Despite the unanimous-decision win, Conor McGregor (pictured) feels like he lost at UFC Fight Night 26. Photo via Getty Images.
Conor McGregor beats Jose Aldo with one punch for the undisputed featherweight belt
Literally in the first exchange, Conor McGregor landed a straight left hand to José Aldo’s face to knock the champion right out. A few more hammer punches ended the fight on the ground at 13s of the first round. “Nobody can take that left hand shell. He is powerful and he’s strong, but precision beats power.” said McGregor. “He was able to get that first punch and ended the match. Now, I wait for a rematch to reconquer what’s mine,” said Zé Aldo.
Ground and pound makes Luke Rockhold the new middleweight champion
Champion Chris Weidman came out with guns blazing in the beginning of the first round. He quickly managed a near back take and then kept the pressure on Luke Rockhold. The challenger came back at the end of the first with good kicks to the body and an effective guillotine attack. As soon as the second round started, Luke started to connect his kicks to Weidman’s legs, body and head, which made the champion more cautious. Until the end of the second, the two fighters kept exchanging kicks in a slower pace. In the third round, as Weidman appeared to be in better shape and landing hard kicks to Luke’s mid section, Rockhold took the champion to the ground, tried to take the back and ended in full mount, from where he pounded Weidman’s face with punches and elbows for more than 30s. Incredibly enough, referee Herb Dean did not end the fight there. In the fourth round, Rockhold used the same recipe to take Weidman down, pass the guard and pound from full mount. This time, Herb Dean stopped the fight and a new champion was crowned. “I can’t even believe this is real! I am operating in a different level on the top when I’m on the ground right now. I had a staph infection and cellulite on my foot. I’ve been on antibiotics for the past weeks. I’m upset that I got tired so fast!” said Rockhold.
First round knock down secures Romero the win against Jacare
Yoel Romero landed a beautiful spinning punch on the first round that threw Ronaldo Jacare to the ground. A barrage of punches on the ground and pound followed as the Brazilian tried to survive until the bell ran and Jacaré wobbled his way to the corner. The second round was more even and then Jacare came full throttle at the last round, finally being able to take Romero to the ground and trying to work the pass as he landed a few punches and elbows. The pass didn’t come and the decision went to the judges. Two of then scored in favor of the Cuban (29-27, 28-29, 29-28), now the next in line for the middleweight belt against the winner of Weidman vs. Rockhold. “I was expecting a war against Jacare. I have all the respect for him. I believe in God and I knew I was going to win!” said Romero.
Demian outgrapples Nelson in Jiu-Jitsu battle
The first great match up of the main card featured Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson and Brazil’s Demian Maia. Considered to have one of the best (if not the best) Jiu-Jitsu in the UFC, Maia was glad to see that Nelson accepted the ground game proposed by him. On all three rounds, Demian put much superior grappling and took Nelson’s back several times. The submission did not come, but the unanimous decision win was an easy call by the judges. “I came here to grapple and I believe in my Jiu-Jitsu. I have nine fights in this division, with seven wins and four straight now. I want to face the winner of the Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit fight!” said Demian, asking for a title shot.
