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<\/a><\/p>\nVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: (L-R) Brendan Allen punches Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n
Reinier de Ridder played way too much jiu-jitsu against Brendan Allen.<\/p>\n
The fight started off perfectly for \u201cThe Dutch Knight,\u201d who landed a couple hard body shots before flinging Allen through the air and stepping into mount. He controlled almost the entire first round from dominant positions \u2026 yet didn\u2019t really throw many ground strikes. Allen was breathing heavily after five minutes, but he wasn\u2019t bloodied.<\/p>\n
Round two continued in similar fashion. A trip takedown led to more back control for de Ridder, but Allen was able to spin into top position at about the midway point of the round. Despite being a fellow jiu-jitsu black belt, Allen actually bothered to throw hard elbows. He was content to work and break down de Ridder, who conversely was trying to invert and throw up triangles.<\/p>\n
The third played out in similar fashion, except Allen spun into top position much earlier. De Ridder exhausted himself so badly playing guard that he could barely stand when the bell rang. In round four, the momentum was so firmly on Allen\u2019s side that he scored an effortless takedown and continued to beat up his foe from top position with almost no resistance.<\/p>\n
The \u201cRDR\u201d corner stopped the fight between rounds, which was the correct call. Hopefully, de Ridder uses this loss as a learning lesson. His failure to land ground strikes, willingness to play guard, and over-pursuit of the back cost him badly here, ultimately sapping his gas tank and leaving him outright useless. Perhaps also fighting so frequently and cutting weight so often caught up to the massive Middleweight, but the tactical errors are much more concrete.<\/p>\n
As for Allen, it\u2019s the best win of his career, and he\u2019s now a player of 185 pounds \u2026 sort of. He still has too many recent losses to top contenders to be considered for a title shot, but he at least deserves a high-profile fight against Dricus du Plessis or Sean Strickland.<\/p>\n
My Middleweight proposition? Give Imavov his well-deserved title shot opposite Khamzat Chimaev, book Anthony Hernandez against Strickland in a title eliminator, and let\u2019s see \u201cDDP\u201d rebound versus \u201cAll In.\u201d<\/p>\n
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: Manon Fiorot of France reacts after a TKO victory against Jasmine Jasudavicius of Canada in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Manon Fiorot smoked Jasmine Jasudavicious.<\/p>\n The stylistic clash was clear ahead of time. Fiorot was the more powerful and slicker striker, whereas Jasudavicious was the grappling ace. Unfortunately for the Canadian talent, she never even got the chance to wrestle after \u201cThe Beast\u201d used a hand trap to line up a perfect left hand on the temple. Jasudavicious\u2019 legs were gone, and she chicken danced down to the floor in a heap. Fiorot jumped on her wounded foe, forcing a quick stoppage with a hail of punches to the side of the head.<\/p>\n The whole fight lasted 74 seconds. It\u2019s an awesome win from Fiorot, a tremendous KO that puts the French striker right back in the title mix. Her fight with Valentina Shevchenko was quite competitive, so a rematch somewhere down the line wouldn\u2019t at all be unreasonable.<\/p>\n VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: (R-L) Charles Jourdain of Canada punches Davey Grant of England in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Charles Jourdain has never looked better.<\/p>\n Against the eternally dangerous Davey Grant, Jourdain knifed through his opponent\u2019s usual whirlwind of offense. Grant is known for his relentless pressure, low kicks, and extended punching combinations. He\u2019s broken down some really good opposition with that mix, often as an underdog. Jourdain, however, used his aggression against him, timing his attacks with long, straight shots up the middle.<\/p>\n The jump knee and guillotine are both signatures of Jourdain. In this finishing sequence, he nailed both! His intercepting jump knee was perfectly timed, crashing into the face of Grant to send him to the canvas. He pounced on an opponent who definitely should have been unconscious, but Grant is insanely tough. He somehow survived long enough to wrestle up to his feet \u2026 directly into a high-elbow guillotine.<\/p>\n Now 2-0 at 135 pounds, I\u2019m fully solid on Jourdain\u2019s Bantamweight move. Despite his 16-fight UFC career, the Canadian standout is still just 29 years old and looks ready for a ranked opponent.<\/p>\n VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: (L-R) Drew Dober punches Kyle Prepolec of Canada in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n The Declining Durability Of Drew Dober<\/p>\n Drew Dober ultimately won via third-round knockout, but the longtime Lightweight veteran struggled greatly opposite Kyle Prepolec.