Official Bets. And it's no wonder why, as soon as the fight got underway, Rockin's footwork and movement was noticeably improved. Bobbing and weaving, slipping punches, blocking strikes and countering like a kitchen. On top of this, he managed to cut Santos open with a right punch and dropping him with a clean right hook...and this was all within the 1st minute! Santos was quick to get back to his feet however, but he probably should've stayed down. Staggering like a wobbly Scotsman after a long night of drinking, the inevitable end was near, especially when facing off with the Killer Instinct within Rockin. The savage from within took notice and demanded to be unleashed...Rockin faked a right and followed up with a big left that dropped Santos to one knee! Santos tried to clinch but Rockin threw him off and pummeled him into the canvas! Santos tapped out under the strikes and I don't blame him in the slightest, no sense in taking an abundance of abuse with no light in sight. The finish came at 1:18 of the 1st Round moving Robbie Rockin's record to 22-10-1 and 3-0-0 in the OFC! Next up for him will be recently named #1 Contender Corey Davis, with the fight expecting to take place at OFC 271: Tokyo Drift. And just to add to the promotion of this upcoming event, it will take place at the Saku Dome, the largest arena the OFC will have ever appeared at, Records will be broken that night...bank on it!
In our Co-Main Event of the evening, OFC Middleweight Champion Peter Parker took on the always impressive Rupert Blasts. This is a fight I'd been looking forward to for awhile due to both men being on absolute tears in the OFC. As soon as the fight began it was easy to see, this was a Chess Match if ever there was one. Blasts continued to improve upon his Striking defense in the leadup to the fight, as there was no secret that it would be needed facing off with an Elite Level Striker in Parker. And because of this, Parker just couldn't seem to find his distance early. Blasts repeatedly made him miss so he went to Plan B: The Clinch. Unfortunately for Parker, Blasts was well prepared for this and unloaded a barrage of knees while Parker retaliated with some good ol' Dirty Boxing, landing a majority of his punches with high accuracy. First round; Blasts. Plot twist at the beginning of the 2nd with Blasts taking the fight in to the clinch, continuing with his knees of doom. 4 minutes in to the round is right around the time when things went downhill for Blasts, who up until this point was fighting a near perfect fight. Parker turned it on and began connecting, catching Blasts with a lovely right hand, followed up with a jab to the nose which turned on the taps for the red stuff. And this is when from down the hill, things went even further...to HELL! Blasts got clipped by a big right hand and went down spinning to the canvas! Parker got the back mount and began to drop bombs on his rocked foe! The ref stepped in and did what had to do be done, he basically became the David Hasselhoff to the drowned Blasts in this Baywatch prequel. Monster win for Parker who defends his title once more and moves his record to 20-11-0. Next up for him will be a trip to Japan when he takes on waiting #1 Contender Thomas Hawk, who you know, is just flapping his wings from a distance just waiting to swoop in and snatch the title!
In our final Title fight of the night, OFC Bantamweight Champion Dan Price took on the always gritty Ken Kahne. Since coming to the OFC, Price has proved to be one of the most dominant Bantamweights we've ever had here. Taking on former Bantamweight Champion and Legend Jose Cronos in his debut, he's staked his claim and hasn't looked back...and OFC 265 was no different. He was just too quick and prepared for Kahne who was outclassed on the feet and failed to get the fight to the floor, landing only 3 of 13 Takedowns throughout 5 rounds. Masterful performance yet again from Price who shined in every aspect of the fight. I spoke with some fight fans that were in attendance after the show, and they were throwing out GSP comparisons like stunt doubles in the Winter Soldier. Although as dominant as he is, you just know the casuals are clamoring for some finishes from him. This was his 4th consecutive Unanimous Decision victory, having not seen a finish since May 2016...I'm sure he cries himself to sleep every night after polishing his titles...and no, that was not a euphemism. Next up for the now 29-17-0 Price will be The Tiger himself; Yves Jabouin at...you guessed it, OFC 271: Tokyo Drift. That's three freakin' Title fights planned already with a couple slots still open! As the Chenbot herself would say "Expect the unexpected" so stayed tuned for further details on the event!
The Fight of the Night came in a Middleweight tilt between perennial contenders; Thomas Rutherford and Travis Herald. Man, what a war this was. The Gods of the casuals were pleased with this one, witnessing what most fight fans love; blood, heart, comebacks and knockouts. These guys began swinging as soon as they were allowed to before taking the fight in to the clinch. That's where it became a classic case of Rock 'em Sock 'em robots, tradings shots. Half way through the round, Herald broke the clinch and dropped Rutherford with a beautiful combination, not a single butt remained seated from that point. Although rocked, Rutherford dug deep and kept fighting, actually picking up the pace and becoming aggressive to take the round back in the judges eyes. Early in the 2nd saw Herald crack Rutherford with a big right hand that sent him to the floor once again! He had to be done at this point right? Well, you'd be wrong. Rutherford once again showed resilience, stealing the round with some precision striking. Herald did not want this fairy tale to end happily however, dropping Rutherford for a third time with yet another huge combo. He had to be done at this point right? Well, you'd be wrong. Somehow, Rutherford fought off the finish and got back to work as the round came to an end. Heading it to the final frame, it would take a miracle at this point for Rutherford to survive another round like the previous two. It literally started with a DONK! Rutherford dropped Herald with a beautiful combination of his own. Now rocked and cut, it was Herald's turn to try n recover. Unfortunately for him, he was still singing duets with Ryan Gosling in La La Land when Rutherford threw a hard, straight punch right down the pipe and BOOM! Herald was out! The punch landed square on the jaw, could've knocked out a plus size model with that one. The only negative for Rutherford is he may now need to change his nickname from "The Unknown" to "Cinderella Story". Nevermind FOTN, Possibly FOTY!
A couple more Performance of the Night winners I wanted to highlight on this unforgettable card include; KO of the night winner Johann Kessler and Sub of the night winner Wiremu Huia. Kessler summoned some retro Spider as he jerked his opponent Devil Jho's head down, straight into the path of a devastating knee! Jho dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap! He could've thrown an extra shot or two but chose not to since the ref was slow to react, aww, what a nice guy! And finally, when Huia's opponent Bill Bremner tried to tuck his arms in to keep them safe while on the mat, Huia managed to isolate one of them and got a loose triangle. Bremner was looking to defend but Huia did well to lock his legs together. Huia pulled down on the head and a little smile came across his face, he knew he had it. Yep, Bremner tapped out and this one was all over. Every fighter on the card brought it on Saturday and actually came to fight...unlike Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson...just saying!
And that about wraps it up for this review. We got a couple exciting events going down this week as we have the war of the Wyatt's headlining OFC 266: Vanquisher on Wednesday, then we're back at the Expo for OFC 267: Lokren vs Al Qarni featuring two title fights as well as a lineup that could rival any in all of MMATycoon! As always, if you have any fighters in need of a contract, just let me know! I really want to build up our Bantamweight and Featherweight Classes to be as strong as every other division we offer, so I'd like to request of the managers here to send some our way, it'd be greatly appreciated. With that said, have a great week guys, get your bets in over at OFC: Official Bets, Cop some gear for your fighters over at MayheM sportswear and enjoy the fights! That's all folks!
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