PORTLAND, Oregon- The first fight card of October lived up to the hype. Though it was only a four fight main card, every fight brought a different feel and intrigue that made you interested to watch.
Brandon Moreno had the best night anyone coming in as a replacement could have, as he submitted Louis Smolka with a guillotine in the first round. Moreno was an contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and was ranked #16 out of 16 seeds. Moreno had heart on the show even in defeat, and what he showed Saturday night was that any of the contestants can beat a UFC Flyweight right now because they are that good. What does a win over #9 Smolka do for Moreno? Make him a happy fighter and potentially get him ranked. Moreno looks to have jumped in front of a lot of guys on TUF this season after one night.
Zak Ottow put on a great three-round performance to get the win over Joshua Burkman. Ottow looks to have continued success in the future and it definitely could happen if he can continue to fight like he did Saturday.
Well, the co-main event is frustrating to watch, as Will Brooks lost a tough fight against Alex Oliveira. Oliveira scored the knockout over Brooks late in the third round, but the issue was not with the fight itself. Oliveira handled himself very poorly after the fight, disrespecting Brooks after the fight with profane gestures. Add that up with Oliveira missing weight by five and a half pounds and this should’ve been a very quiet aftermath. Oliveira gets the victory but looks very unprofessional in the aftermath and build-up to the fight.
John Lineker and John Dodson fought a five-round battle that saw Lineker get the split decision. While it could have went either way, Lineker punished Dodson in the exchanges they had and always pushed the pace. I think that got him the win in the judges’ eyes, but Dodson had a great fight as well.
Moving forward, who gets the next Bantamweight title shot? Cody Garbrandt has been waging a war of words with champion Dominick Cruz, but Lineker is on an impressive winning streak. One thing that could stop Lineker from that title shot: Making Weight. Other than that, both fighters are deserving and it will be fun to watch either way.
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