7 Ups And 1 Down From UFC 245
The last UFC pay-per-view ends with extreme violence, brutal knockouts and a new champion!
If you're still trying to catch your breath following the brilliant event that was UFC 245, then we completely understand. The level of MMA on show was sensational, especially during the trio of title fights that were at the top of the card.
There's always some sort of danger of boredom when you you stack a show with title fights, but those fears were allayed early on as the action came thick and fast. Kamaru Usman defended his welterweight title in a stellar back-and-forth battle against Colby Covington, Alexander Volkanovski ripped the featherweight belt out of Max Holloway's hands to become the UFC 145 lb champion, and Amanda Nunes secured an impressive victory over esteemed Dutch kickboxer, Germaine de Randamie.
However, that was just the tip of the iceberg as there was plenty of action throughout the card. We also saw new title contenders emerge, legends realise that that they're no longer the fighters that they once were and UFC debutantes disregard any Octagon jitters to put on some very memorable performances.
If you're still buzzing from all the drama that unfolded, we've gone back and analyzed the great - and not-so-great - moments from this stellar card of MMA action. Let's begin...
8. Down - Fading Generation
If you've been an MMA fan for a number of years and remember the greatness of World Extreme Cagefighting, then UFC 245 might've been a tough event to witness. After all, watching Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber - two of the former promotion's most dominant champions - not compete at the level we're used to is difficult to accept.
Aldo, who made his bantamweight debut following his loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237, didn't look terrible in his new weight class. In fact, he actually looked pretty good against former title challenger Marlon Moraes. However, he missed some of the ferocity he had at featherweight, which arguably cost him an incredibly close split decision against his fellow Brazilian.
While Aldo was still very competitive against Moraes, it was a far tougher outing for Faber, as he got absolutely battered by surging talent, Petr Yan. Although The California Kid was somehow able to make it out of the second round, he didn't fare so well in the third, as Yan landed a brutal head kick to knock him out.
It's difficult to say whether or not either man should retire and leave their gloves in the Octagon following these losses, but it's quite clear that their fight careers are no longer going in an upward trajectory anymore.