<\/p>\n Dober started strong enough, landing some heavy lefts and chopping low kicks. Prepolec was winning the boxing, however, sticking Dober with longer jabs and busting up his face. In addition, he checked a couple of those low kicks, splitting open Dober\u2019s shin and making him kick with a bit more hesitation. Generally, it was clear that Prepolec\u2019s punches were affecting Dober. Considering Dober\u2019s proven history as a tank, it\u2019s clear that the 36 year old is on the decline given how badly he was being moved by the punches of the unheralded Prepolec.<\/p>\n After a knockdown at the end of round two, all the momentum was on Prepolec\u2019s side with five minutes remaining. Unfortunately, a nasty kick to the groin stalled the bout for nearly five full minutes, and the referee rightfully took a point from Dober. With his back to the wall, Dober exploded on the restart, swarming Prepolec with huge swings. He found the mark, drew blood, and swarmed in a relentless series of clinch knees and left hands.<\/p>\n It was both an impressive comeback and unfortunate incident.<\/p>\n VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: (R-L) Aoriqileng of China punches Cody Gibson in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Be Wary Of Naked Low Kicks<\/p>\n Cody Gibson got flattened by \u201cMongolian Murderer\u201d Aoriqileng in just 21 seconds.<\/p>\n How did Aoriqileng score the best win of his UFC career so quickly? He timed an inside low kick from Gibson thrown without any setup punches. Low kicks are a common way to gauge distance early in cage fights, but there\u2019s serious risk there as well. A long outside calf kick is one of the longest range strikes in the game \u2014 that\u2019s why it\u2019s a popular opener \u2014 but the inside low kick is shorter and therefore more dangerous for the attacker.<\/p>\n It was the wrong tool to employ naked and so early against Aoriqileng, a prolific finisher who is ready to blitz from the first bell. He stepped straight up the middle with a right hand that landed perfectly on the chin. It\u2019s a sequence that plays out on almost every UFC card, but this was an especially clean example.<\/p>\n With that right hand, Aoriqileng becomes the first man to knock out Gibson.<\/p>\n VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – OCTOBER 18: (R-L) Yousri Belgaroui of The Netherlands punches Azamat Bekoev of Russia in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Arena on October 18, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Bruno Silva defeats Hyun Sung Park via third-round rear naked choke (highlights)<\/a>: There was a serious gap in jiu-jitsu skill and overall physicality here. Fresh off getting steamrolled by Tatsuro Taira, Park once again found himself on the wrong side of the grappling equation. Silva chased him around the cage, swinging big hooks and charging through takedowns. By the third, Park was fatigued and deflated. Silva capitalized with yet another takedown, locking up the rear naked choke without any hooks as Park tried to scramble away. It\u2019s a quality rebound from Silva, who entered this matchup having lost two in a row via knockout.Stephanie Luciano defeats Ravena Oliveira via third-round rear naked choke: This was a solid victory for Luciano, who showed off all aspects of her game. Though the striking was competitive, Luciano was just a touch sharper with her combinations. It felt like a unanimous decision was coming down the pipe before Luciano timed Oliveira with a slick takedown in the third. From top control, she was able to move to the back and lock up the strangle to secure her second UFC victory.Yousri Belgaroui defeats Azamat Bekoev via third-round knockout (highlights)<\/a>: Belgaroui, a former Glory kickboxer and training partner of Alex Pereira, is absolutely a name fight fans should remember. The Dutch striker is still very early in his MMA career, but he fought exceedingly well here. Gigantic for the division, Belgaroui was able to punish Bekoev\u2019s forward pressure and offense with countless counter shots. He used the jab beautifully and really wore Bekoev down with his range, leaving the very experienced Russian exhausted by the end of round two.Melissa Croden defeats Tainara Lisboa via third-round knockout: Canada\u2019s Croden started off the night strong for \u201cThe Great White North,\u201d picking up her UFC debut victory by outlasting Lisboa. Lisboa was the faster striker initially, but Croden managed to make the fight physical in round two, finding good success with clinch knees and eventually the takedown. Her success built into the third, where she broke down Lisboa with ground strikes to force the eventual finish.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n